This weekend the parents happened to be in town and Saturday morning we went for an early lunch at Cheesetique which in addition to meaning I got to have grilled cheese and tomato soup, also meant I got to explore the farmer’s market in Del Ray.
Del Ray is an adorable neighborhood that sits between Old Town, Alexandria and Crystal City, Arlington. It is more like a small town then a neighborhood outside of DC, with adorable restaurants, shops, and people watching opportunities. They even have their own, nationally acknowledged controversy over The Sushi Place.
Now I did not need my usual haul at the farmer’s market, as the hubs is out of town and I leave later this week to meet him in Vancouver to kick off the Pacific Coast Road Trip. I did need some veggie for dinner, and at the height of summer I was able to find everything I wanted and more.
I walked away with some fresh summer corn, some perfect zucchini, the tiniest, freshest smelling garlic, and delicious orange juice (that the nice lady squeezed in front on my mom).
Now, if you happen to hit a farmer’s market this week I highly recommend you pick up tomatoes as they are at the height of perfection right now, which would be amazing turned into honey-roasted tomatoes and put on a cheese plate with some some goat brie and crisp crackers.
So many tomatoes in so many colors!
Cherries are also amazing and could be turned into a delicious crisp using either your favorite recipe or my favorite (which was my grandma’s); mix 1 cup of flour, 3/4c of oatmeal, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Now I diverge from her recipe by placing the fruit in the bottom of a 8×8 dish, sprinkling the mixture over the top, and putting slices of butter on top at 1 inch intervals, then bake at 350 till the crust is crisp.
What is your favorite summer fruit or veg?