There is no place like a farmers market - an interesting kaleidoscope of seasonal changes in itself - to feel the relaxed livelihood of a community.
Last Sunday, I made it to the one nearby on Columbus Avenue between 78th and 81st streets, behind the American Museum of Natural History. And I realized how the season's best colors were all there together interwoven with warm air, slow walks, light chatters and laughs. Without further ado, here comes the colors of the summer.
I find it ironic that after feasting my eyes on all the fresh fruits and vegetables, I head over to Shake Shack and grab a cheeseburger and fries for lunch.
When I came home, I laid out my proud pickings of the day from the market.
A yellow squash, a head of red lettuce, grape tomatoes and my new find, sugar plums. They are these tiny plums with concentrated sweet flavor of full-sized plums. Salad was in order.
Thin slices of the yellow squash were grilled. Mix with chopped red lettuce, chopped almonds, and grape tomatoes. As for sugar plums, I munched on a few then used the rest as an ice cream topping.
How do you eat your Greek yogurt? It's good with just honey, but thick Greek yogurt also goes well with spicy, pasty gochujang (고추장). They compliment each other by creating mildly spicy, tangy and creamy salad dressing without all the calories of the usual creamy dressing.
Creamy Gochujang Dressing
1 TBSP gochujang
1 TBSP Greek yogurt (I used Fage Total 2%)
1 ts sesame oil
a splash of soy sauce
a dash of freshly grated ginger
a splash of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest
Mix everything together well.
KOREAN WORDS
corn 옥수수 (ok su su)
plum 자두 (ja du)
