Market Report: Clear some freezer space
Time’s ticking on a September abundance at your local farmers market, ready to help come January.
Support for this edition comes from Lafayette Urban Ministry, presenting the 2025 Hunger Hike on Sept. 21 in downtown Lafayette. Fundraising starts for an event that supports the work of LUM, Food Finders Food Banks and the Haiti Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Center. Sign up to walk, to support a team or become an event sponsor at www.hungerhike.org. For more details on the Hunger Hike, click the link below.
And now …
By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette
The calendar says the farmers markets will be around another six weeks. Only six weeks! If you’ve yet to wander any of the markets – in West Lafayette, on the Purdue campus or downtown Lafayette – I’d say you have some diem to carpe, friend. And here’s why: now is the time to partake of the autumn bounty being grown by local and regional farmers. There may not be many new items debuting in market stalls, but the abundance of produce in mid-September beckons for late-summer-into-fall recipes, and for freezing – the best way to lock in summer’s peak flavors for later. More on that in a moment.
First, here are a few late-season finds that caught my eye.
Dragon tongues and brilliant squash
At a few stalls I spotted dragon tongue beans, a variety of yellow wax bean with lovely purple stripes. These curly beans can be prepared as you would other beans, and I tried a batch roasted with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. They make a terrific side dish but unfortunately lose those pretty purple stripes once heated. Store dragon tongue beans unwashed in a bag in the fridge. They’ll last about a week.
At another stall, yellow zucchinis screamed for attention. They are absolutely beautiful. I bought a few and tried them raw with hummus and sautéed with olive oil and sliced garlic. Two thumbs up! They’re a nice addition to any summer squash lover’s repertoire.
Freeze it right there
You may scrunch up your nose at the thought of using frozen produce, but if you do turn to frozen fruits and vegetables in the winter, why buy a bag of something at the grocery store that was grown who knows where, when you can cook with ingredients grown locally? Why not buy produce at the farmers market and freeze it now, right after it’s been plucked from local farms? Trust me, it makes a difference.
If you call yourself a Hoosier, you bought several extra dozens of sweet corn while it was at its peak and froze it for later. That sweet, just-picked taste is a fond summer memory when you use it in a corn casserole in January.
I have long been a big fan of freezing winter squashes, such as butternut, acorn, delicata and even pumpkin, for use in winter stews, soups and casseroles. I also puree cubed, thawed butternut squash and add it to mac and cheese or turn it into a dip. Beyond that, I haven’t given much thought to freezing other summer veggies. But I’ve seen the error of my ways: That strategy should extend to other produce as well.
Carrie Austin, owner of The Austin Acre, says that most produce at the farmers markets – except delicate greens and maybe radishes – can be frozen with great success. I was skeptical. “Even tomatoes?” I asked.
Oh, yes, Austin says. She freezes unpeeled tomatoes whole, then thaws and purees them into tomato sauce. Brilliant. Other freezer-savvy friends say they’ve used frozen tomatoes for salsa and in chilis and stews with great success.
What a deal on Based in Lafayette. Now through the end of September.
As for peppers, vendors suggest dicing or slicing them, freezing them and using them in fajitas or chili. You can prep onions, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash the same way, for that matter. True, these aren’t veggies you’re going to thaw and arrange on a veggie tray with dip, but beyond that, the possibilities are pretty much endless.
My game plan for the next few weeks: Stock up on just-picked produce and clear some space in the freezer.
Many farmers have told me that September yields the widest variety of produce of the market season, and I can’t dispute that. Not only are you seeing summer produce (beans, tomatoes, squash, peppers, cukes, eggplant and herbs), but you’re also getting fall items (winter squashes) and the second planting of spring’s best (beets, turnips, chard, radishes and more). Time is ticking!
Other mid-September fruits and vegetables at the market include:
Cucumbers
Onions (red, yellow, shallots, cipollini)
Garlic
Select greens
Green beans
Herbs
Carrots
Okra
Peppers: Sweet and hot varieties
Potatoes (new and russet)
Eggplant
Zucchini, zucchini blossoms, summer squash and other squash varieties
Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes
Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
Peaches, nectarines, apricots
Watermelon
Winter squashes and pumpkins
DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.
Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street, and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.
Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.
Thanks, again, to Lafayette Urban Ministry, presenting the 2025 Hunger Hike on Sept. 21 in downtown Lafayette. Sign up or support hikers at www.hungerhike.org.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Speaking of freezers. If you have end of the season sweet basil, it's a fine time to make some pesto, freeze it an ice tray, then pop those cubes in a container for the freezer. Two cubes will be enough for two people for a winter snack.
" She freezes unpeeled tomatoes whole..." Jess of Roots and Refuge recommends "core and score" for freezing tomatoes. I have done this, and it works.
Cut out the core - the circle where the stem was - and cut an X on the bottom (blossom end). THEN toss them into bags and into the freezer. When you take them out and heat them, the skins fall right off.