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For a look at what’s playing at our local farmers markets and how to put those finds to work in your kitchen, it’s …
Peppers hot and mild
By Carol Bangert/For Based in Lafayette
There is nothing prettier in nature right now than the color of peppers, and I’ll fight anyone who challenges me.
Whether you like the taste of peppers – hot, sweet or neutral – you have to admit that they are visually stunning. Spectacular reds and oranges, purples and yellows, greens of every shade, stripes. But those colors can be ruthlessly deceiving. Bell peppers are one thing; but hot peppers can bring you to your knees if you’re not careful.
I’ve met a lot of people who don’t like peppers, but I would urge them to give them another try. Sweet/bell peppers have subtle flavor differences depending on their color, but all are great eaten raw, and they play a key role in stir fries and fajitas, soups and stews. Green peppers, in particular, are great for stuffing with just about anything you like. Roasted red peppers – easy to do at home – are great on a charcuterie board or added to pastas and sauces. They freeze well, too.
Hot/chile peppers are an entirely different animal and range in heat from pleasantly spicy to I-just-ate-a-volcano hot. I’ve mentioned before that I lived in New Mexico back in the 1980s, and the Hatch chile was one of the hottest varieties around. I loved them. I still do. The chile is quite hot but not crippling. By today’s standards, though, the Hatch chile is a wimp, with new varieties getting progressively hotter. (Check out the pepper chart at Wabash & Riley’s booth that outlines Scoville Heat Units.)
I no longer eat foods that punch me in the face, and I avoid super-hot chile varieties – do I really need to eat something called the Carolina Reaper or Pepper X? That’s a hard no. But chiles add flavor and depth to recipes, and a well-made chiles rellenos can’t be beat. If you are the adventurous type, the farmers market is a great place to experiment with chiles of different heat levels, where vendors are selling an impressive array right now.
I bought a bunch of gorgeous purple cayenne peppers from Fairstream Farms and a handful of bright green shishitos from Wabash & Riley Honey Company and enjoyed them both: The purple cayenne chopped and added to chicken flautas, and the shishitos simply roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. The two varieties offer a nice illustration of what peppers can offer this time of year.
Store peppers of any variety in the refrigerator if you’re not using them in a day or so. Peppers also freeze well.
Stone fruit’s swan song
Stone fruit – peaches, cherries and plums – have been a trustworthy staple at the markets this summer, and I can say that I’ve tasted some stellar examples of all three. I don’t need to tell you how to use summer fruit – maybe just wash them as soon as you get home from the market, slice them and eat them! They are great in pies and crumbles and add incredible moistness to cakes and muffins. They’re also a lovely addition to a summer sangria.
Peaches – and blueberries, since we’re talking about fruit – will be around a while longer, but it’s the end of the season for plums and cherries. You may find a few stragglers next week, and if you do, snatch them up. This summer’s stone fruit crops have been exceptional.
Store stone fruit in the fridge, especially if it’s starting to ripen.
It’s mid-August, the peak season for summer produce, from sweet corn and tomatoes to green beans and blueberries. Don’t miss out on the chance to get a taste of what an Indiana summer is all about.
Other mid-August fruits and vegetables at the market include:
Cabbage
Bok choy
Broccoli
Baby carrots
Cucamelons and other cucumbers
Beets
Red, white and green onions
Bell peppers
Chile peppers
Garlic
Greens (kale, mustard, arugula, lettuce varieties, microgreens, Swiss chard)
Herbs: Mint, oregano, basil, cilantro, sage, lavender, thyme, chives, parsley and more
Mushrooms
Green beans
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Zucchini, yellow and pattypan squash, squash blossoms
Blueberries
DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. 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.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Thank you for confirming my suspicions that Hatch chiles are no longer the dragons remembered from my youth. They were often the dried red ones, sure, but those should only be a little hotter than the immature green guys.
My other paranoid suspicion is that poblanos are not only getting hotter on average, but have also become wildly variable. Despite decades of using poblanos, I've found myself wondering recently if I accidentally just bought the world's biggest jalapeño. Claro, nunca mas hot que un serrano!