Hi again everyone! I hope you’ve been enjoying the last couple weeks of summer! This is the perfect time to take advantage of your local farmers’ markets. September is a great harvest month in the northeast for some of my favorite fruits and veggies: blueberries, corn, figs, peaches, sweet peppers, zucchini and summer squash, tomatoes, and watermelon. I checked out the farmers’ market in Boston’s Copley Square this week and challenged myself to come up with a recipe for under ten dollars.

I was able to buy a zucchini, summer squash, two ears of corn, 5 perfect tomatoes, a bunch of cilantro, and a red onion, all for under $8.00, which works out to be less than $1.50 per serving. Aside from a great selection of farm fresh vegetables, farmers’ markets are a lot of fun! Grab a friend and go to your local farmers’ market, then make my delicious Roasted Corn and Vegetable Salsa (see the recipe below). It’s a colorful snack to enjoy after school with some multigrain chips, or you can serve it over grilled chicken or fish for a south of the border twist. It’s also a great way to sneak in a ton of vegetables.

Roasted Corn and Vegetable Salsa – approximately 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• ½ red onion
• 1 ear of corn
• 4 large tomatoes
• 3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder (or black pepper for a mild salsa)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Trim the ends of the zucchini and summer squash
3. Cut in half lengthwise, and then cut each half lengthwise again so you have four long strips
4. Cut the strips into ¼ inch thick cubes
5. Thinly slice the red onion
6. Break the ear of corn in half, then use a knife going down the sides to cut off the kernels on both halves
7. Toss the zucchini, summer squash, onion, and corn with the olive oil
8. Roast for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven, until the squash and onions are tender (allow the vegetables to cool to room temperature for 15 minutes)
9. In the meantime, dice the tomatoes into small bite size pieces and place in a medium sized bowl
10. Mix in the cooled vegetables, cilantro, garlic, salt, and chili powder.
11. Stir and enjoy!

Tip: You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

I hope you get the chance to visit your local farmers’ market. If you live in Massachusetts, massfarmersmarkets.org is a great website to check out so you can find a farmers’ market near you. It includes the days and hours as well as which vendors and farms are available.  Many farmers’ markets (about 70 in Massachusetts) allow people enrolled in SNAP (Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program) to use their benefits to buy fresh foods. If you live outside of Massachusetts, use the USDA database to find the farmers’ markets in your area.

Local produce sold at farmers’ market is a great choice because it’s picked fresh and it doesn’t spend much time in transit. If you don’t have time to stop by a farmers’ market or can’t find one in your area, look for a “Local Foods” section in the produce section of your local grocery store or check the stickers on produce to see where it comes from. Food is often shipped from Chile, California, or China, which means that it’s been sitting in the back of a truck for a long time before you get to enjoy it! As a nutritionist, I try to recommend local foods as much as possible because the nutrient content of fresh foods is much higher than foods that have been sitting around for a while. Frozen vegetables are also a great choice, because they are frozen very quickly at the peak of freshness.

As always, if you have a food or nutrition related question, you can email [email protected] with “Chef Caitlin” in the subject line.

Check in again soon for my blog entry: “Safe School Lunches”.

Bon Appétit!

-Chef Caitlin