Hi Folks,
What a beautiful day in the park last week was. We hope to continue to see people enjoying the park up to sunset. Jamie Kennedy Fries made it in time to catch the after 5PM crowd, which was a pleasant dinner addition for us all. This week we have another ready-to-eat addition — Mnandi Pies! Also, Madeleines is taking pie pre-orders for Thanksgiving. They will be bringing frozen pies to the market October 6th for you to have ready-made to heat up and serve (with ice-cream) over Thanksgiving. We will be providing a link to their pre-order form online soonest.
What’s Fresh
This is really the beginning of the end of tomatoes- so get them while you can. We are starting to see some crazy veggies at the market these days – my personal favourite of the snake-like Sicilian zucchini (pictured above). Otherwise apples, watermelon & cantaloupe are popping up (though we still have blueberries & raspberries), and we are still brimming with zucchinis, carrots, beets, and peppers of all colours, hence this weeks two recipes below.
Broken Stone Winery is back – so get yourself a Chardonnay to make your week complete!
Evis from Mnandi Pies will be selling his handcrafted, locally sourced Zimbabwean pies this week. We are so happy to add some delicious & hearty meat n’ veg pies for this week and the week of October 6th.
We are fortunate to have a full band back from the Regent Park CRC. Everyone enjoyed their musical mixture – much of it from the 60’s!
Enjoy getting your hands on some local peppers and either keep it simple with this 30 minute pasta recipe OR try your hand at a delicious Northern African/Middle Eastern recipe of Harissa. I personally eat Harissa on bread with butter, because a day without spice is never as nice 🙂
Spicy Sausage & Pepper Pasta
by Two Peas & Their Pod
12 ounces Penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
Sausage of your choice, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
Crushed red pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, and sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Drain the pasta and pour into a large serving bowl. Stir in the onions, peppers, and sausage. Add the tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and basil. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.
Homemade Harissa
by Half Baked Harvest
2 whole roasted red peppers, seeds removed*
2 dried ancho chilies*
1 dried chile de arbol*
2 chipotle chiles in adobo*
1 cup boiling water
1 garlic clove, peeled + smashed
Juice of half a lemon
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Place the dried chiles in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over top the chiles. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes until the chiles are softened. Reserve chile water.
- Once chiles are softened, cut top off the chiles and remove the seeds from inside. Add to the bowl of a food processor or blender, along with the chipotle chiles in adobo, garlic and lemon juice.
- Purée, slowly pouring in the olive oil to thicken the sauce. If desired add 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved chile water to thin the sauce a bit (I did not do this). Season to taste with salt and extra lemon juice.
- The Harissa will keep refrigerated for a few weeks.
*You can use any combo of dried chiles you prefer. I just used what I could find in my area, but found that I loved the flavor. You will need a total of 5 dried chiles.
*To roast your own red peppers you can either broil them in the oven or place them directly on a gas top burner and char all sides of the pepper. Once all sides are charred remove the pepper from the broiler or stove top and place in a bowl and cover. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, remove and peel the charred parts away. Slice and use.
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