EST. 2011 BY LIZ RUEVEN
Labor Day Reflections & Veggie Gratin

Labor Day Reflections & Veggie Gratin

Labor Day’s signal is loud and clear.

Like Pavlov’s dogs, we respond to the first Monday in September with a wave of sadness as the date proclaims that summer is over. Not so fast!

I’ll take this Labor Day to give thanks to those who advocate for fair wages, better working conditions, and fair trade. Now is a good time to re-state our commitment to honoring those who grow our food with concern for our environment and better nutrition for our families.

I’ve come closer to my food sources this year, through an all organic, GMO free, guaranteed local farmers’ market  in my hometown, in  Westport, CT.  As a result of the  persistent efforts and support of town leaders, a visionary and super smart (and strict) market manager and tireless volunteers, I can now turn to my local (within 120 miles) market for farm fresh deliciousness each and every week.

As a regular, I like to chat with my favorite farmers who labor long and hard to grow crops without pesticides. Chefs and bakers offer their inspired dishes,  preparing imaginative dishes the right way.

They respond to the season’s offerings, trying not to source  from much further than their neighboring farms. When they source outside of their foodshed, they make conscious choices, paying close attention to easily accessible information about business practises and sound environmental choices.

When I can’t make it to my weekly market, I stop at one of the few surviving farms in town. I recently met two brothers, owners of Stahursky Farm, as they took a break under the generous canopy of the old oak tree that shades a plank topped table. They pick it and sell it right by the flower fields.  I have visited, here, regularly, since moving to town  22 years ago.

The brothers are 79 and 81, and the farm has been in their family since 1927. They seemed surprised by my interest in their family’s story. I suspect they were simply too busy to chat for long.

They farm three acres of their seven acre property with the help of a 20-something relative. It’s just the three of them doing it all.  A neatly lettered sign, with interchangeable linked boards, simply states what they are selling each day.

The bright red cash box sits on the tabletop, alongside a pile of paper bags to nestle our purchases into. A scale sways in the wind, just above a penned list of offerings and their prices.

The cash box is unattended. They trust us to be trustworthy.

When the sign is missing out front, I worry that something has happened to these old timers.

And just as we surprise ourselves by allowing the fleeting thought that we really can’t/shouldn’t/won’t eat tomatoes 3x a day, the glorious array of apples, pears, and gourds appear in the markets, punctuating the end of the tomato season. Impossibly vibrant sunset hued oranges and pinks contrast with  faint greens and replace the color palate of summer.

Today, mounds of thin-skinned eggplants overwhelm the markets, ranging from  striated lavender and milky white to the deepest plum imaginable. Their shapes are oblong or bulbous, rotund or miniature . Tomatoes range from jubilant orange to sultry crimson and even deeper to aubergine and back to green. Irregular, heavy and deceptively unattractive or  firm and tiny as olives, their range beckons us to experiment with salads, sauces and preserving the flavors for the tomato-less months ahead.

On this Labor Day, share the abundance of your farmers’ market with family and friends. Reach for something new and ask your farmer how she likes to prepare it. Gather the bursting flavors of the season’s best.

And remember to give thanks to those who labor to bring you the fruits of their fields.

11 Comments

  1. great post liz….as always! but this one speaks to me. i go to the westport market religiously, i try not to miss a week. even if i don’t need much, i just walk around looking at all the beautiful produce, flowers, baked goods, prepared food, and PEOPLE enjoying the amazing local harvest. i try and patronize as many vendors as possible. i love everything about the market, and feel so fortunate that it is so close. i recently went to the lunch they hosted at the westport arts center to see john barricelli of the sono bakery. maria from du soleil catered. it was so much fun i could hardly stand it! where is that farm you mentioned in the post…..looks so familiar! i think i have been there. thanks again for a beautiful post!

    Reply to this comment

    • You are MOST welcome. And thank YOU for taking the time to share your enthusiasm. The tradition of Labor Day speaks to us as we are reminded to appreciate the folks who work so hard to bring us these fresh crops. The Stahursky farm is on North Maple Avenue in Westport, just off the Post Rd. Just around the corner, is the Westport Community Garden, a large patch of sun drenched, fully fenced land, that many locals are now tending. It is locked but if you are lucky, some enthusiastic gardener will be hard at work there, and will give you access. Both spots are inspiring, and of course, the Westport Farmers’ Market is a real gem.

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  4. Thank you Liz for taking me to Stahursky farm. Everything I purchased was delicious and can’t believe how reasonably priced they are. This is going to be one of my weekly stop!

    Reply to this comment

    • What did you cook? I ripped open all of those paper bags bursting with peppers and tomatoes and waited for inspiration to come. Soon I was simmering just picked onions, Roma tomatoes and peppers, along with Grow and Behold’s kosher spicy sausage. WOW!!! That and a cold beer on the porch in early September .. can’t get much better than that!

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SIDE DISH
Photo by Jerri Graham Photography

Hi. I’m Liz and I welcome you to Kosher Like Me.

When I’m not caressing fruits and veggies at my local farmers’ market you’ll likely find me chatting with like-minded eaters, probing the scene in NYC or seeking inspiration in my spice cabinet. Life outside of this blog is all about my family, tasty travel adventures and power walks deep in the CT woods or along the shore.

Please brew a fragrant cup of tea, grab a nosh and stay a while.