Back to the farmers market

Suddenly—and blessedly—I have more time to cook. The kids are out of school, there is no homework at night and we’re not running frantically to afternoon activities. My professional schedule hasn’t slowed down, but I find myself with more time to fantasize about punchy summer dishes. Best of all, Saturday mornings aren’t dominated by athletic events, and I’m using the hiatus to get back to one of my favorite spots in town, the Red Stick Farmers Market.

This past weekend, the market was already bustling when it opened at 8 a.m. The produce was pretty and abundant—scarlet tomatoes, green and wax beans, beets, eggplants, corn, summer squash, asparagus, cantaloupe, peaches, blueberries, cucumbers, peppers and more. More vendors are offering heirloom tomatoes this year, especially the large slicing tomato, Cherokee Purple. They’re yummy, flavorful and make colorful salsa and gazpacho.

I’ve spent the week cooking with a light hand. It doesn’t take much to make these foods sing. Perfect for our current 90-degree days are the preservative-free Anna Marie shrimp sold by Lance and Melissa Nacio. They’re pictured here grilled and served with roasted organic blue and gold potatoes from Inglewood farms and Chenier Farms’ green beans, which I blanched and grilled in a stovetop grill pan.

This weekend at the market features the Corn and Squashtastic celebration and a timely father-son cooking demo by BREADA employee Graham Nichols and his dad, Randy Nichols, executive director of the One Stop Homeless Center in Baton Rouge.

The two will demonstrate recipes that use fresh local ingredients between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. inside the Main Street Market. For more info, visit breada.org.