We love our kale in the foodie tots’ house — yes, even tofu-fearing husband has learned to appreciate it — so of course we had to jump on the Kale Day bandwagon on social media today. You see, the blog Eating Rules has an “October Unprocessed” challenge, now in its third year.

The challenge urges people to go one month without processed foods, using a simple “kitchen test”: if the item you’re buying contains only ingredients that could be made in a home kitchen with whole ingredients, it’s okay. This rules out artificial colors and flavors, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup, for starters. It’s a great way to jump start a change in your family diet, if you’ve been contemplating a switch to real foods, or just follow along for a ton of great information and recipe ideas. And, as part of the real food love fest, founder Andrew Wilder declared today International Kale Day. Kale is a superfood packed with fiber, antioxidants and vitamins A, C and K, and most of us could stand to eat a little more of it.

Like the classic lemon-parmesan version, making this apple kale salad begins by massaging kale with salt. (Kids love to help with this step.) Let it stand while chopping the apple and nuts, and whisk together a quick dressing of maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Toss it all together and let it sit while you finish up the rest of dinner. The salt and dressing help tenderize the kale, and the finished salad is simple and full of fresh fall flavors. (Credit is due to my friend Jill, who first turned me on to the apple-kale combination.)

Recipe: Apple Cranberry Kale Salad
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• pinch black pepper, optional

Instructions:

1. Place kale in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Massage salt into kale for two minutes.

2. Whisk together maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and olive oil (and pepper, if using–I usually add to the adults’ salads later). Add apples, cranberries and pecans to kale, add dress and toss gently to combine. Let stand 5 to 15 minutes before serving.

Check out the link round-up for more kale inspiration — and feel free to add a link of your own. Happy Kale Day!

With fall on the way, I had the idea of a fresh corn chowder teeming with local sweet corn before it disappears from the markets. I kept it as simple as possible to really let the corn shine. To make a meal out of it, I sauteed some wild Key West shrimp in garlic, finished with a splash of white wine, and served those on top of the chowder for the husband and I. The kids don’t like their foods to mix….so they had their shrimp on the side. If you have less finicky eaters, you could even stir the shrimp into the chowder for the final minutes of cooking. But I’ll give you the chowder recipe straight up and leave those tough decisions up to you.

Recipe: Sweet Corn Chowder
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped small
• 4 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
• 2 cups half and half (or whole milk)
• optional: 1/2 pound cooked shrimp, smoked paprika to garnish

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in soup pan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic just until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add salt, pepper, thyme and potato, and cook, stirring, another minute.

2. Add stock and raise heat to medium high until it begins to boil. Reduce heat, stir in half and half or milk, and let simmer for 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

3. Remove from heat and serve, topping with cooked shrimp if desired, and a dash of smoked paprika.

*If you want to really let the corn flavors shine, check out my friend One Hungry Mama’s corncob stock — brilliant!

These early days of September are full of mixed messages at the farmers market. Summer peaches can still be found, but are quickly edged out by the teeming bins of apples. Cherry tomatoes and okra share table space with the first acorn and butternut squash. Rosh Hashanah is quickly approaching (September 16) — the Jewish holiday that is marked by apples dipped in honey to symbolize the wish for a sweet new year — but when the temperatures are still topping 90 it’s hard to even think about baking with apples just yet. And so this apple fennel salad is the perfect cooling dish when summer heat is overstaying its welcome. Serve alongside fish or even hot dogs on the grill. Simplicity is key when coping with the end-of-day exhaustion of freshly back-to-school kids (and their parents).

Recipe: Apple Fennel Salad
Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Honey crisp apples
• 1 fennel bulb, core removed
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

1. Thinly slice the apples and fennel, cutting down to bite-sized 1/2-inch pieces if serving little ones. Place in salad bowl.

2. Whisk together salt, honey, apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

3. Drizzle dressing over apple and fennel and gently toss. Garnish with a little of the leafy fennel fronds, if desired.

These particular apples were purchased at the FRESHFARM Ballston market, held Thursdays from 3 to 7pm just across from the Ballston Metro station. (Wondering why the honey crisps are more green than red this year? Blame the heat, says Mrs. Wheelbarrow in the NY Times Diner’s Journal.) We stopped by to sample the new goats-milk cheeses from Peachy Family Dairy in Pennsylvania (the foodie tot was smitten with their Lady’s Gouda Blessings, an almost candy-like treat), picked up some skirt steak from Gunpowder Bison, and sampled the new Savvy Popsicles). Local favorite Westmoreland Berry Farm is there, and Shells Yes!, a Maryland “true blue” certified crab company who makes a fresh and tasty crab and corn hummus. (And crab cakes, of course.)

What’s your favorite food at the market in September?

It’s the home stretch of summer, when markets are teeming with fresh sweet corn, peppers, peaches, squash, tomatoes and melons. I’m pretty sure my kids would happily live on corn and watermelon, but the other veggies are too tasty to pass up. On a recent market trip, the foodie boy was particularly smitten with this curly-q eggplant.

To make use of as many veggies in one dish as possible, I recreated the Oyamel dish the foodie tot loved at Union Market’s summer picnic. Squash and tomatoes are diced nearly as small as corn kernels and the dish is quickly sautéed so that the tomatoes release their juices, creating a warm stew that is a perfect summer side — and the ultimate summer dish for finger-eating toddlers, too. Get the recipe below.

And speaking of market trips … our busy summer weekends have made us especially grateful to have two Sunday markets to choose from, the West End Alexandria Farmers Market (9am to 1pm) and the new Westover Farmers Market (8am to noon) in Arlington.

We paid a long overdue to our favorite Amish cheese/yogurt seller, Mr. Tom, at West End recently. Papa’s Orchard peaches were spectacular, and the kids’ eggplant/pepper/tomato binge took place under the F.J. Medina & Sons tent. We followed up our cheese snack with a Westmoreland berry and Vera’s pastries picnic in the park. (Then, turtle watching!)

At Westover, Black Rock Orchard and Bigg Riggs are is the must-visits for stone fruit — and early season apples (yes, already!). Smith Family Farm offers grass-fed meats, Blue Ridge Dairy provides mozzarella, ricotta and more, and always-popular Atwater’s Bakery and Baguette Republic have your bread needs covered.

Recipe: Quick Stewed Summer Squash and Corn

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 zucchini, diced
2 ears corn, shucked and kernels cut from cob
2 large tomatoes, diced
handful fresh epazote or basil
Kosher salt
pepper
optional: crumbled goat cheese or feta or queso blanco

Instructions:
1. Prep and cut all vegetables before you begin cooking. Zucchini should be diced nearly as small as corn kernels.
2. Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
3. Add zucchini to pan and cook until just beginning to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes to pan and cook until juices are released.
5. Add corn and simmer just until warmed, about 2 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Optional: top with crumbled feta or goat cheese. Serve immediately.

I’ve written about mushrooms a lot, but haven’t properly introduced our source: The Mushroom Stand, or Mother Earth Organics from Pennsylvania. Ferial Welsh, better known as The Mushroom Lady, can be found each week at FRESHFARM Penn Quarter or Dupont Circle patiently explaining the difference between her numerous mushroom varieties and offering cooking instructions. I first seek out the stand in early spring for those coveted wild morels, but the cultivated mushrooms are available nearly year-round. More frequently, we buy my son’s favorite, tiny honey mushrooms. But shitake, maitake and others make an occasional appearance on our dinner table as well.

Try The Mushroom Stand’s mushrooms in some of these favorite recipes:

• polenta al funghi (with honey mushrooms)
• stir-fried wood ear mushrooms
• turkey chanterelle pot pie
• braised lamb shanks and trumpet mushrooms via FireFly Farms

Find The Mushroom Stand at FRESHFARM‘s Dupont Circle and Penn Quarter markets, and at the Falls Church Farmers Market.

PS Obviously that is not a recent photo… but I couldn’t resist a flashback to cooler times as we suffer through 100 degree days here in DC this week.