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.

This past weekend, the husband and tot hit up the new Westover Farmers Market in Arlington. It was near the end of the market so I didn’t have high hopes for too many goodies, but was pleasantly surprised when they brought home a basket of squash blossoms and sour cherries. Edible flowers are always fun to share with kids, but flowers that you stuff with cheese and fry? Talk about hitting the jackpot. The foodie tot had a lot of fun “helping” me prep them for frying. Of course, she was booted from the kitchen for the actual cooking.

Squash blossoms are best eaten the day you buy them. After your toddler holds up each one for its photo opp (or maybe that’s just mine…), gently pry open the petals, check for intruders,* and reach inside and pinch the base of the stamen to remove it. (*I’m no fan of insects on my supper, but this is a good time to mention to the kids that we buy organic foods that aren’t sprayed with bug-killing chemicals. You can’t blame a bug for being drawn to the same pretty, fragrant flowers that we are!)

I mixed fresh Blue Ridge Dairy ricotta with a little nutmeg, salt and black pepper. You can use some finely chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or oregano, if you have them but I like to keep it simple. The batter is simply flour, milk and another pinch of salt. After gently spooning the filling into each flower, give the end a gentle twist to hold in the good stuff.

Frying them takes just a few minutes — then let them cool a little on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Be sure to eat while still warm!

Recipe: Fried Squash Blossoms
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 12 squash blossoms
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• kosher salt
• pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill high-walled frying pan with 1/4-inch of oil. Heat over medium high heat (to 350 degrees if you have a thermometer).
2. Pick over and remove stamens from blossoms. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, nutmeg, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
4. In a larger bowl, whisk together flour, milk and another pinch of salt until smooth.
5. Holding blossom by the stem end, gently fill with a teaspoon full of ricotta mixture. Give the petal ends a gentle twist to hold in the filling. Repeat until all are filled.
6. Quickly swirl the stuffed blossoms through the batter and gently transfer to pan. Fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown — about 3-5 minutes, total. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Let cool slightly before serving.

~

What’d the kids think? The boy took a bite, then paused to ask, “Did this use to be a plant?” The tot ate the middle section of hers. Have you ever eaten squash blossoms with your kids?

Aside from frying, you can also use squash blossoms in soup or my squash blossom succotash, or bake them for a healthier take. And if you’re in the Northeast, check out Narrangasett Creamery ricottas, reviewed over on Cheese and Champagne today.

It’s opening weekend at Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland seasonal farmers markets! Head out early to score the best asparagus and strawberries and give a local flair to your Cinco de Mayo fiesta. (It’s the perfect excuse to blend up a batch of our strawberry horchata! Or perhaps a rhubarb margarita.)

Some of our favorite family-friendly markets are reopening this weekend, including Alexandria’s West End Market (Sundays, 8:30am to 1pm at Ben Brenman Park) and Reston Farmers Market (Saturday, 8am to noon at Lake Anne Village Center). (All Fairfax County and Loudoun County markets are now open for the season). And a brand new market is opening in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood (Sundays, 8am to noon on N. McKinley Rd.).

(Psst…are you on Pinterest? I’ve pinned a few Mexican-inspired recipes for Cinco de Mayo.)

Tomorrow begins the 2010 farmers market season for much of Northern Virginia. And, our Virginia farmers tend to be the first in the area with ripe strawberries, so be on the look-out for them in the next couple weeks!

Alexandria: The West End Market in Ben Brenman Park opens this Sunday, 9am-1pm. Alma from Westmoreland Berry Farms brought fabulous homemade tamales to the market last year, perfect for a post-shopping lunch in the park. And a soup vendor will be joining the market this year, among other new additions. The Upper King Street Market opens Wednesday, in the triangle across from the King Street Metro, and runs weekly from 3pm – 7pm. (Alexandria‘s Del Ray and Old Town markets are year-round.)

Arlington/Falls Church: The Ballston Farmers Market is moving to Thursdays, 3pm-7pm. The Crystal City Farmers Market, now run by FreshFarm Markets, opens Tuesday, May 18, 3pm – 7pm. (The Courthouse, Columbia Pike, and Clarendon markets in Arlington and the Falls Church Farmers Market are year-round.)

Fairfax County: Fairfax County-sponsored markets, in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Vienna/Oakton, Wakefield, Herndon, Annandale, Kingstowne, Burke, McLean, Reston and Lorton, all open this coming week. The independent SmartMarkets, in Centreville, Fairfax Corner, Herndon, Oakton, Reston and in Maryland at National Harbor, have staggered opening dates over the next couple weeks.

Loudoun County: The Loudoun Valley Homegrown Markets Association opens their markets in Ashburn, Brambleton, Cascades, Leesburg and Purcellville this weekend.

Grab your kids, cameras and reusable bags and get out there and enjoy the markets this weekend!