Schedules, sheet pans and apples

September 5, 2026

It’s here. Summer’s swan song, the last hurrah of gathering around the grill before routines set in and lazy, unscheduled mornings morph into alarm-driven drills.

The good news is that the first week of school will be short. So, there is time to breathe and adjust to new routines. The market is here for you to help make your weeknight dinners a little easier next week, but also to help you feed and fuel your long-weekend festivities.

Last week I had to go to Los Angeles for some personal business and when I came home, I had so many market vegetables that needed to be cooked, from peppers to cauliflower to onions, carrots and squash. I chopped them into equal size chunks, then tossed them with some chickpeas, Za’atar spices and Agape Premium EVOO, before roasting them in two sheet pans at 375º until they were cooked through and slightly caramelized. I served them with a roast chicken from Letterbox Farm the first night, then filled an omelet with them the second night. On day three, I tossed the remaining veggies with Obercreek salad greens, shredded leftover chicken plus an avocado for a delicious high-protein salad. I’m leaving my sheet pans out for the foreseeable future.

I highly recommend you do the same for easy school-night dinners.

Try this sheet pan chicken with apple fennel and onion or these sheet pan chicken fajitas to celebrate the panoply of peppers available at the market right now. 

As for lunchboxes? A friendly reminder that both Bien Cuit Bakery and Wave Hill Breads offer sliced breads to elevate your sandwich game. And Mead Orchards’ honey crisp apples are in and so delicious to eat out of hand. 

By the way, Mead is offering a special Rosh Hashanah “bag” this weekend to help you welcome and sweeten the New Year: the bag is filled with 4 pounds of Honey Crisp apples and a jar of Mead honey. Valued at $30, they are selling the bags for $25 this weekend.

This might be the last weekend for blueberries, sigh. Consider making these blueberry bars to sweeten those lunch boxes, or to serve as an after school snack while you debrief about new teachers, new friends and, of course, homework. 

Make a second batch to bring to a BBQ this weekend. Or, if you prefer to lean fall, bring a pear ginger crispmade with the first Bartlett pears of the season at the Caradonna Farm tent. They (and Mead) are also bringing a new variety of apple called the Sweet Maia, described as “candy sweet with a crisp crunch.” 

When I was in LA, I ate at a restaurant that served Mediterranean dips with sliced apples instead of vegetables and it was a winning combination I wish I’d thought of myself. If you arehosting a backyard shindig this Labor Day, consider doing the same with spreads from Bonnes Saveurs.

If you’re hosting a large group, make it easy on yourself and take advantage of all of the brats and sausage we offer at the market (Goode & Local, R&M Farm, Letterbox Farm – all sell several varieties). Grill up some zucchini topped with fresh market mint.  And make a market salad with anything that catches your eye at the market. 

Summer may be waning but market flavors are only getting deeper, just like the hues of the blossoms at Stars of the Meadow.

See you at the market!