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A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett

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farmer's market

Easy Zucchini Fritters Recipe

July 30, 2020

This easy recipe for zucchini fritters is a perfect low calorie side. They are quick and easy, plus they are great for making ahead. Veggie cakes of any kind make a tasty light lunch and it is a delicious way to get more vegetables into your diet.

zucchini fritters on white platter with sour cream

Top with an egg for a nutritious and filling breakfast, serve as a side with your favorite chicken recipe or these Baked Chicken Meatballs. They are just the right size for little hands and for tucking into lunchboxes.

This post contains affiliate links. If you were to make a purchase through one, at no extra cost to you, I would receive a small commission. For more information about affiliate programs,  please refer to my policy page.

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Filed Under: Side Dish Tagged With: cooking, dinner, dinner ideas, easy recipe, farmer's market, Food, fritter, fritters, healthy, how to, make ahead meals, menu, recipes, squash, Summer, supper, Vegetable, vegetarian, veggie cake, weeknight cooking, weeknight dinner, zucchini, zucchini cakes, zucchini fritter

To Market…

October 23, 2013

One of the first things I do when I go on vacation is find the local Farmer’s Market.   I love seeing what the locals buy and spotting new items from area farms, bits of the earth still clinging to the roots.  

Walking past the colors and shapes, I can’t help myself…  I have to pick up piece after piece.  Holding it in my hand, feeling it’s heft.  Bringing it to my face, I smell everything from berries to beets;  peppers to herbs.   I am enthralled.   The beauty of food hasn’t been lost on me,  I have yet to become jaded and for this I am grateful. 

Every market is a different experience,  each offering something unique and sometimes things I have never seen or tasted before.    That is when I really get excited,  when I stumble upon something completely unfamiliar.   I begin to imagine all of the possibilities…   That’s the fun in experimenting with something unfamiliar;  there is nothing to compare it to, so you can’t possibly go wrong!  

Here’s where I think some people tend to take a “wrong turn” so to speak…  Fear of failure.  Or, less than perfect.   The people that know me are probably about to roll their eyes at me right now, because I have a teensy bit of an issue with being a perfectionist.  Hey, I’m working on it.  
Don’t be afraid to buy something that you are unfamiliar with; stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow and learn.  Yes, sometimes it’s a bit uncomfortable and perhaps a little painful at times but in the end, it’s usually worth it.    Experiment a little and see where it takes you… 
You may end up creating something magnificent.    

This is my best advice when going to a Green Market:  go in with a rough idea of what you’d like.   
If you are shopping for dinner that night or the next night, peruse the different stands and see what looks good, then plan your dinner.  If you go in with a menu that is  “set in stone”, you may miss out on something really amazing.   That’s usually the way life seems to work out… 

Union Square Green Market, Manhattan
peppers

green pepper
 

La Boqueria, Barcelona
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gambas

Boqueria

 Prospect Park Green Market, Brooklyn
Grand Army Plaza Market 029

Grand Army Plaza Market 013

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Grand Army Plaza Market 015

Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, San Francisco
San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco
 

San Francisco

San Francisco

Support your local Farmers and Green Markets!   Fall produce is amazing right now, be fearless in the kitchen!   Buy something you’ve never worked with before and get cooking!   I look forward to hearing about your culinary adventures…

 

Filed Under: Fall, Vegetarian Tagged With: farmer's market, Produce

A-Maze-Ing

November 17, 2012

 

Well friends, just because Halloween is behind us don’t think you have no use for pumpkin patches until next year.  Many of them, like this one, grow amazing varieties of squash. 
Everyone knows how I feel about supporting local farmers and buying food that was locally grown whenever possible, so I will refrain from going on and on about it today… but, just in case you don’t:
Please support local farms!

 
Scout out something you’ve never had before and try it, although I wouldn’t necessarily suggest doing so on a day when you are cooking for a house full of people… 
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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cooking, fall, farmer's market, pumpkin, squash

When In Rome…

March 26, 2012

…or Florida, to be more exact.  I may not always succeed, but I do try to practice what I preach.
On my recent visit to the Sunshine State, I wanted to find a local farmer’s market and was pleasantly surprised to find one that is a permanent fixture as opposed to only being set up once or twice a week.

 
 
Marando Farms offers not only local produce, but they also have local honey, farm fresh eggs and the best part of all…  a community garden.

If you are in the area or vacationing nearby it’s worth the trip to see this little gem.

Supermarkets simply do not carry the varieties of produce that are available at Farmer’s Markets. 
Because the food we buy there isn’t mass produced, the farmers are able to bring in smaller quantities of different  crops.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: farmer's market

Farmer’s Market Finds

September 24, 2011

Everyone knows the behemoth that is the Union Square Farmer’s Market. 
I love it, but sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming for me and getting all of my treasures home on the train is less than ideal.  
So,  I opt for a smaller, more familiar Farmer’s Market closer to home.

This market may not offer the variety and sheer volume of vendors that the Union Square market does,  but it suits me just fine. 

There is one particular vendor there that I make a bee-line for as soon as I step into market territory.  They make some of the best bread, cookies, pies and knishes I have ever had.  Their chocolate chip cookie makes my eyes roll back in my head.  The bread is crusty on the outside and soft and tender inside and the pies taste like they have a Midwestern grandma in the kitchen. But what I really go there for are the knishes.
(oh the knishes…)

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: farmer's market, knish

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Hi there and thanks for stopping by!  I'm Cheryl, Chef by day and Blogger by night!

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