As much as I love the laid back energy of July and August, I usually get this giddy vibe when back-to-school season hits. Obviously, I’m not actually heading back to class. But even for us childless adults, September brings us back to some reality of sorts.
Weirdly, this summer was crazy busy, so I’m not exactly craving the city workweek crush in the same was as I was in past summers. I am looking forward to sticking around for weeks on end though and getting back into some sort of cooking rhythm.
Though I definitely beasted a good amount of Farmer’s Market produce this summer, I didn’t necessarily keep up with my weekend ritual of making meals for the week ahead. I’m going to try and be better about that as I turn the corner into the final stretch of book writing (AH!). Hopefully, having a few quinoa salads in the fridge will make me less likely to stick my head in the oven.
This week I’m sharing some back-to-school Farmer’s Market inspiration from the lovely Anna Watson Carl of The Yellow Table.
I met Anna last fall at this blogger dinner, and we’ve shared some amazing meals and conversation since. I am honestly so in awe of this lady and all she’s accomplished in recent months. Last year, Anna launched her blog series The Cookbook Diaries, which chronicled her 100 day adventure in creating, shooting, designing, and publishing her own cookbook.
When I was trying to think through how I wanted to bring you in on my journey with the wellness project, Anna’s site was a huge source of inspiration. And now, a year later, her cookbook was bought by a big deal publisher and hit stores nationwide last week!
If you don’t have a copy already, you can order one here or keep your eyes peeled for the beautiful yellow cover wherever books are sold.
As a tasty little preview, Anna has shared some of her elegant veg-centric recipes below (and cute tips in brackets!). As with all the Farmer’s Market Challenge menus, these dishes are great to make ahead, which means they’re particularly good for packing your back-to-school brown bag. I have my eye on those Apricot Chicken Thighs…
Stay tuned for more yummy ways to use your fall Farmer’s Market produce and enjoy the dishes all week long!
Xo
Phoebe
p.s. Check out some of the other inspiration from this series here.
1. Apricot Dijon Chicken Thighs with Couscous & Roasted Broccoli (easy dinner and keeps for days + chicken thighs are cheap!)
2. Lemony Pesto Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Haricots Verts (it’s delicious eaten hot, cold, or room temp and keeps great in the fridge)
3. Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables (I love making a batch of this and eating for lunch for days)
4. Sprouted Grain Wraps with Hummus & Salad (pre-prep the hummus and salad stuff and make wraps for dinner or lunch)
5. Grilled Portabello Mushrooms Salad with Mixed Greens & Roasted Peppers (great for dinner or lunch, and perfect at room temperature!)
Food photos by Signe Birck (with the exception of the pesto spaghetti – by Brandon Carl) and photo of Anna, by Nate Poekert.
I desperately need to get better about using the weekend to plan for the week ahead…I hate the feeling of scrambling all week.
These meals all look delicious. Anna’s book arrived on Sunday — yay for Amazon joining forces with the post office! — and I have been pouring though it. Such a good one.
xoxo
yay! I’m so glad you are enjoying the book! I imagine planning ahead with 6 people at the table every night is crazy!! And you’re lucky to at least have 1,453,565 fresh loaves of bread lying around at all times 🙂 xoxo
Phoebe! This is so awesome!! Thanks so much for featuring me on your blog 🙂 I am so honored, and I love the idea of saving money by shopping at the Farmer’s Market. Love this series! And love you 🙂 xoxo
Ah – everyone is so lucky to have your beautiful recipes as inspiration! thank you for sharing with us!
Thank you for sharing The Yellow Table with us dear Phoebe!
Anna has some great points at the post with the Portobello salad, doesn’t she?
Unfortunately for all of us, the summer is near its end. BUT; that being said, the Fall and the Winter have some wonderful veggies which we missed!:)
So the farmers markets will continue being full of color and taste:)
The only hard part is that we have to start organizing our lives again for the urban winter season:/ The good news is that just like you and Charlie we’ll be living together in this Fall (we started looking out for a new place), so even though it’ll be a bit tiring it’ll also be a very happy Fall, with a new place, new ideas…and a new kitchen:)
Hugs,
Panos and Mirella
xoxoxo
I’m so glad you took the time to read her work! She’s a beautiful writer and I always identify so much with her words. Plus, the food is fabulous! Good luck with the move – it’s all very exciting! xo