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Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market - 20th St. & Massachusetts Avenue NW


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From this week's Freshfarm email

I've known this was coming for a few months now and cannot wait to hear (and hopefully taste) what you bakers come up with using Robb's products. Talk to him about his beer too, I'm not a connoisseur but he makes a damn good brew.

Bought a 4 lb. bag ($10) of the whole wheat flour from the Moutoux Orchard guys. Tonight I decided to do a comparison of it and the King Arthur whole wheat and see if there was any difference in taste and to see how it baked. I used the biscuit recipe (see below) that the Moutoux guys were passing out. As you will notice from the recipe these are more like savory scones than a biscuit.

The Moutoux flour has much larger flakes of bran than the King Arthur. For no apparent reason I mixed the KA version first. When I mixed the Moutoux flour I needed to add more flour to get the same consistency as the KA version. The directions do not note the final consistency, but the KA version looked to be what I would expect for this type of dough. I used the optional oil in both versions, opting for basic veg so as to not contribute much, if any flavor. I baked them side by side and they turned out nicely. They both rose slightly during baking and had a nice tight crumb (think scone as there were no flakes here). The KA had a smoother mouth feel most likely due to the bran was ground much more finely. The both tasted fairly pretty similar, although the Moutoux was slightly nuttier (bran factor again?).

The only thing that I would do next time is to add a little more (1/4 t) salt. Anyone else give it a try yet?

Moutoux's home-grown Whole Wheat biscuits

2 c whole wheat flour

2 t baking powder

3/4 t sea salt

1 egg, beaten

2 T melted butter or oil (optional)

3/4 to 1 c milk

Oven 400F

Mix dry together

Mix wet together

Put wet into dry and mix

Drop from a spoon onto a greased baking sheet

Bake 10-12 minutes

Makes 9 biscuits

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Thanks for the report, mdt! I'd be interested in seeing how the flour works with one of the breads from Peter Reinhart's book on baking w whole grains.

Believe or not I actually don't have that book...must...visit...Amazon.com...

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Just met Heintz of Next Step today for the first time. He has long curley hair, a beard and wears Hawaiian shirts... must be a sagacious fellow! Anyways, in desparate need of heirlooms, I got 60 pounds of his mixed mostly reddish ones: Brandywines, cherokee Purple, a few stripped, lots of small red zebras and more. As Iwent they them back at the restaurant,the smell was driving me wild!

Also got some nice golden Jubilees and greez zebras from New Morning, also nice but not as wow factor as Heintz' stuff. I am going to be glad to get ot know him better and do more business with him. But he says that for the next couple of weeks he should be awash in heirlooms so I would make a trip. Anyone know what the hell caloo is? Some sort of green but I have never heard of it.

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Just met Heintz of Next Step today for the first time...Anyways, in desparate need of heirlooms, I got 60 pounds of his...

My favorite of his are yellow Italian plum tomatoes which should arrive in September. Should you return to this market, head across the "aisle" to Tree & Leaf, too. (In Silver Spring, Spiral Path is pricier, but the farm is also known for its tomatoes.)
Anyone know what the hell caloo is? Some sort of green but I have never heard of it.
You'd probably find earlier and even recent discussions of callaloo, the Jamaican name for amaranth which is also sold at Asian grocers (hence the alternative name of Chinese spinach). When a heavy rain isn't followed by a bug picnic and bleaching heat, it's one of the most beautiful greens around: leaves shaped like Valentines with bleeding-heart cores. Never much cared for the seeds you buy in bulk at WFM as a grain since they are so tiny and not worth cooking on their own, but the greens are so rich in protein (more than any other leafy vegetable) and other nutrients that international development folk call them a "miracle food".
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Heads up: Next week, representatives from Epicurious will be at market to meet and greet and hand out free stuff.

I'll be sure to wear a shirt that has ads printed all over it. Can anyone think of a way to emulate pop-up ads in an actual physical setting? Hey, keep those Viagra comments to yourself!

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I'll be sure to wear a shirt that has ads printed all over it. Can anyone think of a way to emulate pop-up ads in an actual physical setting? Hey, keep those Viagra comments to yourself!

Perhaps you should rifle through the stuff in the back of your closet and find one of those shopping bags w retro graphics of coffee, potatoes, etc. that Whole Foods Markets used to sell for a buck after the first give-away. I seem to recall the pretty yellow and green one with lemons was the most popular with shoppers at Dupont Circle. I forget, but did it say "Whole Foods" anywhere on either side? :rolleyes:
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Two of those bell peppers, red

2 small patty pan squash

1 tiny zucchini

Small paper bag of red and green okra, also small

1 enormous white bulb of an onion

Arugula that already started to yellow in the sun despite being tucked under a table in the shade, hot as it was

Chives

Italian parsley

Celery (new this year to New Morning Farm, introduced last week, but in greater abundance)

4 Nicola potatoes

2 ears corn

Pint Sun gold tomatoes

2 small Brandywines

1 small Purple Cherokee

Stony Man cheese

Quart of Keswick's yogurt

French-cut chicken breast

Italian sausage

Tiny yellow watermelon

Even smaller French Savour melon (Quaker Valley which sold out of sweet, fragrant Israeli melons early)

Green grapes

Red grapes

Red raspberries

Blackberries

4 yellow peaches

Figs (Next-Step Produce--go early next week if you want some, too)

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Like AB, I also bought Stony Man cheese

Gorgeous red and yellow tomatoes from Quaker Valley-by FAR the best tomatoes of this season (and the price was $2.50 a pound-pretty cheap for markets)

Made a salad out of the two-dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette

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Two pleasant surprises today at Eli's stand: freshly picked, little Kirby cukes, which are already beginning to ferment in a jar with salt, garlic and dill. And fresh shell beans, which the farmstand calls bird's egg beans but which I call cranberry beans or borlotti. The ones I usually find at Super H have firm, nice beans inside of decrepit pods, but these beauties had fresh, crisp pods and were a pleasure to shuck. The beans are currently stewing with aromatics and olive oil.

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First time at the Dupont Market for me yesterday, and I couldn't believe how jammed it was. I've started working for Heinz over at Next Step Produce, and the lines of people filing in to buy fruits and vegetables went on forever. Particularly awesome yesterday were the sun gold tomatoes, which had to be outselling their plain red brethren by at least 3 to 1 (which isn't surprising since if you ate them with your eyes closed you might think they were candy) and the first batch of fresh ginger which you could smell from about 10 feet away.

Now I'll be spending the rest of my week working on recipes to tackle all this produce I've got, half of which I've never even seen, let alone cooked with.

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First time at the Dupont Market for me yesterday, and I couldn't believe how jammed it was. I've started working for Heinz over at Next Step Produce, and the lines of people filing in to buy fruits and vegetables went on forever. Particularly awesome yesterday were the sun gold tomatoes, which had to be outselling their plain red brethren by at least 3 to 1 (which isn't surprising since if you ate them with your eyes closed you might think they were candy) and the first batch of fresh ginger which you could smell from about 10 feet away.

Now I'll be spending the rest of my week working on recipes to tackle all this produce I've got, half of which I've never even seen, let alone cooked with.

That's the fun of Heinz's stand-you learn something new just about every time you visit!

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First time at the Dupont Market for me yesterday, and I couldn't believe how jammed it was. I've started working for Heinz over at Next Step Produce, and the lines of people filing in to buy fruits and vegetables went on forever. Particularly awesome yesterday were the sun gold tomatoes, which had to be outselling their plain red brethren by at least 3 to 1 (which isn't surprising since if you ate them with your eyes closed you might think they were candy) and the first batch of fresh ginger which you could smell from about 10 feet away.

Now I'll be spending the rest of my week working on recipes to tackle all this produce I've got, half of which I've never even seen, let alone cooked with.

that ginger was lovely, wasn't it? if you didn't get any this week, you might want to try the sweet potato vines he has (they're also available at asian supermarkets). i think those were my favorite discovery at Heinz's--i've used them in stirfries and just cooked briefly with garlic and red pepper flakes. great both ways.

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I will second the sweet potatoe vines. Brillian with a texture softer than that of pea vines but a similar sweetness. I am about to put up a batch of fresh ginger mostarda, Heinz also ahs an old fashioned new yellow fleshed potato (ie with the papery peeling away skin instead of the smooth things that modern food science has brought us) that looked incredible. I have an absolutely decadent idea for them!!! And his hard neck garlic is OMFG ***** see below

The good news is that most of the tomato folk I spoke with seem to think that the season was only slowed and not ended by the cool & rain of last week. While there wasnt much this week, most felt that next week would bring a good supply.

Toigo had some of the best white peaches if the year. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

There was a guy across from Heinz and Mark who had really nice selection of heirlooms but I ran out of time before I could get to him and talk/taste/buy.

*****(Oh my!!! Fine garlic.... what were you thinking?!?!?)

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That is Zach Lester, of Tree and Leaf Farm in Loudon County.

That's it! I couldn't remember the name for the life of me.

Senility has its up and down. I woke up next to some hot lady this morning whose name and face I don't ever remember seeing. She claims we ahve been married for over 20 years but thats just her story! :rolleyes:

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That is Zach Lester, of Tree and Leaf Farm in Loudon County.

If you get to the market early, his family--and Katherine--'s stand is a good place to eye first for heirloom slicers. Their Debaro (name?) red plum tomatoes are glorious, too, and my choice this week along their yellow pear tomatoes and my precious yellow plum tomatoes from Heinz.

Speaking of Zach and Tree & Leaf, he said something big in farm policy was going down at his place today. So, naturally I checked Obamafoodarama and sure enough... (Blog entry for Monday, September 14, 2009 entitled "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food".)

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that ginger was lovely, wasn't it?

The ginger really is fantastic. I blanched the pole beans I got from Heinz' stand and then sauteed them in light olive oil, garlic, the ginger, and a touch of soy sauce, and it was delicious. I've yet to try the sweet potato greens, but considering how many people I've seen walk in and get excited over them, I think I'll have to next week. New at the stand this weekend were arugula and a mesclun mix; the arugula looks (and smells) awesome, and I managed to snag a bag, along with a whole ton of other odds and ends. Plus I stocked up on that garlic Dean mentioned...

his hard neck garlic is OMFG

It really is superior in every way to what you find at the grocery store.

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Speaking of Zach and Tree & Leaf, he said something big in farm policy was going down at his place today. So, naturally I checked Obamafoodarama and sure enough... (Blog entry for Monday, September 14, 2009 entitled "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food".)

Hmm. I wonder if the article I wrote about Zach in the current issue of Flavor Magazine, the one with the White House garden on the cover, is what got him this big-deal meeting with a Federal official...
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There were a few unexpected treats today at the market....

Toigo still had white peaches. While Mark assured me tha this is absolutely the last of season.....

The big stand, whose name I forgot, at southwest corner of the market at the corner of 20th and Mass {from West Virginia} had amazing peppers of many colors as well as the best smelling parsley I have seen in a long while.

Heintz has his fresh ginger and if you have never had it, you are missing out. We are making huge batches of ginger mostarda but any kind of ginger marmelade would be wonderful.. It has a sweetness and a fresh hotness you just dont get with aged and cured ginger. Heintz says that this is the first year the crop will be profitable for him. It starts out in ahot house and he sometimes only gets 60% germination. Yikes!! His corno di Toro peppers and antoher variety that looks identical but is yellow are the best sweet peppers you will ever have. They look like long green hot peppers: hatch and ortega canned peppers come to mind but fresh anaheim are similar looking. But these are sweet as sugar, low moisture content so when you grill them to blister the skin they juice off less than other reds, and they have the slightest hint of heat. Sooooooo good and this week they were mine! All mine!! I took all he had. HIs yellow peppers are sweet as sugar with a more interesting flavor than the ones I was getting from Tuscarora. But please forget I said anything nice about his peppers as his production has peaked and I may not get any next wek if you starving hoards descend next week. Also more of thos amazing german gold potatoes whise name I keep forgetting. thse are the best gold style potato I have ever had. Yum. I wonder how they might be fried in duck fat, covered with a little grated asiago & fontina, then speck and finally sprinkled with a little cren {northern Veneto style horseraddish}. Hmmmm maybe I will find out tomorrow.

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Another Sunday at the Dupont market, and I walked away with a loaf of Atwater's Struan, a dozen eggs from Ecofriendly, and a ton of produce from Next Step Produce, as usual. Also snagged a sweet, corn based muffin from Everona Dairy, which was delicious.

The choice of eggs was a whim -- anybody have some insight as to how Ecofriendly's eggs stack up against the others at market, and which producer's they prefer?

Heinz had a couple of new things at market today that were all really tempting, including Paprika (the peppers, not the spice they're turned into), Swiss Chard, Radishes, Lettuce Mix, and much more Arugula and Mesclun than last week.

Also more of thos amazing german gold potatoes whise name I keep forgetting. thse are the best gold style potato I have ever had. Yum. I wonder how they might be fried in duck fat, covered with a little grated asiago & fontina, then speck and finally sprinkled with a little cren {northern Veneto style horseraddish}. Hmmmm maybe I will find out tomorrow.

They're Nicola potatoes, and oddly enough, while what you intend to do with them sounds terrible unhealthy (yet fantastic - I want some) they supposedly are one of the few potato varieties with actual nutritional value:

"If you want to eat potatoes and avoid high blood sugar, look for Nicola and Rosamunda. . . Nicola has a glycemic index rating of 58, making it healthy to eat . . . and [was] found to have the highest levels of phenolic acids. . . Phenols are aromatic compounds that have powerful antiseptic and antibacterial properties, which may discourage the growth of cancer" (about.com)

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And me just buying them because they are incredibly delicious!!!

According to Arienne Daughin of d'Artagnan, a neutral source if ever I have heard of one, duck fat is nature's version of Lipitor! And speck being a long aged meat has loads of autolized fats which seem not to have the issues associated with uncured meats. I mean this dish could positively going to add years to your life expectancy ****

****Disclaimer.... the claims made in this statement are a joke, thus have not been validated by third party testing nor are they intended as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor and the department of homeland security before enganging in any investments regarding food, dishes contaiing speck or any cured meats. Past performance is no indication of future performance. Obeject in this rear view mirror may be larger than they appear. Don't look back, something may be gaining on you.

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There were a few unexpected treats today at the market....

I was there twice today, because I left behind two bags of fruit (peaches and pears) that I had paid for, at the Toigo stand this morning. I found myself at Heinz's stand buying some last minute goodies that I missed on my earlier visit. And there was Dean on one side of the counter, and Heinz on the other and between the two of them, with their brown bushy beards and long wavy hair, I couldn't decide who was the original, and who was the doppelganger. They were even wearing Hawaiian shirts with similar prints in different colors. :rolleyes:
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duck fat is nature's version of Lipitor! . . . I mean this dish could positively going to add years to your life expectancy ****

Past performance is no indication of future performance. Obeject in this rear view mirror may be larger than they appear. Don't look back, something may be gaining on you.

Hahaha. Sign me up for an order immediately; between the duck fat, the cured meat, and the dual cheeses, I think you've hit on the basis for a revolutionary new diet.

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Where is Heinz's stand located at the Dupont Market?

He is next to Toigo on hte shorter row to the east. I htink he is about the 4th on the left coming from Mass. Next Step Produce. Just look for the uncommonly handsome guy with long wild hair and a bushy beard. He could be my twin! If I had brown hair. And if I was German...

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Forgive me for being lazy about not quoting any of the relevant 10-16 posts that precede this, but those Nicola potatoes are my absolute favorite, too! And you know, in José Andres' first cookbook, the chapter on tapas featuring potatoes starts with a photo of that wild, bushy-haired guy and his precious hoards. There's another called Carola that's quite good, but the Nicola... Next time you're thinking of mostarda, let him know you anxiously await his Italian cardoons. :rolleyes:

I've had success crystalizing that ginger.

As for the amazing peppers, the SW corner has The Smoking Farmers: Jim Huet (Hewet?) and Joe of Sunnyside. Jim's another wildly bearded (white) type and something of a mentor to Eli Cook, NE of him at the top of 20th (Spring Valley of WV; red tents), also with piles of pretty peppers. They both do a number of markets in the area.

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So you think knowing from bernaise means you know how to cook?

Earlier sunsets and crispening air got you in the mood for academic pursuits?

You might then be interested in the Chef at Market event scheduled for 11 am this Sunday when Susan Pinkard demonstrates a recipe related to her book, A Revolution In Taste. The Rise of French Cuisine, 1650-1800 (link provides review in NYT). She'll be there earlier signing said tome.

* * *

Take a moment to participate in survey of shoppers while you're at it.

And if you want figs, shop early!!

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Anyone else try Monica Bhide's Brussels sprouts? Using a recipe from her new book, Modern Spice, she cooked them w leeks and curry leaves and they were remarkable.

I love the vegetable hashed, garlicky and studded with poppy seeds (Union Square Café), sautéed w bacon or pancetta, or steamed with carrots, then seasoned w a lemony horseradish butter and dill (Moosewood; better than it sounds). Now I have a new favorite! Next week I plan to pick up some lamb or roasting bird to accompany this dish since the leeks and stalks of Brussels sprouts fill the market. Just need to find an Indian store for the curry leaves.

Dean Gold has become a regular at Next Step Produce.

No paw-paws, but given the number of inquiries, Country Pleasures might try foraging again this week. No guarantees.

This Sunday brought the last of the peaches. Raspberries from two farms, also, probably the last, and we'll just have to cross fingers about tomatoes since temperatures are dipping really low in Southern Pennsylvania.

Quaker Valley still had its grapes. Next Step had one box of figs and more of its Asian mulberries and tiny kiwi fruit that remind me of hairless cats given their smooth skins (green vs. pink). The days of apples and pears and pears and apples and apples and pears draw near.

No more duck eggs at Waterview. Fowl not cooperating.

Miniature chestnuts* were about the only new thing I saw this weekend, though varieties of winter squash increase each Sunday and greens arrive with bigger leaves and the darker, serious hues that epic heroes encounter deep within medieval forests when they have lost their way.

*Quaker Valley, Toigo. Country Pleasures and Black Rock Orchards usually sell them in autumn. too.

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Quaker Valley still had its grapes...The days of apples and pears and pears and apples and apples and pears draw near.

I'm pretty sure that I picked up some amazing (and huge!) honeycrisp apples from Quaker Valley last week at the Foggy Bottom Farmers Market. They're so-o-o delicious. Am now on the hunt for good pears.

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could not find walnuts yesterday, and it seems like they only arrived the week before. maybe it wasn't a good year for walnuts. maybe it's not too late to go into the forest and scrounge up a sack of wild black walnuts, but they are more work shucking than i can afford right now, plus when you bring them into your home the little white worms escape from the bag and fan out along the wall, whistling, if you listen hard enough.

this is the time to load up on quince. we use them as a kitchen perfume.

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I saw a few stalks of Brussels sprouts yesterday but rather scrawny ones. They should be out in abundance next week. If you do buy them complete, as you should, the stalks are the best part. Peel them deeply removing all hard fibrous parts and then dice them.

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could not find walnuts yesterday, and it seems like they only arrived the week before. maybe it wasn't a good year for walnuts. maybe it's not too late to go into the forest and scrounge up a sack of wild black walnuts, but they are more work shucking than i can afford right now, plus when you bring them into your home the little white worms escape from the bag and fan out along the wall, whistling, if you listen hard enough.

If you go into the forest and find a black walnut tree, and they are fairly abundant in this area, you will look in vain for the tough little brown nuts that you think of when you are thinking about walnuts. Instead, you will find round greenish balls, from golf ball to tennis ball sized laying under and falling from the tree. These tenacious green outer coverings must first be removed before you can get to the nut inside and then the arduous task of cracking them and removing the bits of nutmeat inside the shell. With a considerable amount of effort, the outer coverings can be smashed with a flat rock, but beware--the juice that splashes and gets all over your hands and clothes leaves a powerful brown stain on everything it touches, including skin--used by native Americans and early settlers alike as a brown dye for woven fabric and wool. Black walnuts are very labor intensive right from the gathering, which is why they are so expensive at the farmers market when you can find them.
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could not find walnuts yesterday

Ask someone at the Market Information table whenever you find yourself on an unrequited quest.

Gardener's Gourmet, Country Pleasures and Black Rock Orchard are the three places I recall seeing them, though I didn't do much shopping yesterday.

The only new arrival that caught my eye were the gorgeous Gold Rush apples at Twin Springs; Farm @ Sunnyside has been the only other place you could find them (organic) so far this year.

Spring Valley had Brussels sprouts, picked, in little boxes while there were stalks at New Morning and Tree & Leaf, both organic. Not sure if there other sources. Farm at Sunnyside brought theirs earlier than anyone else this season and sold out of that first planting several weeks ago. Good to know about the stalks.

As for quince, get them while you can! RJ Cooper threatened to buy up Toigo's entire stock and I have to say this year's fruit are stunning. Mark Toigo says he just roasted Cornish hens w quince this past week and the meal was damn good.

FYI, Winn of Quaker Valley (who Waitman dressed up as for the day after Halloween) brought tiny, green bananas to market, though not for sale.

Everyone, do your Anti-Rain Dance, especially on the behalf of farms along Maryland's Eastern Shore.

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Am now on the hunt for good pears.
Magness are my favorite; hard to find since this does not seem to have been a good year for them. This year's black seems to be Seckel pears--at least the small variety has become more common than in the recent past. If you're into bigger fruit, Comice have also returned in quantities that should grow in the next couple of weeks.

Though I generally prefer to eat soft, ripe pears, I haven't been drawn to Bartletts this year. Probably all those Asian apple-pears have gotten me to appreciate crisp, grainy raw fruit since I ended up snacking on wonderful, juicy Bosc pears purchased with the intention of roasting them.

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Magness are my favorite; hard to find since this does not seem to have been a good year for them. This year's black seems to be Seckel pears--at least the small variety has become more common than in the recent past. If you're into bigger fruit, Comice have also returned in quantities that should grow in the next couple of weeks.

Though I generally prefer to eat soft, ripe pears, I haven't been drawn to Bartletts this year. Probably all those Asian apple-pears have gotten me to appreciate crisp, grainy raw fruit since I ended up snacking on wonderful, juicy Bosc pears purchased with the intention of roasting them.

Thanks so much for the pear advice, Anna! I'm not sure if I've eaten Magness pears before. I especially Comice and Bosc pears. Bartletts are just OK, not exciting. I've tried some Asian pears that I like. Not sure which varieties. I also prefer to eat slightly soft, ripe pears. I sometimes have trouble selecting them unless I eat them right away. I'm also trying to make up some fruit and cheese plates. For that, the pears have to be on the crisp side. Thanks again. :(

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...this is the time to load up on quince. we use them as a kitchen perfume.

*heart heart* the quince.

Cubed, they also make a cheery and flavorful addition to hot mulled cider. Make sure they hang out in the hot liquid plenty of time to cook thoroughly. Throw in a few whole cranberries, too, for bright contrast and festive factor.

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