Hangry in Maine

A little off topic: I have the best job in the world. I’ll make a longer post one day soon with some more details, but long story short, I work for a local recreation department and one of my handful of job titles is “50+ Club Coordinator”. Essentially, I get to plan fun and enriching trips & programs for local senior citizens. Today’s trip was a blast, and involved breakfast and a trip to the Scarborough Farmer’s Market.

I love going to local Farmers’ Markets—nothing makes me feel more like I have my shit life together than buying vegetables that still have dirt on them. Supporting local farmers and makers also always feels great, but let’s be real: I’m also here for the yummy treats and occasional shiny thing.

I’ve had a rough week, so I over indulged at breakfast and tried Apple Crisp Crepes, complete with a big ol scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel.

After that, I told myself that I would make up for it at the market, and ONLY buy veggies. Well, that was a very short lived dream.

Here is what I grabbed at the market:

• Leeks (my forever favorite ingredient)
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Shallot
• Fresh basil
• Rainbow Swiss chard
• Cheeses: labneh & marinated chèvre
• Pork & plantain empanadas
• Corn Arepas with cheese and onion
• Bread & butter pickles
• Salted honey hand pie (my willpower with anything sweet/savory is nonexistent, kinda like my jawline)
• A pesto twist bread thing
• A cute pair of earrings that look like a balloon animal dog, because balance, right?

King Henrik vs. The Pesto Bread

No farmers market haul is complete without chaos at my home. As I was staging my cute little “look at me, I’m adulting” photo of my haul, my cat, King Henrik, (he’s named after the G.G.O.A.T. Henrik Lundqvist) decided that the pesto twist bread was his. He full on tried to drag it out of the photo shoot like a sly, carb loving criminal. Don’t worry, I won the battle, but I haven’t won the war, yet.

Fun Food Facts: What Even Are Some of These Things?

One of my favorite things about farmers markets is stumbling onto foods that I have never had before (or can only pronounce with confidence after Googling them three times). So here’s a mini cheat sheet:

• Labneh – A dreamy, tangy Middle Eastern spreadable cheese made from strained yogurt. Think cream cheese, but lighter and more cultured (literally and figuratively), and with a personality.
• Chèvre – Fancy word for goat cheese. The marinated version I grabbed is creamy, herby, garlicky, and the kind of thing you’ll “sample” until you accidentally eat it all.
• Arepas – Cornmeal patties that are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and basically little golden vehicles for stuffing with cheese, meats, or beans.

What’s Next?

I’m excited to play with some of these new to me ingredients. I’m thinking:

• Swirling labneh into roasted veggie bowls or making a breakfast bowl with honey & fruit (and pretending I’m on a cooking show).
• Testing out some arepa fillings—maybe breakfast-style, maybe cheesy, maybe just toasted with some butter.
• Turning those leeks into something delicious, maybe some sourdough English muffins with leeks & bacon, or a creamy caramelized leek sauce for some pasta.

Stay tuned, because you never know if some of these will make their way into an upcoming recipe. Or a review. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be playing tug of war with my pesto twist & King Henrik.