Hastings Outdoor Market Returns...Sort Of

The Hastings market had its first outdoor showing earlier this month. Despite the cool temperatures, the flowers were out in full force.

I had the chance to visit old favorites (Breezy Hill had my favorite Honey Crisps, Chutney Masala was out) and find some new favs. First up was Big Girl Baking, whose table was literally groaning under the variety of treats.

I am usually hesitant to buy baked goods at the market...unless I can sample first, and Big Girl was really generous on the samples. So of course I picked up a loaf of olive oil tea cake (after reading a lovely recipe in the New York Times for lemon olive oil cake, I actually went out and bought all the ingredients to make it, but had been too lazy to turn on the oven). Next up was Hudson Milk Company. I am usually a non-fat Greek Yogurt person, but their yogurt from Maple Hill Creamery has made me a convert. Their flavored, whole milk yogurts are just sweet enough and so much better than any run-of-the-mill grocery store variety. I bought the lemon, and it did not disappoint. And then how could I pass up the cute offerings from Honey Locust? I snagged a bunch of young carrots for $1.50 and scallions for $1.00.

The April market got me super excited for Hastings' official outdoor season, but sadly, it does not begin until the beginning of June! But the market continues to pop up monthly, with the next date slated for May 8.

Carrot Soup with Yogurt

Using the carrots from Honey Locust and the lemon cream yogurt from Maple Hill, I did a lazy riff on the recipe for Moroccan carrot soup that was published in the April issue of Bon Appétit. By lazy, I mean I used ground cumin (rather than cumin seeds) and lemon flavored yogurt (in place of yogurt and lemon juice). Luckily, it’s hard to screw up soup! This only made 1.5 cups of soup so, for a larger batch, adjust the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients 1 t. Butter 1 Large shallot, finely chopped 4 oz. Carrots, peeled, cut into thin coins 1.5 c. Chicken broth 1 t. Cumin 1 t. Honey .25 c. (Non-sweetened) Lemon yogurt Salt and pepper Method Melt butter in small saucepan, add shallot and sauté for two minutes Add carrots, cumin and broth; bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer until tender Add honey and then puree soup using immersion blender, or in batches in standard blender, until smooth Before serving, drizzle yogurt over the soup and sprinkle with additional cumin