Purchases today from the Asbury Sunset Farmers Market. 9/23/17. Blogfinger photo in Ocean Grove. 

By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, editors @Blogfinger.net

Despite the autumn date, the farmers at the Sunset Saturday morning market had a lot of merchandise. I knew exactly what to get.  If Eileen had been there she would have studied everything and bought 2-3 times as much.

From the Paterson Italian baker I chose the Sicilian twist.  This bread was $4.00 and well worth it.  The crunchy crust was bejeweled with baked sesame seeds. It is guaranteed that about 10% of them will wind up between your teeth; but who cares?  The interior is soft and chewy.  Never use a knife on this.  Do like the Sicilians and rip off a hunk and then dip it into extra virgin olive oil.

There is a dealer there who has wonderful olive oil from his family’s farm in Calabria, which is the toe of the Italy boot. Some of his oils are flavored with garlic, but Eileen prefers the plain. Sometimes his girlfriend takes my money, and that is a bonus.  I’ve always found the name “extra-virgin” to be  provocative. It has a technical definition, but I prefer to use my imagination.

On the right is a stromboli made by the Paterson baker. It has mozzarella cheese and fried eggplant inside. On the outside is pastry dough. You put it into the oven to melt the cheese, and it is delicious. He also bakes them with sausage and a few other ingredients. I like to imagine myself with Sicilians sitting around in a vineyard, sipping Chianti while muching on stromboli. But my hopes were dashed when I read this in Wikipedia:

“Stromboli was invented in the United States in the 1950s.  It was named after the Italian film  Stromboli.   A stromboli is somewhat similar to a calzone.”

And, as you can see, the Jersey tomatoes still exist, and the prices are starting to drop.  This is a great time to buy in quantity to make sauces, soups, stews—–and for canning.

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI WITH THE THEATER ORCHESTRA OF BOLOGNA:  “‘A vucchella.”