How could we be here already, at the unofficial last gasp of summer? But we are, and the good news is that temperatures are only expected to be in the mid-70s tomorrow and Sunday, which will be quite a shock to all our overheated systems (makes me start thinking about pulling things hot out of the oven again -- no, it's just too early for that).
We need a weekend that's full of grilling and celebrations of our glorious summer produce bounty, so let's get going with tonight. With boneless skinless chicken breasts just $1.77 a pound at Sprouts ($1.99 at Sunflower), we'll head out to the grill to do one of my favorites for this time of year, grilled chicken and ratatouille from Bon Appetit. You can shop almost all the ratatouille ingredients from the "local" signs at the Pearl Street Whole Foods, where organic zucchini is only $1.49 a pound right now (and yesterday was identified as being from Full Circle Farms, one of my favorites).
We'll head back to the grill tomorrow, since I'm thinking about some of the steaks that are on sale, either the boneless New York steak that's $5.99 a pound at Sprouts, or the bone-in ribeye that's $7.99 a pound at Sunflower. Last month's special grilling issue of Bon Appetit included a guide to grilling the perfect steak, and the simplicity of salt-and-pepper rib eye (okay, so is ribeye one word or two?) really appeals to me. For a side, I'm hoping that Cure Organic Farm will have more of their spectacular purple potatoes at tomorrow's Boulder Farmers' Market, or at their farm store at 75th and Valmont. I bought some last week, expecting them to be purple only on the skin, but found them to be a vivid purple through and through - they make positively stunning mashed potatoes (I have to get into photography). For a veggie, I've been so focused on Munson's corn recently, I've been neglecting the current bounty of green beans, so here's a compromise that includes both: green bean succotash from Bon Appetit.
By Sunday, we'll need a break from the grill, and also something big to serve as an easy midweek reheat. Corn chowder sounds good to me under any circumstances, but especially with temperatures back down into the 70s, so we'll try a new recipe from Cooking Light, bacon-corn chowder with shrimp. Sunflower has raw ez peel shrimp (31/40 count) on sale for $6.99 a pound, and the corn of course has to be Munson's. For the bacon, my choice is always the house-smoked variety offered by the slice at both Alfalfa's and Whole Foods.
For Monday, Labor Day proper, we'll of course have to get back out on the grill. We've already had grilled chicken and beef so far this weekend, so it will be time to grill some fish. Sprouts has fresh coho for $8.99 a pound, but this late in the salmon season, I'm frankly burned out on it, so I'm going to spring for some fresh swordfish. I've had excellent luck with the swordfish at Alfalfa's, which I've usually found at $16.49 a pound, a little lower than Whole Foods' usual sale price. I was talking with the fish guy at Alfalfa's a couple of days ago and was surprised to learn that, while their fish vendor is based in Boston, their swordfish comes from Hawaii, which he said is the only source of really sustainably-caught swordfish. This makes me feel guilty when I think of all the wonderfully fresh, right-off-the-boat swordfish I've eaten on New England coasts, quite the dilemma. A delicious but non-intrusive side for the delicate fish would be shaved zucchini salad with parmesan pine nuts from Bon Appetit. Our zucchini is always organic anyway, but for serving it raw as in this salad, I'd say that's mandatory ($1.49 a pound on sale at Whole Foods, and Alfalfa's organic produce prices always seem pretty good.)
Looks like a good Labor Day weekend coming up - hope yours is a great one!
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