FUN WITH FALL FOODS

I am having a blast with fall foods.  Pretty much every Sunday morning, the Hubby and I head down to the Studio City Farmers Market to see what's in season.   We don't linger like lots of families with toddlers in tow, but rather are in and out before the crowds get really large.  We have our favorite vendors with whom we chitchat for a few minutes and are on our way. Delicious late-season plums Such glorious colors! Love these sweet peppers One of the delights is seeing what's coming in and saying good-bye to others until next year.  To me, summer melon season is always too short. But having the good fortune of living in So Cal means never going without wonderful produce all year long, so absolutely no complaints! I am so thrilled with my own Fuji apple tree!  The fruit is nearly ripe and plentiful due to netting and  sprinkling with ground pepper to keep everyone away!   Small but delicious (below) So what am I buying and cooking now?  Well, here's a few items that are so delicious I buy them and then think about what to do with them. The sweet peppers (shown above) became one of the ingredients in a frittata, along with onion, fennel, leftover corn on the cob, eggs and cheese.  Instructions follow below. Saute onions in butter using cast-iron skillet; add fennel, pepper & corn - cook for a few minutes; add beaten eggs (I used 9) and sprinkle with mozzarella; cook  in the oven at 375 until set (20-30 minutes)  Before cooking above; after below    I cut the frittata into wedges (below); great to pop in the microwave  for a quick and easy meal. AS for the apples, I made a delicious crisp as seen below.  I skip any type of flour in the crust in favor of a dollop of vanilla ice cream later on.  The slow-churned flavors from Dreyers are relatively low-cal and terrific. Directions: Mix the topping: 2 cups oatmeal, cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar and enough room-temp butter to moisten the dry ingredients.  Chop the apples. Spread topping over the apples and bake at 350 until the top is brown and the apples are soft.   The aroma in your house will be amazing!