The Farmers Market is My Meal Plan
SUMMER!! | Week 25 Snackagories
Summer food isn’t about having a plan. It’s about paying attention.
Today is the Summer Solstice, and in a few hours I’ll be wandering through the Kenmore Farmers Market with my mom, filling a tote bag with whatever catches my eye.
The best thing about farmers markets is that they tell you what to cook.
Yet a lot of people approach the farmers market backwards.
They arrive with a recipe, a shopping list, and a mission to track down every ingredient.
I think that’s the worst way to shop.
Last Sunday at Snack Attack, I tried to drill home a different idea: don’t build your shopping list around recipes. Build it around ingredients.
Take garlic scapes, for example.
If I find a bunch at the market today, I’m not immediately thinking, What garlic scape recipe should I make?
I’m thinking:
How many ways can I use this one ingredient?
Maybe they become garlic scape butter for toast and grilled vegetables.
Maybe they’re blended into a dip.
Maybe they get tossed into pasta.
Maybe they’re folded into turkey meatballs.
One ingredient. Four different ways to eat.
That’s the beauty of seasonal cooking.
The market does the hard work for you.
The farmers market is my meal plan.
Instead of standing in your kitchen asking, What should I make this week? you can ask, What’s growing right now?
The answer is usually more interesting.
I think that’s why I love summer so much.
Summer asks us to pay attention.
To what’s growing.
To what’s in season.
To the people sitting across from us.
To the life we’re already living.
I’m excited to continue leaning into everything this season brings. I’m slowing down, prioritizing my plants, and embracing “no” as a complete sentence. Just because the days are longer doesn’t mean I need to optimize every minute of them.
Today is also Father’s Day, and I couldn’t write without acknowledging it.
Father’s Day can feel complicated for a lot of people, myself included, so I’ll simply say this: to the dads showing up, loving well, and teaching us how to care for other people, thank you.
This Week’s Snackagories
Built around the abundance of the season and everything I’m hoping to find at the farmers market right now.
🥣 Savory Dip / Spread
Garlic Scape Butter + Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
The first bunch of garlic scapes always feels like the unofficial start of summer. Their mild garlic flavor adds so much punch without overpowering everything else.
Garlic Scape Butter
1 stick salted butter, softened
3 garlic scapes, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch flaky salt
Perfect on toast, grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, or melted over roasted potatoes.
Throwing a bonus recipe in here today; because my Husband is addicted to Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing and today’s plan includes prepping a fresh batch.
Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt + pepper
Shake and drizzle over greens, berries, or grain salad bowls.
Niknack Tip:
Whenever you buy fresh herbs, garlic scapes, or green onions, think beyond one recipe. Compound butters, dressings, dips, and sauces stretch seasonal ingredients all week long.
🍞 Grab + Go Pantry Snack
Blueberry Almond Lemon Loaf
Peak blueberry season is right around the corner, and this loaf feels like summer mornings in snack form. It also gives me something to look forward to as I start my work day.
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
½ cup oat flour
2 eggs, whisked
⅓ cup maple syrup
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries
Sliced almonds
Slice and freeze individual portions for easy breakfasts, afternoon snacks, or farmers market fuel.
🥕 Fresh Produce
Sugar Snap Peas
If you see snap peas at the market, grab them.
They’re sweet, crunchy, require almost no prep, and somehow make every meal feel fresher.
How I’m Using Them
Raw with dip
Chopped into salads
Tossed into pasta
Quick sauté with garlic scape butter
Added to grain bowls
Niknack Tip:
Wash, trim, and store snap peas as soon as you get home. If they’re ready to eat, you’ll actually eat them.
🍫 Sweet Tooth Snack
Chocolate Cherry Brownies
Fresh cherries are one of summer’s greatest gifts, and they deserve more than being eaten standing over the sink (although that’s encouraged too).
These brownies combine rich chocolate flavor with juicy cherries for the perfect seasonal dessert.
Ingredients
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
⅓ cup maple syrup
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup oat flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup chopped fresh cherries
Pinch salt
Seasonal Fun Fact: Sweet cherries are one of the first major fruit harvests of summer in Western New York, making right now the perfect time to lean in.
🍗 Bulk Protein Source
Turkey Meatballs with Cherry Tomato Lemon Basil Sauce
A reminder that great summer meals don’t need much.
When tomatoes, basil, and lemons are doing the heavy lifting, dinner practically makes itself.
Turkey Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan
Garlic scapes or garlic
Salt + pepper
Cherry Tomato Lemon Basil Sauce
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
Garlic, minced or powder
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Handful fresh basil
Reserved pasta water
Salt + pepper
Roast the meatballs while the tomatoes blister in a skillet. Toss together with fresh pasta, or serve alongside grilled vegetables.
Meal Prep Tip:
Make a double batch of meatballs and freeze half. Future-you will be thrilled.
Summer Feels like Possibility
Not because everything changes overnight, but because the days get long enough to notice what’s already growing.
Today I’ll wander the farmers market, fill a tote bag with whatever catches my eye, and almost certainly come home with more greens than I need.
For a long time, I thought I was building toward a future version of my life.
Lately, I’m realizing I might already be living it.
Summer starts today. I’m excited to lean in.
Thanks for reading this week’s SubSnack <3
Until next time,
Niknack
