Week 63

The Scene: With the end of June came the beginning of the real summer in Durham, as the 3-digit temperatures reminded us. We had feared the heat would keep people away, but apparently planning is more widespread than previously thought, and most folks came out earlier to beat the heat. The market peaked around 9 and dropped off steadily from 10-noon. The tent cover turned out to be a good investment, providing needed shade for vendors and product alike.

We have found our corner to be more and more popular every week, and this week were sandwiched between a stand for the Stay & Play Snack Café kickstarter and Jo Pelligra’s Spread table. A good time was had by all despite the heat, and Spread used some of our levain for sampling their wares.

The Product: We accompanied a smaller batch of our Pain au Levain with Honey Cream Tartlets and a Southwest version of the Vegan Handpies. Chef Matt was back with us this week to put together the filling, which ended up tasting like a vegan chili. The handpies sold out again, even after we upped the quantities to try to keep up with demand. Matt is enthusiastic to try out some new flavors for the filling, so keep an eye out for his take on the samosa in the next few weeks. The honey cream tartlets were similar to a chess pie (including a bit of cornmeal in the filling), and were more of a hit than expected on such a hot day. Also popular was our Iced Coffee, which finally outsold the hot stuff this week.

The Crew: We were down to bare bones this week, with AR in the kitchen and on deliveries and RML handling the stand solo for most of the morning. The full Berenbaum’s crew should be back together next week, as the season of early summer travel calms.

Our giveaway winner, Melissa T. with her daughter

Song of the week (curated by Chef Matt):

Bringing the heat