After two weeks eating way too much fried food in Wisconsin, I could NOT wait to get to the farmers market on Sunday. I have three dishes in mind for this week, and my hope was that I could find fresh figs. Success! Plus many other treats, including four adorable pumpkins to decorate my house for fall.

The tally: mushrooms, broccoli, butternut squash, basil, pumpkins, plums, a nectarine, arugula, garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemons and figs.

In store in the kitchen for the week: Chicken Paillard with Fresh Fig Salad and Blue Cheese; Herb-and-Lemon-Roasted Chicken with Smashed Broccoli and Garlic; and Cold Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken, Plums, Blue Cheese and Basil. Also, salmon with some sauteed mushrooms and squash. Can you tell I’ve been missing my kitchen?

I’ve also been meaning to eat some of the delicious-smelling food sold by street vendors at the farmers market. With an empty refrigerator at home, perfect timing! I tried panang curry with chicken from the Thai stall, and it was absolutely mouth-watering. For just $8, I got a huge serving, and I was only able to eat about one-third of it for lunch. Hellooo, tomorrow’s lunch!

The curry was served on top of your choice of white jasmine rice or whole grain red rice, which I went for in a heartbeat. It was great, and very interesting looking as well.

Stay tuned for the week’s dinners! I can’t wait to get my hands dirty in the kitchen again.