Savory staples

I love the farmers’ market in fall, with its vibrant red peppers, tart apples and leafy greens. But lately I’ve been walking past the splashy piles of produce at the Sunday morning 8th and W market , straight to quieter-hued staples: bread and eggs. People line up for both the eggs from Victoria Gardens (in Durham) and the bread from October Feast, and it’s no wonder. The eggs are speckled brown and pale, pale blue-green, and when you cook them up they have a nutty, deep, fresh flavor that you don’t taste in just any old egg. October Feast brings dense Mittel-European style loaves to the market, in tangy quarter-rounds and whole-grain oblongs, as well as some buttery croissants (I think that’s what the 8 a.m. line was really for) and soft pretzels. My daughter devoured a whole pretzel right there in her stroller: I, a little more discreetly, waited until we got home to have my bread and butter.