Tomato salad (Motley Cow Cafe)

Fall has settled in and one casualty of the changing seasons is outdoor farmers markets, which are abundant around Eastern Iowa in the summer months as the season’s bounty itself.

Several markets have closed shop until spring, but others continue through October. Waiting in the wings, too, are the indoor winter markets, which increase in number each year.

Take advantage of the last few outdoor markets and mark your calendar for the indoor ones, which generally start in November, by trying your hand at these dishes. All were inspired by the farmers market fare and devised by five area chefs who took part in The Gazette’s inaugural Farmers Market Challenge.

This summer, we gave each chef $20 and sent them to market with one simple task — to purchase every major ingredient needed for a three-course meal.

The result was delicious, creative and distinctly styled food to each chef’s unique tastes.

Jason Farnsworth of Her Soup Kitchen found a delicious excuse to use one of his favorite vegetables — beets. Per Wiger of Fair Grounds Cafe created a delicious molten mountain with his stuffed baked apple dessert.

Each chef took $20 and transformed it. Here is a sampling of their recipes so you can too.

• Baked Apples – Per Wiger of Fair Grounds Cafe
• Gazpacho – Mon Sayasit of Daniel Arthur’s
• Caramelized Beets with Bleu Cheese and Sesame Seeds – Jason Farnsworth of Her Soup Kitchen
• Cornmeal Crusted Eggplant with Lamb-Zucchini-Tomato Ragoût – Frank Bowman of Linn Street Cafe
• Tomato salad – David Wieseneck of Motley Cow Cafe

Want to see more? Click here to review all of the FMC’s of 2012