Community Markets
True Food Words: At Community Markets’ Farmers Markets,
‘Local’ Means “To Market and Back in a Day”
Hudson Valley, NY (May 18, 2012) – As more people want to know our food sources, mass marketers are learning to imitate the calls of courtship with words like “all-natural,” “sustainable,” and “artisanal.” How are shoppers to know what’s authentic?
On Saturday, May 26th, Community Markets will open their 21st season of managing farmers markets with the guarantee of one essential word: local. At their venues throughout the Hudson Valley and NYC, shoppers can buy directly from farmers and food producers, who are all ‘local’, meaning they travel “to market and back in a day.”
“Since 1991, when we started our first farmers market in Ossining, New York, the goal has always been to connect people directly with farmers. Even with our artisanal producers, we make sure that they source their ingredients from area farms. We’re doing our job when we’re able to help keep farms and local businesses healthy,” said Miriam Haas, Founder of Community Markets.
This year the company will run 15 farmers markets. Here are the details for Community Markets’ opening weekend in Westchester and Rockland Counties, by market:
- Larchmont Farmers Market
When: Begins Saturday, May 26th and runs every Saturday through December 15th, 2012, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Where: Parking lot off Chatsworth Avenue, enter Myrtle Boulevard (Street Address: 122 Myrtle Blvd)
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Thornwood Farm, Sugar & Spice Catering, Kontoulis Family Olive Oil, Orwashers Bakery, Orchards of Concklin, Flourish Baking Company, Calcutta Kitchens, Kiernan Farm, Christiane’s Backstube, Tierra Farm, Doc Pickle, Migliorelli Farm, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, Plates, Coach Farm, Gaia’s Breath Farm, Newgate Farms, Lani’s Farm, and Trotta Pasta.
New vendors to market: American Pride Seafood, Maura and Nuccia, and Stone & Thistle Farm.
- Ossining Farmers Market
When: Begins Saturday, May 26th and runs every Saturday through December 15th, 2012, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Where: Parking lot on the corner of Spring & Main Streets (Street address: 7 Main Street)
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Meredith’s Bread, Bread Alone, Feather Ridge Farm, Amazing Real Live/Chaseholm Creamery, R & G Produce, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, Locust Grove Fruit Farm, Tierra Farm, Pura-Vida Fisheries, Mead Orchards, The Pastures, Chiboust, and Pickle Licious.
New vendors to market: Hudson River Apiaries, Eden Farm Greenhouses, and Mortgage Apple Cakes.
- Piermont Farmers Market (Rockland County)
When: Begins Sunday, May 27th and runs every Sunday through December 30th, 2012, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm
Where: M & T Bank Parking lot – Piermont Avenue & Ash Street (Street address: 527 Piermont Avenue)
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Valley Shepherd Creamery, Benmarl Winery, Migliorelli Farm, Chiboust, Pika’s Farm Table, Bodhi Tree Farm, Tierra Farm, Doc Pickle, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, Bread Alone, and Meredith’s Bread.
New vendors to market: John D. Madura Farms and Go-Go Pops.
- Pleasantville Farmers Market
When: Begins Saturday, May 26th and runs every Saturday through December 15th, 2012, 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
Where: Memorial Plaza off Manville Road (Street address: 42 Memorial Plaza)
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Wiltbank Farm, Bobolink Dairy, Trotta Pasta, Benmarl Winery, Newgate Farms, Pickle Licious, Pika’s Farm Table, Go-Go Pops, Mead Orchards, Pura-Vida Fisheries, Tierra Farm, Kiernan Farm, Little Seed Gardens, Cowberry Crossing Farm, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, Calcutta Kitchens, Amazing Real Live/Chaseholm Creamery, Kontoulis Family Olive Oil, Feather Ridge Farm, J & A Farm, Bialas Farms, Dutch Desserts, Bread Alone, Alpacatrax, Thornwood Farm, and Meredith’s Bread.
New vendors to market: Stefan’s Pure Blends, Eden Farms Greenhouses, Red Barn Bakery, and Warwick Valley Winery.
- Rye Farmers Market
When: Begins Sunday, May 27th and runs every Sunday through December 16th, 2012, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Where: Parking lot behind Purchase Street stores (Street address: 9 Theodore Fremd Ave)
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Valley Shepherd Creamery, Fishkill Farms, Newgate Farms, Migliorelli Farm, Pika’s Farm Table, Go-Go Pops, Tierra Farm, Doc Pickle, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, Kontoulis Family Olive Oil, Feather Ridge Farm, American Pride Seafood, Alpacatrax, and Meredith’s Bread.
New vendors to market: Eden Farms Greenhouses and Flourish Baking Company.
- Tarrytown Farmers Market
When: Begins Saturday, May 26th and runs every Saturday through November 17th, 2012, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Where: Patriot’s Park on N. Broadway (Route 9) Street address: 183 North Broadway
Who: Vendors returning for 2012 season: Brookside Farm, Pickle Licious, Maura and Nuccia, Mead Orchards, Tierra Farm, Orchards of Concklin, Amazing Real Live/Chaseholm Creamery, Bread Alone, and Meredith’s Bread.
New vendors to market: American Pride Seafood, Hudson River Apiaries, and Warwick Valley Winery.
In 2012, Community Markets celebrates our 21st year of creating marketplaces where neighbors come together to be entertained, relax, and engage with local food. For more information visit: communitymarkets.biz or contact Frankie Rowland: frowland@communitymarkets.biz or (914) 923-4837.
Get your mother’s day flowers in any of our markets this weekend!!
Fiddleheads are one of our favorite spring vegetables as much for their quirky, tightly-coiled appearance as their fresh flavor and snappy texture. How can you not love something that looks like it came straight from a Tim Burton movie? These are a blink-and-miss-it spring treat, so grab yourself a bundle, invite some friends to dinner, and proceed directly to the kitchen.
All ferns produce fiddleheads as they grow and put out new fronds, but the tastiest are those from the ostrich fern, the cinnamon fern, braken, and royal ferns. These fiddleheads taste mild, woodsy, and slightly nutty with a crisp-tender texture after cooking. If you’ve never had them before, imagine a cross between asparagus and fresh green beans.
Fiddleheads can be blanched, roasted in the oven, sautéed, or even thrown on the grill. Just be sure to cook them through as raw fiddleheads contain a toxin that can upset your stomach. Before cooking, you’ll also need to wash them thoroughly and rub away any fuzzy brown chaff from the middle of the fiddleheads.
Use fiddleheads in dishes that will show them off to the fullest effect. A simple risotto or pasta dish is classic, though there’s nothing wrong with just sautéing them in butter and eating them straight from the pan. I also like to arrange roasted fiddleheads on pizza, add them to salads, or use them in a coconut-based curry.
You’ll have the most luck finding fiddleheads at the first farmers markets of the spring. Some gourmet grocery stores or local co-ops may also carry them. You can also forage for them in the wild, just be sure you can identify the right ferns before you start snipping the buds!
Do you love fiddleheads? How do you like to cook them?
Goat Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Asparagus
serves 2-4
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 - 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 lb. asparagus, washed and trimmed
3 tablespoons butter
In a small mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, Parmesan, egg, 1/4 cup chives and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with a fork until smooth. Add flour a spoonful at a time until dough comes together but is still a little wet.
Lightly flour a work surface and line a jelly roll pan with wax paper. On the floured surface, knead dough for about a minute. If it’s still a little sticky, add some flour as needed, a spoonful at a time.
Divide dough in half. Flour hands and roll into each piece back and forth until it becomes a rope about 1-inch thick. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. If desired, roll each piece against the back of a fork to add texture. Place gnocchi on wax paper-lined pan and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Bring a pot of water to boil for the gnocchi.
Meanwhile, cut asparagus on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces. Steam for about 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
When water is boiling, salt generously. Add gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Drain and set aside.
In a large sauce pan, heat butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add the asparagus, gnocchi, 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining chives. Cook for 1 minute. Add black pepper to taste. Serve. Garnish with chive blossoms if desired.
Chives
We’ve tried rhubarb syrup and rhubarb vodka. Now we’d like to introduce you to rhubarb juice! This pretty pink brew is sugar-free and alcohol-free, making it a super versatile ingredient in the kitchen. If you find yourself with a spare bunch of late-season rhubarb, we highly recommend making it.
Making this rhubarb juice couldn’t be simpler. Chop up a few pounds of rhubarb. Add a split vanilla bean. Cover with water. Boil until the rhubarb is soft. Strain out the bright pink juice and you’re ready to go - plus some delicious rhubarb pulp to add to your yogurt!
We made a batch right after reading about it in the New York Times Magazine, and at first we didn’t get it. Sipped straight, this juice is so tart it made us wince and so bitter that we totally lost the rhubarb-ness that we love. We couldn’t imagine what we were going to do with a whole quart of the stuff.
Then we added a few tablespoons to a glass of water and had our “Aha!” moment. Diluted in plain water, suddenly the bitterness was gone. It was definitely still tart, but more of the essential rhubarb flavor came through. It was thirst quenching and delicious.
Later, we tried it in lemonade and then in a riff on a margarita with tequila and cointreau - both experiments were a great success. We also froze about half of the batch into pink ice cubes and have been doling those out in cocktails and pitchers of juice.
We also really like that this juice is sugar-free. This makes it a lot more versatile and lets us adjust the sweetness level depending on what we’re making or who we’re making it for.
serves 4-6
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch slices, about 3 inches long
1/4 cup cherry jam
1/4 cup Creme de Cassis
1 tablespoon sugar
2 dates, pitted and chopped into thin slivers
1 tablespoon butter, chopped into small pieces
sprinkle of salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together jam, Creme de Cassis, sugar and dates. Toss mixture with rhubarb, evenly coating each piece as best you can.
Pour the rhubarb into a 9 x 13” casserole dish, dot with butter, sprinkle with a dash of salt. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20-25 minutes, testing for doneness.
The rhubarb will create a lot of liquid, which is lovely served with the compote. Any extras you can reduce in a sauce pan and create a syrup, delicious for cocktails or pancakes.
Serves 4-6
For the Rhubarb:
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces, about 3 long stalks) diced rhubarb
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Clafouti
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of salt
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the rhubarb with the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes to dissolve the sugars and begin extracting the rhubarb juices.
Spread the rhubarb in the bottom of an 8x8” baking dish or 9” pie pan. Roast uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and the juices are bubbling. Allow to cool until the rhubarb is just warm to the touch.
Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour, lemon zest, and salt. (To avoid clumps, sift the flour into the bowl through a strainer.) This batter can be prepared up to 30 minutes ahead of time.
Pour the batter over the roasted rhubarb and bake for 35-40 minutes (still at 350°F). When it’s done, the clafouti should be puffed around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. It’s ok if the middle still jiggles slightly, and the edges will collapse once the clafouti starts to cool.
The longer it cools, the most set the clafouti becomes. For a loose pudding-like dessert, serve while still warm from the oven. For a firmer custard, allow to cool to room temperature or serve chilled. If you’re feeling fancy, sift a little confectioner’s sugar over the top just before serving.
Leftovers will keep refrigerated for up to a week.
On Sunday May 6th at Park Slope from 11am-5pm pick up $2.00 coupons from the Market Manager that can be redeemed at any vendor in the market in support of NYC Shop Your Values Week.
It’s New York’s first celebration of stores & restaurants that support ethical & sustainable local businesses. For the week of May 3rd to 10th support local and enjoy fun incentives at each one. Discover businesses across the city that share your values. Attend great free events throughout the week - from bike tours to dance parties! All it takes is a pledge. Learn more & pledge here. Go to the directory and look for Community Markets!
