Beauties
I love the Farmers' Market. Late summer and early fall are wonderful times to revel in the beauty and the bounty of fresh produce. Last Saturday we picked up:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes: 1 "Ugly," 2 Yellow, 1 "Red Pepperish" and 1 "Jalepeno"
3 Clapp pears
4 medium crispy apples
4 small sour apples
1 yellow watermelon
9 differently-colored carrots
1 bunch baby bok choy
1 white eggplant
5 ears white corn
1 large bunch basil
All this for just over $20.00! We're definitely heading back this Saturday just to try more Heirloom tomatoes. They're nothing like those bland, pink mealy tomatoes from the grocery store. The cherry tomatoes were small and didn't look that great, but when we washed off the dirt and tried them out, they were the best ones i'd ever had. The "Ugly" tomato was very juicy and intense, the Yellow ones milder and firmer, the "Red Pepperish" was sweet and had good flavor and the "Jalepeno" (thus named for its shape and color) was crisp and a tad sour. It's like a tomato flavor explosion in your mouth!
And as for those carrot beauties, we found the white ones to be starchier than the others, with the sweetness growing as the carrot colors deepened. The red ones, unfortunately, weren't red inside - just on the skin - but the yellow ones were greenish inside! All very crisp and great for eating raw. be claimed they didn't taste "soapy" like store-bought carrots.
posted by beXn @ 2:59 AM
4 Comments:
Have you tried the farmers markets in Astoria and Hunters Point?
Did you take those digital photos yourself? They're gorgeous!
I love the Union Square greenmarket. Have you bought locally grown garlic there? It's unbelievable. It's crispy, like apples. I think I've become a garlic snob -- I can't fathom using rubbery dry garlic from the store anymore. Store-bought garlic is usually imported from China, so it has to be harvested and cured waaay over there, then shipped here, and who knows how long it sits around in a bin or fridge until it reaches your nearest supermarket?
Here's the Stanton Street Settlement CSA that my friend and I belong to: http://www.stantonstreet.org/csa/about.htm
It's a little bit out of the way, depending on where you live and work, but the pick-up hours go till 8pm, which is great for those of us who work a little late. (Pick-up is on Thursday.) Admittedly, the salad mix is less than perfect (it's a little bitter, and you should re-wash and spin it dry once you get it home), but a lot of the produce is pretty damn good. I just finished a soup last night made with some of the veggies from the CSA, and my roommate and his slightly homeless (and vegan) friend scarfed it up.
Sometime soon, I should post an ode to specific Union Square greenmarket pleasures.
JR, i'm going to check them out this Fall. What do you think of them? I'll never be able to make the Astoria one on Wed, but the LIC on Sat and Jackson Heights on Sun look promising.
Here's a listing of the 5 farmers' markets in Queens from JR on about.com.
Catherine, i just picked up 2 heads of locally-grown garlic on your recommendation and they're AWESOME. Crispy, just like you said, smaller and a purpley-gray instead of white and very very hot & strong. After i minced a clove, i tried a few pieces and i told be to stay away since they burned! Thanks for the tip. Now i'll never get supermarket garlic again either!
We're still researching CSAs (slowly) and the Stanton St one looks great. Most likely we'll go with one in Queens though, since downtown Manhattan on Thurs doesn't make sense for either of us (i usually work late and be has poetry stuff).
Speaking of produce-reduction soup, my most favorite was kale and waxy potatoes. Kale in soup is so tasty. And yes, i took those pics with my digital camera outside - that's why they came out clear. Usually the ones i take inside are reddish and a tad blurry.
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