2004 Greenmarkets

[bloviatrix]

I was at Union Square today. It seems they haven't gotten the memo that $2.50/pound of heirlooms is the way to go. They were priced higher.

Anyway, I came home with 3 pints of assorted cherry tomatoes for $6, 5 ears of corn (I want to make sweet corn ice cream), golden beets, red and yellow carrots, lemon balm, lettuce, nectarines (yellow and white), apples, and ground cherries/physalis -- which I'm particularly excited about.

My shoulder still aches from schlepping everything home on the subway.

[bpearis]

5 ears of corn (I want to make sweet corn ice cream)

so do i. you have a good recipe?

[SethG]

I was at Union Square today. It seems they haven't gotten the memo that $2.50/pound of heirlooms is the way to go. They were priced higher.

I was bummed out about this as well today, although the cheapest of the lot (at $3.00 per pound) were amazing tomatoes. Huge yellow specimens with streaks of red and green. I added some chunks to a sauteed red pepper/onion puree for a bruchetta appetizer tonight. Heaven.

[alacarte]

I went to market on friday planning on buying just a little. Ha! Like that's possible.

What is it about the greenmarket that inspires rampant impulse buying?

That always happens to me too. I plan to do a walk-through to "browse" and leave laden with bags. Last Saturday I bought:

beautiful striped bass fresh from Upstate NY

fingerling potatoes

a bunch of "tri-color" carrots (three different types, white, yellow, and orange carrots tied together into a single bunch)

shiso leaves

baby fennel, with the long fronds still attached

yellow peaches

kirby cukes

I tried cooking from the Craft cookbook, with decent success. We had a nice meal of braised striped bass with fennel, roasted carrots and roasted potatoes.

No idea what to do with the shiso leaves. That's what I get for impulse-buying!

[Bond Girl]

No idea what to do with the shiso leaves. That's what I get for impulse-buying!

I put them into my ramen or eat them with cold soba. But, I've also mixed them up with mint and put them in my lemonade or lime-ade.

[phaelon56]

beautiful striped bass fresh from Upstate NY

Do you mean freshwater (as in caight in a lake) bass or just that it came from a vendor who's based upstate? I'm just curious as to what variety of bass it is if it's freshwater (large mouth, small mouth or walleye). We can get some freshwatwer lake fish up here but only at a couple of inner city markets that sell mostly perch and panfish (bluegills, sunfish etc.) in seasons. The really good fish is bullhead but those seem to be available mostly at a couple of local restaurants on the lake that sell bullhead dinners (bullhead is essentially catfish but often smaller and generally sweeter and with a bit more flavor - probably because it's not farmed).

Such a bummer that my local Syracuse famrer's market has nor heirloom tomatoes and hte regular homegrowns have been mediicre this year. I have to drive an hour to Ithaca to get heirlooms.

Sticker shock: I was in North carolina a few weeks ago and the farm stand behind my GF's development had fantastic red and yellow tomatoes for 75 cents per pound. The day I left the price had dropped to 50 cents per pound because he had such a bumper crop to sell. They were some of the best tomatoes I've ever eaten.

[SethG]

Sticker shock: I was in North carolina a few weeks ago and the farm stand behind my GF's development had fantastic red and yellow tomatoes for 75 cents per pound. The day I left the price had dropped to 50 cents per pound because he had such a bumper crop to sell. They were some of the best tomatoes I've ever eaten.

Yeah, but. But. How's their opera house? I bet their ballet stinks! So there.

[alacarte]

beautiful striped bass fresh from Upstate NY

Do you mean freshwater (as in caight in a lake) bass or just that it came from a vendor who's based upstate? I'm just curious as to what variety of bass it is if it's freshwater (large mouth, small mouth or walleye).

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know. The vendor is from upstate, and I assumed that the fish was as well. (I know, never assume...) I can confirm that the skin had lovely grey and white stripes, if that helps.

[bloviatrix]

5 ears of corn (I want to make sweet corn ice cream)

so do i. you have a good recipe?

My first batch, using the Claudia Flemming recipe on Epicurious is currently curing in the freezer. I snacked on the remains in the canister and I'm not sure what I think -- the verdict is still out. If I were to do it again, I think I would add some cayenne and maybe a vanilla bean. Additionally, I might reduce the number of yolks.

Whatever you do, make sure to work over a low flame. This more than any other ice cream base I've made scorches pretty quickly if your flame is too high.

[bloviatrix]

Everything from wednesday's purchases has been eaten. Therefore, I needed to re-stock. Came home from 97th street with: assorted heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, green leaf lettuce, red onion, peaches, a sourdough boule, double-onion rolls, and excellent pumpernickle-walnut-raisin rolls.

[ewindels]

97th Street also had plums and white nectarines so gorgeous they almost didn't look real, enormous leeks that verged on the pornographic, and celery you could smell from twenty feet away. But no eggs AGAIN!

[SethG]

Got some raspberries and huge blackberries today at Brooklyn GAP.

$2.00 per pound for heirlooms-- someone really should send Union Square the memo.

Many different plums.

Peaches.

Got some bluefish. And three pounds of mussels (about 50 of 'em). Three pounds of mussels for $4.50. These are the fish folks from the North Fork of Long Island. Their boat is called the Blue something.

[DutchMuse]

Today I got lots of plums for a plum tart a la Joel Robuchon cookbook, plus a pheasant I'm going to fix tomorrow (also from a recipe in his cookbook) and serve with a terriifc 97 Domaine Leroy Volnay Santenots. Yea!

[Suzanne F]

Our first trip to the WTC market in several weeks:

Tomatoes, red beefsteak and yellow Roma

Kirbies

Arugula

Red leaf

Red oak leaf

"Teenage" romaine

Green bell peppers

Onion

Garlic

Peaches

Blueberries

Melba apples

Green beans

Cranberry beans (pasta e fagiole, here I come!)

Pale purple eggplant

Okra (for tonight's gumbo)

Flat-leaf parsley

Runners from squash plants

AND the best news: after Labor Day, the WTC market will be held on Tuesday as well as Thursday. YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited August 20, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[bloviatrix]

Today at 97th street:

Eggplants - purple and white

Green leaf lettuce

Butter lettuce

Beets

Corn

Zucchini

Spearmint

Assorted heirloom tomatoes

Nectarines

Concord Grapes

Plums (can't remember the variety but they smell heavenly)

Sesame Pugliese, double onion rolls, sourdough rolls

[bloviatrix]

They had a jazz combo playing music at 97th Street this morning. It made the whole shopping experience feeling even more civilized.

Anyway, today's purchases included:

Challah and rosemary sourdough rolls

Dill

Heirloom tomatoes

Eggplants

Greenbeans

Nectarines

Basil

Kirbies

Leeks

Potatoes

Romaine Lettuce

Corn

I forgot to pick up zucchini. Oops.

[cakewalk]

Is it just me, or do other people buy stuff at greenmarkets that turns out to be much less than extraordinary?

If I go to a greenmarket, I ususally go to Union Square. So far most of the heirloom tomatoes I've bought have been mealy and tasteless. I can get that in my neighborhood supermarket! (Speaking of which, they usually have mealy and tasteless produce but last week I bought the most delicious Mineola oranges, they were from South Africa, really juicy and sweet.)

Anyway, getting back to Union Square. I also bought these little plums. They were also pretty much on the tasteless side, although at least they weren't mealy.

(The corn I bought was delicious, though. Lifachot ze.)

This sort of thing happens a lot more often than it should (IMO). Has anyone else had this experience, or should I assume that this is a deliberate plot against me?

[Dryden]

We've been less than thrilled with a lot of the tomatoes from Union Square also... does anyone have a provider there that has really excellent ones? Would love to get some recommendations...

[bloviatrix]

If you go to Union Square on wednesday, Eckerton Farms (it might be Hill, can't remember the last name) has good tomatoes. Their stand is on the Broadway side of the market facing the park. I bought 3 pints of assorted cherry, sungolds, etc two weeks ago that we went through very quickly.

[Dryden]

I'll have to check them out next week.

[alacarte]

Anyone know if the RNC will impact the greenmarkets? For example, there's a major anti-handgun protest that will be held at Union Square (and already five protesters --unrelated to that rally-- were arrested at USquare yesterday). I don't know what day(s) the big protests are expected.

Is the greenmarket closing down for the duration of the RNC? Are the farm vendors even bothering to come into town next week?

Edited August 27, 2004 by alacarte (log)

[bloviatrix]

Try calling 311, they might have an answer for you.

I know the farmers at 97th street will be there on friday even though it's the start of Labor Day weekend.

[Suzanne F]

Is it just me, or do other people buy stuff at greenmarkets that turns out to be much less than extraordinary?

. . . Anyway, getting back to Union Square. I also bought these little plums. They were also pretty much on the tasteless side, although at least they weren't mealy.

(The corn I bought was delicious, though. Lifachot ze.)

This sort of thing happens a lot more often than it should (IMO). Has anyone else had this experience, or should I assume that this is a deliberate plot against me?

HWOE decided to try a different vendor for peaches at our tiny (4-vendor) market at the WTC. Big mistake. He should have stuck with the one we know and love. No, it's not against us personally; it's just that some folks have lower standards.

Let's see: yesterday we bought:

yechy peaches

tomatoes (to ripen, for eating starting tomorrow)

kirbies

chard -- it was soooooooooo beautiful and seductive!

red and green bell peppers

arugula, lolla rosa, cilantro, and escarole from the Migliorellis

ginger gold apples

hot peppers

So now I have to make something with these lesser peaches -- probably a crumble or crisp, I guess, even though we are not much on dessert. (They are too mealy and lack flavor, otherwise I'd try to use them raw.)

[alacarte]

I enjoyed my quick run to the greenmarket Saturday AM more than usual -- it felt like the last gasp of normalcy before the convention madness set in. I'm not planning to return until after the convention is done. I can hear the protestors' bullhorns from two blocks away on 3rd ave. I'm just assuming there will be no greenmarket at Usquare since it's the main hub for many protestors. I should have bought more stuff.

We bought:

Hungarian wax peppers -- this was my "impulse buy" -- they are elongated yellow and red peppers with a bit of bite to them, but not as spicy as jalapenos etc.

fresh crusty bread

fresh herbs -- savory and basil

kirby cukes, and one large cuke for comparison

soft goat cheese from Coach -- reminiscent of farmer cheese

yellow peaches

[bloviatrix]

BTW, the tomato people are Eckerton Hill Farms.