Hastings Farmer's Market

Mom rocks! Shop for her at the Farmers Market on May 12th…

Pascale — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:15:04 +0000

Tomorrow is our last monthly farmers market before we return to our weekly summer schedule (woo-hoooooo!).
Please come shop for your favorite “mother.” I know for fact that there are plenty of moms in Hastings (and in the Rivertowns) particularly deserving of a hearty “farm-to-bed” breakfast this Sunday.
Personally, I’m angling for some scrambled just-laid eggs, crisp smoked bacon, Tierra Farms Honduran coffee and slices of Bread Alone baguette slathered with Honey Locust jam or buckwheat honey. And, I wouldn’t say no to a sliver each of lasagna and mixed-berry tart.

We won’t have our full lineup of vendors until opening day, but the “Duck guy” is finally back after a long hibernation.
Not sure if Matt Igoe himself will be selling, but if he is, be sure to congratulate him: he and his wife, Andrea, just had a gorgeous baby girl, Merle.
Clean Ridge Soap Co. will be here, too with lots of great things to put in a mother’s day basket.
Spice Revolution’s Linzi Fastiggi who visited us last month is back again with her intoxicating spices and creative chocolate barks. Hummingbird Ranch will also be here as will Sarah’s Caramellas.
Sunny Gandara of Fork & Glass tore her meniscus, so she won’t be able to make tacos and Norwegian crepes this weekend. She’ll be back next month.
Rhubarb, which is desperately trying to break free from pie, will also make an appearance tomorrow. Why not make a rosy red compote for grilled fish?

Ruby Reilly (ukelele) and Phil Joy (drums) will be performing from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m.
Ruby has just completed her first c.d., “Covers” which will be available for purchase at the market (that will be my mother’s day gift to myself because her music puts a smile on everything).

Please take a few minutes to admire the handiwork of Hillside Elementary’s 4th grade class: they’ve recreated a very large three-dimensional model of what New Amsterdam looked like back in 1660 — complete with schoolhouses and vegetable gardens! The project, led by the tireless Jenny Lee, is something to behold.
It’s this kind of project that makes our schools and living in this community so great, so, naturally, we thought we should bring it to the farmers market for all to see….

Last but most certainly not least….we are in desperate need of VOLUNTEERS this summer.
We are proud to announce that the Hastings Farmers Market will now be accepting EBT/SNAP coupons – formerly known as food stamps.
We are so pleased to finally be able to offer fresh, healthy food to every member of our community. Locally-grown lettuces and strawberries should be accessible to all.
But this new ambitious program will require extra hands at the market this summer ..so if you’ve been looking for a good cause to embrace, please stop by the market tent this Saturday and sign up!

See you at the market!

Our first outdoor farmers market of 2012!

Pascale — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:21:59 +0000

WOW! The weather is going to be glorious for our first outdoor market of 2012.
If you planned your spring break around tomorrow’s farmers market, you won’t be disappointed.
While we still won’t have all of our greens vendors until June, there should be plenty of just harvested tender lettuces, baby spinach and mesclun available.
Nancy MacNamara of Honey Locust Farmhouse is harvesting her chickweed and nettles today and, of course, she will be bringing her nettle pesto, which turns any pasta dish into a celebration of spring. (It sells out quickly so don’t dawdle).
Her raspberry coulis is a hot ticket at Red Hat restaurant where chef Bruce Beaty has been pouring it over By the Way Bakery’s divine lemon tea cakes.
In the same color scheme…Fork & Glass will have their new Nordic BEET burgers which are as delicious as they are healthy. Check out their new Scandinavian potato salad which is so light you’ll forget you’re eating potatoes.
A little too righteous?
Mtn. Smokehouse is having a barn sale on bacon: 1lb is $8; 2lbs is $15, 3lbs is $20).
Cowbery Crossing is offering all of their grass-fed beef and their certified organic pork chops at a 20% discount this Saturday.
Please stop and say hello to Linzi Fastiggi of Spice Revolution, the tiny little shop in Dobbs Ferry specializing in gourmet salts and exotic spices and chocolates. Fastiggi makes her own spice blends and chocolate bark and her knowledge of aromatics is dizzying. I could listen to her talk spice all day.
If you’re dangerously low on honey or syrup,or honey sticks for the lunchbox, fear not, Hummingbird Ranch is back this week as well.
See you at the market!
Remember we are still on winter hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.! And, as always, remember to park in the train station parking lot.

signs of spring at the market tomorrow!

Pascale — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:47:56 +0000

Yesterday was T-shirt weather and daffodils are yawning in my front yard.
Temps may take a dip tomorrow but there will be further signs of spring ramping up the farmers market at the Community Center tomorrow.

Honey Locust Farmhouse will unveil her first arugula of the year.
The Orchards of Concklin will have potted blooming hyacinths and tulips.
Madura Farms won’t have morels quite just yet, but they will have fresh green garlic stalks ready to bloom which you can use like leeks – greens and all.
(Vivian Graziano, of Madura Farms, suggests you saute them with candy onions and some of their King Oyster mushrooms sliced lengthwise into ribbons in quality oil with your favorite herbs). (see attached pic!).

Speaking of quality oil: the Kontoulis extra virgin olive oil from the December 2011 harvest has arrived and Demetra says the oil, which has the aroma and color of raw olives, is their best yet with an acidity level of only 0.17%, their lowest measurement to date.

Bread Alone will have their famous Irish Soda Bread in honor of St. Patrick’s Day which is just around the corner.

Cowberry Crossing says they’re having a spring sale on all things beef!
This might be a good time to stock up on their delicious, organic hamburger meat and gorgeous steaks so you’re good to go when it’s time to bust out the grill for the first time this year.

Matt the Knife is feeling under the weather (no, it’s not spring fever) so please don’ t bring your knives for sharpening tomorrow!

Hummingbird Ranch won’t be at the market tomorrow but Richard Focht (the honey guy) wanted me to let you know that he will be participating in the NY Maple Association’s annual Maple Pancake Breakfast on March 24th and 25th at Hahn Farm (1997 Salt Point Tpk) in Salt Point. It’s a good opportunity to show your kids how maple trees are tapped and maybe do a little line dancing and enjoy a hayride and some Patsy Cline tunes, too. Oh, and of course, stacks and stacks of pancakes draped in syrup…
The cost is $8 per adult and $4 for children under 12.
If you are already busy that weekend, there’ s another shot at a maple pancake breakfast featuring Hummingbird Ranch at Muscoot Farm next weekend, March 17th an 18th, also 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Same drill – sans hayrides and line dancing.

See you at the market!

Calling all Cupids…Market is open tomorrow – snow or no snow!

Pascale — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:02:23 +0000

Long-stemmed roses are nice.
Locally-grown food is better!

Why not celebrate waking up next to the one you love on Tuesday with some wholesome granola at the market? You can find some at the Bread Alone stand, as well as the True Food of Nyack table and at Tierra Farm. Try a sample from each and see which one you like best.
Sarah’s Caramella’s will be here with her popular treats appropriately packaged with a red ribbon. As always, Dutch Desserts will have their chocolate tarts shaped like a heart.
In my family, we like to buy each other something – anything- red on Valentine’s Day (everything from a red colander to a red wooly hat to a book with a red jacket).
Red meat would work - and we’ve got plenty of it at the market this week with Roaming Angus and Cowberry bringing their gorgeous cuts of beef. Cowberry has an abundance of lamb right now so come with your favorite tagine recipe.
How about some sweet heat for your sweet-heart? Guyank Brank will be here with their usual lineup of hot tangy barbecue sauces.
We will have plenty of those beautiful handmade vintage aprons (made by Kim Sava) which always make a nice gift. Especially if you tuck something extra special in the pocket…like some Clean Ridge Soap Co. lotion or soap.
See you at the market!

Thanks for coming to our January market…our next market is: Feb. 11!

Pascale — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:53:54 +0000

EAT BETTER in 2012!

Pascale — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:42:34 +0000

Come shop the Hastings Farmers Market tomorrow! We are open from 9 am. to 1 p.m. at the James Harmon Community Center.
For many, it’s a three-day weekend, and a cold one at that – (our Johnny come-lately winter has arrived) so load up on all things “soup”.
This is the time of year when you’re so glad you spent the big bucks on that Le Creuset since it becomes the workhorse of your kitchen.
I looked out my window this morning and thought “stew.”
If you’ve never made stew or it’s been a long while, noodle around on CookingLight.com. They’ve got some great recipes for lamb and beef stew that won’t weigh you down. (The stew pot should be heavy, not the stew).
And remember, meat doesn’t own stew.
Check out our recipe for Provencal fish stew with fennel, roasted tomatoes and garlic on our recipe page.It’s light and aromatic and deeply satisfying. (Madura should have the hothouse tomatoes and fennel you need tomorrow…)

Other vendors include: Fork & Glass (come get your south of the border fix), True Food of Nyack (try their new pot pies!), Pura Vida, Roaming Angus, Panzarella, Lasagna Preziosa, Meredith’s, Bread Alone, Orchards of Concklin, Bombay Emerald Chutney, Kontoulis Olive Oil, Mtn. Smokehouse, Tierra Farm Organic Nuts (and coffee!), Pie Lady of Nyack, Station Cafe, Honey Locust Farmhouse, Cowberry Crossing, Picklelicious, Guyank Brand hot sauce…

Start the new year with sharp knives! Matt the Knife is in the house…
See you at the market!

Why go to the mall when you could go to the market?

Pascale — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:22:29 +0000

Any number of vendors at the Hastings Farmers Market tomorrow will have items that would make interesting gifts for the foodies on your list this holiday season:

Why not put together a gift basket of products from Hummingbird Ranch (honey, syrup, lip balm, facial masks?)
Or a hodgepodge of Honey Locust jams & elixirs? (A bottle of fine gin with an elderberry elixir makes a stunning gift for any aspiring mixologist).
What serious cook wouldn’t want a gift certificate for knife-sharpening services in their stocking?
Ready Set Sharp is selling $25.00 gift cards (good for $30 worth of knife-sharpening services). In fact, they are offering a 20% discount on all knife-sharpening services tomorrow! Don’t insult your Christmas goose with a dull knife!

I can’t imagine a cat-sitter, teacher or good neighbor who wouldn’t appreciate some Clean Ridge Soap. Co. lotion & soap. Doesn’t the UPS guy deserve a bar of cedar soap?

Fork & Glass will be serving up their delicious Nordic crepes and quesadillas filled with chorizo and potato. True Foods will have a variety of burritos served piping hot.
And several vendors will be selling prepared soups for those crazy weekday nights in December when you just don’t have it in you to start one from scratch.
Remember, Dutch Desserts tarts, Pie Lady of Nyack pies and all of Roaming Angus’ & Cowberry Crossing’s meats freeze remarkably well. So do Pika’s Quiches and potpies!
It’s going to be a long stretch until mid-January…make sure you get plenty of everything you crave!

We’ll be in the Library Lot from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

–

All good things…

Pascale — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:25:26 +0000

…must scale back in winter.

Tomorrow is our last weekly farmers’ market in Hastings.
Starting Dec. 10th, we will be operating on a monthly basis, always on the second Saturday. Please check the website (www.hastingsfarmersmarket.org

) to find out if we are in the library lot or at the community center on Main St. or pick up a card with all the info. at the market tent tomorrow.

What a run we’ve had this summer!
Only 2 bad weather days out of 26 — not too shabby.
Of course, on non-market days, the weather really pummeled our farmers.
This was the year of Hurricane Irene…and the year you helped us raise $7,000.00 for our flooded farmers.
Your extraordinary generosity humbled us. But it did not surprise us.
We really have become a family over the last few years, haven’t we?

This year, our family grew – again.
In 2011 we brought you old fashioned pie, made from scratch and (with a full-butter crust thank you very much) French crepes (with local pesto, gruyere and ham), Ronnybrook milk, more cheese variety, and gourmet mushrooms & bright purple cauliflower.

It was also a year of particularly good music – our amazingly talented regulars of course, but also some new faces like Ruby Reilly and Phil Joy (they’ll open for Milton tomorrow) and Putnam Smith of Maine who serenaded us with his grandfather’s banjo.

I love the fact that our market ends right before Thanksgiving. It’s the biggest cooking holiday of the year, after all. Everyone will be shopping with a little more zeal tomorrow. Isn’t it nice to know that you will find almost everything you need for Thursday in one place – from onions, mushrooms and herbs for the stuffing, to dinner rolls, and even pies and tarts (if you don’t feel like baking — both will freeze well for Thursday). Oh, and the bird of course. If you’ve ordered a turkey from Roaming Angus (and it’s not too late: andrew.king@kingsroamingangus.com) please try and pick it up on the early side…

It’s also a time of year when we take stock of what we’ve got.
And what we’ve got is a community that truly appreciates everything our little market has to offer. And I’m not just talking about the food.
I, for one, am so very grateful for that.

Tomorrow: Hummingbird Ranch will be here. So will Guyank Brand hot sauce (I’m thinking turkey sandwiches or meatloaf with hot sauce) and Sarah’s Caramella’s (with adorable new gift boxes for the holiday host).
If you forgot to get your knives sharpened…you can still run up to the Chappaqua Farmers Market tomorrow and get that carving knife ready for the big day.
Also: if, for some reason, you cannot shop the market tomorrow, or if you find that you didn’t quite get everything you need, we will have a delightful pre-Thanksgiving market on Wednesday in Irvington from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Main Street School parking lot.

Thanks for another great season…
See you at the market!

sometimes a great recipe says it all…

Pascale — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:47:37 +0000

read it and weep:

Roasted Parsnip and Apple Soup from guiltykitchen.com (a new fave of mine)

Yield: about 4-5 large servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 90 minutes

1 1/2 lb. parsnips

4 Tbsp butter

1 1/4 lbs. tart apples (granny smith, pink lady, etc.)

1 small sweet onion

1 lb. waxy potatoes (such as Yukon gold)

1/2 tsp each ground ginger, cumin and nutmeg

1 tsp coriander seeds, pulverized

2 litres vegetable stock (or chicken)

1/2 cup cream

kosher salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste

Shaved Parmesan for garnish

1. Peel parsnips and roughly chop into 1″ pieces.

2. Place parsnips in roasting dish and dot with 3 tbsp of butter. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 or 15 minutes.

3. In large heavy bottomed pot, heat remaining tbsp of butter over medium. Add onions and cook until translucent.

4. Add in potatoes, apples and spices and sauté for five minutes.

5. Add in roasted parsnips and stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes or until all vegetables and fruit is softened.

6. Using an immersion blender, stand blender or food processor, blend the soup into a smooth purée (in batches if using a blender or food processor).

7. Pour back into pot and reheat, stirring in cream and seasoning to taste.

8. Ladle into bowls and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan for garnish

Tomorrow is your last chance to get your knives sharpened before Thanksgiving!!!!
Though Guyank Brand was scheduled to come this Saturday, something has come up and they will try to be here next Saturday instead.

Only two more markets before we fold up our tents for the season…
STOCK UP!
our first MONTHLY winter market will be Dec. 10th. It will be held in the Library lot….

Make sure you pick up a winter schedule at the market tent…or check out website regularly for updates (hastingsfarmersmarket.org).

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: We will have a pre-Thanksgiving Farmers Market in Irvington (101 Main St.) on Wed. Nov. 23rd from 1 to 5 p.m.
We will have a spice and exotic salt vendor to jazz up your bird and we will be selling cornmeal and whole wheat flour straight from the grist mill at Philipsburg Manor. Plus, Flourish Bakery from Scarsdale will have gorgeous pies and crostatas…

apples, apples and more apples!

Pascale — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:47:24 +0000

if you’re trying your best to eat local, this is the time of year to truly embrace the apple.
The plump juicy berries of summer are still dancing on our mind’s tongue, but what we’re faced with at the market is well, apples. Crates and crates of different varieties of apples.
Every year I like to try a new type just to keep things interesting. This year I’ve chosen the Cox Pippin (you can find them at Red Jacket). Teensy, burnished and slightly speckled it doesn’t look like much. But don’t let its diminutive size and scruffy appearance fool you – this apple packs a serious punch. Unlike the standard tart green pippin we all know and love, the Cox Pippin is sweet and meaty with a crisp and tangy finish.
Tomorrow the Orchards of Concklin will be bringing a REAL cider press to the market so make sure to bring the kids.

Also, Nancy from Honey Locust will have her signature hot apple cider which she will be serving from her whimsical street cart.
The young ladies working the craft table plan to do some cool apple prints tomorrow in honor of our celebration of all things apple.
(By the way, this is probably going to be their last day at the market this season. Please stop by the table and thank them for keeping your kids entertained while you shop.)

Wait – there’s more apple news! if you pop into Village Hall you can preview “The Four Seasons: A Year in the Life of an Orchard,” a dramatic series of 12 panoramic prints by award-winning, architectural photographer and Hastings resident, Frederick Charles. The images first appeared in LIFE magazine and won an Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography. The show is sponsored by the Hastings Village Arts Commission, Fred will be there tomorrow to talk about this project at both 9:30 a.m. and 12:30. p.m.
The official artist’s reception is Friday, November 18 6-8 p.m.
Tomorrow: Kontoulis Olive Oil is at market and both Crepes and Fork and Glass are back! (Next week is your last chance to get your carving knife sharpened before Turkey Day).

Also tomorrow you get two musical performances instead of just one.
Since the fabulous Ruby Reilly and Phil Joy got snowed out last week they will open tomorrow for Fred Gillen Jr.
We are looking forward to both!

Thank you all for coming out to shop last week. Your loyalty and hardiness never cease to amaze me (and the farmers!).