February 1st

It's February! Many of you are coming off a dry January, Veganuary, a month of new workouts, clean eating, or other resolutions that you (mostly) kept for a month. Kudos to you! Celebrate your hard work with a little treat from the market!

Silvia's Kitchen makes an array of rich, decadent Latin American desserts, often featuring dulce de leche. One of those are her bite-size versions of alfajores , an Argentine cornstarch cookie, which she sells in nifty packs for Valentine's Day. You can gift the whole pack or but them for weekday lunches and snacks — they're small enough to add one to a kid's lunch box or have with for merienda or afternoon tea.

Another delicious treat comes from La Petite Occassion, Her caramels are crafted with all local ingredients from nearby farms and also come in beautiful packs for Valentine's Day. These are great to to heap into a bowl during a dinner party or to stash in your bag for a moment when you need a sugar rush,

It can't be all sugar! You're still keeping to your resolutions, aren't you?! Our farms are still cranking out greens from the greenhouses and bringing cellar vegetables, including Brussels sprouts. Head to 4E Organic Farm to grab a pint of these brassicas. If you're back on meat, pick up a slab of bacon from Letterbox or Southtown and cook up this recipe (note: this recipe calls for pancetta but we've substituted bacon with tasty results!)

Did you know that we have fresh queso fresco at the Market thanks to one of our cheesemongers, McGrath's Cheese Co.? It's such a versatile cheese - you can crumble some in salad, let it melt slightly atop an arepa, or adorn tacos with it.

Sunday brunch anyone? No need to head out when you can gather all the brunch provisions you need from the Market, starting with a quiche lorraine centerpiece from Fraternité Notre Dame. Sales of quiches, and everything on their table, fund programs for East Harlem residents living in poverty. See you at the Market!