October 17th, 2020

Third Saturdays are always so busy at the Hastings Farmer's Market. For starters, Ready Set Sharp is here, setting up his stone sharpening wheel in the parking lot, ready to spin new life into the blades of your pruning shears and carving knives. 

FYI, Matt won't return to the HFM until the Saturday before Thanksgiving and he is sure to be very busy that day.  Like voting, you may want to get your sharpening done EARLY, just in case.

Red Barn Bakery is also here on third Saturdays and we'd have our druthers, they'd be here every week with their always interesting and always organic baked goods. This week, look for their individual Kabocha Squash Souffles - gluten-free, to boot!

Mountaintop Maple Syrup is only here on the third Saturday of each month. Now that we're reaching for our flannel shirts, Sunday morning pancakes might become more routine. Keep that in mind as you decide which size bottle to buy. The Lurio-Wolfson family is a Hastings family who bought an old farmstead in the heart of the Catskills many years ago peppered with maple trees. They converted an old barn into a sugar shack. The wood they use to fire their evaporator is sustainably harvested from their own property. 
As if you needed another reason to enjoy local maple syrup, here's an interesting fact plucked from their website: 

"In the years leading up to the American Civil War some abolitionists boycotted cane sugar, which was primarily harvested and processed by slaves in the West Indies. They promoted maple syrup as an alternative sweetener that was not made by exploited workers."

McGrath Cheese Co. has a fetching Instagram account. This week they featured a hunk of artisan bread slathered with their cloud-light queso fresco. They drizzled it with honey (yay, Hudson River Apiaries is here, too.) But of course, maple syrup would also work.

Neversink Spirits also comes only on the third Saturday of each month. This is the season to be sipping their pear brandy around the fire pit after dinner. 

And, of course, it's gleaning week, the week we ask you to donate money to those in our community who are less fortunate. We use your donations to purchase fresh food from the market to take to the Hastings Food Pantry. It's a privilege to share such good food with our neighbors in need and we are always so amazed by your generosity. If you've never donated before, please do so in the button below here.

You didn't think I'd leave you without a recipe, did you?

Make sure to buy enough maple syrup to make this maple and garlic pork shoulder with crispy skin. And, add garlic, shallots and leeks to your shopping list this week! You always use more than you think when the weather gets cold.

See you at the market!