Cocktails, Red Currants and XOLO!!

Red currants are beckoning, tart and shiny, from their little wooden boxes at the market. These tiny, tartly-sweet berries, so popular in France where they are known as groseilles, have a very short season so don’t let them pass you by!

Red currants shine in both sweet and savory preparations and also taste great pickled in your favorite pickling brine.

Try them in this red currant yogurt cake. Or, make red currant jelly to enjoy them all year long. Or to glaze a leg of lamb or chops this weekend! (yes, Wil-Hi Farm is here this week. Timing is everything!). If you want to enjoy a lovely jam recipe and a good read to go along with it, treat yourself to this David Lebovitz essay about making red currant jam in France.

Our family tried this grilled zucchini recipe last weekend and it was divine. Please do yourself a favor and buy some summer squash from Sun Sprout Farm, some smoked ricotta from Goode & Local or goat ricotta from Painted Goat and make this for your next bbq or bring it to a party.  (It’s as delicious at room temperature). I added tons of fresh basil from Stoneberry Farm to make it even more delicious, but any herb mix would work. 

For the first time, we bring you Spirits Lab from Newburgh, NY., right on the banks of the Hudson River, across from George Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

Inspired by local bounty, and using production methods that combine tradition with innovation, Spirits Lab, uses New York grown grains and botanicals to produce a line of small-batch craft spirits and premium bottled cocktails. As an homage to the area’s rich history and lore, many of their spirits are named after iconic New York locales. Consider Five Points Rye and East End Gin. But the “lab” is also known for their pre-mixed cocktails like their Blood Orange Old Fashioned: just pour over ice, garnish with an orange peel and a Luxardo cherry and you're good to go. We can't wait to see them on the market plaza this week.

This is the third week of the month which means, you guessed it, the knife sharpener is here. Bring all of your dull blades to keep him busy! Third Saturdays are also the days we “glean” for the Hastings Food Pantry. Each month, we put out large baskets for our shoppers to fill with donated produce (in addition to the eggs and apples the HFM donates each and every week!). This year, we are trying to keep our donations to a couple of hyper seasonal items  so we can distribute the produce evenly among the 40 plus families who rely on the pantry. This week, we are asking for donations of tomatoes and summer squash. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

See you at the market!