Garlic scape relish, hard cider & brats? Oh yeah!
What a lovely opening day we had. The weather was picture-perfect and it was so great to be part of the River Arts Music Tour.
Even lovelier to see Morgiewicz Produce back on the plaza and Sophie Morgiewicz, perfectly coiffed and sporting her signature market smock, back for another season. “As long as I’m feeling good, I’m coming,” Sophie told me. The petite 82-year-old matriarch of this multi-generational farm deep in black-dirt country, nearly disappeared behind the stacks of romaine lettuces each the size of a football, and the stacked bunches of fire-red radishes. Did you know that grilling romaine is a thing? Ditto for radishes which are plentiful in all colors right now at the market. Try this recipe for grilled radishes with aromatic thyme, brown butter and sea salt.
One thing I love about the month of June, other than watching the produce bins expand from week to week, is unveiling new vendors to our market rotation each week.
For example, we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring you The New York Cider Co. straight from the Finger Lakes. I could attempt to wax poetic about their artisanal ciderbut they do such a beautiful job of it themselves on their website that I’m just going to shamelessly lift:
“We at New York Cider Company, appreciate the simplicity of traditional cider craft. We believe that much of the art of cider making involves helping nature, the best artist, do the work itself. Often this means staying out of the way: Our apple trees, some more than 150 years old, are nurtured by little more than sun, rain, and maybe a sprinkle of compost. Our apples—whether we grow them ourselves, forage them from wild or abandoned trees we rescued near our farm in the New York Finger Lakes—are always interesting and picked at peak ripeness.”
Similarly, our ciders are fermented naturally, without added yeast, whenever possible. “Wild” fermentations can be riskier; you never know how the natural yeasts will affect the final taste of a hard cider. To us, the rewards of wild fermentation are a worthwhile gamble. Each carboy, barrel, tank, or vat of cider truly takes on a life—and flavors—of its own. Yeast is alive, after all; each strain has a different personality. Each hard cider is a separate conversation.
And we are thrilled to have them join our market conversation. These folks are the real deal.
You know who else “gets” it? The couple running Channery Hill Farm, another new vendor capturing my heart this season. I sometimes sound like a broken record asking aspiring vendors if they use local ingredients in their value-added products. Some are surprised when I tell them the Yonkers Costco is not what we consider "local."
Wasn’t necessary with Channery Hill. In fact, they sent us an email with a crop plan so detailed, I thought, at first, they were applying to be a produce farmer at our markets. But no, they make what they call “stuff you put on other stuff” –relishes, vinaigrettes, mustards, ketchups–and they simply grow everythingthey put in a bottle or jar. A market director’s dream! Both come from a world of theater production (something else near and dear to my heart as many of you know) which made them even more interesting. Please give them a warm welcome for their debut this week! Buy some brats from Goode & Local or R&M Farm as a canvas for their condiments.
Prefer plant-based? Plantidote is here this week. Yay!
Bought too many strawberries at the market this week? Halal Pastures sells small organic strawberries and Mead and Concklin Orchards had gorgeous berries this week, too, which I will use to make these strawberry oatmeal crumble bars
See you at the Market!