Glory

It’s *glorious* out today – really and truly, one of the most marvelous days I’ve seen this season. The air is warm and filled with golden autumn light.

Nothing much to report at the market – the usual suspects are all available. I can recommend the buttery and lovely sunchokes at Berried Treasures from personal experience! And oh, how exciting, Edicott(?) Orchards/Farms had WHOOPIE PIES. Chocolate ones, and pumpkin ones.

I got chocolate – but pumpkin is a great way to celebrate the day before Halloween.

Hope you all have a spooky and fun holiday!
~baconbit

*shiver*

It’s cold and rainy today – sort of miserable out. I want hot cocoa.

I dashed through the market today to avoid getting wet. No Honey Hollow – I think probably until spring rolls around with morels.

The market was filled with fall colors – reds, oranges, yellow, gold, everywhere. Mounds of squash, late tomatoes, fall radish, monstrous root vegetables, beckon.

I did see something today I have only seen once or twice before! Giant stalks of cardoon! A relative of artichokes, these great big stalks look like celery that’s mated with thistles, and undergone a bite from a radioactive spider. 3′ tall, bristly, and green, their flavor is incredible. I have never cooked them – only had them in high end restaurants. Look for them on the west side of the market, mid-block.

~baconbit

Friday Blahs

Hooooo hum. It’s Friday, for which I’m glad. But not a lot to report today at the market. I saw lovely thick stalks of brussels sprouts for $3/stalk at Muddy River – a stalk has a LOT of sprouts, so it’s an excellent buy. Today is also Maple Syrup Day, just a stall down from Tremblay Apiaries. Get your sweet on!

Berried Treasures had yellow tomatoes, a million different kinds of little potatoes, and a heap of sunchokes.

As for me, I’m going to lunch, and won’t have much more to report.

Have a great weekend, all!

~baconbit

Wednesday

It’s lovely today out – cool and sunny, just perfect for the market.

Today I spied that both Honey Hollow and John Madura had Maitake (Hen of the Woods) mushrooms. John Madura also had regular button mushrooms, and one of my favorites, King Oysters. I like to buy these and slice them into medallions and use them instead of meat for something like a Mushroom Marsala. Try it out. Lovely!

I bought maitakes instead though, along with shallots. I have eggs from earlier this week, and will be making musrhooms and shallots in a Roman-style egg sauce over artichoke raviolis from Fairway. Fantastic stuff.

Perfect apples abound at the market, along with gorgeous garlic, and sensational sunchokes. I love these last in particular. You may eat them raw, or you may treat them how you treat potatoes. I personally love to peel and boil them, and turn them into whipped sunchokes. They are related to artichokes, and have a lovely faint artichoke flavor – like and artichoke crossed with a Yukon Gold potato. Marvelous!

See you Friday!

~baconbit

Monday Monday

Wow – cold snap!

This weekend was miserably cold and damp, and I was not ready. Where was my cool fall weather? Crisp air with warm golden sun? Nothing!

Thankfully, the chill was kept at bay with a beef stew made from a lovely round roast from the Greenmarket with Japanese white turnips (Yunnos), onions, and red wine as a base. I served all that up with the last of the chestnut/mushroom polenta, and roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower.

A reader who follows our Twitter asked me how I roast my sprouts, and I promised I’d mark it next time I did it. It’s easy: Preheat oven to 450 while you trim and clean sprouts, drizzle with olive oil. Put oiled sprouts on a baking sheet. Put in oven for about 20 minutes. You’ll want to check at 10 minutes. All ovens run a little differently – mine it takes about 20 minutes for the sprouts to get that lovely brown edge to them.

This morning seems more like fall with the sun out – but still cold. Definitely a day for Irish cut oatmeal laced with fall wildflower honey (Tremblay Apiary) and pistachios. Mmmm.

~baconbit

Quick recon

It’s cold out there today! I’m going to have to get out a thicker coat!

I didn’t buy much today – but that’s not because there wasn’t plenty on sale! For those of you who like them, Maxwell’s had tomatillos as well as a HUGE assortment of end-of-season tomatoes. I have a feeling we’re coming to the end of such pleasures as the days get shorter and colder.

Beautiful mounds of produce abound – later on this week I’ll have to treat myself to the beautiful brussel sprouts I saw today. Brushed with olive oil, roasted in the oven, and sprinkled with sea salt, I could eat an entire stalk by myself.

Last night was all about prepping for the week ahead – the fridge is stocked with roasted squashes, roasted pork shoulder, and I prepped the chestnuts I bought last week. They are easy! Score on the flat side with a paring knife, and then boil for a few minutes (put in pot with cold water and bring up to a boil) or roast. The skin will peel back. You’ll want to keep them moist for easy peeling though!

I have a pint of peeled boiled chestnuts waiting to be added to something. Chestnut & squash soup? Or better yet: polenta with chestnuts? I think the latter, poured into a breadloaf pan for slicing and frying up later in the week will be just perfect. A small purchase of lettuces, and between that and the pork, a lovely meal.

Keep warm, all!

~baconbit

Hawt Dawg!

Today whilst perusing the offerings at Tamarack Hollow, I was informed that they are now offering hotdogs. They use mostly ham for the meat (and trimmings from the other cuts – but no assholes and lips), and thus they are a bit pricy, but I bought some because I was intrigued. I hope they are good at 5/$12!

I also picked up beautiful cranberry beans from Yunnos. As I walked to my office I suddenly realized I had the makings of old fashioned Franks n’ Beans! Well, that ought to be fun!

Lots of squashes of course this week, and a plethora of end-of-season flowers. The market is lovely.

~baconbit

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See you all around!

~baconbit

Back!

Hello all, I’m back at last. Did you miss me? I certainly missed you, and missed the market!

So many good things to come back to – MiniHubbard Squash at Evolutionary Organics and Japanese Turnips at Keith’s. I picked up Tamarack Hollow Bacon (I have missed you SO MUCH bacon!) and a scone for breakfast. I also got some aged sheep cheese with black truffles, and another with white pepper. Fantastic!

There is so much fruit at the market still – peaches at Keenan Farms, and berries at Berried Treasure. I even saw blueberries!

Sadly, no wild mushrooms today, but John Madura was there to make up the deficit.

As promised a picture of the entire cause for the interruption of this blog:

It’s good to be back.

~baconbit

Last Post – For awhile!

My dearest readers,

Today is my last day at work… for a little while at least! Today is my estimated due date, and I am headed out on maternity leave! It’s pretty heady & exciting stuff – but as I live on the opposite end of the island from the Union Square Greenmarket, the likelyhood of me getting to the market three times a week in the next few weeks is low. Part of the reason I am able to do this so regularly, is because the firm I work for is located right on the Square! However, expect a cute Greenmarket picture in about 6 or 7 weeks* featuring a locally grown baby!

Today it’s supposed to alternate between sun and thunderstorms. Strange! I decided to procure my last office lunch at the market: Pecorino fresco from Dancing Ewes farm. The lady says it’s a less aged version of the hard pecorino cheese we all love on pasta. Very creamy and she says it melts beautifully! I won’t be melting it at lunchtime, but I will be eating it on hunks of Bobolink’s Roasted Garlic & Duck Fat bread. Babies need fat for their brains, and who am I to deny my child the best? All this will be followed by a pint of or so of Berried Treasures TriStar/Wild Strawberries cross. YUM.

We are still working our way through a giant pork roast I bought, and I have only had fresh favas once this season. At Yunno’s, I stocked up on favas (and I saw that the Queens County Farm Museum had some too), and got some spearmint too. A few sprigs are in my water glass now gently flavoring my water. I also picked up a box of mini orange & wild cranberry scones from Wild Hive as an afternoon treat for my coworkers for being so lovely to me all through my pregnancy!

There was tons of fruit today – no peaches, but raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries abound. There’s even sour cherries if anyone would like to try making Sour Cherry Cordial. It’s truly magnificent stuff after it ages a year or so.

So, that’s it for now. I’ll be back regularly sometime in the Autumn, and perhaps sporadically through the summer. For now: have a marvelous summer full of food and joy!

All my love,
baconbit

*He’ll be born in the next week or two, but I am expecting that it may be 6 or 7 weeks before I come down to show him off at the office!