I guess Greenmarket Report is pretty fallow these days. However, I’ve started a new project & blog, called Gardens, Not Gas. I’d love it if you came by and checked it out!

http://gardensnotgas.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

~baconbit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://twitter.com/greenmktreport

See you all around!

~baconbit

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