Farmer's Market Finds

One of my favorite things to do these days is to hit the Farmer's Market in Union Square, NYC on my Saturday afternoons. It's therapeutic. It's refreshing to meet such lovely people. I get my vitamin D. And I get my groceries for the next two weeks. I stock up on organic veggies, fruits-sometimes Jams and wine. I used to buy my produce at chain supermarkets, and wow, what a difference it makes if you buy organic and fresh. I buy what's in season. And what's in season usually tastes the BEST.

This time I bought fingerling potatoes and made a lovely potato side dish! It was divine! I bought Sunchokes and I cannot wait to roast those. I bought Winesap apples and Empire apples. Both are dessert apples that are juicy and tart just the way I like them. I bought Kale, which I always buy there but this time experimented buying something new such as Bok Choy. I'm excited to saute that. This go round I made sure to stop at my favorite Jam stand from Massachusetts and got Wild Apple Jelly. It's delicious. No corn syrup in those jams! I also bought organic cranberries-those are super tart this time of year and the most beautifully fresh long scallions. I swear I have never seen them so large! So much better then buying them at my local supermarket!

Maybe my pics will inspire you to shop organic and check out these local Farmer's Markets. Like anything else in NYC, any event is always a scene. And this is a lovely scene. It's also a lot cheaper to buy your fresh produce at a Farmer's Market rather then your local supermarket. I don't know about you, but I find my supermarkets to really jack up the prices of fruits and veggies.

Look at this lovely variety of potatoes! Who knew there were so many!!

Fresh Scallions (I have already shredded them here)

Fingerling Potatoes with olive oil, scallions, coconut milk, dried dill and chives, rosemary sea salt, pepper and BAM! Rice Chex cereal crushed and used as a bread crumb substitute. I threw all the ingredients in and covered the saute pan and simmered for about 20 minutes. The outcome was divine.

That's the JAM Man. And this man has been at this stand for as long as I can remember.

My favorite Jam stand. Jams and Jellies from Massachusetts. I have tried his Fig and Orange Jam, Raspberry Jam, Blueberry Jam, Blackberry Jam, Strawberry Jam…the list goes on.

These are the Empire Apples. They are TART. And I love a Tart apple!

Breezy Hill Orchard has the BEST apples! This apple is the Winesap and the ones in the way back of this pic are the Macoun which is a dessert apple from the Macintosh family. I have had both. In the beginning of Fall the Macoun apple was my favorite. And now as we are getting more into the heart of Fall, I find the tartness to have disappeared, so I have moved on to the Winesap and Empire apples. Mmmmm good!

Beautiful Cranberries! Great for Urinary Tract Infections. They taste super tart and I love sauteing them in with my Steak and with my Zucchini and Squashes. I recently put them in my green smoothies to give it that sweetness without adding additional sugars.

These are Sunchokes in case you didn't know. I recently had Sunchokes (which is another word for Jerusalem Artichokes) at a restaurant. What an amazing root veggie that is not promoted enough. All you have to do is scrub them, slice them and roast them in olive oil with your favorite herbs and spices. Put them in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes and you have yourself a hearty healthy treat. I can't wait to play with these!

Another amazing veggie that is not promoted enough in a positive light is Brussels Sprout. I am sure you remember those old fashion television shows where the mom says to the kids "Eat your green veggies" and then you see the kid feeding the Brussels Sprout to the dog. Ha! As an adult this is one of my favorite veggies!! And these days the restaurant business really promotes this veggie in all forms. It's a popular one, and another easy one to make!

I never knew there were so many different kinds of kale! See what happens when you go to the Farmer's Market? You get educated! They all taste differently. How gorgeous is that?