Going Greenmarket

With Labor Day around the corner, I’ll soon be raiding my closet’s archives to take stock of what can be put to use this Fall and what I’ll need to hit the stores for (and with a little bit of luck and a lot of salad, I’ll spare my wallet and fit into some of my old favorites!)

In addition to being the season for a wardrobe shakeup, we’re also entering the late summer/early Fall peak season for local produce…so, not only will I be making room for sweaters and boots, I’ll also be clearing [kitchen] space for Swiss chard and beets!

I’ve decided that it would be terrific to actually meet the folks that make this bounty happen, so I’ll be heading to the Union Square Greenmarket as often as I can, in addition to receiving my produce box from Urban Organic.
I kicked off the produce bonanza by taking a tour of the Greenmarket—along with other produce and food loving folks— led by the executive chef of Butter Restaurant and Greenmarket-maven, Chef Alex Guarnaschelli (who also prepared a mouth-watering post-tour lunch to showcase many of the Greenmarket's offerings).

Chef Guarnaschelli introduced us to some of her favorite farms and what they are known for, which I'll share with you here, and I’ve created my own set of pointers for your Greenmarket shopping pleasure. Here are the chef’s favorite farms—at least those that we were able to visit on the tour—followed by Produce Mamma’s Top 10 Greenmarket Tips:

Greenmarket Tour Highlights

Paffenroth Gardens (Warwick, NY)
Known for their rich black soil, this is the place to go for a variety of onions and potatoes; farmer Alex Paffenroth also introduced me to Cutting Celery, an herb that looks like parsley, but tastes like celery!

Cherry Lane Farms (Bridgeton, NJ)
Ray and Sue Dare grow wonderful Kirby cucumbers—great for pickling—in addition to heirloom tomatoes, okra, lima beans, fairy tale eggplant, asparagus and more. According to Sue, the best way to prepare asparagus is to soak overnight and roast.

Eckerton Hill Farms (Lenhartsville, PA)
Chef Guarnaschelli isn’t alone in her love for Tim Stark’s various chili peppers (the smaller the spicier, she says), different cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and small, candy-like tomatoes. This stand is very popular amongst the city’s top chefs and often sells out early—especially if Tim looks anxious…then you know that he has a really great crop to sell!

Blue Moon Fish (Long Island)
You might not think to buy fish at the Greenmarket, but proteins like fish and shellfish have seasons, too. Fisherman and captain Alex Villani keeps his coolers stocked with local fluke, striped bass, clams, oysters, tuna, and more….all naturally loaded with Omega-3’s. Visit the Blue Moon Fish website for a list of the types of fish sold at the market and when they’re in season.

Windfall Farms (Montgomery, NY)
Known as being more expensive than others, the produce is worth the extra cost, according to Chef Guarnaschelli. Farmer Morse Pitts offers up delicious orange cherry tomatoes, baby greens, Mexican sour gherkins, squash blossoms, eggs and more.

Mountain Sweet Berry Farms (Roscoe, NY)
In addition to sweet strawberries, farmer Rick Bishop has lettuce so sweet and alive that Chef Guarnachelli can almost hear it crying when she has to tear some of it up for a salad. Rick is also known for basil, fava beans, potatoes, and more.

Berried Treasures (Cooks Falls, NY)
Franca Tantillo’s tristar strawberries are bursting with flavor—she let me know that this is due to their high Brix content (which is the same unit of measurement that winemakers use to check the sweetness of grapes). Franca reminded us that the soil is truly the most important ingredient, and the higher the mineral content in the soil, then the higher the sugar content of the fruit or vegetable. In addition to tristars and nuggets of farming wisdom, Berried Treasures is a great place to pick up golden raspberries, shelling beans, okra, pepper tomatoes (tomatoes that look like small peppers), hissop (Chef Guarnaschelli likes to add it bubbling honey for a delicious syrup that's great in iced tea), and burgundy beans, also known as purple string beans…which couldn't be easier to cook since they turn green when they're ready but do taste and look great sliced up raw on top of a salad.

We weren’t able to visit all of the farm stands, so check out the full Greenmarket farmer list when you can, or just head to the market to find them in person...but read my tips first!

Produce Mamma’s Top 10 Greenmarket Tips

10. Visit the information stand for a map and recipe handouts

9. Take note of nearby restrooms (at the Union Square Greenmarket, head to Borders to the north, or Whole Foods to the south)

8. Since the market is outdoors, it’s smart to dress in layers and bring a hat

7. Get there early…many of the more popular stands can sell out by noon!

6. It’s a cash-only operation, so hit the ATM before you go (be sure to bring along enough cash for a cab ride home, too…since you may not be able to manage the subway or bus with your loot!)

5. Bring your own bags, if you can (I love my Envirosax bags...they're durable, come in attractive prints and roll right up when not in use)

4. Remember to visit the protein stands as they, too, have local seasons

3. Don’t bring a shopping list…but do bring paper and pen to jot down recipe suggestions as you become inspired by what’s available

2. Use your nose; pick up a veggie or fruit and sniff for sweetness

1. Ask questions: Look the person who produced your food in the eye and learn more about their farming practices, not just whether or not they are “organic”—because many can’t say that they officially are. And don’t walk away if they aren’t— it’s a complicated issue, but many of the Greenmarket's farms aren’t able to advertise as being organic even though they practice organic farming.

The Windfall Farms blog has a brief explanation of why this is happening, just look to the right side in the Ethics column.

Anyone want to join me at the Greenmarket next week??

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It Ain't Easy Being Greens

Move over spinach, there’s another group of greens in town. They might not be as popular—at least not within my city limits—but they, too, pack a nutritious Popeye-punch.

This past weekend I whipped up a lunch menu to feature three of my now-favorite leafy greens: collard, kale, and dandelion…oh my! These greens aren’t all too popular here in New York City, perhaps because they don’t seem easy to work with and can be quite hard to find (canvas your neighborhood markets or just get them delivered via Urban Organic, like me!). But with a greater awareness of making every bite count, they are sure to rise to the top of produce shopping lists both downtown and up.

Roasted Kale
Ever a sucker for good pitches, I came across a Roasted Kale recipe by Stephanie Gallagher that promises to be “one of the tastiest kale recipes you’ll ever find” and I was sold. Once coated in extra-virgin olive oil and happy in the oven, the kale shrinks and shrivels and becomes thin and crunchy and totally yummy. Add a little sprinkle of good-quality coarse salt and toss a handful in your mouth like popcorn. It was an unexpected hit as a starter for my greens trifecta lunch—just ask the boys' east coast grandparents and fabulous aunt, who were all a bit surprised that they actually liked it. I'm going to keep this recipe handy for when the twins get older because I could see it being a terrific snack for kids.

Also, if you’re not up for roasting kale, visit my Brunch 101 entry and try out the Kale Pesto that can be used as a base for my kale pesto dip!

Dandelion Greens and Strawberry Salad
What the heck are dandelion greens anyway? You’re not the only one to wonder! My husband, Steve, was frightened by the spear-like green and swore that he wouldn’t eat them, no matter how nutrient-packed. In the end, he really loved the salad that I made with dandelion and strawberries, but that wasn’t the original recipe plan.

The original dandelion greens salad recipe that I tried turned out to be a disappointment in the flavor department; it was too bitter, as dandelions can sometimes be. I put the salad aside to think about what I could do to save it, and suddenly it dawned on me: the salad needed a bit of sweetness…and I had received a basket of strawberries in my organic produce box!!

For curiosity sake, I did a quick search online to see if dandelion and strawberries were a tried and true flavor combination and it turns out that they are. So, here’s a recipe using the original dandelion greens salad as a base, along with the strawberries and some salty feta cheese from the second recipe. The strawberries and feta made for a dramatic dish makeover and really saved the day...er, dish.

Dandelion and Strawberry Salad
1 large bunch dandelion greens, washed and ends trimmed off
3 green onions, chopped
3 teaspoons fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried (I used my grandmother’s homemade dried dill)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small basket strawberries, sliced (approximately 1/2 pound)
Crumbled feta cheese—as much as you see fit
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Collard Greens with Brown Rice
Here’s a tip on making sure that you “eat yer greens”: mix them in with something else! I decided to cook my collard greens with brown rice—in the same pot—using a collards and rice recipe that I made extra special by using the Brown Rice Medley from Trader Joe’s instead of regular long-grain rice. The TJ's mix has long-grain brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds that add flavor and give the dish some added color, too (the radish seeds don't show up well in the photo, but they're little red pearls in person). I served my collards and rice with jumbo shrimp (also from Trader Joe’s) that I sautéed in a LITTLE butter with garlic and white wine, and parsley for some coordinating green.

So, what do you think? Are you going to give these leafy guys a shot? It might not be easy being greens, but they sure can taste good!

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