Farmers Market Week in Review
Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 7:52PM In my walks by the farmers market the past week or week and a half, I have noticed new colors and smells, but couldn't stop in to partake. Yesterday, I hauled home an incredible late spring, early summer bounty full of strawberries, greenhouse tomatoes, asparagus, onions, carrots, beautiful green swiss chard, bok choi and a great loaf of harvest grain bread.
I am thinking that this year there is less on offer at my downtown Brooklyn farmers market, or maybe I'm just going more regularly so that the changes are less dramatic for me. I do think there is at least one or two less fruit and vegetable vendors. The sheep's milk ricotta vendor that last summer made me want to throw over family members in order to get one more tub isn't around (although the new cheese guy has some nice wares...just haven't tasted yet).
Between the above realization and the fact that I'm really making a much bigger effort to eat local, I'm embarking on some new adventures in the farmers market world. This week I'm going to check out at the Fulton Street Seaport market which just opened about a week ago. I'll try and check out the Bowling Green farmers market if I can. I know they are not in Brooklyn and so it does slightly violate the whole "Brooklyn Forager" thing, but they are both very much in my immediate foraging area. And I don't have a Saturday for a couple of weeks until I get to try out the Grand Army Plaza market. I have a feeling that one will enter more regularly into my rotation since it's the biggest in Brooklyn and has more meats and grains and varied vendors.
Don't get me wrong, I love my farmers market. But if I'm going to really make a go of this, I'm going to have to broaden my Brooklyn (and neighboring) horizons.
