Fabulous Fresh Finds, Week 5: Adjusting Expectations

I happily loaded my two empty Ronnybrook milk bottles into my tote bags this past Saturday for my usual jaunt to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket. I was looking forward to not only the Ronnybrook Farm Dairy stand, where I would return said bottles for a new one (this being for the milk-drinker in my household) and also purchase a quart of yogurt, but I was also hoping for more sausage from Flying Pigs Farm. I could almost taste the pork. Yum.

Upon getting there, I found a much smaller market than in previous weeks. Ronnybrook and Flying Pigs were nowhere to be found! Shopping with admittedly less excitement than usual, I stopped at Evolutionary Organics (Ulster County, NY), where I found broccoli rabe and my excitement was restored. I love broccoli rabe. I also bought a red pepper. I then got a "party pack" of blackberries and raspberries and a bunch of arugula from Phillips Farms (Hunterdon County, NJ), and — my favorite food item of the day — grapes from Buzzard Crest Vineyards (Yates County, NY).

Then, I just couldn't resist the lure of the Lebak Farm (Burlington County, NJ) flower stand. I bought a bunch of sunflowers. Be aware about these though, if you're carrying sunflowers, you might be followed for a block or two by a bee (or two). Totally worth it though.

The grapes are fabulous — they taste like little balls of grape juice that pop open in your mouth. I didn't realize how bland store-bought grapes were until I had these. The fresh broccoli rabe tasted much less bitter than store-bought broccoli rabe. I blanched it and sauteed it with some fresh garlic (from a couple of weeks ago) and oil. I definitely didn't buy enough though, it cooked way down (duh).

We're going to a wedding on Long Island this Saturday, so no market again for a week! Oh well.

The Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket is held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round. The city's Greenmarkets are a program of GrowNYC, a non-profit geared toward improving the quality of life in the five boroughs through environmental programs. This particular Greenmarket, founded in 1989, is GrowNYC's flagship Brooklyn market and is its second largest market behind Union Square.

Related:
Fabulous Fresh Finds, Week 4: Change of Plans
Fabulous Fresh Finds, Week 3: On the Road
Fabulous Fresh Finds: Week 2
New Blog Feature: Fabulous Fresh Finds