greenmarkets

6 Ideas for Picking a Great CSA

by Anne Maxfield on May 6, 2013

Accidental Locavore Spring VeggiesWhile you may not realize it, the Accidental Locavore has never formally been a part of a CSA (a CSA, if you’re not familiar with it, stands for community sponsored agriculture and is essentially a pre-paid pot-luck share of the farm’s bounty). Mostly I was spoiled in the beginning by having my own personal farmer/shopper/CSA with my farmer down the road. What he didn’t have (which was very little) I could always supplement with an occasional trip to the Greenmarkets in the city. And last year, when he gave up farming, I transferred my loyalties to Ron at Stokes Farm who would put bags together for me at the market (and has now turned into his Thyme Saver Box). As good as that was, one of the things that was missing, was the pure surprise of just being handed a box (or bag) of veggie goodies. In other words, I had a little too much say in what went into the bags, so there were never really any big food challenges.

This year, we’re up at our Hudson Valley house full time and while I could try to expand my herb garden, my history with growing edible food is not confidence building. In other words, if we were alone in the world, you would not want to be handing me the bag of seeds and a shovel. Better left to the professionals! But which professionals? We’re fortunate to have a lot of really wonderful farms near us and most of them offer CSA’s  These were my criteria for picking one and while yours will probably be different, these can be some guidelines:Accidental Locavore Strawberries

  1. A convenient pick-up place, day and time. You need to think about where and when you want to have an abundance of produce. Do you cook and entertain during the weekends? Or will you use it mostly during the week? When will you have time to wash/prep stuff? Do you have fridge space?
  2. A reasonable share for two people. I hate wasting food and sometimes feel like the kitchen version of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice-cooking as fast as I can, only to have a whole new box show up.
  3. For some, organic is important; I’m more into sustainable practices (you never know what the guy next door is flooding the water table with…), but if organic matters, only look for those farmers.
  4. A farmer/farm referral. Like most business relationships, it’s all about doing business with people you know and like. The CSA that I went with is being run by a woman I know (extra points for being a female farmer) and like, both personally and her agricultural point of view.Accidental Locavore Summer Greens
  5. Giving back to the community. This is more of an extra credit thing, but this farm/CSA is in the middle of an urban area and gives back through education and by providing produce to local families.
  6. What foodstuffs you’re looking for. Since we’ve got a freezer full of beef (from our share from Brykill Farm), we were looking mostly for produce. However there are many that offer meat, poultry and other foods in combination. A few minutes on the Internet should find you just what you need.

Whatever you decide, a CSA is a great way of exploring new foods, while supporting farmers-a perfect combination. But act soon, many of the most popular may be sold out for the season!

{ 0 comments }

The Top 9 Things NOT to do at a Farmers’ Market.

by Anne Maxfield on July 9, 2012

Accidental Locavore Tomato Close Up

Because the Accidental Locavore was on vacation last week, and since it’s getting to be peak Farmers’ Market season, I thought it was a good time to re-run my farmers’ favorite posting.

During the taping of a new cooking show the Accidental Locavore was talking to a couple of farmers who have been at the various Greenmarkets in New York City for years. As you can imagine, they’ve witnessed a lot, from drunks, dogs and kids all run amuck, to women with cigarettes demanding to know if the produce is organic, they’ve seen it all. Some of their stories may surprise you and if you recognize yourself…

  1. For example, the Locavore never realized that if you pick up a tomato to see how ripe it is, put it down, someone else picks it up, etc, etc., by the end of the day it’s essentially a tomato water balloon. Not good.
  2. Usually farmers are happy to let you taste berries. However, if you taste a berry and like it, take the box you picked the berry from. Don’t get a new box and don’t add more berries to the box you have.
  3. Accidental Locavore Fresh CornThe Locavore’s pet peeve at any market: shucking corn. It makes a huge mess and nothing else. If you take it home shucked, it loses moisture and flavor (and you’ve got nothing to grill it in, one of the best and easiest ways to cook corn). The way to see if an ear of corn is going to be good is to look at it. It should look fresh and moist, not dried out. If you are a corn shucker, try picking one or two ears that look good to you, take them home un-shucked and see how they compare to the ones you made a mess with. My history shows a 98% success rate just going for the good-looking ones.
  4. One of the charms of any farmers’ markets is the pace. Give yourself time to wander through and see what’s available. Talk with the farmers, they welcome your appreciation of their hard work. In return, they will be happy to help you pick out the best stuff, find something that may not have been put out yet, take special orders, or save you something if you can’t get there early, and often give you tips on how to prepare it.
  5. Remember, all this beautiful food is really labor intensive. It’s planted, weeded and harvested, primarily by hand. Trust me, these guys work hard, harder than you or I. If prices seem higher than at a big supermarket, be thankful you have access to the remarkable taste that only comes from something being picked that morning, at the peak of flavor. Not to mention the variety. Even at the best stores, you never see twenty different kinds of eggplants or forty varieties of tomatoes. Accidental Locavore Mushroom Guy
  6. Even if you are in a rush, hand them the money. If you’re in such a hurry that you feel the need to leave the money on the counter, leave it right in front of them so they don’t have to reach across to get it (or worse, someone else picks it up). And if you’re in that much of a hurry, chill (and stop shucking that corn).
  7. Would you leave an empty coffee cup or other garbage on the counter at Tiffany’s? Then why do you think you can do it at a Greenmarket? Because it’s outside??? All vendors have trash cans, usually behind the counter, just ask nicely and they’ll toss your trash.
  8. If you want cheap prices, to be able to run in and out, grab a handful of plastic bags and toss money on a counter, go to a supermarket (and use the self service line), but then don’t complain that the veggies don’t taste good.  When you go to a farmers market, you should be looking for a more personal experience, a slower pace, an interaction with the people who spend their lives bringing us great food to eat.
  9. And if you want to see if a tomato can actually be a water balloon, just do the one thing that’s universally despised by farmers everywhere…shake your bag in their face…

Don’t say you weren’t warned! Did I miss anything?

 

 

{ 10 comments }

The Accidental Locavore’s Guide to Eating Local and Fresh in Maine

by Anne Maxfield on August 5, 2011

Accidental Locavore Maine Coast

So when the Accidental Locavore isn’t hanging at the bar at Cafe Miranda, what else is she eating that’s local and fresh on the coast of Maine? If you happen to be heading up to the Maine Lobster Festival this weekend, here are some food ideas to get you away from the crowds.

How about water buffalo burgers sourced from the farmers’ market in Camden  stuffed with cheese from Hahn’s End, one of the artisanal cheesemakers there too? Delicious and a healthy alternative…well, except for the cheese…to a beef burger. Grab a piece of their “Petit Poulet,” an ash-rubbed semi-soft cheese to nibble on. If you go to the market on a Saturday, Uproot Pie Company is there with a portable wood-burning pizza oven turning out great looking pies. Wouldn’t that be great (and mobbed) at the Greenmarkets in New York?Accidental Locavore Camden Farmers Market

Another favorite place is your typical lobster joint, Waterman’s Beach. The Locavore thinks it’s pretty safe to say that most fish places on remote beaches have amazing food, world-wide. Waterman’s was actually the recipient of a James Beard Award, but that hasn’t gone to their heads. Lorri and Sandy and their crew serve great lobsters, crabmeat rolls, clams and a lobster roll that the Daily Meal rated one of the best in Maine. Me, I like my lobster straight-up with melted butter and possibly a second “twin” lobster to keep it company. Or if it’s lunchtime, their crabmeat rolls are great. What’s cool at Waterman’s is that you can bring your own wine and when the bottle is empty, add it to the eclectic collection lining the railing. Last summer we spotted an empty bottle of La Tache, supposedly a gift to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and now in my mother’s collection (to disguise the two-buck-Chuck?).Accidental Locavore Lobster Roll

Since Manhattan, for all its good qualities, still hasn’t learned to appreciate a decent fried clam, the Locavore waits all year to hit Maine for real fried clams (the difference? Whole clams vs. strips). This year we found good ones at a friend’s restaurant, the Slipway in Thomaston and really good ones at the Happy Clam, a German restaurant in Tenant’s Harbor.

And the last of the local food? Besides a quart of Maine blueberries on the trip home, what’s become a must-stop for my husband is Morse’s. Maine is full of great places for food in the most unimaginable locations and Morse’s, ten miles off the highway, is really in the middle of nowhere. Their specialties are their own sauerkraut, beet slaw and pickles. There’s a restaurant serving Middle-European breakfast and lunch and the store has charcuterie from all over the world.

So, well-stocked and well-fed, we hit the road, vowing once again never to eat again…

{ 1 comment }

Why Do We Shop Where We Do?

by Anne Maxfield on January 24, 2011

Accidental Locavore Oakland Market

Why do we shop where we do, in certain stores no matter what? And why do we go out of our way to avoid shopping in other places, despite convenience? The other day, the Accidental Locavore was in Quattro’s the butcher up in the country (they also do the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays). I shop there because the butchers working there have taught me a lot about meat, choosing it and cooking it, and Paul, the most recent butcher, makes an amazing Italian sandwich, discovered by accident.

The other day, there were only women working there. I asked where Paul was and Joyce said “you haven’t been here in a while, have you? He left the week before Thanksgiving.” Which is a lousy time to loose a butcher. We started talking about how disappointed people were to find him gone, but how the new guy they had hired had come from a very upscale market nearby that had gone bankrupt, and had his own following.

Which got me to thinking, why do we shop where we do? I shop at Quattro’s because they raise their own chickens and other poultry, have good bacon, good meat, and in the days of Paul, made a great sandwich. And while they’re slicing meat, there’s always the chance to catch up on local news and gossip. How else do you know that a black bear from Connecticut got hit by a car near your house, or where Oprah was eating ice cream in Rhinebeck the weekend of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding?

In the city, the closest you get to those kind of conversations is at the greenmarkets. I was at our local greenmarket in Lincoln Center last week. In the middle of the winter, a few, very hardy vendors had set up shop. First up, local cheese, and the woman running Bobolink Dairy, was happy to feed me tastings of her various cheeses. We started to bond, when we decided it was never to early to eat stinky cheese. Her John-Louise cheese (named after John-Louis Palladin, how could you resist?) is a wonderful creamy, stinky cheese, great over a slice of rustic bread. She in turn, sent me to the guy across the way who had a lovely duck salami.

As much as Fresh Direct is great for all the stuff that’s too heavy to schlepp, and Whole Foods or Trader Joes, for everything else, I like have the interaction with the farmers, and vendors who really know their products, and take pride in sharing their knowledge and a little gossip. What about you, where do you shop and why?

Many thanks to Wendy Hanson for the great photos from the Oakland Farmers Market.

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries