Farmer's Market Delivery

One of the best things about being in New York is the Union Square Greenmarket. Not only does it have an amazing array of familiar produce like peaches and corn but it has also introduced Collin Murray and I to a ton of fruits and vegetables that we have never seen or heard of. It is such an exciting place to shop because the it is a truly interactive market. The farmer's who grow the produce that you are purchasing are the ones that take your money and they have a great deal of pride in their products and they are also more than willing to tell you about how they grew them and how to prepare them. Their passion makes it easy for you to get on-board with the idea of buying local and having an awareness of where your food comes from.


Fresh plums in the foreground, and a bounty of other products in the background


Itty bitty eggplants

This week my Greenmarket discovery was one that really excited me: I found fresh chickpeas at the market! I know it may seem silly but I had never really thought about the fact that chickpeas are grown on stalks, come in little pods and begin their lives as a fresh product! To me, I guess I had always seen them dried or in a can and I was so excited to see the fresh version. I asked the farmer how to prepare them and he told me that you simply pop the pod open with your fingers (they actually make quite a loud popping sound!) and shell the chickpeas. You can use them raw in salads or you could saute them, roast them, or steam them and then add them to pastas or stir fries.


Closed chickpea...


Open chickpea!

The other really interesting aspect to the Greenmarket that really delights Collin Murray and I is that you can watch dozens of chefs from some of New York's best restaurants shopping at the market. Often the chefs come in pairs and select produce for that night's specials but a lot of restaurants use the Greenmarket farmer's as some of their primary fruit and vegetable suppliers and so they have standing orders that are picked up on market days. As I said, sometimes the chefs from restaurants that the Greenmarket supplies just pick up their orders and lug them back to the restaurant but others, like Chef April Bloomfield's tiny gastro-pub, The Spotted Pig, have devised other ways of transporting their farmer's market purchases...


The Spotted Pig's delivery bicycle and cart!

As you can see there really is a lot of things to see, taste, and learn at the farmer's market and I hope y'all with take the time to explore your own local market and get excited about the fresh produce that you find!