May 16

Well, we may have broken all crowd-size records on opening day last week. Thank you, Chappaqua, for letting us know how much you missed us! We feel the same. 

What I love about the month of May is that each week, I have the distinct pleasure of unveiling a new vendor to you. This week we have two first timers at the market.

We are over the moon to bring you LeRoux Trading Co., who will be selling fresh (not frozen) cuts of top-notch local, grass-fed beef from Highland Hollow Farm (a favorite among NYC chefs), so that you can buy your steak at the market and throw it on the grill as soon as  you get home, if that is your wont. (Worry not, Ryan of R&M Farm is here with his premiere cuts of beef as well). LeRoux, a one-stop shop, as it were, will also be selling select cheeses from Chaseholm Creamery, like the ever popular Nimbus and, drum-roll please, local heirloom and heritage grains, freshly-milled flour and local beans from Wild Hive Grain Project. They will also bring meadow butter and fresh creamery milk from Kriemhild Dairy.

With local grains and flour, and fresh cow’s milk on a weekly basis, in addition to sweet goat milk from Sugar Shack Creamery, we really are ticking a lot of boxes this year. 

What about tea, you say?

This week American Herbal Tea joins us. Tea-maker Alexandra Maniglia, a Croton-on-Hudson resident, hand blends all of her loos

e leaf herbal teas using herbs and flowers she sources directly from organic farms in Vermont. She will be an occasional vendor at the CFM, so if you like what you taste, stock up on her beautiful sustainable tea tins. 

Also new to the market this season, Nicky’s Made with Love granola. I could give you the hard sell, about how Nicky bakes it in small batches herself, ditching all additives, unnecessary sugars, and other ingredients she calls “junk.” But her nutty, fruit-forward granola speaks for itself, which is why she is eager to have you sample it. Generously.

Shuck NY was a big hit last week. We didn’t think anyone would request an oyster before mid-morning but at 8:15, even before we opened, someone had bellied up to the raw bar, and the customers kept on coming. The Sinatra tunes in the background were a nice touch. They will be back on June 13th though, if we can, we’ll try to get them sooner. 

No raw bar this week but we bring you of course Pura Vida’s exceptional line-up of locally-caught fish. Do make this spring-y cod recipe with the asparagus from Fresh Meadow or Caradonna Farm.

Charlotte’s Home Kitchen is not new to the plaza, she dropped in a couple of times last year at the end of the season. Long enough to know that she needed to be here on a more regular basis with her exquisite cakes, which happen to be vegan and gluten-free though you would never suspect it. In addition to being a talented baker, the former stylist is also an avid gardener and so she finds inspiration and ingredients from her kitchen farm making her a perfect fit.

Since there will be plenty of beef at the market this week, why not fire up the grill and make your own chimichurri sauce with all the herbs available at the market right now. (FYI, if you buy R&M’s frozen meat, you need only put it in a bowl of warm water, or on your countertop for the afternoon, for it to be ready for your sunset bbq). 

Fresh Meadow Farm is bringing nettles to the market! How lucky are we?

Buy a bunch and then check out this handy compendium and primer on cooking with nettles from Food52. And, White Moustache Yogurt joins us this week and every week for the remainder of the season. May the mad weekly dash for yogurt begin!

And, we promised you sandwiches from La Trafila last week. They will definitely be here this week and worth the wait.

Some of you couldn’t find the Green Tree Recycling Bin last week. Rest assured it will be here every week and, this Saturday, we will place it closer to the entrance so it's hard to miss.

This week, story time, courtesy of the Chappaqua Public Library, is offered from 10-10:30 a.m. for your kids’ enjoyment. And, you can head straight to the baby goats after that. Yes, we’re bringing them back for those of you who missed them last week. You’re welcome. 

See you at the market!