One of my favorite "Only in New York" food stories from my newspaper food-writing days was the story I wrote about a Coney Island fishmonger who used to spin his whole octopus in a washing machine to tenderize it.
Cutting-edge chefs like Wylie Dufresne would line up for sweet and tender octopus as would groups of elderly Greek "yayas" who came each week by bus from Pennsylvania.
So imagine my surprise when Orchard Hill Organics posted on Instagram this week that they had retrofitted a washing machine to spin their greens.
"During peak season we harvest hundreds of pounds of salad greens every week," the post read. "It used to take nearly a full day to wash, spin and dry all of them. With our new converted washing machine it takes only an hour to do the same quantity. It's tools like these that bring farm efficiency to the next level and are game changing for a small farm like ours." You know where to go this week for the cleanest greens. Find out more here.
We were all sad to hear that Jovian of Hive Juice was packing up his behemoth juice extractor and closing up his business for a new life with his family in South Carolina.
We finally found a juice bar to replace them.Freckles Juice joins us this weekend and will be here every other weekend. Based in the Bronx, with satellite stores in Brooklyn and White Plains, Freckles specializes in natural smoothies and juices featuring organic ingredients and super foods "that are packed with the vitamins your body needs to be at its best!" Like Hive, they also offer fasting juices. They will be here every first and third Saturday.
La Trafila returns with their small-batch artisanal pastas with compound herb butters and unique sauces to match their pastas.
We've been getting lovely comments about the meat at R & M Farms. Pick up a steak from their stall or Farm EATS, and make your own chimichurri sauce with all the herbs flooding the market. (Need help chopping all those herbs? Pick up a mezza luna from American Bow Knife.)
Or, make this perfect springtime pork bowl. This NYT recipe ticked all the boxes for me!
Have you tried some of the chocolate mint from Fresh Meadow Farm? Add a few crushed dried leaves to your Don Carvajal coffee grinds before percolating to add an extra layer of flavor to your brew. Add it to cocktails as a muddled herb or garnish.
Speaking of cocktails... Cooper's Daughter is also joining us. This woman-owned distillery specializes in vodka s and bourbons infused with local ingredients like black walnut, rhubarb and honey.
Is gin more your jam? You're in luck. Neversink Spirits will also be here Saturday with their botanical gin just waiting to elevate your summer g&ts.
Bella's Bake Shop from Mt. Kisco joins us this week for the first time. They will be bringing their crisp and colorful macarons as well as Viennoiserie and some of their specialty breads on the third Saturday of each month. Brunch/lunch options at the market this week? Pizza Vitale pies and Spain at Home paella served from a sizzling giant paella pan.
The knife sharpener was not scheduled to return until June 11th, but he decided to add a visit this Saturday so that you can all get your pruning shears in tip top shape for a weekend of gardening. Sam, from Fresh Meadow Farm says the next two weeks are the best window to plant their tomato, eggplant, zucchini and pepper seedlings. Wright's Farm will be returning in early June when their strawberries finally come in. Caradonna Farms will hold down the fruit fort until then. Don't forget to bring your unwanted clothes and household linens to the Green Tree Recycling Bin. See you at the market!