New York Botanical Garden Greenmarket

For the past several seasons, I’ve wanted to visit the New York Botanical Garden Greenmarket.   I’m happy to report that I finally went! Every Wednesday throughout the summer and fall, the country comes to the city, offering New Yorkers access to phenomenally fresh food, at a great price.  

The market features vendors from New York’s Hudson Valley region, and offers an array of seasonal produce, and home-made baked goods too.  It was such an easy and convenient way to shop local, with the added bonus of being surrounded by beautiful fall foliage.

Located at the base of the Tulip Tree Allee by the Mosholu Gate, there was a huge variety of colorful produce on display, as well as fresh herbs.  The abundance of radishes, mixed greens, squashes, ripe tomatoes, and just-harvested apples was overwhelming.  There were also pears, cranberry beans, eggplants, cauliflower, corn, cabbage, kale, and even bok choy.  The list was quite endless.

In addition to buying vegetables, there was a not-so-slight detour over to the Bread Alone booth.  Bread Alone sells organic baked goods, and I had a wonderfully rich chocolate chip scone. Equally scrumptious was the baked apple pie which had the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

The complete list of vendors included:

• Bread Alone Bakery, Boiceville, NY – Bread Alone Bakery currently bakes both organic whole grain breads and all natural, hand made pastries in its main bakery.
• Gajeski Produce: They offered vegetables from their 125-acre produce farm on the North Fork of Long Island, Riverhead, NY.
• The Little Bake Shop, Valley Cottage, NY – offered fresh baked goods, including a variety of gluten-free products.
• Migliorelli Farm, Tivoli, NY – a family-run fruit and vegetable farm located in Northern Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley Region of New York. 
• Perez Farm, Goshen, NY – fresh produce and herbs
• Red Jacket Orchard, Geneva, NY – Located in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of New York State along the rolling hills of Seneca Lake, Red Jacket was originally planted in 1917.  Today, the orchard and juice company is managed by the second and third generation of the Nicholson family. apples, pears, and cider

Greenmarket is one of the largest and most successful open-air farmers market in the country, and since 1976 has been working to promote regional agriculture, preserve farmland, and ensure a continuing supply of fresh, local produce for all New Yorkers. To learn more about GrowNYC’s Greenmarket, gardening, recycling, and education programs, visit Grow NYC.  The New York Botanical Garden Greenmarket will be open every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until November 29.

New Amsterdam Village at NY 400 Week

NY400 Week honored the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in New York Harbor. There were a series of cultural events that celebrated the friendship, between New York and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  I had a chance to visit the New Amsterdam Village, which was a temporary pop-up installation of 12 replica Dutch canal houses, a windmill, and various kiosks with Dutch crafts. In addition several people sampled traditional foods like cheese, beer, herring and "dollar" pancakes. Here are several photos from my visit.  The village was set up at the entrance of the National Museum of the American Indian, which is an incredible, free Smithsonian Museum on Bowling Green in Manhattan.

I watched Jacques Coolen of Erkend bloemsierkunstenaar make beautiful candy flowers!

Yes, the wooden shoemaking demonstration was quite intriguing.  The festiveal also featured Delft blue painiting, and glassblowing demonstrations.

The view of New Amsterdam Village with the National Museum of the American Indian in the background.

There were even greenhouses to showcase the Dutch innovations in greenhouses, and solar energy. There were also several displays of Dutch bulbs.