The greenmarket is really starting to slow down now that Thanksgiving has passed. There are fewer vendors each week, and their stalls are getting smaller. The south end of Union Square will be crowded out by the Holiday Market through the end of the year. (Look for a post tomorrow about the Holiday Market.)
The greenmarket features fewer freshly harvested vegetables, and we already have ample photos of those are that are still being sold, such as Brussel sprouts and kale. Until March or April the focus of the market will be storage vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, etc. A greater percentage of the market is taken up by the vendors selling dairy, meat, baked goods, maple syrup, honey, wine, and cider.
We will continue to shop at the greenmarket every week, despite the decreasing selection and increasing cold. After all, we are trying to eat local even during the “dark days”. The “Market Day” posts, however, will be short. We like to take pictures of the new and fresh-looking items at the market each week, and the season for those shots is over. I’ll still carry my camera and take interesting photos when I see them, but we don’t want to be redundant. Some weeks in the winter we might skip the “Market Day” post altogether, particularly in inclement weather, so FYI.
Enough with the preamble. Here are the pictures from today.
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For the month of December many stalls are filled with holiday decorations. In January, their sudden absence will be very noticeable. Below is a pretty wreath made of berries, and another made entirely of fresh herbs (and it smells terrific):
Increasing amounts of real estate come to be dominated by the bread sellers and the cider-makers. Maybe they have an up-tick in sales during the holidays?
Chateau Renaissance is a local wine maker who is at the market all year, but so far we have not posted any pictures:
We needed to restock on local honey, and found a great apiary, Twin Spruce Apiaries. We had never really noticed them before, but that’s not to say they weren’t always there. They have an ample selection of local honey, and they offer various interesting types, ranging from standard wildflower honey to buckwheat honey to bamboo honey. These “flavors” vary greatly in color and taste, and are a result of the fact that they keep the bees year-round and rotate the plants available for the bees to pollinate. The different pollen gives the honey varying characteristics.
Also, if you suffer from spring allergies, you can fight them proactively by consuming a teaspoon of honey daily, starting in February. The honey has to be local and wild. You want the honey to be made from the pollen of the plants that will give you problems. Your body will come to recognize the pollen and create the proper antigens before getting hit by the real thing. Keep in mind that you don’t want to use special varieties like buckwheat or bamboo, because chances are those are not the right plants.
They also sell “chunky” honey and honey with the honeycomb in the jar!
Here are two random shots that I took today, of the view north from Union Square, and of a squirrel:
