Community Markets » Markets of New York

Photo of the Day – July 12, 2010: Bread Alone

Organic, whole grain artisanal rolls from Bread Alone, photographed at the Fulton Stall Market

If you’ve ever picked up a loaf of bread at a farmers market in the city, or in New York State for that matter, odds are that it was made by Bread Alone. I have been buying rolls, health loaves, and almond croissants from this bakery for years at the Abingdon Square Greenmarket. Their breads are organic and whole grain, and the pastries are made from all natural ingredients. Every loaf or roll is made with care and a commitment to quality and outstanding flavor.

One of my very favorite snacks is a slice of chewy, rich health bread slathered with organic peanut butter and some artisanal jam, maybe pure strawberry from Beth’s Farm Kitchen or the more complex cherry/raspberry/sage/clove from School House Kitchen. Delicious, healthy – and filling!

You can find Bread Alone’s breads, pastries, cookies, and other sweet treats at almost 50 Greenmarkets and Community Markets and more in the five boroughs and the region each week, as well as multiple retail outlets and online.

Photo of the Day – April 7, 2010: Adair Vinyards

Cayuga White from Adair Vinyards, Community Market at the Old Can Factory

I tasted the Cayuga White from family run Adair Vinyards in the Historic Hudson Valley and was blown away by the strong caramel flavors. Cold and refreshing, this wine is perfect for a springtime picnic. You can find this and other wines from Adair at the Community Markets Farmers Market at the Old American Can Factory.

Photo of the Day: March 31, 2010

Makhani Simmer Sauce from Calcutta Kitchens

Using traditional methods and spices combined with the freshest ingredients, Calcutta Kitchens make it easy for us all to enjoy wonderful complexities of Indian cuisine. The Makhani Simmer Sauce that I brought home took me no time at all to heat up with chicken, and it made for a sensational dinner! Calcutta Kitchens is a part of the Community Markets organization, and you can find their chutneys, simmer sauces and other Indian delicacies at these markets in and around New York City. (Market Schedule)

The chutneys and simmer sauces from is the perfect way to satisfy your frequent cravings for Indian Cuisine!

Community Markets

Fun Valentine’s Day Events at the Markets this Weekend!

Whether love is in the air for you or not, there are some great artisan and food events planned for this weekend. Clearly Brooklyn “hearts” Valentine’s Day! (Check the Markets of New York City Facebook Page for updates!)

Greenpoint Food Market: A Food Affair
Saturday February 13^th, Noon – 5:00 PM
Church Of Messiah
129 Russell St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn
http://www.greenpointfoodmarket.wordpress.com/

Greenpoint Food Market is a monthly event people who are “inspired by all foods fresh and local, artisanal and handmade.” This weekend’s Valentine’s event, “A Food Affair” is a mix of innovative foods and food-related items. (Personally, I’m kind of excited about the Kissing Booth!)

“The day will feature a cascade of lovely treats: from aphrodisiac inspired recipes to heart shaped cookies, a photo kissing booth courtesy fellow Greenpointers Color Me Katie and Hyla Skopitz, a secret foodmirer bulletin board to share your food crushes and indulgences, and a heart-hunt: find the heart, win a GFM goodie bag. We are also very pleased to present music by DJ Jimmy T and a performance by Rifle Recoil @ 3pm. We are also grateful to add to a growing list of food-related artworks by artists Jessie Oleson and Jesse Kuhn who will share a few prints on food and love!”

Valentine Fling – Brooklyn Indie and The NewNew
Saturday February 13
11:00 AM – 6:00 PM at Starting Artists
211 Smith Street (at Starting Artists), Brooklyn
Brooklyn Indie Market
The NewNew

The Brooklyn Indie Market is partnering this weekend with the NewNew Artisans for a Valentine’s Day Art Bazaar:

“Valentine’s Day can strike dread in the heart of the hardiest New Yorker: If you’re coupled, there’s the delicate dance of aligning your own celebratory expectations with those of your beloved; if you’re unhappily single, all the emphasis on romance can be special kind of torture. In response to this, Brooklyn Indie Market and The {NewNew} are joining forces to present A Valentine Fling: A day of fun, flirting, and handmade shopping on Smith Street.”

Park Slope/Gowanus Market and the Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory
Sunday 11 AM – 5:00PM
232 3^rd Street at 3^rd Ave, Gowanus/Park Slope Brooklyn
Community Markets
The Makers Market

The partnership between the Makers Market Artisans and Community Market’s local farmers continues this weekend. You will definitely get all your Valentine’s Day shopping done here: top quality handmade gifts, dinner ingredients, and wine included!

“Kiernan Farm Grass Fed Beef is joining the market. Along with their fabulous grass fed beef meat, they’ll offer honey, maple syrup and Sprout Creek Cheese! Manhattan Milk is selling farm fresh products including cream-top grass-fed yogurt, yogurt smoothies, milk and eggs! Adair Vineyard is offering their array of Hudson Valley wines and Made by Molly is featuring chocolate chubbies with roasted, salted almonds!”

Artists and Fleas: Valentine’s Day with a Twist
Saturday and Sunday, February 13-14, 2010 at 12:00pm – 8:00pm
Artists & Fleas: Indoor Artist & Designer Market
129 N 6th St Between Bedford and Berry in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
www.artistsandfleas.com,
Facebook Event Invitation

Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg has great handmade and vintage items every weekend, but this weekend’s special “Un-Valentine’s Day” is bound to have something special for everyone!

“Artists & Fleas kicks off another year of de-cupid-ifying events. Want to shop for those you love or those you no longer love? Get on your spite with some of the delicious delinquency that the folks behind Dirty Bandits have cooked up. They know that life can sometimes throw you a curveball and the only way to live is to play.”

Pop-Up Shop: Liddabit Sweets & Kumquat Cupcakery
Open now through Sunday February 14, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Kill Devil Hill, 170 Franklin St (between Java and Kent Sts), Brooklyn, NY
Time Out New York Announcement
Kill Devil Hill Blog
Kumquat Cupcakery
Liddabit Sweets

Two sweethearts of New York’s artisanal food world, Liddabit Sweets and Kumquat Cupakery, are teaming up this weekend to open a Pop-Up Shop at Kill Devil Hill in Brooklyn. Their Valentine’s Day specials include 1 or 2 dozen rose and gem min-cupcakes or a box of handmade chocolates and candies. They’ll also have their most popular items to satisfy even the bitterest sweet tooth!

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone from Markets of New York City! ♥

Artisans + Farmers = A Match Made in Heaven (well, Gowanus actually)

I have been thinking about Valentine’s Day, for obvious reasons. So I thought I would write about a very happy union in Brooklyn: the Makers Market and Community Markets at the Old American Can Factory.

The Makers Market is a great destination if you are seeking finely crafted handmade products. And now you can buy your veggies for the week there too! During this freezing winter season, the Makers Market and Community Markets have joined forces to create an indoor artisan and farmers’ market for the Gowanus/Park Slope neighborhoods. Community Markets runs farmers’ markets throughout Westchester and Rockland Counties, as well as New York City. Normally, many of their markets close for the winter season. So it is a great service and resource for the local communities to have easy access to fresh, delicious and locally grown produce.

The farmers include Breezy Hill Orchard, Gajeski Produce and Phillips Farm. You can pick up a delicious loaf of bread from the “oven artisans” at Orwasher’s Bakery. They also sell their miche, levain and focaccia and more at Citarella, Dean & Deluca, and Zabar’s. Get a taste of pungent pickle goodness from Dr. Pickle. I got half a dozen great ideas for canapés for our next dinner party, starting with pepperoncini stuffed with goat cheese. Yum. And don’t pass up Buddhapesto or their tempting tray of samples. Their artisanal basil pesto is delicious, so go ahead and “enlighten your tastebuds.”

There is wine at the markets too, from Brooklyn Oenology. I bet you didn’t know there is a winery headquartered in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. The actual winemaking is done in Long Island, but their wines carry the artisanal spirit of the borough. For a tasty and healthy dessert, Tierra Farm sells chocolate covered nuts and fruits, as well as dry roasted products.

The artisans share the large welcoming space that originally served as a loading dock for the Old American Can Factory. The white walls and steel pillars provide a beautiful setting for these extremely talented people to sell their creations. I wrote about some of these artisans over the holidays. May Luk Ceramics, or “Take Me Homeware,” brings art and wit to your table. (See the photo of her “Saucy” bowl, which I gave to my sister Andrea for Christmas.) Parable Ink creates T-shirts that tell a story (they keep selling out of their gorgeous Blue Elephant design in my size!). If you’re looking to spruce up your sweaters, Shaya NYC, Christine Vasan and Ed Ledner all sell wonderfully unique handmade jewelry.

And there are the comfortable and fashionable clothing designs by ANgeLRoX Apparel. The ANgeLRoX reversible “turtles” keep your neck toasty and come in beautiful accent colors. You will find beautiful poetry books from Ugly Duckling Presse; preserves, chutneys and more from SchoolHouse Kitchen; beautiful and thought-provoking fine artwork by Nicola Ginzel; and so much more.

It may be cold outside, but it’s warm and toasty on Sundays inside the Old Can Factory.

Community Markets Park Slope Indoor Farmers’ Market and Makers Market: Sundays 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM, 232 Third Street (at Third Avenue) through March 2010.

Winter Markets – Hot Cider and Woolens to Keep You Warm

A lot of people think the farmers markets shut down for the winter. Most of them do, but seventeen Greenmarkets are open each week, and Community Markets is partnering with the Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory to hold an indoor farmers market in Gowanus starting this weekend.

I love the markets in the winter: I feel like some kind of pioneer, bundling up first thing in the morning when it’s 22ºF outside to go out for provisions. (When it’s warm outside, it’s “food,” but when it’s freezing, it’s “provisions.”)

James and I went to Abingdon Square for apples from Red Jacket Orchards to make applesauce tomorrow. Since it wasn’t too windy out, we continued on to the Union Square Market to see what wintery things are on offer there and to take a picture of a perfect pretzel from Martin’s Pretzels for the book (which is in its final stages).

What caught my eye? Wool! And not scratchy, rustic wool, but soft, rich, lustrous yarns that would set any knitter’s heart aflutter. In addition to offering beautiful “artisanal sheep’s milk cheese,” 3-Corner Field Farm had buckets of luscious undyed yarn from their sheep. This weekend they also had sweet, tiny baby hats. Catskill Merino Sheep Farm offers a wide variety of meat products from their herds, and they also have a full spectrum of colored yarns. You can’t miss their tent – it’s the one with the bundles of yarn hanging all around it. They offer undyed and hand-dyed yarns in four weights. I picked out a skein of the heaviest weight undyed yarn to make, oh, something deliciously soft and cozy. I can’t wait to start knitting with it. (I’m no master knitter, but my sister-in-law Judy and I just got some great new needles at Purl in Soho.)

In addition to fine yarns, there are things at the markets that you really want because it’s winter, primarily delicious, steamy, hot apple cider dipped out of huge pots on hotplates. Root vegetables abound, and grainy breads are irresistible. I loved the Garlic Raspberry Jelly from Berkshire Berries. Not only is it a beautiful, translucent pink color, but it satisfies both sweet and savory cravings.

And then there’s the gallon and half-gallon bottles of Deep Mountain Maple Syrup from Vermont. That should get me through the next week of winter!