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The Glorious Flavors, Colors, and Shapes of Heirloom Tomato Season

This past weekend was the first big day for heirloom tomatoes at the Greenmarkets. These tomatoes have intriguing names like Black Pineapple, White Beauty, Italian Heart, German Stripe, and Green Zebra. I was lucky enough to be spending the day at the Ft. Greene Greenmarket last Saturday, and so I was surrounded by these plump, gorgeous beasts. Between the tomatoes and the sweet corn, this is my favorite season at the markets. It’s the one time of year when veggies do not go bad in my crisper drawer. They’re lucky if they make it home from the market without being eaten up.

I wrote about the tomato samples from Wilklow Orchards last week. I had the chance to chat a bit more with farmer Albert Wilklow of New Paltz, NY at the Ft. Greene Market. He says that not only are we having a bumper crop of heirloom tomatoes this season, but the relatively low rainfall levels mean that the tomatoes, melons, and pretty much all other vegetables and fruits have more intense flavors than usual. When there is a lot of rain, it stands to reason that the flavors are watered down. Have you tried this season’s peaches? Case and point.

Sustainable agriculture experts Gary Ibsen and Dagma Lacey of TomatoFest.com define commercial heirloom tomatoes as varieties that have been in circulation since 1940 and before. Varieties that have been passed down for generations are also considered family heirlooms.

We’ve grown so used to seeing perfect red orbs in our grocery stores. They look great, but I stopped eating them years ago because they taste like they’ve been strip-mined somewhere in Texas (thank you for that image, Garrison Keillor). They are mushy, spongy, and watery. They aren’t tasteless though. They taste like bitter sadness. And they don’t rot on your counter; they mummify.

So it is a great pleasure to pick out heirloom tomatoes in all their misshapen glory. Mere adjectives are insufficient to describe the array of flavors because they are extremely diverse, often subtle, and usually surprising. I bit into an heirloom yellow cherry tomato from Tello Farms, which was tangy and sharp. Then I popped a chocolate cherry tomato, which was much darker and smoother, with a softer skin. The colors are remarkable. There are bright reds, pinks, oranges, corals, yellows, purples, greens, browns, and even more shades of all these colors.

Try a few varieties of heirloom tomatoes from the markets this week. Slice them all up and serve them up with just a sprinkle of sea salt. Then close your eyes and savor the flavor of this abundant season.

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 – July 11, 2010: Ronnybrook Farm Dairy

Cold, Delicious, Organic Milk from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy at the Fulton Stall Market

Ronnybrook Farm Dairy brings delicious, fresh, organic dairy products to the markets of New York City. This family-owned farm was established in 1941 in the Hudson Valley, and today they are one of the premium organic dairy farms in the country. Ronnybrook uses no pesticides or hormones, and their dairy cows eat only organic feed and graze on pesticide-free pastures. So you can rest assured that the flavor of their products truly reflects their pure nutritional benefits.

I love their traditional glass milk bottles, most of which I do return for deposit, although I do keep some for fresh flowers on my table. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a chocoholic. So I can’t walk by the Ronnybrook Milk Bar in the Chelsea Market without yearning for a scoop of chocolate silk. Their chocolate milk does the trick as well, as is evident in this photo of some icy cold bottles at the Fulton Stall Market. When I’m cooking at home, nothing makes a homemade chocolate pudding like Ronnybrook’s full cream milk. I buy their butter and yogurts at the Greenmarkets, and their products are available at many fine food purveyors, including Murray’s Cheese.

Ronnybrook Farm is proof-positive that happy cows produce happy milk.

Markets Events & Announcements!

Book Signing This Weekend:

Sunday, November 6, 2010: Abingdon Square Market - 9AM to 12PM. Finally hanging out at my market! Come out and say hello!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the wonderful people who contributed to the IndieGoGo.com project to add video to this site!

We exceeded our $1500 goal for a total of $1690! I am so excited to get the equipment and hit the markets to take gorgeous videos for fall and the holidays!

Photo of the Day – June 16, 2010: Meb’s Kitchenwares!

Artist's Palette Cheeseplate with Paint Brush Knives by Meb's Kitchenwares at Crafts at Lincoln Center This Weekend and Next!

Woodwork artisans Meb Boden and Tom Vaiciulis of Meb’s Kitchenwares will be showing their lovely and clever homeware at the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center for the next two weekends (June 19/20 and June 26/27).

Be the first to bring home their new pieces, including a Grand Piano cutting board made of black walnut or cherry with tight curly maple for the keys. They also handmake pate spreaders, salad scoops, cheese knives, tongs, and something called a deli spoon. Imagine serving your friends an award winning Pawlet cheese from Consider Bardwell (my current cheese of choice at the Greenmarkets) on the Artist’s Palette cheese plate with paintbrush cheese knives (pictured). Their wooden drawer pulls will add enchantment to even the New Yorkiest of New York City kitchens. Meb and Tom only use New England woods, and much of it is harvested from their own backyard! Stop by Lincoln Center and say hello this weekend or next.

Photo of the Day – June 14, 2010: Cedar Hill Farm/Kernan Farms

Asparagus forest from Cedar Hill/Kernan Farms at the Grennmarkets

Imagine a forest of giant asparagus spears just next to a lake of drawn butter. That’s what I did when I saw this lovely community of fresh green stalks from Cedar Hill Farm/Kernan Farms at the Greenmarket. Asparagus season is another of my favorite times of year. I make plans for asparagus soup, roasted asparagus, asparagus tarts, and many other delights, but my bunches never make it beyond a quick steam and a splash of lemon juice. It just seems silly to do anything more with something so perfect as it is, don’t you think?

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!