To (two) grads and dads!
One of my favorite things about running farmers markets is hiring teenagers and watching them blossom before our eyes. So many of them come to visit us years later, often with kids or partners in tow. All tell us how working at the farmers market changed them in some way.
It takes a certain kind of teenager to intern at the market. First, they need to show up super early (not easy after a night at PADJ), and unfurling those unwieldy market tents is not for the faint of heart. Nor is chasing down distracted drivers heading in the wrong direction in the parking lot. Or becoming an instant expert on goat cheese or charcuterie when they need to fill in for a vendor in need of a bathroom break. Plus, they do this in all kinds of weather. They learn, quickly, about layering.
Around the same time this hits your inbox, two of our market teens will be receiving their diplomas from Hastings High School. We couldn't be more proud of Saffron Alfandre, our sweet and steady intern of the past three years, and Max Boyd, salesperson extraordinaire. Funny, kind and, like Saffron, oh-so reliable.
If you are a fan of Bien Cuit Bakery (yes, the one with the very long lines) then you've seen Max, working hard alongside Jo, she of the long white locks, a Bien Cuit veteran. On Tuesday, Max received a scholarship from the HFM at the senior awards night. We usually offer the scholarship to students who demonstrate a passion or curiosity about the environment, local agriculture or farm to table cooking. With Max, we departed from our usual programming because his essay touched upon another facet of the farmers market mission: building community.
Max wrote about how working with Jo, whom he refers to as his "mentor, teacher, friend, and cool aunt," over the past three years, has inspired him and taught him invaluable life lessons. Their special relationship, along with the ones he's cultivated with bread shoppers, have helped transform him “from a confused 14-year-old boy, unsure of how to navigate the world around him” to a confident 17-year-old “with an incredible passion for who he has yet to become.” We will miss Max and Saffron and wish them well as they head off to McGill and Tufts, respectively..
And speaking of market interns, former IFM intern and current RISD student, Samantha Toeman, will be popping by the market on Saturday to draw ink portraits on the fly. She is so talented! Don't miss this opportunity for a pen and ink portrait of yourself - perhaps as a gift to Dad? Or, you can haveJulia Gardner, our resident street poet, write a poem for or about Dad or any father figure in your life. Julia returns to the market ready to turn your "prompts" into pretty poems on her manual typewriter.
Now onto food!
Most dads love steak and we finally have two perfect weather days for grilling this long weekend. So get dad's favorite cut from Le Roux Trading Co. orR&M Farm and plan your Father's Day meal around it. We have cherries at the market this week so why don't you put on the apron, grab the tongs, and let Dad relax a bit, near the grill, with a seasonal bourbon cherry smash. Take advantage of the bounty of herbs at the market right now to make this chimichurri sauce for the steak or, since Channery Hill is popping by with their farm-to-jar condiments, pick up some of their fabulous bbq or hot sauces. They use ingredients from their small farm to make each condiment. (Oooooh....wouldn't an assortment of Channery Hill BBQ sauces and other condiments make a GREAT Father's Day gift?)
Since we now have lots of burrata at the market, crush the appetizer with this burrata with crushed cherries and pistachios recipe.
For dessert, you’ve got two directions depending on what Dad craves. You can keep it classic with a simple strawberry shortcake using plump juicy berries from Mead Orchards, or you jump right into cherry season feet first and make Dad a cherry pie or a simple cherry clafoutis. Abby Prager, our ice cream queen, from Unofficial Ice Cream, is back this week with these alluring flavors: yogurt ice cream with orange cake; olive oil ice cream; sea salt pistachio ice cream with blueberry ripple and corn jam, and strawberry tomato sorbet. Make sure you congratulate Abby on her pretty new labels. It's the third Saturday of the month which means we will be putting out our "gleaning baskets" for the food pantry and the knife sharpener is here.
On third Saturdays, moving forward, we will also be joined by
Abbiocco Salumeria e Focacceria, the hot new Italian food shop in Dobbs Ferry. They will be bringing the house focaccia everyone in the Rivertowns is talking about. (By the way, Abbiocco is the word Italians use to describe the drowsiness that comes on after an abundant meal.) Please give them a warm Hastings welcome!
See you at the market and congratulations to all the Hastings grads!