All good things...
...must scale back in winter. Tomorrow is our last weekly farmers' market in Hastings. Starting Dec. 10th, we will be operating on a monthly basis, always on the second Saturday. Please check the website (www.hastingsfarmersmarket.org
What a run we've had this summer!
Only 2 bad weather days out of 26 -- not too shabby.
Of course, on non-market days, the weather really pummeled our farmers.
This was the year of Hurricane Irene...and the year you helped us raise $7,000.00 for our flooded farmers.
Your extraordinary generosity humbled us. But it did not surprise us.
We really have become a family over the last few years, haven't we?
This year, our family grew - again. In 2011 we brought you old fashioned pie, made from scratch and (with a full-butter crust thank you very much) French crepes (with local pesto, gruyere and ham), Ronnybrook milk, more cheese variety, and gourmet mushrooms & bright purple cauliflower.
It was also a year of particularly good music - our amazingly talented regulars of course, but also some new faces like Ruby Reilly and Phil Joy (they'll open for Milton tomorrow) and Putnam Smith of Maine who serenaded us with his grandfather's banjo.
I love the fact that our market ends right before Thanksgiving. It's the biggest cooking holiday of the year, after all. Everyone will be shopping with a little more zeal tomorrow. Isn't it nice to know that you will find almost everything you need for Thursday in one place - from onions, mushrooms and herbs for the stuffing, to dinner rolls, and even pies and tarts (if you don't feel like baking -- both will freeze well for Thursday). Oh, and the bird of course. If you've ordered a turkey from Roaming Angus (and it's not too late: andrew.king@kingsroamingangus.
It's also a time of year when we take stock of what we've got.
And what we've got is a community that truly appreciates everything our little market has to offer. And I'm not just talking about the food.
I, for one, am so very grateful for that.
Tomorrow: Hummingbird Ranch will be here. So will Guyank Brand hot sauce (I'm thinking turkey sandwiches or meatloaf with hot sauce) and Sarah's Caramella's (with adorable new gift boxes for the holiday host).
If you forgot to get your knives sharpened...you can still run up to the Chappaqua Farmers Market tomorrow and get that carving knife ready for the big day.
Also: if, for some reason, you cannot shop the market tomorrow, or if you find that you didn't quite get everything you need, we will have a delightful pre-Thanksgiving market on Wednesday in Irvington from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Main Street School parking lot.
Thanks for another great season... See you at the market!