Watermelon...summer's IT fruit!
dear shoppers, Want to know how to stretch out summer?
Buy a large watermelon at the market tomorrow and enjoy it every day of the week.
It's as versatile as it is sweet - you can use it any thing from savory salads, to gazpacho to cocktails.
And, nothing beats gnawing on a slice on the back porch while the juice runs down your arms and drips off your elbows.
PLUS, watermelon is healthy! As its name suggests, watermelon is about 92 percent water and is the perfect way to hydrate first thing in the morning or after a workout. This juicy fruit is also among the best sources of lycopene—a nutrient found in red fruits and vegetables that's important for vision, heart health, and cancer prevention.
What's more, watermelon contains just 40 calories per cup.
I couldn't resist this Food52recipe for beefsteak tomato & watermelon salad since both are at their peak right now.
Generally speaking, watermelon pairs well with things that are herbal or sour. Try it instead of tomato in a caprese salad. Watermelon LOVES shacking up with mint. Feta and goat cheese are also good plate mates. Since this fruit is so water-logged add it last to any recipe so that it doesn't dilute other ingredients.
When picking your watermelon: remember that a watermelon is ripe if the patch on the bottom where it sat on the ground is yellow—not white or green.
This Tasting Table recipe for watermelon agua fresca (pictured above) invites hibiscus and tequila to the party.
You can find late summer watermelon at the Taliaferro Farm tent as well as mini watermelons at the MX Morningstar tent.
School is just around the corner...The Peanut Principle is adding an extra market date this month to make sure you have what you need to start your year of sandwich-making off right! So, grab a couple jars of cashew or almond butter. And, if you are not around this weekend, worry not, they will be back next week. Don't forget to grab some Red Jacket mini juice bottles for the lunch box...and lots of fruit of course. Concklin has some early harvest apples that are perfectly sized and delicious.
I am sorry to say that Brooklyn Bean is changing directions. We have SO loved having their burritos at market. Will and Erica have long dreamed of owning a food truck and now with a small business grant they are able to make it happen. They are leaving Brooklyn for the Hudson Valley so we may still see them at market some time down the road - just not under a tent. Though we will miss them we are happy that the market played a small part in getting them to this next phase of their business plan.
Shoppers may not realize how often the market has served as an "incubator" of sorts to budding food entrepreneurs. We give them a chance to "market" test their product before they take their show on the road - in this case, literally.
I promise you that Sohha yogurt will be back. Moving their processing plant from Brooklyn to the Bronx is proving more challenging than expected but they have every intention of being here next week or the week after. They apologize for any withdrawal symptoms you may be experiencing...
The PTSA calendars will be available at the market this week and next. Make sure to pick one up. You will be lost without it!
Yoga with Allison Schubert at 9:30 and music from Adam Hart.
See you at the market!
Pascale