BY JANE ARGODALE | With tables set up under tents and stocked from end to end with goods from vendors throughout the tri-state area, farmers markets are once again in full swing. As a student who’s often strapped for cash, I recently visited two of Chelsea’s weekly farmers markets with the goal of buying as much produce for as little money as possible, then cooking up some tasty and healthy dishes.
The PS 11 Farm Market, run by (supervised) third graders at the W. 21st St. elementary school’s summer camp, is small but impressive. With reasonably priced produce from Stoneledge Farm in Greene County upstate, I was able to buy a number of fresh vegetables for less than $10. The children working at the farmers market were eager to assist perusing customers with impressive energy on a weekday morning.
Assisting me were third graders Madison, who rattled off the prices for me — “That’s two dollars! That’s one dollar!” — and Stephon, who put his arithmetic skills to the test and totaled up the price of my goods. After a few minutes of counting and re-counting, he informed me, “That’ll be nine dollars.” That got me two Boothby cucumbers, one bunch of spinach, two pounds of summer squash, a bunch of thyme, and a box of cherries.
The Chelsea Farmers Market on W. 23rd St., run by Down to Earth Farmers Markets, has more vendors and consequently more varied offerings — in addition to the usual fruits and vegetables, vendors were selling honey, meats from Dickson’s Farmstand, flowers, baked goods, and even gin from Greenhook Ginsmiths in Brooklyn.
On the sunny mid-afternoon I visited the market, each shaded stall was bustling with customers examining the array of goods in front of them. To stretch my money as far as possible though, I stuck with produce and found goods that were fresh, local, and delicious. I picked up a pint of hot padron peppers from the Roots to River Farm stand at the market for three dollars, and fresh tomatoes, mint, and basil from Jersey Farm Produce for eight dollars.
My goods from both farmers markets went a long way for my culinary pursuits this week. Roasted with some olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, and alongside some eggplant, the squash made a great addition to a pasta dish with Italian sausage.
My fresh thyme along with rosemary added flavor to a simple tomato sauce, and the spinach and Boothby cucumbers, tossed with strawberries, pecans, and apple cider vinegar, made the perfect sweet but still healthy salad.
After de-seeding one of the padron peppers, I made a very simple spiced lemonade with basil and mint, and the extra basil went perfectly with my tomatoes, some olive oil, and fresh mozzarella for a classic Caprese salad. The cherries, being one of my all-time favorite finger foods, I just ate straight up.
Though differing in size and scope, both the Chelsea Farmers Market and PS 11 Farm Market provided healthy and affordable alternatives to my usual Key Food runs, and helped me create tasty meals on a budget, just as I had set out to do.
The PS 11 Farm Market is located at 320 W. 21st St. (btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.), and is open every Wed. morning, 8–9:30am, through late Nov. Visit ps11chelsea.org/ps11-farm-market and stoneledgefarmny.com.
The Chelsea Farmers Market, run by Down to Earth Farmers Markets and hosted by Church of the Holy Apostles, is open every Sat., 9am–5pm, through Dec. 17. Vendors are located on the north side of W. 23rd St., east of Ninth Ave. Visit downtoearthmarkets.com.
