Winter Farmers' Market

Quick Tip: Apricot Jam + Fresh Black Pepper Chevre + Whole Wheat English Muffin = Yes, please!


I often think of farmers' markets as a summer activity but I was delighted to find my local market thriving this weekend. In addition to spicy Italian sausage, organic eggs, apples by the bushel, rack of lamb, winter root vegetables, and a plethora of baked goods, I found all kinds of treasures to liven up the non-cooking cooking I find myself doing when I get busy. Read: toast bread. Spread something yummy.

I picked up a jar of Beth's Farm Kitchen Apricot Jam, ($8) made & grown in the Hudson Valley. Containing nothing but apricots & sugar, essentially the filling of my favorite summer dessert, apricot cobbler, it was more or less summer in a jar.

Image, courtesy Beth's Farm Kitchen.

Next I wandered over to the Lynhaven Goat Milk Cheese ($6; lynnhaven@hvc.rr.com) stand, hard pressed to choose between goodies like Honey Chevre & Chevre with cranberries and cinnamon. I ended up selecting Cracked Pepper, a nice all purpose flavor with a kick.

Back at the ranch . . . spreading a toasted English muffin first with the chevre, which gets kind of nice and melty on the warm muffin, & then the jam: Oh, yes. A very tasty snack with a pretty good nutritional balance (but I'm more concerned about the taste, let's be honest)

Do it yourself: Try mixing any kind of jam (though I like non-berry jams better- pumpkin or apple butter, pear jam, etc.) with chevre or even cream cheese on warm bread of some kind. Another favorite: pumpkin butter & cream cheese on whole wheat tortilla.

My goodies weren't cheap compared to a box of Philly & a jar of generic jam, but like fashionistas justify spendy purchases with the "price per wear" statistic, my goodies turn quite a few cheap-o slices of bread into something extraordinary, and the "price per snack" is still cheaper than buying an oily muffin at a corner stand.

I bought my items at the Union Square Farmers Market, New York City.