Vegetables dockside

The Beacon Farmers Market is my Sunday ritual. This bustling hub of good food has helped me bring lunch to work almost every day since I moved to Newburgh in July.

One of our board members at work occasionally gives me vegetables from her CSA package, so a few months ago I ended up with a bag of shishito peppers. Why not experiment with free food, right? I cooked the peppers with nothing but olive oil and served with salt and pepper. I made them again this past weekend, sided with slices of mozzarella. I was happy to see them at the farmers market during my past few trips and make sure to pick some up along with dark leafy greens like kale and Swiss chard.

Flipping through a nutrition chart a few months ago I discovered olives are a great source of iron. I make sure to stop by a vendor called Picklelicious who sells olives, pickles, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and other marinated varieties.

The farmers market is a great place to try samples, especially of things you’ve never had. Seitan is a vegan meat substitute derived from the protein portion of wheat. It has been so successful as a meat replacement that some vegetarians actually avoid it because of the meaty texture. Beacon-based seitan maker Mindful Kitchens regularly appears at the Beacon Farmers Market with samples of which my favorite is Chorizo Verde marinated.

Some vendors are there every Sunday, while others only certain days. You can see the full vendors list on their website. The market is open Sundays 9-3 at the parking lot of the waterfront Beacon Train Station.

Beacon Farmers Market: www.beaconfarmersmarket.org