Spend your Weekend at the Farmers' Market
by Mary Leonard

Way back in the last century, my mother shopped for food every day in Queens, stopping at a local market for seasonal produce and then the butcher's for a fresh killed chicken. In the late 50s, we moved to Westchester and did our shopping in supermarkets, thrilled by all those cans and packaged food! About 15 years ago many of us regressed or progressed (depending how you look at it) to health food stores and anticipated the late spring opening of local farmers' markets. Many have cropped up in every town here in the Hudson Valley. The latest addition—joining Rhinebeck, Hyde Park and Millbrook on the East Side of the River—is a Friday pm market in Clermont.

Clermont Country Farmers' Market will be open from May 28 until October 29, 3:30 to 7:30 on Fridays at the old Hettlings Farm Stand on Rt. 9, a long time meeting place for locals. Friday is a good pick for this area since the other markets are open on Saturdays and Sundays. Their website (clermontfarmersmarket.com) will soon list all vendors and events, but do look forward to Julia and Isabella Fine Fares for prepared foods and local cheeses, and WiHi Farms for locally raised lamb.

On a Sunday, head south on Rt. 9 to Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck is entering its ninth season and was voted the best in local farmers' markets for two years in a row by Hudson Valley Magazine. They are open from Mother's Day until Thanksgiving. If you do go, this is old-fashioned shopping. You can pick up all the ingredients for a gourmet dinner. From the Amazing Real Live Food Co. you can buy fresh probiotic cheese to get your stomach ready for richer fare. I was intrigued by some of the exotic cheeses from Dancing Ewe Farm. But back to that dinner. I buy as much produce as I can from the local farmers, anything that catches my eye, but I especially love the organic greens from Taliaferro Farms. Then maybe a couple of bottles of wine from the Cascade Mountain and Clinton Vineyards, and some wild boar from Hudson Valley Foie Gras. My daughter-in-law was a vegan until she tried boar sausage in Italy! Next some fruit from one of the orchards. Of course don't forget the breads and desserts—I'm always tempted by the lemon pound cake from Tivoli Bread and Bakery. But on site, my choice is usually made on a whim. You can head home to cook, or if you brought a cooler, stay around for one of the live events including cooking demonstrations and music. Check out rhinebeckfarmersmarket.com for a full listing of vendors.

If you are here for the weekend or just local, go across the Rhinecliff Bridge to Kingston on a Saturday from 9 until 2. Kingston boasts thirty vendors in the Stockade district, so you can soak up some history while shopping for greens. In addition to fresh produce and fruits, Kingston has Gadeleto's for fresh fish, and my son always stops there for oysters on his visits back home from Brooklyn! My personal favorite for a summer lunch is Italian bread, the award-winning mozzarella from Panzanella's and then add fresh tomatoes. And who can pass up a large bag of exotic cheeses from the Cheese Man for twenty dollars! If you are feeling indulgent, Kingston has a new vendor, the Chocolate Revolution. Didn't you know that chocolate is the new health food! One of the themes at Kingston's Market is health, and they are sponsoring a number of wellness events, like Bone Health on July 11. For more info, check out kingstonnyfarmersmarket.com.

Other venues:
Millbrook: Saturdays from 9 to 1, Memorial Day Weekend through October (millbrookfarmersmarket.com)

Hyde Park: June to October, Hyde Park Town Hall parking lot just south of the Vanderbilt Mansion, 845-229-9111

Hudson: Saturdays from 9 to 1, May–October, 6th and Columbia Streets, 518-828-7217