FALL'S HERE

Saturday will feel a bit like summer, but the Pleasantville Farmers Market will look like fall, with a terrific harvest of squash, crisp apples, and hearty bunches of leeks. Some hints of summer remain in the eggplants and tomatoes which are still plentiful. Eggplants, tomatoes and seasonal cooking are the focus of Saturday’s chef demo by Rinku Bhattacharya, author of Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors. And those flavors will be complimented by a performance of sitar and tabla by The Biryani Boys. Ms. Bhattacharya’s theme of sustainability is reflected in our kids event: an Eco Day at the Market. Kids can arrive for a 9:30am reading of the children’s book Compost Stew, see composting demos, and participate in a fun crayon drawing activity. Remember to plan your shopping list by checking the Market’s interactive map to review all vendors in attendance.

Phelps: Sustainable is What We’re Looking For
This week’s Phelps Health Tip:
“The demand for healthier foods is greater than ever. What have people been looking for in 2014? Research shows that 36% of food choices are driven by sustainability -- this means more organic foods, fewer pesticides, conservation of water, limiting fossil fuels through eco-friendly packaging, grass-fed and game meats, sustainable seafood, cutting down on waste, and supporting family farms so they remain in our region”. And you can sustain all those goals right here through the Market.

Smoky Eggplant Puree with Tomatoes
Meet Rinku Bhattacharya, blogger at spicechronicles.com and author of Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors. Rinku also writes the column, Spices and Seasons for Lohud.com. She will visit the Market’s Phelps Culinary Tent Saturday with a chef’s demonstration and cookbook signing. The Village Bookstore will facilitate sales of Ms. Bhattacharya’s new book between 9:30am - 12:00pm. Rinku will demonstrate “Smoky Eggplant Puree with Tomatoes”, a seasonal recipe from her book, using Market ingredients from 10:30am - 12:00pm. There will be delicious samples as part of the event. Rinku’s recipes are developed with markets in mind, so its easy to step over to farms like Cowberry Crossing Farm to gather garlic, red onions, cilantro, and to Little Seed Gardens for tomatoes and fresh ginger, and to Newgate Farms for eggplant in order to recreate Rinku’s dish. Recipe cards for Saturday’s demo will be available to shoppers.

Delicious Choices: Which Squash?
All our produce farms have fall squash arriving. Cowberry Crossing Farm will have organic butternut. J&A Farm has Spaghetti, Delicata, Butternut, Honeynut, Acorn, Kobacha, Blue Hubbard, Cheese Pumpkin, and Sugar pumpkin varieties. Madura notes they have all their winter squash at .99 cents per pound. Mead Orchards, Newgate Farms and Little Seed Orchards have squash as well. So get out your cookbooks- squash is at peak!

Eco Day at the Market
First came the People’s Climate March, then the Climate Summit at the UN. Now its our own mini Eco Day at the Market. At 9:30am the children’s book Compost Stew will be read aloud. Lisa Brown will have Earth Machine compost bins on display from the Greenburgh Nature Center. See before and after compost examples, and a display of red wiggler worms (vermicomposting) from Dr. Susan Rubin. After kids participate in a fun crayon activity they can head over to Lead Sponsor Green Mountain Energy for their own Eco Tattoo!

Indian Themes
While enjoying a taste of Indian flavors at our chefs demo from 10:30am - 12:00pm, you’ll notice your moving to Indian rhythms too-- thanks to The Biryani Boys. Mustafa Bhagat (sitar) and David Freeman (tabla) perform original compositions that blend elements of jazz and pop with traditional melodies and rhythms, as well as songs from the Indian classical repertoire. If you haven’t heard Indian music before, or Western music played on Indian instruments, you’re in for a treat.

Visit by the Pleasantville Rotary Club
Stop by Saturday to learn about the Pleasantville Rotary Club, their long history in our community, their success at fundraising to benefit many local projects and organizations, and their many opportunities for volunteerism. Be sure to ask about their two upcoming fundraising events: the Westchester Wine Experience, and the Annual Community Pancake Breakfast.

Chicken’s Feet
Yellow Bell Farm will offer $3 off the price of whole chickens this Saturday. They also will have both chicken livers, and chicken feet --buy one, get one free. Livers are fantastic sauteed. Chicken feet make a very delicious broth and are tasty in stews. For a fun and informative recipe regarding chicken feet broth click here.

Drink More Good is in the Running
Drink More Good is a finalist in the Martha Stewart 2014 American Made Awards and up for a $10,000 grant. You can vote to help make it happen 6x a day through October 13th by clicking here.

Trotta is Cookin’ with Market Eggplant & Peppers
Trotta Foods will be featuring a special batch of roasted pepper-mozzarella ravioli, and mozzarella rolls with eggplant, roasted pepper, fresh basil and some marinated fire roasted peppers.

Sign Up to Enter the
October 11th Phelps Apple Pie Contest
Last week’s apple tasting event (presented by Nancy Lennon of Phelps, and Marina Stopler our Market Nutritionist) kicked off the sign-up phase for the
2014 Phelps Apple Pie Contest. Have fun by entering your own home-made apples pie. Prizes will be awarded in three categories, including one for young chefs 18 years and younger. To learn more about the contest or to sign up, stop by the Manager’s Tent at the north end.

The Valley Table Magazines are in.
The fall edition is out. We’ll have 180 issues free to shoppers while supplies last.

Where To Park?
Get to Know the “Hidden Parking Lots of Pville”
There are 7 parking lots within a few blocks of the Market. Get to know them all by clicking here to download a parking map.