Indoor Farmers Markets Help You Shake Mid-Winter Slump

The cold gray weather can sap your will to do anything but sit on the couch, but farmers markets can help you fight your way out!

Keep your winter menu interesting and your taste buds lively by checking each week to see what the vendors brought. It's amazing what our Hudson Valley farmers bring to the table: new cheeses, fresh fish, eggs, pork and beef, an array of greens, crisp apples, root vegetables.

Try something easy — buy a leek to use instead of an onion in your next casserole. Maybe some crusty bread and some homemade preserves will liven up breakfast or tea. Use their prepared foods as your shortcuts — locally sourced ingredients make the difference. Some markets have vendors doing a little cooking right there — the smell alone will wake up your brain!

Steven Bates from the Pleasantville Market recommends garlic.

"If leafless trees and early sunsets are leaving you without energy, know that Hippocrates (the father of Western medicine himself) prescribed garlic to treat fatigue. Stock up on energizing garlic," he wrote in this week's market post. Well stored garlic from the fall harvest remains abundant at Neversink Farm, Cowberry Crossing Farm and Gajeski Produce, vendors who can be found at the Pleasantville Market, he said.

There are several indoor farmers markets that are open year-round in our region. Here are some:

• Mamaroneck: The market is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting Jan. 7 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The church is at Boston Post Road and Mt. Pleasant Avenue.
• Ossining: The Down to Earth Farmers Market will open on Jan. 7, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays at the First Presbyterian Church. The church is at 34 South Highland Avenue.
• Pleasantville: The Pleasantville Farmers Market is at 40 Romer Avenue in Pleasantville at the Pleasantville Middle School cafeteria. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
• Beacon: The Beacon Farmers Market is held in the Bingo hall of the Veterans’ Building on Main Street in Beacon. The hours are every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Brewster: The Hudson Valley Regional Farmers market is open on Sunday throughout the year. The hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. The market is at the Hudson Valley Cerebral Palsy Association at 15 Mount Evo Road South, which is just off Route 22, north of the Village of Brewster.
• Kingston: The Kingston Farmers Market holds its winter indoor market every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In January, the dates are Jan. 14 and 28. The location is the Old Dutch Church at 272 Wall Street.
• Nyack: The Nyack Farmers Market has moved indoors at the Nyack Center. The market is held every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The center is at 58 Depew Avenue.
• Piermont: The Souk at the Outside In is a farmers market at 249 Ferdon Avenue in Piermont. It will open on Jan. 8 and the hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Poughkeepsie: The Arlington Famers Market is indoors for the winter at the Vassar Main Building, College Center.

By Valerie DeBenedette and Lanning Taliaferro

Photo via Wikimedia