Spring Lamb from Stone Barns, Vegetable Tarts from Flourish Baking Company


Open Saturdays at St. Mary’s next to Bell, from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm
March 9, 2012
by Pascale LeDroulec

When I was a restaurant critic in NYC one of my favorite restaurant havens was Verbena on Irving Place. Chef Diane Forley was an early pioneer of farm-to-table cooking and her delicate command of the vegetable was something to behold. I was crushed when I heard the restaurant had closed and that she and her co-chef husband Michael Ostuka had gone out West.

Then I heard that they had resurfaced, with a bakery named Flourish Baking Co. in Scarsdale. Though the emphasis is on baked goods, the vegetable still reigns supreme in all that they make. Consider what they will be bringing to market this Saturday when they come pay us a visit: zucchini and ricotta tarts, mushroom, collard and leek tarts, market focaccia with peppers, caramelized onions and mozzarella. They are also making salads like pickled beets and cauliflower and wild mushroom. Please stop by and make them feel welcome.

Stone Barns will have lots of lamb this week. And King Roaming Angus is bringing all things beef. Between them, there should be plenty of pork, too, a “must-buy” if you saw Chef David Tanis’ recipe for French bistro-style roasted pork tenderloin with prunes in the Dining Section this week. Lordy…was that picture tantalizing.

Flour City Pasta will be selling organic stone-ground flour – the same flour they use to make their own pasta and which they grind themselves. They will also have corn meal and unground grains.

Renee’s Jams is back after an extended hiatus. Her sweet jams elevate toast to a proper breakfast and her savory jams are great for cooking.

Little Croc Bakehouse is back this week with her lemon squares that will leave you pie-eyed.

Big Girl Bakery will be bringing her scrumptious mini whoopie pies and chocolate sable cookies. I’ve become completely hooked on her granola of late.

Amazing Real Live is bringing – and having a special on –  7-month-aged Stella Vallis Tomme cheese which is much more tangy than the Tomme they usually sell which is only aged four months. The aged version is perfect for melting: Croque Monsieur anyone?

See you at the market!

Pascale Le Draoulec
food writer/ author/ farmers market director


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