Summer Highlights of the Farmers Market

Whenever August arrives it’s a reminder that most farmers markets are in peak season for fresh fruits, vegetables, and prepared foods. It was obviously the case in Greenwood Lake this past weekend when each of the vendors was excited to talk about the latest harvests or featured products.

”Cowboy Coffee is our top seller, made from a wheat-based vodka, distilled three times and added to a cold-brew coffee and a little Madagascar vanilla bean. It’s like an espresso martini show, right out of the bottle,” Springbrook Distillery distillery rep Tom Edelen said. They also offer a delicious version of lemoncello (or orangecello), made from the same wheat-based vodka into which is added lemon (or orange) rinds that steep for about seven weeks, and a little bit of sugar. The result is a tangy, refreshing liqueur that can be added to seltzer, champagne, prosecco, or ginger ale.

Locust Grove Orchards reps, Silviya and Jasmine, had a full table of recently picked “blueberries, peaches, nectarines, pears, grapes, apples, and several types of plums, including elephant heart plums (which have bright red fruit) and Italian plums,” according to Jasmine. They are picked just a few hours before they make the trip from the orchard in Milton, N.Y. near Marlboro, to Greenwood Lake each week.

Flower and Dough Owner, Megan Leyden’s, flower bouquets featured both large and petite dahlias which were the centerpieces of extraordinarily beautiful summer cut flower arrangements. Dahlia’s relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 49 species of dahlia, with flowers in almost every hue (except blue), with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Next to the ornate sour dough baked breads and other specialties, the flower arrangements were a spectacular complement.

For the homeowner looking for something special that you won’t find very easily, consider “Poop Soap.”

“As many mothers recognize,” said Savory Sisters owner, Deb Searle, “getting kids to clean their room - let alone their bathroom - is the ultimate chore. Despite begging, pleading, and threatening they never seem to get the message. So I created simulated swirls of poop soap that smells like roses and placed them on their pillows, the toilet seat, the shower tray, and other familiar places that they were sure to find.”

And find they did. Now their bathrooms are cleaned on a more regular basis and, although their rooms might be another story, they are getting better at it.

Meanwhile, J&A Produce Farm was loaded with exquisite-looking tomatoes, eggplants (which have been doing quite well this season), sweet corn, and many specialty squashes, herbs, and potatoes. Find these and other vendors each week at Winstanley Park on Windermere Ave., (across from Chase bank), on Saturdays from 9AM-1PM. to learn more, click on GWLNY.org.

Photo credits: Peter Lyons Hall

L to Right: Poop Soap; Silviva and Jasmine (Locust Grove Orchards); Flower bouquet from Flower and Dough, and Tom Edelen from Springbrook Distillery with Cowboy. Coffee.