Finding Fresh Food, Locally Grown, In The Dead Of Winter

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It has been a long, cold winter in the Northeast, and fresh, locally-grown food is hard to come by.

But in Manhattan, the Union Square Greenmarket has succeeded in bringing everything from turnips to dandelion greens to New Yorkers year round.

Here and Now’s resident chef Kathy Gunst recently toured the market and talked with with vendors and shoppers.

Notes From A Maine Kitchen: Read Kathy’s blog
Stonewall Kitchen: Read Kathy’s recent cookbook

Other stories from Thursday's show

Candid Statements From Defense Secretary Gates Hint At Possible Shift
When Pundits Get Presidential, Should Networks Ax Them?
NFL Fans, Are You Ready For A Lockout?
Getting Whole Grains To The Dinner Table
Finding Fresh Food, Locally Grown, In The Dead Of Winter
Bidding Farewell To BSO Conductor James Levine
Music From The Show
Full Rundown

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Davesweetman

Common sense has left for parts unknown. Secy Gates clearly stated that preparation for a “No Fly Zone” would be an unprovoked, and by extension, an illegal and absolutely unwise act of war aganst a soverign state. Re: the misnamed & absolutely wrong “war on terror” -a “war” against no nation and therefore against any nation that the USA deems as supporting or at least housing terrorists by our definition. What madness. From Pres. Washington to Eisenhower we have been advised to “avoid foreign entanglements” and yet Admininstrtion after Administration, aided and abetted by dull witted Congress waving the flag have dragged the country into conflict morass after morass , all in the name of “protecting” our national interests while eroding out freedoms at home causing terrible casualties and wasting out national treasure only to make matters worse.
Jenny

This market sounds great. Here in Boston we have a fantastic winter’s market in Somerville on Saturday mornings. It is at the armory on 191 Highland Ave, from 10-2. You don’t need to go to New York City to get delicious, fresh food in the wintertime!
Olorcain2

I am working on sustainability. I am tired of buying mass produced food with chemicals and genetically modified items. So I am learning to buy from local growers and trying to grow more items in my own garden. You know if Americans were more responsible with what we ate we wouldn’t need so much production, could treat food animals better, and be health.
I know my local grocery store will not go out of business because I don’t shop there anymore, but as more and more people feel this way maybe it will give them a pinch. Besides it’s nice to know who grows your food. I would rather help out my local farm than Monsanto.
DJS

This piece reminded me of John McPhee’s essay, ‘Giving Good Weight.’

“You people come into the market—the Greenmarket, in the open air under the down pouring sun—and you slit the tomatoes with your fingernails. With your thumbs, you excavate the cheese. You choose your stringbeans one at a time. You pulp the nectarines and rape the sweet corn. You are something wonderful, you are—people of the city—and we, who are almost without exception strangers here, are as absorbed with you as you seem to be with the numbers on our hanging scales.”
- Jenny
  
  I love this, thanks for sharing!

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