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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

This Week at the Greenmarket: Summer Corn Festival!

Posted in Programs and Events on August 20 2013, by Matt Newman

The NYBG GreenmarketWe’re into the waning days of summer now, and the Greenmarket‘s weekly offerings are heaped ever higher with fresh fruits and vegetables. This week should be no exception! So if you’re in the area (or happen to be near the Metro-North), feel free to stop by and load up on armfuls of the latest pickings from local farms.

Wednesday’s star produce is certainly corn (as anyone with a grill will tell you). And to give it the recognition it deserves, we’re holding the Greenmarket Corn Festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You’re welcome to come and sample a few corn dishes, or take hope the recipes for yourself—they’re prepared fresh right here! Afterward, get hands-on with the corn husk shucking competition, and the kids can make corn husk dolls from the results.

Last week’s cornucopia featured apples, pears, white nectarines, peaches (like donut and Saturn), and heirloom tomatoes, as well as sunflowers, cantaloupe, basil, beets, tomatoes, purslane, blueberries, sugar plums, and cilantro. We’re expecting to see a lot of these return this week. And you shouldn’t head home without picking up something from Meredith’s Bread, like their savory breads, pies, cookies, muffins, or carrot cakes.

The NYBG Greenmarket runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Wednesday through November 27, with free short-term parking for Greenmarket shoppers. The market accepts food stamps, EBT, WIC/FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards. Learn how to use EBT, WIC and FMNP at the Greenmarket. And head below for a recipe from our staff at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.

Greenmarket Corn Festival!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Get new corn recipes and sample a few for yourself—prepared fresh on site, participate in the corn husk shucking competition, and enjoy making corn husk dolls from those shucked husks! Come hang out with neighbors and farmers while supporting the market you love!

Compost Q&A

Take home some tips from the NYC Compost Project on how to recycle food scraps into nutritious garden soil. This week’s demonstration is indoor composting with a worm bin.

The NYBG Greenmarket

Pea Shoot Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
  • 2 cups endive leaves
  • 1/2 bunch watercress
  • 1/2 bunch mint leaves
  • pea shoots (optional)
  • olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt

Preparation

Wash and hull strawberries and cut each one in halves or quarters, depending on size. Set aside. Roughly chop almonds. Wash watercress and mint and separate the leaves from the stems of both, discarding stems and setting leaves aside to dry. Cut the pea shoots into bite-size pieces. Separate endive leaves from the base of two large or four small heads, by cutting 1/4″ from the bottom and detaching however many leaves easily come free, then repeating. Slice the endive leaves into inch-long pieces for easier eating.

To season, place in a large bowl, drizzle oil around the outside, and toss the leaves. Distribute the endive leaves evenly over the serving platter and sprinkle with salt. Distribute watercress, mint, and pea shoots over the endive. Top with strawberries and almonds. As a finishing step, drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top of the salad, concentrating on the strawberries. (Tossing balsamic with greens at an earlier stage can muddy the colors of the salad.) Taste for balance, salt again if needed, and serve.