No Meat, No Problem

Ahhh how sweet it is to be able to walk through the Union Square Green Market and actually see “green” merchandise.   A month ago I made a special trip there to see what was available and it seemed like mostly I was just surrounded by apples.   I felt like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” walking through getting apples thrown at her from directions.  Hey I’m not knocking apples, but it seemed like for a few months it was all apples all the time there. The apples are still there as you can see, but there’s just a few of these stands now.    Also the signs have changed from “hot apple cider” to “cold apple juice”.     The weather means more people are visiting the market, so it was super crowded and hard to maneuver, but that doesn’t outweigh the fact that there is definitely a whole lot more variety (another reason to enjoy the warmer months).    It’s worth pushing through the crowds when there are local, fresh gems to be found!   The first thing that drew me in this time around was a vibrant wheat grass plant.    I like to buy fresh wheatgrass plant, not to juice, but just to have around the house.  I’ve heard that wheatgrass plants can enhance the oxygen in the air and take out some of the toxins around you.    Either way there is something about this brilliantly green grass that makes me happy.   Of course it makes my dog happy too.  The first time I got it I put it up on a table and she tried to get to it, so now I put it out of her reach.   Meanwhile this little guy only cost me $2.50 so it’s a no-brainer.  When it starts to die I also hear it’s good to throw into bath water so I’ll make sure to get my moneys-worth out of it.    Next up I went on a mission to find some fresh eggs from chickens who actually live a good life and get to actually roam around their farm.   As you may know even if you buy eggs in stores that say “free range” or “free roaming” they actually may not actual be outdoors.   They could still live in cramped quarters.   As for cage-free, well remember that means nothing!   Sure if that’s your best option always choose “free-range” or “free-roaming” because it has to be better than eggs that don’t have this distinction, but for the most humane eggs I think green markets are the way to go.     As you’ll see the eggs I bought come from a farm that promises “free running” chickens that are fed an “all vegetarian, hormone & antibiotic free” diet.    I know the folks that run the green market really research the people who sell stuff there so here I will take people on their word.  It doesn’t hurt to ask questions either so I have asked about the conditions these chickens live in.   I figure it’s hard for these people to lie because I could easily hop in a car and drive to their farm and see the conditions for myself.   So anyway I shelled out $5 for a dozen and I feel good that I am contributing to a humane operation.    If I pick up “free-roaming” eggs or something like that from Whole Foods the price is just about the same, so this is actually a pretty good deal.    Next up we hit a stand my husband was looking for.    Usually he’s not exactly crazy about roaming around markets, but for some reason on this day he was pretty excied.  So I knew he must want something and sure enough he was looking for some sort of baked good.    The banana bread was calling his name.    He got a half  loaf of banana bread for about $3 and a slice of pumpkin bread for $1.50.    Funny thing is pumpkin is of course way out of season and bananas, well bananas are definitely not in season.   I’m not sure where these folks get their bananas this time of the year, but the baked goods at the green market always seem really fresh so they are good nonetheless.     My husband’s review seems to confirm this:.  He said “the banana bread was delish….not too dry, not too moist, excellent texture…yum!  Just the way I like it”.  As we further roamed around the strangest thing I saw was “Garlic Raspberry Jelly”.   I didn’t buy it, sounded a little too strange for me!    The last thing I did buy was fresh maple syrup.   That meant chocolate chip pancakes the next morning to go with the syrup.  Ha ha funny logic I know.   Anyway that was my trip to the green market.  Funny thing is I didn’t actually pick up too many greens.   I knew I wasn’t going to be cooking at home the next few days so it didn’t really make sense to pick up anything else.  Next time though I’ll definitely hit up the Swiss Chard, some mushrooms and anything else that catches my eye.