Market Update for February 12th

Hello again dear friends of the Amenia Winter Market!  

Although I won't say that Spring is in the air (to the groundhog I say, "I'll believe it when I see it!") I will say that LOVE is in the air!  What perfect timing for   tomorrow's Amenia Winter Market!  We will be packed to the brim with delicious treats, as well as beautiful handcrafted gifts.  Just a tiny sampling of gift ideas:  heart-shaped organic soap; chocolate croissants, granola and yogurt for a romantic breakfast feast; pastured pork sausage and handmade marinara sauce for a quick but delicious dinner (don't forget a loaf of fresh crusty bread!); farm-fresh eggs for baking a magical souffle; cookies and cakes for all tastes and desires; a handmade ceramic teapot for sharing tea in bed on Valentine's morning; felted cashmere bunnies for the littlest loved ones in your family; soup bones by the pound for Fido...  Nobody needs to be left out when it comes to spreading the warmth of LOVE!!  This winter has been cold enough!  Bundle up, head out the door, and come to the Amenia Winter Market to spoil yourself your Valentine rotten!

At tomorrow's market, you will find the following Food & Farm vendors:

- Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Housatonic, MA (breads, croissants, rolls, baguettes, loaves)

- Best Creations Bakery, Millbrook, NY (cookies, small cakes, hand pies, tarts)

- Cedar Hill Farm, Amenia, NY (beef, pork)

- Clear Water Aqua Farm, Wassaic, NY (aquaponic salad greens and herbs, assorted veggies)

- Cream Hill Veal, Cornwall, CT (pastured veal)

- Dashing Star Farm, Millerton, NY (lamb, eggs, baked goods, wool, roving, sheepskins)

- EB's Golden Harvest (honey, herbal tinctures, candles, various honey & beeswax products)

- Krazy for Kazu's, Falls Village, CT (Japanese marinades, dressings & sauces, also prepared Japanese foods)

- Marilyn's Food Co., Pine Plains, NY (pickles - many varieties, sauces, marinara sauce, jams, compotes, relish)

- Meili Farm, Amenia, NY (beef, pork, eggs, local maple syrup)

- Moonbeam Farm, Wingdale, NY (jams, chutneys, baked goods, sauces, handpainted woodenware)

- Pampered Cow Cheeses, Amenia, NY (a wide array of cheeses from the local area - goat-, sheep- and cow-milk varieties represented)

- Perry Hill Farm, Amenia, NY (handmade herbal-based soaps, creams, tinctures, lotions, also farm photo cards)

- Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, Ancramdale, NY (milk, cream, butter, yogurt, yogurt drinks, chocolate milk)

- WholeyOats Granola, Amenia, NY (formerly Berkshire Mountain Foods, handmade granolas by the bag and bar)

And the following Local Artisans:

- Baskets at Home, Millbrook, NY (Shaker-style baskets, felted bowls and garlands)

- CrippenWorks, Millerton, NY (hand-sewn knitting needle & crochet cases, notions bags, totes, diaper cases

- David Kaufmann, Millbrook, NY (ceramics - David teaches ceramics & arts at the Millbrook School)

- Donna Durbridge, Amenia, NY (hand-sewn pillows and handbags made with exquisite fabrics and leathers)

- Randi Foreman, Millbrook, NY (upcycled cashmere bunnies and other lovable friends, totes, napkins)

- Tim Liefer, Rhinebeck, NY (classic to whimsical birdhouse of all shapes and sizes)

We are also pleased to introduce:

- locally baked and handmade CHOCOLATES!!!  Just in time for Valentine's Day!

- Hammond Farm yogurts - farmstead yogurts produced in Amenia

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow from 10:00 to 2:00 in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall (former Amenia Elementary School) on Route 22.  Be sure to pass this email along, especially to someone who just might need to buy YOU a goodie for Valentine's Day!  Hey, there's nothing wrong with pointing people in the right direction!!  

Lots of love to everyone!  

Market Update for January 15th

I do apologize for the postponement of last Saturday's market due to Friday's snowstorm.  How were we to know the Really Big One would arrive mid-week?  We had at least two feet at our farm in Amenia.  What a beautiful Winter Wonderland these storms have left in their wake...  Anyhow, the flurries predicted for tomorrow won't keep us from running the market, so we hope to see everyone at the Amenia Town Hall tomorrow - Saturday - from 10:00 to 2:00. 

The big excitement for tomorrow will be a cooking demonstration by Kazuhiro Hadaka, the chef behind the line of Krazy for Kazu's sauces.  Kazuhiro was for many years a chef at The Woodland in Lakeville, where he was able to create and serve several Japanese-inspired dishes, and where he first got people hooked on his delicious sauces, dressings and marinades.  Tomorrow he will show us how to create delicious meals using his line of sauces.  

Also, we have two new vendors: Berkshire Orchids will be selling assorted in-bloom locally-grown orchids, and Tim Liefer will be selling his handmade birdhouses.  Both orchids and birdhouses are such lovely reminders that Spring-time will indeed follow this snow-filled Winter. 

At tomorrow's market, you will find the following Food & Farm vendors:

- The Amazing Real Live Food Co., Pine Plains, NY (probiotic cheeses, including a truly delicious camembert)

- Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Housatonic, MA (breads, croissants, rolls, baguettes, loaves)

- Berkshire Mountain Granola, Amenia, NY (handmade granolas by the bag and bar)

- Best Creations Bakery, Millbrook, NY (cookies, small cakes, hand pies, tarts)

- Cascade Mountain Winery, Amenia, NY (wines, mustard, olive oil)

- Cedar Hill Farm, Amenia, NY (beef, pork)

- Clear Water Aqua Farm, Wassaic, NY (aquaponic salad greens and herbs, assorted veggies)

- Dashing Star Farm, Millerton, NY (lamb, eggs, baked goods, wool, roving, sheepskins)

- EB's Golden Harvest (honey, herbal tinctures, candles, various honey & beeswax products)

- Farm Country Soup, Southfield, MA (soups, quiches, frittatas, pies, tarts, onion jam, scones & muffins)

- Marilyn's Food Co., Pine Plains, NY (pickles - many varieties, sauces, marinara sauce, jams, compotes, relish)

- Meili Farm, Amenia, NY (beef, pork, eggs, local maple syrup)

- Moonbeam Farm, Wingdale, NY (jams, chutneys, baked goods, sauces, handpainted woodenware)

- Pampered Cow Cheeses, Amenia, NY (a wide array of cheeses from the local area - goat-, sheep- and cow-milk varieties represented)

- Perry Hill Farm, Amenia, NY (handmade herbal-based soaps, creams, tinctures, lotions, also farm photo cards)

- Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, Ancramdale, NY (milk, cream, butter, yogurt, yogurt drinks, chocolate milk)

This week, we welcome back two of our local artisans from December:

- Baskets at Home, Millbrook, NY (Shaker-style baskets, felted bowls and garlands)

- CrippenWorks, Millerton, NY (hand-sewn knitting needle & crochet cases, notions bags, totes, diaper cases)

And we will introduce two new vendors:

- Berkshire Orchids, Lakeville, CT (assorted in-bloom locally-grown orchids)

- Tim Liefer of Custom Wood Works (handmade birdhouses)

Here's to a wonderful MLK Weekend, and we're all looking forward to seeing you at the Amenia Winter Market tomorrow!  As always, if you have friends who might be interested in locally-grown and -produced foods and FLOWERS and gifts, please be sure to pass this email along.  Thank you!

Market Update - 12/18/10

So, this is it folks!  The last weekend before Christmas!  The last market of 2010!  (But our season isn't over - far from it!  We will be running every second Saturday for January through April.  Next market is on January 8th.  Don't worry - I'll send a reminder!!)  The market will be absolutely stuffed-to-the-gills jam-packed this Saturday!  We have FIVE new vendors (and my phone is now ringing off the hook with people wanting to join – no more room at the inn, sadly!) including Berkshire Mountain Bread (cherry pecan boule anyone?? Panettone that will never need to be re-gifted??) Longmeadow Farm with pasture-raised roasting chickens, Cream Hill Veal with humanely pasture-raised veal, Marilyn’s Food Co. with an incredible assortment of handmade pickles, chutneys, tomato sauce, relish, hummus, compotes and more, and the Hudson Valley Seed Library will be educating us all about their Hudson Valley grown and saved heirloom seeds, beautifully packaged in Art Packs designed by NY State artists.  Please be sure to pass this email along to any gardeners you know – this is a great opportunity to buy a useful, beautiful and meaningful gift, as well as to learn more about the importance of seed saving and growing heirloom microclimate-adapted plants.

 

The gift opportunities this weekend are absolutely limitless!  From affordably priced ornaments, natural soaps and pint-sized totes to hand-knit farmstead wool blankets, huge Shaker baskets and hand-crafted live-edge wood tables, there is absolutely something for everyone.  And so many combinations to be created!  Soap and a soap dish.  Yarn and a knitting needle case.  Ornaments and a mini potted tree.  Cheeses and a porcelain cheese plate.  Honey and cheese and flatbread crackers.  Scones in a basket with cloth napkins. Soup and soup bowls.  A diaper tote and a cashmere kitten...   Many vendors have put together boxes and baskets of food items all wrapped up and ready to gift!  Don’t forget that food can make a great present!  Everyone eats, right?!  Who wouldn't appreciate a bag of granola and a tub of fresh yogurt?  Or loaf of bread and some cinnamon sugar butter and jam.  Or a cave man's delight of steaks...  Come, be creative!  Ask us for suggestions!  

 

Our artisans this week will include Artful Treasures, Baskets at Home, CrippenWorks, dbO Home, Randi Sue Foreman, and Sunset Hill Farm.  Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co., Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Berkshire Mountain Granola, Best Creations Bakery, Cascade Mountain Winery, Cedar Hill Farm, Clear Water Aqua Farm, Cream Hill Veal, Dashing Star Farm, EBs Golden Harvest, Farm Country Soup, Pampered Cow Cheeses, Krazy for Kazu's, Longmeadow Farm, Marilyn’s Food Co., Meili Farm, Moonbeam Farm, Perry Hill Farm, and Ronnybrook Farm Dairy.  I think the Hudson Valley Seed Library qualifies as both artisan AND farm!

 

We will be entertained by Amenia resident Diana Herold playing the marimba from 11:00 to 1:00, and Marshall Miles will be running a live broadcast from the gymnasium from 12:30 to 2:00.  We will have Best Creations’ holiday cookies on the house, and tea & coffee available, as always.  Farm Country will be selling piping hot bowls of soup for the lunchtime crowd.  Bundle up,  make a list, check it thrice and come see us at the Amenia Winter Market!  10:00 to 2:00, Amenia Town Hall, right on Route 22.  

Thank you all for such a fun spirited and successful first season!  Happy Holidays!

Market Update - 12/11/10

I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone that there are only two weekends remaining before Christmas Day.  What I would like to remind everyone is of the importance of supporting small, local businesses this Holiday season.  Although the concept of Small Business Saturdays (such a lovely antidote to Big Box Black Friday) was first conceived of and marketed by a Very Large Company indeed, I'm happy to help spread the idea.  And I cannot think of a better place to spread the Small Business Cheer than the Amenia Winter Market!  This Saturday, the Amenia Town Hall gymnasium will be filled to the brim with 21 vendors - every single one a local and small business, and present at almost every table is the person (or people) behind the small business.  I think I speak not only for myself, but for every vendor, when I say that every market day provides a source for reaffirmation of all the reasons why I do what I do.  I love to tell people all about my farm, my animals, my practices.  Come and spend a few minutes speaking with farmers, bakers, potters, soup-makers, soap-makers, basket weavers, seamstresses, shepherds, painters, beekeepers...  This is such a wonderful way to both support and learn about the people working in and around our community.

This weekend, we welcome two new artisans - both will be familiar to regulars of the Millbrook Farmers Market.  Martha Belardo of Baskets at Home (Pine Plains, NY) will be selling her incredible hand-woven Shaker-style baskets, as well as Carolina snowflake ornaments and felted wool bowls, garlands, acorns and rings.  Randi Sue Foreman (Millbrook, NY) will be selling stuffed bunnies and Christmas trees made from repurposed cashmere sweaters.  Randi will also have an assortment of handcrafted ornaments, totes, cloth napkins and hand-knit flower necklaces.  Along with Martha and Randi, returning this week will be Dawn Casarra of Artful Treasures (Amenia, NY) with hand-painted floorcloths and placemats, as well as whimsical dragonfly pins and pinecone ornaments; CrippenWorks (Millerton, NY) with hand-sewn knitting needle cases, tote bags, diaper clutches and more; dbO Home (Sharon, CT) with handmade porcelain plates, bowls, soap dishes and vases; and Sunset Hill Farm (Millbrook, NY) with farmstead wool roving and yarn in a fabulous assortment of colors.

Our Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co. (cheeses), Berkshire Mountain Foods (granolas), Best Creations Bakery (holiday cookies, cupcakes, cheese pastries), Cascade Mountain Winery (wines and olive oil), Cedar Hill Farm (pork and beef, pumpkins), Clear Water Aqua Farm (tender greens and herbs, veggies), Dashing Star Farm (lamb, eggs, wool/yarn, baked goods), EBs Golden Harvest (honey and honey products, beeswax candles, herbal tinctures), Farm Country Soup (quiches, soups, baked goods), Glenn Golovin of Pampered Cow (Harpersfield cheeses, triple cream cow, goat and sheep milk rounds, goat and sheep feta from Four Brothers Farm), Krazy for Kazu's (Japanese marinades & dressings), Meili Farm (pork, beef and eggs), Moonbeam Farm (chutneys, jams, flatbread crackers), Perry Hill Farm (soaps, tinctures, salves, trees, Holiday wreaths), Ronnybrook Farm Dairy (milk, yogurt, butter), and Wild Hive Bakery (breads, pastries, micro-milled flours and grains).

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow - we'll be in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall (on Route 22) from 10:00 to 2:00.  Have a bowl of hot soup for lunch, sample a few cheeses, taste a local wine, and check gifts off your list one by one...

Market Update - 12/4/10

Happy Hanukkah!  The holiday season is upon us already, and I'm sure most of us are busy scratching our heads and wondering where in the world the past year has gone...  Before we know it, good old Saint Nick will be sliding down the chimney!  Lucky for all of those who have discovered the Amenia Winter Market (and those who have yet to discover us - aahhemm!) there are more gift options than you can shake a stick at just waiting for you in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall.  Beginning this Saturday, and continuing through Saturday the 18th, the Amenia Winter Market will feature - in addition to all the fabulous local foods - a carefully selected group of LOCAL ARTISANS!  The gifting opportunities multiply by the minute!  

This weekend we will welcome Artful Treasures (Amenia, NY) with hand-painted floorcloths and placemats, as well as whimsical dragonfly pins and pinecone ornaments; CrippenWorks (Millerton, NY) with hand-sewn knitting needle cases, tote bags, diaper clutches and more; dbO Home (Sharon, CT) with handmade porcelain plates, bowls, soap dishes and vases; and Sunset Hill Farm (Millbrook, NY) with farmstead wool roving and yarn in a fabulous assortment of colors.  More artisans arrive next weekend (bringing Shaker baskets and  cashmere bunnies - just a sampling!).  

In the Farm & Food department, you will also see a few new faces.  Wild Hive Bakery (Clinton Corners, NY) will be back!  Many of you will know Wild Hive from the outdoor Amenia Farmers' Market (and the Millerton Farmers' Market).  Wild Hive micro-mills all of the flours they use for baking, mainly from organic grains grown by Lightning Tree Farm in Millbrook, NY.  As I discovered this summer, Wild Hive brioche makes the best french toast on the planet!  Our second new vendor will be Glenn Golovin of Pampered Cow (Amenia, NY).  Glenn will have on offer a very tasty spread of locally produced cheeses, from cow milk triple creams to goat milk buttons to goat and sheep milk feta made just up the hill in Millerton at Four Brothers Farm.  He will also have a wax-wrapped cheddar, as well as an assortment of cheeses flavored with beer, tea and herbs.

Our fabulous Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co. (cheeses), Berkshire Mountain Foods (granolas), Best Creations Bakery (holiday cookies, cupcakes, cheese pastries), Cascade Mountain Winery (wines and olive oil), Cedar Hill Farm (pork and beef, pumpkins), Clear Water Aqua Farm (tender greens and herbs, veggies), Dashing Star Farm (lamb, eggs, wool/yarn, baked goods), Farm Country Soup (quiche, soup, baked goods), Krazy for Kazu's (Japanese marinades & dressings), Meili Farm (pork, beef and eggs), Moonbeam Farm (chutneys, jams, flatbread crackers), Perry Hill Farm (soaps, tinctures, salves, trees), Ronnybrook Farm Dairy (milk, yogurt, butter), and Sol Flower Farm (veggies). 

Come hungry, have a coffee, chat with a farmer, a baker, an artist.  Admire the many diverse talents our area has to offer...  We look forward to seeing you Saturday, from 10:00 to 2:00, in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall.  

The Artisans are Here! (press release)

The Amenia Winter Market is thrilled to debut a carefully curated selection of local artisans this Saturday, from 10:00 to 2:00, at the Amenia Town Hall.  The artisans all live and work in the local area, and are all handcrafting their wares.  Present this Saturday will be Kathryn Crippen Shapiro of CrippenWorks (Millerton, NY) with her quilted knitting needle cases, tote bags, diaper bags and other accessories; Dana Brandwein Oates of dbO Home (Sharon, CT) with an amazing assortment of handmade porcelain plates, cups, bowls and other vessels – all with hand-pressed nature motifs; Dawn Cassara of Artful Treasures (Amenia, NY) with hand-painted floorcloths and placemats, as well as an assortment of pinecone ornaments, and her signature dragonfly broaches; and Robin Somers Capers of Sunset Hill Farm (Millbrook, NY) with farmstead roving and knitting wools in all weights and colors.  The local artisans will be selling at the market for our three December dates – 12/4, 12/11 and 12/18.  Joining us next week will be Martha Belardo of Baskets at Home (Pine Plains, NY) with hand-woven shaker-style baskets, and Randi Foreman (Millbrook, NY) with a whimsical assortment of upcycled cashmere stuffed animals and Christmas trees, as well as ornaments, tote bags, cloth napkins and more.

Farm and Food will also make a strong showing at this Saturday’s Amenia Winter Market.  We will feature two new vendors this week – one selling a selection of local cheeses and the other selling local honey and beeswax candles.  All of our regular vendors will be back after some were away for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it will be a full house in the gymnasium!  Our regular vendors include The Amazing Real Live Food Co., Berkshire Mountain Granola, Best Creations Bakery, Bread Alone Bakery, Cascade Mountain Winery, Cedar Hill Farm, Clear Water Aqua Farm,  Dashing Star Farm, Farm Country Soup,  Krazy for Kazu’s, Meili Farm, Moonbeam Farm, Perry Hill Farm, Ronnybrook Farm Dairy and Sol Flower Farm.

We look forward to seeing you at the Amenia Winter Market, in the new Amenia Town Hall (former Amenia Elementary School) on Saturdays through December 18^th from 10:00 to 2:00 (and every second Saturday in January through April).  For more information please visit our website – www.ameniafarmersmarket.com.  

Market Update - 11/27/10

I hope everyone had a truly delicious Thanksgiving yesterday!  How wonderful is it to take a day out from the regular routine to be with family and EAT and think of all the things we each have to be thankful for?  Personally, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all.  As I sit down to write the Market Update for tomorrow's market, I want to give thanks for a few of the market-specific things that have happened this year.  

First, the Amenia Farmers' Market got off the ground to begin its first season in May.  What a great outdoor season it was!  I feel so fortunate to be a part of such a congenial and supportive group of vendors, and to help run a market that has been supported by so many wonderful and loyal customers!  As early as June, we already had many repeat customers, many of whom I now think of as friends.  What a wonderful thing to be able to meet so many new people each week, and to catch up with new and old friends!  To all of the people who have made this market happen - especially our vendors and our customers, thank you a million times over.

I am extremely thankful that the Town of Amenia had the incredible foresight to agree to purchase the former Amenia Elementary School building to use as the new Town Hall.  Although there may be those in town who think this was not a wise decision, I think it was brilliant.  Not only is it a perfect example of enlightened municipal recycling (upcycling, one might say!) which will forever prevent a historic and beautiful building from falling deeper into disrepair, it is also symbolic of the forward progress of the Town of Amenia as a whole.  We now have a Town Hall to be proud of - in a true place of pride - and one which has such wonderful potential for the entire community.  The Amenia Winter Market is just the first of what I hope will be a long string of events to be held in the common areas of the Town Hall (there is a fabulous auditorium, too, just waiting for creative minds to plan Big Things).  For the use of the gymnasium, and for the support of the entire Amenia Town Board, I am deeply grateful.

Specifically, I would like to thank Rudy Eschbach of Cedar Hill Farm for having the idea to start a Farmers' Market in Amenia in the first place, and for all the hard work he has put into the market.  Vicki Harkness of Perry Hill Farm has volunteered a great deal of time to build for us our excellent website.  Alex Camillone, husband of Pattie Camillone of Berkshire Mountain Foods, put together the artwork for our eye-catching posters and signs.  Moore & More Printing helped to design the posters, and donated the first batch to the market!  (As Stacey said, "I'm a farmer's daughter.  I know how hard you all work".)  Marshall Miles at Robinhood Radio has done a great deal to help us spread the word about the market, as have the Millerton News, the Millbrook Independent, and WQQQ FM Lakeville.  Thank you all!

And a huge thank you to all of the people who have received this email and simply passed it along to friends.  Such a simple act with such a HUGE impact!  Thank you thank you thank you!

This week the market will have nary a turkey in sight!  But we will have loads of delicious foods to help fill your week with tasty homegrown and homemade treats.  Our vendor line-up for this week will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co. (cheeses), Berkshire Mountain Foods (granolas), Cascade Mountain Winery (wines and olive oil), Cedar Hill Farm (meats, pumpkins), Dashing Star Farm (lamb, eggs, wool, baked goods), Farm Country Soup (quiche, soup, baked goods), Krazy for Kazu's (Japanese marinades & dressings), Meili Farm (meats and eggs), Perry Hill Farm (soaps, tinctures, salves, trees), Ronnybrook Farm Dairy (milk, yogurt, butter), and Sol Flower Farm (veggies).

We hope to see you at the Amenia Winter Market, this Saturday, in the Amenia Town Hall, from 10:00 to 2:00.

Come thank a farmer!  And let us thank you, too!