The Greenmarket Challenge: Day 3

Rather than supplementing my Greenmarket purchases with purchases from the supermarket as I usually do, I bough all of my purchases from the Greenmarket this week. I set myself a budget of $110, which is only slightly more than what I normally spend for two weeks of groceries. Keep in mind that this budget will cover my breakfasts, lunches, and dinner for the next 12 days; that's $11 a day, a fair budget considering my average lunch in midtown Manhattan is $8. I have allowed myself some leg room to use ingredients such as grains, sauces, and garlic that I already had on hand, but other than that necessary allowance, my entire diet for the week will consist of local foods. Follow along with me as I document local my meals over the next twelve days of my Greenmarket Challenge.

Day 3

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with Tonjes Farm Dairy ricotta, Cherry Lane Farm strawberries, and local honey

Lunch: Pasta salad with Eckerton Farm sugar snap peas and spring garlic pesto

Dinner: Roasted Grazin' Angus Acres chicken with Cherry Lane asparagus and leftover Rancho Gordo baked beans


The $21 chicken was by far the biggest splurge on my Greenmarket Challenge, but I could not resist purchasing it since all of my other purchases from Grazin' Angus (eggs, flap steak, ground beef) have been superb. How was the chicken? Well, it didn't taste like foie gras, which one might expect from a $21 chicken, but it was pretty darn good. I roasted it using the minimalistic (and Greenmarket Challenge rule-abiding) Thomas Keller method. It turned out perfectly, with succulent meat and a crispy skin. Not to say the chicken was worth $21 dollars (no chicken is worth $21), but I did feel great for supporting a great local farm in Grazin' Angus Acres.