Sunny, clear skies and unseasonably warm temperatures graced the final Bushwick Farmers’ Market of the season last Saturday at Maria Hernandez Park, where farm-fresh produce was still to be found in abundance alongside vendors offering artisanal goods made right here in Bushwick. Reflecting on the close of the farmers’ market’s fifth season, Bushwick Farmers’ Market Manager Apprentice Stephanie Box noted that this year saw the continued expansion of the flagship Saturday market. “Last year it year was maybe like half this size,” she recalled, “but now we’re really kind of taking over the block.” Even at the end of the season, the market’s row of pitched tents covered half the length of the southwest side of the park on Knickerbocker Avenue. Though we here at Bushwick Daily are sad to see the market go into its annual hibernation, we’ve been pleased to watch it grow and thrive over the years.

Perhaps what we love most about the farmers’ market, aside from it being a fresher, more sustainable alternative to your local Food Bazaar, are the encounters with unfamiliar items you’re not likely to find at the supermarket that often reflect the Latin character of our neighborhood. Take pasote, for example, an herb that Maritza de Rodriguez of La Baraja Farm was selling alongside the typical root vegetables and hardy greens of the fall harvest. Also known as “epazote” or “pazote”, it is used commonly in its native Mexico both for culinary and medicinal purposes. Maritza suggests using it to season beans (many sources claim it helps counteract their gas-producing tendencies) and other Mexican dishes, such as quesadillas and chilate de pollo. Medicinally, she said pazote can be used to make tea to relieve stomach aches, and can be eaten raw to boost brainpower and enhance memory. It would be wise to nibble, though, since the raw herb’s flavor is “as strong as a shot of tequila!” as Maritza warned gleefully in Spanish.