Finding Fresh Food in Syracuse

As I finally unpacked my last bag in my off-campus house, my next task was heading to Wegmans to load up on groceries. As my mom and I (yes I still grocery shop with my mom, come at me) start browsing the produce section we begin to notice the outrageous prices. To buy a single cucumber you are paying almost $2, $3.99 for a small carton of strawberries and $5.99 per pound of cherries!

I cannot speak for the rest of you, but I am pretty sure that my parents don’t have a money tree in our back yard to finance my grocery bills, but that sure would be awesome if they did. So, as a Syracuse local I remembered that the farmers market takes place not too far from Carousel Mall and maybe their fresh produce will be more reasonably priced.

My assumptions were correct. I was able to purchase an assortment of fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables at half the price I was paying the day before at the Weg. If you, like myself, would rather support local farmers and help keep your wallet on the hefty side for other summer activities, head down to the farmer markets and stock up.

Within Syracuse there are two locations for the farmers market. The most common is the CNY Regional Market  located one block from Carousel Mall. Their hours are:

Thursday: 7:00AM – 2:00PM (May-November)
Saturday: 7:00AM – 2:00PM (Year Round)
Sunday: 7:00AM – 2:00PM (Year Round)

The second location is the Downtown Farmers Market, located in Clinton Square. The hours for this location are:

Tuesday: 7:00AM – 4:00PM (June-October 9th)

Don’t have a car? Don’t fret. Syracuse University’s Centro Bus system provides rides to both the Regional Market and to downtown Syracuse. To find the bus routes and times check out their website.

Bon Appetite!

-Chelsey Perry

How-To: Microwave Blueberries. Broke College Kids, Listen Up!

Eat them in muffins, pancakes, smoothies and yogurt or just pop them straight into your mouth; blueberries are a fantastic treat for the end of the summer. Recently discovered as a great source of antioxidants, blueberry production has expanded over the last 25 years, including in Syracuse. Go to Wegman’s and you can get these berries year-round, or go support the local farmers’ markets and get berries with a taste you cannot beat.

As one of the hardest berries, blueberries can last 10-14 days in the fridge and even longer when frozen, making them a berry with the perfect shelf life for a college student. Whichever you decide to do, store bought or locally grown, fresh or frozen, here are some great microwavable recipes for those of us living in the dorms–or those who really can’t cook–during the next semester.

Eating Locally in February? WTF?

Delicious AND locally grown

The concept of “eating locally” is not exactly a new idea. It is the idea of eating only the foods that can be grown sustainably near to you, or within a certain circumference around your general area. The concept has been around since the conception of our nation. Our founding fathers and their generation ate only what they could grow in their back yards. Through the creation and implementation of modern technology, however, we are now able to import food from all across the world – a progression that may or may not be yielding positive results.

Restaurant Reviews: Freedom of Expresso – Franklin Square

So reviewing a coffee shop is kind of a cop-out, but humor me for a moment. The funds (and thus, the eating out) haven’t been in great supply lately, and so in my past two posts I’ve had to venture into more affordable territory. Besides, who ever said beer and coffee weren’t part of a complete meal?

Yesterday, after buying my eggs and weekly treats at the CNY Regional Farmer’s Market and then heading around the corner for 45 minutes of necessary-but-aggravating Carousel Mall crowd navigating, I stopped at Freedom of Espresso’s newest digs in Franklin Square.

Opened in April of 2007, the most recent FOE franchise isn’t exactly new. But tucked in the Lofts at Franklin Square building at the corner of Solar and Plum Streets, this café provided a pleasant change of scenery from the usual Saturday study spots. Surrounded in re-vamped industrial buildings and with a view of an urban park across the way, you can pretend you’re somewhere else for an afternoon. Somewhere like Brooklyn, or Prague, or wherever you might be nostalgic for on that particular day. It was my first visit, and I was impressed with its comfortable, clean and modern atmosphere, much like the Fayetteville location offers.