Loose Beets

I know that it is technically still February, but I’m going to officially declare it springtime here in San Francisco, at least for all of us foodies.

The spring greens are in full effect. Today I found spinach, lettuces, asparagus and even pea shoots.

Pea Shoots

Asparagus

Brassica greens like kale and cabbage were around for most of the winter, but now we are seeing the late season varieties such as these savoy cabbages.

Savoy Cabbage

Herbs and onions are getting more diverse as well, as more delicate herbs like cilantro and thyme are reappearing. Still no basil though.

The giant leeks you can find these days are epic.

Big Leeks

Fresh Herbs

The root vegetable season is also shifting to the tail end. I’m seeing fewer radishes and other spicy roots, but sweet beets and carrots are thriving.

Carrots

In fruit, citrus is still where it’s at. Tropical fruits like kiwi, mango and guava are also available. But it’s hard to beat these $1 navel oranges from Hamada Farms.

Deceptive Tomatoes

Navel Oranges

You should still avoid the deceptively juicy looking tomatoes, however. Trust  me, they aren’t good. The vendor said it will be about 3 weeks before the heirlooms show up.

Until then you’ll have to amuse yourself with all the rest of the amazing spring produce. These flank steaks look pretty awesome too.

Flank Steaks

Today’s purchases:

• Broccolini (Iacopi Farm)
• Cauliflower (Iacopi Farm)
• Ruby chard (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Sweet baguette (Downtown Bakery)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Yirg (Blue Bottle Coffee)

Is your season turning?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Lots of great healthy eating tips this week on the interwebs. I love the news that slow eating can help you eat less. How often are we told that enjoying food more helps us lose weight? (OK, all the time here at ST, but I’m a weirdo.) There’s also an interesting article about sodium worth reading.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• To Cut Calories, Eat Slowly <<Best diet news ever. I’ve always been a big advocate of slow, mindful eating and culinary appreciation. A new study suggests people really do eat less when they slow down, and it is related to the release of satiety hormones. (New York Times)
• Seven Tips for Losing – and Keeping Off — Weight <<I love this post by Holly Hickman about weight loss and maintenance. She’s kept 40 lbs off for 8 years and is gorgeous! She also loves food. (Holly Hickman)
• When It Comes to Salt, No Rights or Wrongs. Yet. <<I don’t write much about sodium even though it is a popular topic in food politics these days. Why don’t I mention it? I’m not convinced by any of the data. I have yet to see a study that separates sodium consumption from processed food consumption. Personally I don’t worry about salt and have awesome blood pressure. (New York Times)
• Coca-Cola promotes more active lifestyles <<BS of the week How could you read that headline and not laugh? If you don’t get it, also check out Yoni Freedhoff’s editorial on why Coke might not be great over at Weighty Matters. (Ottawa Citizen)
• More veggies while pregnant reduces allergies in babies <<Vegetables are good for you. They really are. (Nutrition Data)
• The FDA should put an end to bogus health claims on packaged foods, experts say <<And when they say “bogus health claims” I think they mean all health claims. Since if a food is in a package, there’s probably very little that is healthy about it anyway. (Los Angeles Times)
• Navigating the maze of sugar and artificial sweeteners <<I get asked about sweeteners all the time. I don’t use any, but this is a good resource if you’re curious. (SF Gate)
• Change Your Brain, Change Your Body <<Interesting take on differences in weight loss success strategies. I think healthstyle is more complicated than this, but it is another example of how we each need to find our own path to health. (The Huffington Post)
• A Dinner Date With India and Spain (Fried chickpeas with chorizo video recipe) <<I love Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist video recipes. Doesn’t this look scrumptious?
• Baked Kale Chips <<For some reason I’ve been asked about kale chips a thousand times in the past month, so here’s an easy recipe. Who needs potato chips? (Shutterbean)

What goodies did you find online this week?

First Asparagus

I guess spring is here for real. Behold: asparagus!

And it didn’t come alone.

Every week I’m seeing more spring produce popping up as if it were, um, springtime.

Cardoons

Fiddleheads

Fiddleheads are baby fern shoots that show up at Far West Fungi for a few weeks or so every spring. Cardoons–a unique and unwieldy vegetable–are also a rare seasonal find. Neither of these make my top 5 vegetables list, but they are fun to play around with if you are feeling adventurous.

I admit I’m a little more excited about the artichokes that are appearing everywhere. The past few years I’ve fallen in love with the baby ones, but I enjoy artichokes of all sizes. And it looks like I’m not the only one.

Artichoke Slug

Cauliflower is peaking in season right now and trust me, you don’t want to miss it. Try roasting cauliflower florets at about 450 degrees with a little olive oil, sea salt, curry powder and coriander. Cover it with foil for the first 15 minutes, then remove the foil and let it brown until tender. Stir every 10 minutes or so. So easy and ridiculously tasty.

You can also find cauliflower’s prettier and more delicate cousin, romanesco.

Romanesco

Cauliflowers

Eggs are also easier to find at the farmers market this time of year. Right now I am smitten with the ones at Marin Sun Farms. They aren’t cheap, but they will blow you away. And you won’t get Salmonella.

Blood Oranges

Marin Sun Farms Eggs

The citrus season is also booming. Blood oranges and navels are wonderful right now, while the cute little clementines are almost gone. Also be sure to grab some Meyer lemons to squeeze on your asparagus and artichokes.

And root vegetables are still awesome.

Beautiful Turnips

Is it becoming springtime at your market?

Today’s purchases:

• Broccoli shoots (Chue’s Farm)
• Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
• Tuscan kale (Capay Organics)
• Red Russian kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cauliflowers (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Walnuts (Glashoff Farms)
• Eggs  (Marin Sun Farms)

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

There were an unusual number of thoughtful articles published this week. To start, read up on the important legislation that was passed for organic dairy production (yippie!). There is also some bad news about bagged salad greens you should be aware of, along with some valuable info on choosing a CSA if, per chance, the salad story makes you want to opt out of the industrial food chain (if it didn’t, check out the salmonella pepper article).

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• New Pasture Rules Issued for Organic Dairy Producers <<Important loopholes have been closed for organic dairy production. w00t! (New York Times)
• Bagged salads: safe or not? <<If nothing else you probably want to re-wash your pre-washed salad greens, these are some pretty gross statistics. (Food Politics)
• The bitter truth about fructose alarmism <<A well-written, thought-provoking analysis of the Lustig video on fructose I posted a few months back. This is a fair analysis and a good reminder to keep everything in perspective. (Alan Argon’s Blog)
• How to Stock a Healthy Kitchen with Chef Devin Alexander <<BS of the week. I’ve never seen so much junk food classified as healthy. Please don’t take advice from these people. (Diets In Review)
• Finding a CSA: What to Know and What to Expect <<Great tutorial on finding and picking a CSA (produce delivery through farm sponsorship). (The Bitten Word)
• Lawsuit on Behalf of California Woman Fatally Sickened by Salmonella Pepper <<I see two take home messages from this news. 1) Don’t eat industrial food if you don’t enjoy bacterial infections, 2) Hospitals are not the safest places to hang out. (Marler Blog)
• The family dinner: Are there no limits to its power? <<A thoughtful article over at Booster Shots about how nutrition science is often blown out of proportion by a general lack of understanding on how to interpret data. Worth a read. (Los Angeles Times)
• Simple Sustainable (and very delicious) Rainbow Trout – It’s Almost Too Easy [video recipe] <<The title of this recipe says it all. Who wants to eat trout with me? (Food Wishes)
• How healthy is 100% fruit juice, really? <<As usual, I agree with the Nutrition Diva’s stance on fruit juice. This is a question I get a lot, so check out her answer if you’re curious. (Nutrition Data)
• Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food <<Don’t miss Jamie Oliver‘s touching TED Prize wish talk.

What inspired you to eat well this week?

Kapani

I recently acquired a cast iron skillet and have been dreamily brainstorming all the fun I get to have with it.

Obviously my first adventure had to be this Spanish tortilla recipe, which turned out awesome. But I also had visions of recreating my grandmother’s slow-cooked spaghetti sauce and being able to make perfect steaks in my BBQ-less apartment.

But I knew there had to be more I could do with such a big, heavy object–so I turned to the coolest people I know for suggestions:

I must admit, my favorite answers didn’t exactly involve food:

But by far the most touching reply I received was a link to a Posterous post from @GregKnottLeMond. I encourage you to click over and read it, it’s short and sweet:

The post describes how the adorable skillet bird above came to be:

For @SummerTomato ‘s Consideration

The creativity was not, of course, restricted to metallic critters and demolition:

These blogs that specialize in cast iron cookware were also recommended:

Cooking In Cast Iron

Black Iron Blog

Derek on Cast Iron

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the collective inspiration! Here is my consolidated list of ideas:

1. Clonk someone (@thescramble)
2. Cure alcoholism (@mcnee)
3. Bicep curls (@JeffACSH)
4. Nut crackin’ (@RtReview)
5. End a romance (@cookerguy)
6. Fry chicken (@cookerguy)
7. Break stuff (@cookerguy)
8. Work on two-handed tennis backhand (@cookerguy)
9. Fight zombies (@benhamill)
10. Frame a picture (@omewan)
11. Plant bonzai trees (@omewan)
12. Stop burglars à la Home Alone (@leslieconn)
13. Burn thermite (@mcnee)
14. Hit John Mayer (@foodiemcbody)
15. Make metal critters (@GregKnottLeMond)
16. Deep dish pizza (@bob_koss)
17. Squeeze paneer (@newtomato)
18. Burgers (@thescramble)
19. Steaks (@thescramble)
20. Corn bread (@lonelygourmet)
21. Spoon bread (?) (@virginiagriffey)
22. Roast meats (@jameswcooper)
23. Crustless pies (@blee27)
24. Pancakes (@bob_koss)
25. Sauté zucchini (@JeffACSH)
26. Pineapple upside-down cake (@HeatherHAL)
27. Hashbrowns (@arielmanx)
28. Seared meat (@arielmanx)
29. Spanish tortilla (@FBloggersUnite)
30. Bibimbap (@annemai)
31. Tarte tartin (@annemai)

What are your favorite things to do with a cast iron skillet?