Natalie is a Computer Science graduate turned Software Developer living in Moreno Valley, CA. The highlight of accomplishing her MS was presenting for the third IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology. Though she adores science, she is most passionate about great food, heavy metal, and kitties.

Check out her heavy metal foodie blog, The Devil Wears Parsley, find her on Twitter @DvlWearsParsley and like The Devil Wears Parsley Facebook Page.

Farmers Market Update: Riverside, CA

By Natalie Wiser-Orozco

Riverside, CA is one of the jewels of the Inland Empire. The beautiful architecture downtown sets the perfect stage for a quaint one-block farmers market every Saturday on Main Street, rain or shine!

Baby Kale

Dickens Festival Man

Every Saturday morning, though I do love to sleep in, I am always excited to get down to the market. My husband and I have been frequenting this fruit and vegetable paradise for a few years now, and I just can’t get enough of the local produce, free-range chicken, and eggs.

Bosc Pears

Free Range Chicken and Eggs

Prior to visiting the farmer’s market, I had heard about the benefits of buying food from these kinds of places. Not only are you supporting local farms, but most of the growers are certified organic in the surrounding area, meaning no icky pesticides to consume. The thing that really got me hooked on the idea was the taste and quality of the vegetables. We took carrots home the very first trip, among other things, and I was astounded. The carrots tasted so sweet, and, well – like carrots! The ones from the grocery store were so bland and boring compared to these.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green Beans

Berries

Now that we’ve been on the circuit for awhile, if I miss a week, I get grumpy. Who wants to settle for bland produce? Not this gal. The market has really helped me learn what produce will be present for each season. It also helps distinguish the seasons themselves here in Southern California. When you’ve got 74 degree highs in the middle of winter, it can be hard to tell them apart.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Dried Apples

It’s winter in Riverside, meaning that my favorite citrus has arrived. About two years ago, we stumbled onto the blood orange when our favorite vendor had them on display. We went nuts for them! They have a slight earthy flavor compared to their counterparts, but are sweet vehicles of goodness. I always think of beets when I eat them, because the color is so similar and fantastic.

Clementines

Blood Oranges

This week, along with stocking up on blood oranges, I found some exceptional Clementines – a citrus I hadn’t tried before, and some gorgeous baby kale. I have been hearing of the health benefits of apple cider vinegar that hasn’t been pasteurized, so I picked up some of that as well.

One booth has beautiful beeswax candles that smell great and clean the air, rather than pollute it like regular petroleum based candles. Finally, a must-have every week is the free-range chicken and eggs. The chicken is so tender and delicious. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the supermarket brands.

Beeswax Candles

Olive Oils

The vendors are all so friendly here, and most are pesticide free and organic. It makes “grocery shopping” a pleasurable experience rather than a chore, and the quality is un-matched. If you haven’t already, I urge you to support your local farms while simultaneously upgrading your healthstyle!

Friendly Vendor

This weekend’s haul:

• Blood Oranges, Bosc Pear, and Clementines (Hillside Family Farms, San Diego, CA (310) 529-2361)
• Cauliflower and Green Beans (RS Farms, Riverside, CA)
• Baby Kale and Butternut Squash (Sage Mountain Farm, Aguanga, CA)
• Dried Apples and Apple Cider Vinegar (Ha’s Apple Farm, Tehachapi, CA)
• Free Range Chicken and Eggs (La Bahn Ranch, Temecula, CA)
• Blackberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries (Brenda’s Berry Farm, Nipomo, CA)
• Yellow Onions (Gama Farms, Arvin, CA)
• Squaw Bread (Old Town Bakery, 8631 Baseline Rd., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730)

If you’d like to share your farmers market experience at Summer Tomato, please read this.

For The Love of Food

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

Junk food got even more bad press than usual this week. I love it! I’m not too happy about the GM alfalfa though. I also found a fantastic article about sustainable seafood and some interesting research on meditation.

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 a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• The new school of fish <<Must read exposé of the sustainable fishing market. It’s both scary and fascinating. (San Francisco Magazine)
• Lawsuit to Taco Bell: Where’s the beef? <<I hear Taco Bell isn’t very happy with this. Ha! (SFGate)
• Girl Scout Cookies and other sweets offer confusing labeling on trans fats <<BS of the week. I always suspected the Girl Scouts were evil. Looks like they’re still using trans fats in their most popular cookies. (Chicago Tribune)
• Why the Happy Meal is a crime—and not just a culinary one <<More on poisonous children’s food, Michele Simon makes a good case that Happy Meals really are illegal already. (Grist)
• What the Deregulation of Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Means for Organic Consumers <This makes me really nervous. What are your thoughts? (Treehugger)
• Long and Short of Calcium and Vitamin D <<A good overview. (New York Times)
• The Minimalist Chooses 25 of His Favorites <<Sadness! Mark Bittman’s Minimalist food column in the New York Times came to an end this week. Here he compiled his 25 favorite dishes over the years. (New York Times)
• How Meditation May Change the Brain <<Interesting info on the science behind one of my latest hobbies, meditation. (New York Times)
• Quick Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans <<Doesn’t this look yummy? I think so. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?

Blood Orange Slices

I’ve been feeling under the weather so I’m going to let the farmers market speak for itself this week. Here are some of the best shots I got at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday.

Bay Bridge

Beautiful Turnips

Satsuma Mandarins

Watercress

Fuji Apples

Dandelion Greens

Tokyo Turnips

What did you find at the farmers market this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This week I learned some products contain “blueberries” that are really just sugar, goo and dye, Starbucks wants to kill you with coffee (while 7-eleven wants to kill you slightly less with soda) and ginger is good for sore muscles.

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 a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Fake blueberries abound in food products <<I knew real food was hard to find, but this is ridiculous. (Los Angeles Times)
• Mediterranean Diet May Slow Cognitive Decline <<It slows pretty much every other degenerative disease as well. This evidence has been building for awhile. (New York Times)
• Starbucks’ new “Trenta” size is larger than your stomach <<BS of the week goes to Starbucks! So disappointing, and just when even 7-eleven was starting to get the picture (see Colbert below). (National Post)
• Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attacks: Feed Your Bones Instead <<Bummer huh? Calcium supplements are also linked to prostate cancer. (Treehugger)
• What are we to think about Walmart’s healthy food initiatives? <<Were you starting to think for a second that Walmart was on your team? Don’t hold your breath. (Food Politics)
• Eating Ginger Helps Reduce Muscle Pain and Soreness <<I didn’t know this, did you? (New York Times)
• ‘Healthy’ kids’ foods usually aren’t, study finds <<Not surprising, but there’s new data to prove it. (Los Angeles Times)
• Eating More Fruit and Vegetables Linked to a Lower Risk of Dying from Ischemic Heart Disease <<The winners ate 8 servings of vegetables and fruit per day, much more than is recommended in the US. (ScienceDaily)
• SAUTEED BELUGA LENTILS + BUTTERNUT SQUASH <<This recipe was published a couple months ago, but it looks amazing and I’ve been looking for a beluga lentils recipe. (Sprouted Kitchen)
• Thought for Food – Fruit Pouch, Doritos Ad & Super Big Gulp <<Because we could all use a little more Stephen Colbert.

Pomelo

Residents of San Francisco woke up Saturday morning to a veritable spring day. The the sun was shining, the sky was clear and maybe, just for a moment, you could walk outside without a jacket.

It was great to see the farmers market bustling for the first time since the holidays. Crowds were not only drawn by the weather, but also by the Good Food Awards that were being held this weekend at the Ferry Building. The GFA “grant awards to outstanding American food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients.” Here are the winners.

Spring Onions

Good Food Awards

Spring wasn’t only in the air, it was also peeking out from some of the farm stands. I caught my first glimpse this week of spring onions. It isn’t much, but is a sign of what’s to come.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Winter citrus is just now ramping up. Blood oranges and satsumas are my favorite now, but I’ll be hitting the pomelo scene next week for sure.

Satsumas

Orange Slices

I’ve also been really impressed with the carrots lately, I’m really starting to appreciate how many varietals there are. Little ones, big ones, purple ones, white ones, orange ones. All very tasty.

Baby Beets

Carrot Bouquet

Of course, root vegetables in general are excellent now, very colorful and sweeter than they are most of the year. Like carrots, the variety of turnips is impressive.

Scarlet Turnips

Large Turnips

Lastly, don’t forget your winter greens and herbs. Kale, chard and especially cabbage are as good now as they will be all year.

Winter Herbs

Cabbage

I didn’t buy much today since I left straight from the farmers market to Lake Tahoe. I just stopped by for the beautiful pictures.

What did you find at the market this week?

If you’d like to share your farmers market experience at Summer Tomato, please read this.