Feb 14 2010
Love Apples
Happy Valentine’s Day!
The big news at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this week is the appearance of tomatoes. I won’t pretend these are summer tomatoes (it will be at least a month before I bother to buy any – no way they have any flavor yet), but their appearance is a sign of wonderful things to come.
I hope you all have a beautiful day.
xoxox
dp
Feb 07 2010
Margie's Goodies
In honor of the Super Bowl and permanently nice weather, today’s guest farmers market update is from sunny Miami, Florida.
Brilliant and irreverent, Holly Hickman is one of my favorite healthy eating bloggers. Definitely check out (and subscribe to) her blog and follow her on Twitter @Holly_Hickman. You will not regret it.
Holly is also the author of Healthy Eats Here, a guide to local, sustainable restaurants across America. If you like good, healthy food and have done any traveling you know how difficult it can be to find a decent meal on the road. Holly has figured it all out for us and organized an easy to use, state-by-state guide. I’m very proud to be an affiliate for such awesomeness.
I hope you enjoy Holly’s adventures at the farmers market as much as I did. And be sure to listen to the audio clip at the bottom of the post!
by Holly Hickman
Greetings from South Beach, or, as I like to call it, The Fanny Parade.
The locusts football fans are in town this week for the Super Bowl–otherwise known in Cocaine Cowboy Country as the Super Blow–and I am in need of escape. Normally, escaping from Miami simply requires that you grab your typical fanny parader off the street and use her as a human floatation device. (As I told Darya, she might live near Silicon Valley, but I live surrounded by Silicone Valleys.) However, our lovely ladies are busy partying, so I’m heading to my other –real– escape: the local farmers market.
You might think from the above paragraph that I do not love my adopted town. I do; I just like to tease it. And the great source of my love for this town is not the ocean or insistently happy weather or even the proximity to phenomenal Cuban coffee: it is, ladies and gents, the Pinecrest farmers market.
We have a number of markets here but Pinecrest, although a 30-minute drive from my house, is my go-to haven. My favorite farmers are all there: Margie Pikarsky of Redland Organics; resident goat whisperer Hani Khouri of Hani’s Organics; and Gabrielle Berryer of Gaby’s Farm.
Behold why they are my favorites:
Tomatoes from Margie's stand
If you’re reading this from Iowa, I am sorry. Those are–apologies again, this time to Darya–summer tomatoes. Only they burst forth in JANUARY ’round these parts. Yes! And go through about April. Yes. And Margie grows the best of them.
“Do you know the differences among all these?” she asked me.
Um, no.
“These are the green zebra. This is the Cherokee Purple, kind of a dusky rose. Ooh! Yellow Pear. And then these kind start off pale but will blush into a beautiful mahogany on your counter. Look at the the heirlooms. Beautiful, no?”
I bought two packs.
Farmer Margie & her nearly sold-out broccoli
This is Margie trimming her magical swirling broccoli. OK, so they only taste like magic.
“It’s because of the frost,” she said. “Makes ‘em sweeter.”
Ka-ching!
She was also selling (clockwise from top left of main photo): freshly-dug potatoes and beets. (She digs beets.) Beautiful Florida avocado, which are not as creamy as the California kind, but which are as large as footballs and make a fine game-time guacamole. Local wild honey, assorted cabbages, herbs such as lemon grass and Syrian oregano (“the only kind”), turnips and luffa. Yes, for scrubbing your skin; it’s a plant that grows beautifully here in subrtropical climes. She also sells those mulit-colored carrots, plus Asian greens such as tatsoi (perfect for stir-fries), several kinds of organic Florida citrus and some gorgeous eggplant. Anything that grows well in Thailand grows well here.
I could spend all day at this stand, but I am hungry for falafel. Time to go see Hani and his wife, Mary Lee.
Hani and Mary Lee Khouri of Hanisorganics.com
Hani is the only goat farmer around, and, luckily for us, his goat milk, goat ice cream and goat cheese are all exquisite. That is why I call him the goat whisperer. He’s originally from Lebanon and sells Mediterranean delights such as fattoush (a pita and tomato salad that won’t make you fattoush); fool (a delightful legume-based dish which, again, won’t make you into one); and fantastic hummus and falafel.
Left from top: fattoush, fool & lupini beans
Hani made me a gorgeous falafel sandwich with his home-pickled turnips while I asked Mary Lee about their beautiful goat’s milk ice cream. There was none, she said, because the goats are “kidding,” and she doesn’t want to take their milk. Sane and humane.
Hani Khouri makes sure Holly isn't cranky
So, no ice cream from Hani, but I know where I can get some: Gaby’s Farm.
The aptly named Gaby Berryer
Gabrielle Berryer is originally from Haiti and spent years working as a psychologist. One day, she decided to buy a farm south of Miami so that she could grow tropical fruits. And she does–oh how she does! Starfruit, canistel (a creamy, custardy fruit), mamey (which I wrote a post about, since I love it so) passion fruit and myriad other delights.
Gaby's Ice Creams
If you have never tasted any of these fruits, buy a ticket here. NOW. And then go see Gaby. She not only grows these delectable paens to tropical love; she makes ice cream out of them. People. Sit. They have a teensy bit of corn syrup in them to keep them creamy and give them good consistency, but other than that, they are perfect. You can find them at Whole Foods throughout the southeast, but I think she should go national.
Here’s a wee interview with my favorite farmers where we learn about kidding, tropical fruits, and why eating stone crabs is sustainable:
Holly at the South FL Farmers Market
And here is the result of my purchases–homemade pizza that we ate topped with an arugula salad, plus an eggplant/tomato riff on baba ganoush. Dessert? Gaby’s ice cream, of course. Darya, you must come to South Florida; they make the magic happen here. And I’m not talking about Mickey.
Dinner with my purchases
Purchases:
Redland Organics
Hani’s Organics
Gaby’s Farm
From Darya: Are any more of you holding out on me with winter tomatoes? Time to fess up!
Jan 31 2010
Tulips
It’s still January, isn’t it? I’m pretty sure it is.
Here in San Francisco we’ve had virtually non-stop rain for the past 2 weeks. Technically this is good since we’ve had a drought, but I think all of us are anxious to move on to more fair weather.
What confuses me though is how this abnormally wet weather explains the early appearance of tulips and cherry blossoms? I have no idea. But they sure are lovely, aren’t they?
First Cherry Blossoms
If you’ve been avoiding the farmers market because of the weather, now is the time to start going again. The flowers are blooming, the spring onions are appearing and yes, the sun is peaking out of the clouds today.
In many ways the beginning of spring is the most special time of year. After a long, cold and wet winter there is something magical about the time when life reminds us of its eternal cycle. Baby greens, delicate asparagus and sweet fruits will start appearing over the coming weeks and you definitely want to be there when it happens.
Fennel Bulbs
Organic Spring Onions
It’s hard to describe how exciting it is the first day the farmers market explodes with cherries. I can’t get enough of the Olsen Organic clementines right now (seriously, don’t buy them anywhere else), but cherries mark the beginning of a long and delicious season of stone fruits (fruit with pits).
But let’s stop daydreaming.
Blood Orange Slices
This week the stars of the market are cauliflower, broccoli and citrus. The kale and chard are also amazing. And for good measure I grabbed some Brussels sprouts since the season will be ending soon.
Purple Kohlrabi
Organic Cauliflower & Broccoli
There is also still a beautiful assortment of root vegetables. I wish my photo skills could do justice to these breathtaking purple carrots.
Purple Carrots
I spent some time today talking about mushrooms with John Garrone of Far West Fungi. Far West Fungi has the most unique mushrooms and other foraged foods that I’ve found in San Francisco. They also have a farm where they grow mushrooms near Monterey Bay. Definitely visit their shop in the Ferry Building if you ever get the opportunity.
Nameko Mushrooms
Mushroom Farm
What did you find at the farmers market this week?
Today’s Purchases:
Jan 17 2010
Blue Bottle Coffee
I’m thrilled to have Allison Arevalo from Local Lemons representing today from across the bay in Berkeley.
The Berkeley farmers market on Center street downtown is one of my old stomping grounds. Though there is a lot of overlap in products between Berkeley and SF, the vibe is completely different. This synopsis has definitely inspired me to head back sometime soon.
Allison is a Brooklyn girl who escaped New York for the sunny skies and year-round produce of Berkeley, California. Local Lemons is a collection of original, all-natural recipes designed to give you a taste of local, sustainable living in the East Bay.
by Allison Arevalo
Days like this make it easy to forget winter. While most of the world hides beneath down comforters and behind woolen scarves, in Berkeley I saunter slowly around the farmers’ market, sun warm on my back. And while I am grateful to breath summer air in January, I feel most fortunate to enjoy vibrant greens of winter produce – something I was deprived of living in New York.
My day at the Berkeley market began with a hug from Denise (Chez Us) and a steaming cup of Bella Donovan from Blue Bottle coffee. From there we walked the length of the market, taking it in before making all-important decisions. The Berkeley market is often a sea of green, but today the emerald hues were as varied as the vegetables themselves. Kale, chard, romanesco, broccoli, arugula, spinach, leeks and other greens flourish during the temperate, wet Bay Area winters, making it the ideal time of year to indulge in their nutrients.
Celery
Romanesco
Green garlic recently made its yearly market debut, and oh, how I love the mild bite of green garlic. Cook with it, use it as a garnish, stir it into soups or puree it for dips. A favorite recipe of mine uses sautéed green garlic mixed with smashed cannellini beans, a drizzle of olio nuevo and a pinch of flaky pink salt. I grabbed a few stocks from Riverdog farms, where I also purchased plump, stout carrots, so sweet they taste candied.
Phoenix Bread
Green Garlic
Our next stop was Phoenix Pastificio. The Phoenix makes a rainbow of fresh pastas–porcini, squid ink, meyor lemon, saffron–homemade sauces, cookies and their famous rustic olive bread. I have yet to leave the market without touting a loaf of the cushy artisanal bread, brimming with tangy kalamatas.
Watermelon Radish
Butternut Squash
Among mountains of butternut squash, baskets of sweet lettuce, piles of watermelon radishes and stacks of fresh cheese, Berkeley market is a community; a gathering of locals who come to chat up the virtues of purple carrots, or sample green olive and potato tamales wrapped in banana leaves. I am particularly fond of the white-haired, dreaded beatnik, who reminds me what I love about Berkeley as he strums and sings nostalgic tunes from Bob Dylan.
Today’s Purchases:
Sweet Lettuce: Happy Boy Farms
Arugula: Happy Boy Farms
Rustic Olive Bread: Phoenix Pastificio
Green Garlic: Riverdog Farm
Carrots: Riverdog Farms
Romanesco: Riverdog Farms
Fresh Local Prawns: Hudson Seafood
Bella Donavan: Blue Bottle Coffee
Jan 10 2010
Purple and Green Cabbages
Winter is a subject I usually prefer to ignore, and in California this is pretty easy to do.
Although temperatures approach freezing at night, rarely do things actually freeze. We have our farmers market here in San Francisco year round, and overall I realize I am utterly spoiled.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to get excited about winter.
It’s still cold. It’s still gray. It gets dark early and the nights are long. Everything and everyone seems to want to hibernate, especially me.
But this weekend I decided to embrace winter and all its glorious produce. I think I was inspired by all the delicious recipes around the blogosphere. Who knows. But today I was excited about parsnips, braising greens, mushrooms and citrus, and barely even noticed that my pomegranates and peppers are out for the count.
White Carrots
Winter greens and root vegetables are especially exciting to me right now. I know this sounds weird, but until you’ve tasted them at the height of season (as we are now in), it is hard to know what I mean.
The difference is that during a lot of the year hearty greens and root vegetables like turnips and kohlrabi can be very bitter and spicy. They are edible in this state, but require a lot more work to be delicious. Right now all these vegetables are sweet, almost like candy.
Cabbages and Kale
Watermelon Radish
If you don’t believe me, head down to the market and try some of the samples. People’s ooos and ahhs from their surprise at the delicious flavor of daikon and kohlrabi is audible throughout the market. Nobody expects vegetables to be this sweet.
The same is true for the brassica, things like cabbage, kale and collards. All these vegetables can be bitter and pungent when eaten out of season, but now they are as sweet and delicious as fruit.
Trumpet Mushrooms
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Another thing you don’t want to miss this season is the mushrooms. Truffles are expensive, but a small domestic white truffle can be purchased for around $10 or less and can make a spectacular treat for a weekend brunch. The chantarelle mushrooms are also big and flavorful this time of year. Personally I am loving the flavor and texture of trumpet mushrooms cooked up in a little olive oil and parsley.
Citrus fruit are the stars of the fruit scene, though you can still find some lingering pears and persimmons. I love the size and flavor of the clementines this time of year, but am looking forward to the grapefruits, pomelos and navel oranges sweetening up.
Citron
And it is hard to complain too much if there are Meyer lemons around.
Now is also a great time to get heirloom beans, dried chilies, sustainable meats, dried spices, tropical fruits, walnut oil, dried fruit and artisan cheeses.
Asian Pears
Limes
Today’s Purchases:
Have you embraced winter?
Darya @ The Huffington Post
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