Rainbow Chard

My eyes were deceiving me on Saturday morning, because it seemed as though the 4th of July fireworks started early here in San Francisco. The farmers market was virtually exploding with colors–fruits, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms. It was magical.

The rainbow chard was so beautiful at Dirty Girl Produce people were exclaiming at how magnificent it looked as I carried it away. The flowers and kale at Green Gulch Farm were also something to behold.

Kale & Flowers

Rainbow Chard Stems

Summer squash is now in season and I’ve been enjoying it both raw (in salads) and cooked. It’s great grilled, or stir fried with peppers, beans, corn and greens. My favorite are the yellow and green zephyr squash, the ones I used in my squash pasta recipe last week. This probably sounds weird, but I swear they are as sweet as candy.

Summer Squash

Zephyr Squash

Fruit is still the main attraction at the market these days, however.

White Peaches

Peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums are absolutely perfect right now, but the cherries are already on their way out. Don’t get too sad though, the early fig crop is already starting to appear.

Figs

Yummy Rosa Pluots

There are a few seasonal novelties available now that are also worth mentioning. I spied nopales (aka cactus leaves) today, as well as bitter melon.

Bitter Melon

Nopales

Green garlic should be around for a few more weeks, and you can even still get baby broccoli, cauliflower and romanesco.

Romanesco

Green Garlic

And if you happen to stop by Far West Fungi, porcini are in season.

Porcini Mushrooms

Today’s purchases:

• Salad greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Arugula (Green Gulch Farm)
• Purslane (Green Gulch Farm)
• Italian basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Squash blossoms (Chue’s Farm)
• Rainbow chard (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Lacinato kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Padron peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Sweet pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Zephyr squash (Lucero Organic Farm)
• Star squash (Lucero Organic Farm)
• World’s best cucumber (Lucero Organic Farm)
• Yellow nectarines (Hamada Farms)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Smoked maple ham (Prather Ranch Meat Co.)

Assorted Sweet Peppers

I want to start today by saying there is no one on earth I love more than my dad. Walking around the farmers market this weekend I wished more than anything that he could be with me to see and taste all the amazing produce we have right now here in San Francisco. He’s such a sucker for good food made or grown by people and families who truly care about what they’re doing. I know he’d love it here and I can’t wait until he visits next.

This is a particularly special time of year for fruit lovers. Last week the best cherries were the deep red bing and brooks varieties, but this week the yellow-red rainier cherries finally came into their own, rivaling the sweetness of even the best of the red cherries.

Rainier & Bing Cherries

White Peaches

We are also in the middle of the fleeting dark berry season. Most of the dark berries are hybrids of blackberries and raspberries. Boysenberries are the most well known hybrid, but today I also found fresh logan and olallie berries. Olallies are my dad’s favorite (I bought 3 boxes in his honor).

Peaches & Nectarines

Mature Fava Beans

But of course, fruit is not all that is special about this time of year. The fava beans are peaking and now’s your chance to get in on this springtime delicacy. I’ll be featuring a spectacular recipe for a Persian fava bean stew next week.

Rainbow Chard

Squash Blossoms

Also in the early summer you can find beautiful squash blossoms. These are a wonderful treat that pair particularly well with eggs or on pizza. They are also delicious stuffed with goat cheese and herbs, and fried in tempura batter. Decadent, but certainly worth it.

Spanish Red Garlic

Sweet Red Onions

Garlic and onions, while generally consistent, are at their best this time of year. It is nearly impossible for Photoshop to do justice to the neon fuchsia color of the sweet red onions in this photo, but in person they seemed to almost glow with radiance in the morning sun.

Lavendar and Sweet Peas

Violet Sweet Peppers

Looking ahead, peppers are what I am most excited about in the coming months, but they are already starting to impress me with their smell and color. This is, however, a fantastic time to start buying pimientos de padrón (another of Dad’s favorites), as they will continue to get spicier as the season progresses.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

xoxo

Today’s purchases:

• Organic tomatoes (Bruin Farms)
• Salad greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Arugula (Green Gulch Farm)
• Spinach (Green Gulch Farm)
• Curly kale (Green Gulch Farm)
• Red kale (Green Gulch Farm)
• Purslane (Green Gulch Farm)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Pimientos de Padrón peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Violet sweet pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Sweet red onions (Balakian Farms)
• Eureka lemon (Brokaw Nursery)
• Garlic (Knoll Farms)
• Olallie berries (Yerena Farms)
• Eye of the goat heirloom beans (Rancho Gordo)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Tokyo turnips (Dirty Girl Produce)

What’s your dad’s favorite fresh produce?

Princess Peaches

I’m not sure if it is officially summer yet or not, but if we’re judging the season by what we find at the farmers market there is no lingering doubt: summer is here.

Normally I am a very disciplined shopper. I focus on vegetables, particularly green ones, and only pick up enough fruit to quench my sweet tooth. But there was none of that today.

Nectarines

Organic Strawberries

I think I remembered to pick up a bunch of kale and some salad supplies, but for the most part I couldn’t pull my attention away from all the fruit that filled the farmers market today.

Cherries are still the most abundant (and enticing), but in addition this week there were also peaches, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, plums and apricots. And unlike the sour fruit you usually find this early in the season, all this was sweet, plump and juicy.

Haas Avocados

Saturn Peaches

(My apologies to those of you who do not live in California or do not have access to such wonderful produce. My number one complaint at Summer Tomato is about how I flaunt San Francisco produce and thus torture those who don’t have it. But my goal here is to share and inspire you to want fresh fruit and vegetables, so if it means making a few of you long for CA produce, so be it.)

Summer Squash

Green Garlic

But in truth there were a number of wonderful vegetables today. Green Gulch farm was back, with their typical assortment of breathtaking greens and herbs. Summer squash, peas, carrots, onions, cabbage, broccoli and beets also shouldn’t be missed.

Rainbow Carrots

Red Mustard Greens

Today’s Purchases:

• Strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Red kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cherries (Twin Girls Farm)
• Mediterranean cucumber (Happy Quail Farms)
• Cubano pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Summer squash (The Peach Farm)
• Green garlic (The Peach Farm)
• Princess Peach (Tory Farms)
• Avocado (Brokaw Nursery)
• Salad greens (Green Gulch Farm)

Bay Bridge

Saturday was a perfect day in San Francisco. It was warm, clear and beautiful. The farmers market was full of cherries, peaches and strawberries, and I tasted the best apricot ever at Frog Hollow Farm.

Basically it was too nice to stay inside writing about it. Photos will have to suffice today.

Bing Cherries

Green Garlic

Loquats

Peppers

Potatoes

Red Onions

Saturn Peaches

Shallots

White Peaches & Apricots

Apricots

The San Francisco farmers market was a very different place this week compared to how I last saw it. Cherries, the first pitted stone fruit of the season, first appeared two weeks ago. But today fruit took over the market completely.

I must have tasted cherries from at least a dozen different growers this week, and they were all delicious. But the fruit explosion didn’t stop there. Apricots, peaches and nectarines were all available, and they tasted much better than I expected them to this early in the season. This week also marked the first appearance of local blueberries, which is very exciting.

First Blueberries

White Nectarines

The strawberries that had been somewhat elusive the past few weeks are now plentiful. And they are breathtaking.

Dirty Girl Strawberries

If all this talk of berries and stone fruits is starting to sound like summer to you, I have some more good news. Summer squash is now available at the farmers market and looking delectable. I even found nopales (cactus petals), something that reminds me of the hot summers in Southern California.

Nopales

First Summer Squash

I know all this is exciting, but let’s try to remember not to get too far ahead of ourselves. Spring is still dishing up delightful carrots, greens, peas, artichokes and delicacies such as green almonds. Enjoy them while you have the chance.

Fresh Almonds

Little Carrots

Today’s purchases:

• Strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Carrots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• English shelling peas (Iacopi Farm)
• Salad (Star Route Farms)
• Thyme (Star Route Farms)
• Padrones (Happy Quail Farms)
• Cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Farro (Boulette’s Larder)
• Yirg coffee (Blue Bottle Coffee)

First Cherries

There were cherries today! The first stone fruit of the season finally arrived, and they were surprisingly delicious. I had trouble focusing on much else.

Luckily despite my excitement I still had enough wits about me to grab some heirloom tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. The mission: caprese salad. The verdict: awesome. Yep, the heirloom tomatoes are finally tasty.

Sugar Snap Peas

Basil

Peas and fava beans are huge at the farmers market right now: sugar snap peas as well as snow peas and English shelling peas.

The asparagus season is peaking right now, so be sure you get your fill in the coming weeks.

Asparagus

I also found a rare delicacy today, green almonds. Though they were more developed and less sweet than I remember them from last year, it was still exciting to see them and I’ll definitely be trying them again this season.

Kumquats

Green Almonds

And aren’t kumquats pretty?

Do you have cherries yet at your farmers market?

Today’s purchases:

• Cherries (Twin Girls Farm)
• Heirloom tomatoes (Bruins Farm)
• Cauliflower (Catalán Family Farm)
• Baby broccoli (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Green almonds (Knoll Farms)
• Basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Fresh mozzarella (Cow Girl Creamery)

Spring Broccoli

Everything I’ve ever wanted out of springtime I found at the farmers market this weekend. The sun was bright and warm and the produce was lush and colorful. I was in heaven.

Finally the strawberries are sweet and abundant. Pea shoots, shelling peas and sugar snap peas are everywhere. And…(wait for it)…the first pimentos de padrón have arrived!

Pimentos de Padron

Organic Strawberries

Padróns are small Spanish peppers that are usually cooked briefly in hot olive oil and sprinkled with course sea salt. They aren’t spicy, except when they are. About 1 out of every 10 peppers is blistering hot, so be sure to have a crusty baguette nearby to soothe your mouth if you ever try them. The bread is also useful for sopping up the delicious oil that becomes flavored with the cooked pepper juices. I adore padróns.

The broccoli and cauliflower were particularly nice looking this week. I ended up getting two different kinds of broccoli, but after seeing this picture I regret not bringing home some cauliflower as well.

Gorgeous Cauliflower

One thing I did get for the first time this week was some baby fava beans. I like the baby ones because they don’t require shelling, the pods are tender enough that you can eat them whole. I like to roast them with garlic, capers, anchovies, kalamata olives and tomatoes. Yum. Just look how tender and fuzzy these little guys are.

Baby Fava Beans

I’m also excited that we’re starting to see tomatoes and avocados at the market together. Mexican food FTW! The tomatoes are even starting to look pretty good.

Hass Avocado

Crazy Tomatoes

I made the mistake last week of buying an organic avocado (it had slipped into the bin with conventional avocados and I hadn’t noticed) at my local market only to discover that it somehow tasted even better than regular avocados. I didn’t even think that was possible. Organic avocados are way more expensive, but I’m now forever ruined.

You also shouldn’t miss the fennel, lettuces, leeks, collards, chard and late season citrus.

Spring Citrus

Baby Fennel

Today’s purchases:

• Strawberries (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Baby fava beans (Iacopi Farms)
• Broccoli (Iacopi Farms)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Collards (Everything Under The Sun)
• Walnuts (Hamada Farms)
• Chinese broccoli (Chue’s Farm)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)

Dirty Girl Strawberries

What better way to spend Earth Day than with a trip to the farmers market?

On April 22 I took a little break from my normal weekday schedule of neuroscience and recipes to visit the Thursday farmers market at the San Francisco Ferry Building. I visit this farmers market every Saturday, but rarely break away to see what goes on during the week.

Pizza Politana

Roli Roti

The market is very different on Thursday, and is really more of a street food fest than a farmers market. Legendary San Francisco edibles like 4505 Meats, Namu and Roli Roti serve up mouthwatering lunch snacks to savvy SF street food devotees.

Arlequin

Namu

It was a tough choice, but I couldn’t resist grabbing some tacos at Tacolicious. I’m a sucker for a good taco, and this week they were also hosting guest chef Laurence Jossel from my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant, Nopalito. I tried one taco from each restaurant, the beef cheeks from Nopalito and the carnitas from Tacolicious. Both were divine, but I must admit the carnitas transported me instantly down to LA, which is the highest compliment a taco can receive from this SoCal native.

4505 Meats

Tacolicious

If you’re ever at the San Francisco Embarcadero on a Thursday afternoon, definitely have your lunch at the farmers market. You won’t regret it.

There weren’t many farm stands around on Thursday, but I did manage a HUGE score while there. It seems Dirty Girl Produce comes to the Thursday market and they had strawberries! (behold top photo)

If you’ve been following my farmers market updates you know I haven’t had much luck getting my hands on these since they sell out so early Saturday mornings. When my brain finally processed what I was looking at (lousy slow synapses), I almost dropped my camera in a reflexive rush to buy them.

And yes, they were gone before I got them home.

Happy Earth Day!

Asparagus and Radishes

I made a San Francisco rookie mistake today at the farmers market.

Yesterday was so incredibly beautiful I didn’t think it was possible we could have rain today. I was wrong and should have known better.

Completely unprepared, I found myself at the farmers market in the rain with no umbrella, a light hoodless jacket and tiny little non-waterproof shoes. Consequently, I didn’t feel much like lingering and did most of my purchases at just a few farms.

But despite my quickness to depart, I did notice the arrival of fava beans this week. Exciting!

First Fava Beans

Another rookie mistake I made was not showing up early enough to get the good strawberries. Anyone who visits the market regularly knows that the most special items tend to be gone by 9am. This morning I was told my strawberries were gone by 8:30. When the weather gets warmer there will be strawberries by the truck load, but until then the early bird catches the worm.

But I didn’t miss out completely. The artichokes I bought last week were so mind blowing that I had to get them again. I also noticed that collard greens are looking particularly tasty.

Collard Greens

Small Artichokes

And though radishes have been around for a few weeks, they are just now starting to look really beautiful.

Carrots have also been impressing me the past few weeks. Every time I eat one I think with pity about all the kids growing up thinking that those flavorless bagged “baby carrots” are what vegetables really taste like. The real thing is as sweet as candy.

Adorable Carrots

This week I finally broke down and bought an heirloom tomato. I’ve been putting this moment off knowing they wouldn’t be quite good yet. But these are starting to look pretty awesome, so I took the plunge. It was good, but not great.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Fresh eggs are not to be missed this time of year. Even if you cannot afford to eat them regularly, I recommend heading to the farmers market and picking some up at least once. You’ll be amazed. Use them to make a special brunch. (Pro tip: Try them with a sprinkle of smoked paprika)

Meyer Lemons

Eatwell Eggs

You should also stock up on Meyer lemons while you have the chance.

And though these are things I didn’t actually buy, they are great examples of why I love my farmers market so much. Purple potatoes and low sugar jam FTW!

Very Low Sugar Jam

Purple Potatoes

Today’s Purchases:

• Heirloom tomato (Bruins Farms)
• Swiss chard (Iacopi Farm)
• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farm)
• Leeks (Iacopi Farm)
• Broccolini (Iacopi Farm)
• Collards (Everything Under The Sun)
• Shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Carrots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Black quinoa (Boulette’s Larder)

Is it spring for you yet?

First Strawberries

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally come. The first strawberries of the season have arrived! And what a day for them to appear.

Today is easily the most beautiful we’ve had so far this year in SF. Of course this means my pictures didn’t turn out as well, since there was too much light. But it also meant I made my first salad of 2010!

Salad FTW!

Warm sunshine always inspires me to make salad, but the appearance of cucumbers, sugar snap peas and these adorable bolero carrots helped too.

Bolero Carrots

Mediterranean Cucumbers

Beyond these new additions, the selection this week at the farmers market wasn’t too different from last week. I’m going take this opportunity to cut this post a bit short and go enjoy the beautiful day. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Spring Tomatoes

Cardoon

Today’s purchases:

• Bloomsdale spinach (Star Route Farms)
• Sugar snap peas (Chue’s Farm)
• Broccolini (Chue’s Farm)
• Bolero carrots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (McGinnis Ranch)
• Swiss chard (Iacopi Farm)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Purple kale (Capay Organics)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Beef hot dogs (Prather Ranch)

Are there strawberries at your market yet?