Winter Squash

Alright Mother Nature, you win. It’s autumn now and I’ll accept it, even if San Francisco only had about five days over 80 degrees this year. I don’t need summer when I have produce like this.

Thompson Grapes

Bring on your autumn grapes. Grapes have never been my favorite fruit, but they are so sweet and crispy this year I can’t resist them. I like wine too, and harvest is soon. Grapes are ok with me.

Flame Grapes

I’ll take your apples too. These heirloom varietals don’t taste anything like the overly sweet fujis I grew up with. These apples remind me of what I’ve always wished apples tasted like whenever I have apple cider.

Autumn Apples

And these little wickson apples, the size of golf balls, are as complex as a glass of wine.

Wickson Apples

Of course I don’t mind the sweet white pomegranates, with their pink seeds and delicate flavor. They aren’t as sour as the red ones are this early in the season, and the seeds aren’t nearly as tough and woody.

White Pomegranates

I finally gave in and got some brussels sprouts too. Sure I used to hate them, but once I learned the secret to cooking these little guys they became a welcome guest on my dinner plate. I’m especially fond of the smaller sprouts like the ones I found today, because they are almost never bitter.

Early Brussels Sprouts

With Halloween approaching not even the winter squash offend me, but these days I eat them instead of carve them.

Sugar Pie Pumpkins

Yes I’ll miss summer—or at least the idea of it. I’ll miss the peaches and plums.

Peaches

I’ll revel in the last of the figs and melons.

Brown Turkey Figs

Maybe if I’m lucky you’ll give me a few more weeks of eggplant.

White Eggplant

Perhaps the sweet peppers will last until my birthday next month.

Sweet Peppers

Or maybe the spicy ones will?

Hot Peppers

What always breaks my heart most is the tomatoes. I can live a few months without strawberries, but the tomatoes really get me. Everything is better with a dry-farmed early girl tomato on it. It will be hard to see them go.

Organic Cherry Tomatoes

But I love my cauliflower. (Pretty much everyone loves my cauliflower). And it will keep me company as fall rolls in and winter approaches.

Cauliflower

I’ll embrace your root vegetables as they sweeten in the cold.

Beets and Carrots

I’ll give you some time on the persimmons though, I don’t think they’re quite ready yet.

Hachiya Persimmons

Today’s purchases (~$40):

• Heirloom kabocha squash
• Savoy cabbage
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Red Russian kale
• Brussels sprouts
• Wickson apples
• Daikon
• Ginger root
• Garlic
• Dahlias

Is your farmers market still running?

Gigantic Tomato

This is by far my favorite time of year to go to the farmers market, it’s truly amazing. (If you’re interested in joining me next week, there are still a few slots left in my two market tours, 8am and 10am).

More than any other time of year the market is overflowing with life and bounty. The fruits are sweet, juicy and abundant, making it hard to decide which delicate morsels to cradle into my bag and try to get home undamaged.

O'Henry Peaches

Sea of Strawberries

We’re finally entering late summer, which means all the best summer tomatoes are finally here. The dry farmed early girls are my favorite, because they’re easiest to get home and amazingly sweet and rich in flavor.

Early Girl Tomatoes

But today I was also blown away by these giant heirloom tomatoes. They were as big as pumpkins!

Heirloom Tomatoes

While we’ve had sweet peppers for several weeks now, the spicy chilies are just starting to appear. I got some jalepenos, but I’m excited to see Thai chilies are available as well.

Thai Chilies

Eggplants, my gateway vegetable, are also a late summer delicacy. As a former eggplant hater, I find that the long thin plants are easier to work with and often taste better than their rounder cousins. The light purple color of these were particularly striking this week.

Eggplant

Late summer is also the time for corn, which not coincidently pairs exceptionally well with all the above vegetables. I love it raw off the cob or pan cooked quickly with summer squash and peppers. But I’m going to experiment with some new techniques using the ones I bought today.

Corn

Summer Squash

Of course cooking is more fun with the abundance of summer herbs. This time of year I always have cilantro, dill and basil on hand.

Fresh Dill and Cilantro

If you love basil, look around your farmers market for vendors that sell it with the roots attached. You can bring it home and put it into a vase with water. I’m still using one I bought several weeks ago with one of my market classes. Just be sure to change the water 1-2x per week, and that the plant has access to light. I tried keeping some in my kitchen but it always wilted in one day if I didn’t move it near a window.

Rooted Basil

This is also my favorite time of year for salads. I make a big one most days for lunch, and the huge variety of greens like spinach and radicchio help mix it up and allow me to make something that tastes different every day. I love how the bloomsdale spinach is so deeply colored that it almost looks blue.

Radicchio

Bloomsdale Spinach

Fresh legumes including peas, green beans and shelling beans are staples in my kitchen this time of year as well.

Cranberry Shelling Beans

Though I don’t talk about it much, melons (particularly the heirloom varieties I often find at the market) are a completely different experience when I get them directly from farmers. The rich complexity of the smell alone is intoxicating, and the flavor is nothing like the typical honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon I’ve had from the grocery store.

Watermelon

Lastly, the grapes are finally here. They’re particularly sweet and crisp this year, which is how I love them.

Red Flame Grapes

Today’s purchases (~$55):

• Dry farmed early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Green cippolini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Tokyo turnips (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Heirloom tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Summer squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Eggplant (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Corn (Catalan Family Farm)
• Shelling peas (Iacopi Farm)
• Radicchio (Green Gulch Farm)
• Collards (Green Gulch Farm)
• Padron peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Sweet peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Jalepenos (Happy Quail Farms)
• Goat spare ribs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Ribeye (Marin Sun Farms)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)

What did you find this week at the farmers market?

Red Flame Grapes

Today’s guest post is by Jyoti Mishra Ramanathan, a fellow UCSF neuroscientist who studies attention and distraction in the human mind. In her article Jyoti reveals how attention impacts our experience of food and how we can harness this power to help us eat less without feeling deprived.

Learning to be a mindful eater will permanently change your relationship with food and is essential for upgrading your healthstyle.

Mindful Eating and Portion Control

by Jyoti Mishra Ramanathan

I grew up in India where life revolves around food. One wakes up to plan breakfast and as soon as that is over plans lunch, then immediately prepares for a typical 3-4 course dinner. When I visit aunts or my grandma, I’m barraged with food at every moment: eat this, eat that! Oh! You aren’t eating enough! Oh! Do you not like my dishes?

If you don’t accept all or any food that comes your way, it is seen as a sign of disrespect. And if this isn’t enough to make you over-eat, remember too that food is sacred in India. How could one waste the grains on one’s plate when there are millions around us suffering from hunger? Consequently, I grew up believing it is normal to forever be bursting at my seams–to eat to the point where taking another bite might even make me sick.

But a few years ago my eating habits changed.

I was at a meditation workshop and one evening we were told we’d be given one grape for dinner. This sounded impossible. However, I obediently sat cross-legged with the other attendees and was handed my single juicy purple grape.

As I popped it in my mouth, I was told to shut my eyes and sense the grape in its totality: I rolled my tongue around it becoming aware of the soft and smooth exterior of the tiny fruit, I imagined its rich purple color, and then as I slowly bit into it, I savored every trickle of juice that I could extract from the grape.

The process took me a full five minutes and never in my life have I remembered eating such a delicious grape, although it was from no extraordinary vine. Miraculously, I felt full as well.

Try the grape exercise. I do not promise the satisfaction of a full meal, but it is a beautiful exemplar of mindful eating that consequently taught me portion control.

4 Simple mindful eating tips

1. Never eat distracted, i.e. while watching TV or running to catch the bus. Observe the deliciousness on the plate, the colors, textures, flavors and smells, savoring each bite. As the meal makes its way to the stomach, start to notice the fullness in your tummy. I found that there is an initial satiation simply from this sensory overload of observant eating.

One could stop here, but this is not enough nourishment and hunger tugs again relatively soon. But as you slowly chew on your food and enjoy each bite, you experience a real fullness that completely satisfies your hunger. This sensation precedes the contentment of the taste buds, which may still desire a few extra bites of that rich chocolate cake. But as I learned to identify the hunger satiety point at each meal, I found I could also control the desires of my taste buds.

2. Do not visit a restaurant starving. It is harder to control how much you eat when faced with novel delicacies at a restaurant, especially when you get there on an empty stomach. My best defense against this is to eat a small snack right before. My favorite is a quick salad.

At home I always keep miscellaneous salad ingredients on hand: mixed greens, cheese, raisins, walnuts, candied almonds, grains like quinoa, blueberries, avocado, sundried or cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, figs, grilled chicken strips, smoked salmon, etc. Mix-and-match any of these in varying proportions and add some homemade dressing. Each time you will have a novel salad that never gets boring. After a light snack it is much easier to have restraint while ordering and eating, keeping both waistline and budget in check.

3. Share a meal. My husband and I more often than not share an appetizer, entrée and dessert at a restaurant. This is not because we can’t afford more. We simply enjoy sharing–describing the new tastes to each other, immersing ourselves in the experience and appreciating new food. In these happy moments satiety emerges effortlessly.

Try this even when out with a group of friends: order for 3 with a group of 4 and share. If there is still food left over and there are no pets or family at home, I offer my extras to the homeless. I just gave away a carrot cake a couple of nights ago and the delight in those eyes was like someone who had just found a treasure!

4. Don’t aim for 100% full. Hara Hachi Bu is Japanese for eating until 80% full. Okinawan islanders practice this and are known to be one of the longest living people on the planet. Their longevity is attributed to this moderate calorie restriction in combination with consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables, which protect against free radicals that damage your body’s cells.

Conclusion

In summary, there are many benefits to portion control: feeling better right after a meal, long-term health, weight management, saving cash by eating less and perhaps even living longer.

Practice mindful eating to make portion control a reality for you.

How do you control your portion sizes?

Originally published September 2, 2009.

Bronx Grapes

End of summer is always a confusing time in San Francisco, because it is inevitably the nicest weather we’ve had in the city since early May. For the first time all year we pull out our shorts and sandals, while the rest of the country is whining about humidity and getting their pumpkins ready for halloween. It happens every year.

The local produce plays these tricks on us as well. Right now we’re seeing the best of the summer’s fruits. The peaches are perfect, the melons magnificent, the plums spectacular. And of course we’re now getting perfect summer tomatoes.

Sweet Corn

Perfect Summer Tomatoes

Summer vegetables are equally as awesome. The eggplants, peppers, corn and squash are impossible to ignore with their bright colors and lovely aromatics.

Peppers

Eggplants and Peppers

But the signs of fall are no longer subtle here in San Francisco. Not only are grapes and apples some of the best fruits available this month, but pomegranates and pears are here as well.

First Pomegranates

Winter Banana Apples

We’re also seeing brussels sprouts and winter squash.

Cauliflower and Broccoli

First Brussels Sprouts

Without a doubt this is one of the best times to eat in San Francisco, but it won’t last long. Get it while the gettin’s good.

Rainbow Chard

Today’s purchases:

• August flame peach (Kashiwase Farms)
• Parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Cilantro (Chue’s Farm)
• Green onions (Tierra Vegetables)
• Heirloom zucchini (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Raspberries (McGinnis Ranch)
• Salad mix (Green Gulch Farm)
• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Pink pearl apples (Philo Apple Farm)
• Garbanzos (Rancho Gordo)
• Corn tortillas (Rancho Gordo)
• Poblano peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Pimentos (Happy Quail Farms)
• Jalepeno (Happy Quail Farms)
• Eureka lemon (Bernard Ranches)
• Limes (Bernard Ranches)
• Avocado (Bernard Ranches)
• Pomegranate juice (Twin Girls Farm)

Black and Green Figs

It’s finally summertime in San Francisco. Woohoo! And what a beautiful day to return to my beloved farmers market.

Since I was sick and working on finishing my thesis I hadn’t been to the market in weeks, a lapse I haven’t made in years. It was terrible. But now that those things are behind me I was thrilled to return to the market today and stock up on delicious foods to get my healthstyle back on track. Life is good.

White Nectarines

Sungold Tomatoes

We are currently at the peak of summer: tomatoes are ripe, stone fruit is juicy and greens are plentiful. Now is your chance to get the best peaches, nectarines, figs, melons and pluots. I was so taken by the iridescent pink glow of these pluots I forgot to look at the name of the varietal (or maybe I’m out of practice).

Pluots

I was sure to grab enough lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes for salads this week. I also got some kale for dinner, and green beans for more pickling.

Sharlyn Melons

Green and Yellow Beans

I am also seeing the beginning of some of the fall fruits like grapes, pears and apples.

Comice Pears

Grapes

The apples looked amazing today. There are so many heirloom varieties I’ve never heard of, I grabbed a few different kinds just to get myself acquainted. I’m particularly excited about these pink pearl apples I found at the Apple Farm.

Jonathan Apples

Pink Pearl Apples

Nature never lets us forget that the next season is right around the corner. I spotted potatoes today and *gasp* winter squash. As delicious as they are, I don’t think I’m quite ready to make that leap yet, I’m going to enjoy the rest of my summer first.

Potatoes and Winter Squash

There were a couple other interesting finds today in San Francisco. Langier Ranches was offering a fruit called paw paws, which look like a mango but taste more creamy and less acidic. I was also ecstatic to see my favorite bean company Rancho Gordo has started offering heirloom corn tortillas. Yes, I bought some.

Heirloom Corn Tortillas

Paw Paws

Today’s purchases:

• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Red leaf lettuce (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Japanese cucumbers (Madison Growers)
• Red leaf kale (Green Gulch Farm)
• Tea bouquet (Green Gulch Farm)
• Haas avocados (Brokaw Nursery)
• Heirloom corn tortillas (Ranch Gordo)
• Vaquero beans (Ranch Gordo)
• Empire apple (Devoto Gardens)
• Red gala apple (Devoto Gardens)
• Pink pearl apple (Apple Farm)
• Parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Green onions (Catalán Family Farm)
• Emerald beaut pluot (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Flavor king pluot (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Asian pear (Kashiwase Farm)
• Pluot (Kashiwase Farm)
• Blue lake beans (Iacopi Farms)
• Pioppini mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Trumpet mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Eggs (Soul Food Farm)

What did you find at the market this week?

Summer Squash

It was a beautiful day today in San Francisco. I’m feeling much better and was super excited to hit up the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and snap some photos.

Apparently though, I’m still not quite in top form. When I tried to take a picture of these beautiful grapes, my camera smugly informed me that it did not contain its memory card. PhotoFAIL. Luckily, I had my trusty iPhone 4.

Lovely Grapes

I was curious how the new iPhone would perform at the farmers market, and today it had it’s chance to prove itself. I still think I prefer my regular Canon SD900, but overall I was pretty impressed with my pocket phone. What do you think?

Not too much has changed at the market from last week. The late summer produce is beautiful, especially the eggplants, peppers, peaches and plums.

French Prunes

Rosa Bianca Eggplants

The beets have been marvelous (and impressive!), as are the summer squash.

Magda Cousa Squash

Impressive Beetroot

I’m happy to see green bean season is starting to take off. We are experimenting with pickling some beans this weekend. Recipe on its way.

Pickled Blue Lake Beans

Don’t forget the greens and onions either, they are all amazing this time of year.

Spanish Onions

Escarole

Fresh chamomile was nice to find today as well.

Seedless Grapes

Chamomile

Today’s purchases:

• Flavor king pluots (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Peaches (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Watermelon (Capay Organics)
• Blue lake beans (Iacopi Farm)
• Blackberries (Glashoff Farms)
• French prunes (Glashoff Farms)
• Piquillo peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Thyme (Star Route Farms)
• Chamomile plant (Orangewood Farm)
• Ham (Marin Sun Farms)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Whole wheat bread (Acme)

Last Call On Peppers!

It’s getting really cold in the Bay Area, especially at night. That means the last of the late summer produce will be disappearing completely in a week or two: this is your last chance for peppers, tomatoes and eggplants until next summer.

To capitalize on this situation I got myself a big bag of tomatillos, the green tomato-like fruit in a husk. If you aren’t familiar with tomatillos think of green Mexican salsa, which is made with them. They are kind of like a tomato but a bit more tangy and acidic. Tomatillos are wonderful in sauces and with meats. I bought some poblano peppers and cilantro to pair with them, but haven’t decided yet exactly what I’m going to make. Suggestions?

Grapes

Organic Tomatillos

In addition to the poblanos I was also sure to pick up a final bag of padron peppers, since I love them so dearly. I got 3 other pepper varieties as well. I can’t help it, I adore peppers. I will miss them a little every day until they appear again next year. Luckily I dried a bunch of different Thai chilies this summer to tide me over.

Grapes are another thing to stock up on while you can. They are sweet and abundant right now, but will start disappearing in the coming weeks.

But don’t worry, not everything is on it’s way out. Lots of new stuff is turning up as well.

I spotted some black walnuts at Glashoff Farms today, which I’m told is a special treat. Has anyone tried them?

Black Walnuts

Interesting varieties of garlic and onions are also popping up. I found 2 varieties of shallots today–French and Dutch–as well as sweet cippolini onions at Dirty Girl Produce. Leeks are awesome now too.

Baby Leeks

Red Garlic

At Frog Hollow there was a new variety of pear today, the seckel pear, which is tiny and bursting with flavor. After a sample I couldn’t help but buy as many as I could carry. And of course I got a Warren pear for the road.

Hachiya Persimmons

Seckel Pears

It’s definitely time to start buying persimmons too. Just be sure you eat them when they are ripe, since unripe persimmons can be dangerous. The kiwi are looking good, though I haven’t tried them yet. Apples are still mind-bogglingly amazing.

And did I mention that citrus is starting to appear? Mandrins, grapefruits and lemons are all available now, although they are still a bit tart for me.

Star Ruby Grapefruit

Early Mandarins

Last but not least, it’s truffle season. If you have piles of money laying around that you don’t know what to do with, these Italian white truffles could be yours!

per OUNCE!

Today’s Purchases:

• Fuyu persimmons (Paredez Farms)
• Tomatillos (Paredez Farm)
• Poblano peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Padron peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Pimento pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Piquillo pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Other random hot pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Seckel pears (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Warren pear (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Black twig apple (The Apple Farm)
• Philo apple (The Apple Farm)
• White winter permain apple (The Apple Farm)
• Dutch shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cippolini onion (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Tuscan (dinosaur) kale (Capay Organics)
• Dry-farmed Red kuri squash (Little Organic Farm)

Is your farmers market still open? What does it have?

Bosc Pears

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help but feel like there wasn’t much of a summer this year. In fact, if it weren’t for the amazing produce at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, I wouldn’t believe it had been summer at all. Shouldn’t I have tan lines by now?

Yet somehow it is October.

And despite the confusing weather, it is clear that the market is moving on to fall. There is still plenty of summer bounty to be found, but make no mistake about it: this is your last chance for stone fruit, tomatoes, summer squash, corn, eggplant and melons.

Zucchini

Sweet Organic Melons

The Sungold cherry tomatoes (the little orange ones) are especially awesome. But the most impressive thing I found at the market today was the chili peppers.

I never cared much about peppers before I started shopping at the farmers market, but I can assure you that nothing smells better in my market bag than the peppers. (Maybe the basil. But not really.)

Extra Hot Peppers

Chili Pepper

A fellow market goer was blown away that Tierra Vegetables had these Scotch Bonnet peppers, which she said are necessary for making Jamaican jerk sauce. I had already spent over $10 on peppers, so I held off buying them until next week. But aren’t the beautiful?

Pepper Chips

Scotch Bonnet Peppers

I also got to try these funny looking pepper chips from Happy Quail Farms, and they were delicious! Sweet, flavorful and crisp without a drop of oiliness. They had a spicy variety as well, but the woman scared me off from trying them because she said, “I mean really hot.” Again, maybe next week.

Also peaking now are figs, grapes, pears and apples.

Flame Grapes

Kadota Figs

But how we really know fall is here are the winter fruits and vegetables that are appearing. I saw the first persimmons this week at Twin Girls Farm. I also bought one of these adorable white and green baby pumpkins. I was told they are really sweet and easy to cook.

Pumpkins

First Persimmons

Pomegranates are also fantastic right now. I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine (shhh, don’t tell anyone): the white pomegranates at K & J Orchards are worth getting to the farmers market early for–before they sell out. They are sweet and amazingly flavorful, but the seed is much more tender than in a red pomegranate. Plus they are a beautiful pink color, amazing in salads or on cereal. Their season is shorter than the red pomegranates, so get them while you can.

(Read: How To Clean A Pomegranate)

White Pomegranates

White Pomegranate Seeds

I have another not so well kept secret for you today as well. The pears at Frog Hollow Farm have, against all odds, reached new heights. I’ve been obsessed with their Warren pears for years, and they are just coming into season. But right now I cannot get enough of their Taylor Gold pears. These things are amazing! What’s a girl to do?

Taylor Gold Pears

Warren Pears

Today’s Purchases:

• White pumpkin (Short Night Farm)
• Garlic (Short Night Farm)
• Sweet crimson watermelon (The Peach Farm)
• Eggplant (Balakian Farms)
• Sungold tomatoes (Knoll Farms)
• Taylor gold pear (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Warren pear (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Assorted peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Green and gold zucchini (Green Gulch Farm)
• Rainbow chard (Green Gulch Farm)
• White pomegranate (K & J Orchards)
• Red pomegranate (Twin Girls Farm)
• Gem lettuces (Marin Roots Farm)
• Arugula (Marin Roots Farm)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Italian parsley (Dirty Girl Produce)

What are you eating?

Asian Pears

I had to do a double take when I looked at the calendar this week. Is it really September already? Looks like it is, and the farmers market seems content to prove it to me. Not only was there a decent selection of pears, apples, grapes and other fall fruit, the market was completely packed with football fans for the Cal game. Go Bears!

I was particularly impressed with the Asian pears this week at K&J Orchards. I’m not always a big fan of Asian pears, I find they get a fermented taste very quickly if they are too ripe, but this week they blended a perfect mix of sweet and crispy. K&J has about half a dozen varieties, all different and delicious. They are pricey, but worth trying at the height of season.

Warren Pears

Niitaka Asian Pears

The legendary Warren pears have appeared at Frog Hollow, but I couldn’t bring myself to choose them over the newly arrived emerald beaut pluots and flavor kings. I’m not letting go of summer quite yet.

O Henry Peaches

Emerald Beaut Pluots

It is definitely time to start buying grapes, however. If you make it to the farmers market, sample them all and find the ones you like best. I like them very crisp and sweet, but not too sweet.

Collard Greens

Black Grapes

Finally, don’t forget to try all the wonderful varieties of peppers. I put them in everything these days, but especially love to cook them up with onions, fresh corn, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro.

Peppers

Gypsy Peppers

Fresh beans and Asian greens and other specialties like bitter melon are also easy to find.

Bitter Melon

Romano Beans

Today’s Purchases:

• Collard greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Asian pear (K&J Orchards)
• Pimentos (Happy Quail Farms)
• Emerald beaut pluots (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Flavor king pluots (Frog Hollow Farm)
• O Henry peach (CandyCot Fruit Co.)
• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Treviso (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cipollini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Purslane (Marin Roots Farm)
• Arugula (Marin Roots Farm)

Adriatic Figs

Although I finally got my first sun tan of the summer this weekend at the Outside Lands music festival, the produce at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is hinting that summer is winding down.

Okra

First Winter Squash

You can still find all the wonderful summer tomatoes, pluots, peaches and melons, but delicate fruits like berries are becoming tart and more difficult to find.

Likewise, zucchini and crooked neck squash are still around, but I was shocked to find the first thick-skinned winter squash this weekend too.

Assorted Grapes

Niitaka Asian Pears

Other hallmarks of fall are apples, pears and grapes, which are all spectacular right now. This is also a great time to get figs, dates, jujubes (Chinese dates), French plums (prunes), corn, okra, eggplant, melons and chili peppers.

Chantenay Carrots

Jujubes

I found some gnarly, giant chantenay carrots that I plan to turn into soup using my new hand blender. I also purchased the ingredients to make some delicious Thai food this week, since my lifetime cuisine poll from Wednesday reminded me how much I love it.

My final advice this week as summer winds down is to go to Frog Hollow and get some flavor king pluots while you still can.

Did you find hints of fall at the farmers market this weekend?

Today’s Purchases:

• Chinese eggplant (Chue’s Farm)
• Lemongrass (Chue’s Farm)
• Okra (Chue’s Farm)
• Thai peppers (Chue’s Farm)
• Thai basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
• Chinese long beans (Chue’s Farm)
• Green onion (Chue’s Farm)
• Early Girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cippolini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Chanentay carrots (Tierra Vegetables)
• Red flame grapes (Capay Canyon Ranch)
• Flavor king pluots (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Red flame nectarine (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Pimento pepper (Happy Quail Farm)
• Miyogi ginger flower (Happy Quail Farm)
• Mediterranean Cucumbers (Happy Quail Farm)
• Arugula (Marin Roots Farm)
• Purslane (Marin Roots Farm)
• Lettuces (Marin Roots Farm)