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)

Tags: beets, chamomile, eggplant, escarole, Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, grapes, green beans, iPhone, onions, pickling, prunes, San Francisco, summer squash

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?

Tags: Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, garlic, grapes, leeks, pears, peppers, persimmons, San Francisco, tomatillos, truffles, walnuts

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?

Tags: Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, figs, grapes, melons, pears, peppers, pomegranates, pumpkins, San Francisco, winter squash

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)

Tags: Asian pears, bitter melon, collard greens, Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, grapes, peaches, pluots, Romano beans, San Francisco, Warren pears

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)

Tags: Asian pears, carrots, Ferry Plaz, figs, grapes, jujubes, okra, San Francisco, winter squash