Jun 20 2010
Farmers Market Update: Father’s Day
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?
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