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?

Bicolor Corn

You’re probably sick of hearing about how sick I am. Trust me, so am I.

On Tuesday I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Fortunately antibiotics are a miracle and I’m definitely getting better. But I still would have stayed home from the farmers market this weekend to rest up if the wonderful lady that was scheduled to cover the Farmers Market Update this week hadn’t come down with strep throat. Seriously, what’s up with all the summer illness?!

Flavor Grenade Pluots

Flavor King Pluots

Though my energy was low, a couple things were notable from the market this week. We are definitely seeing the transition into late summer. The flavor king pluots at Frog Hollow Farm have arrived. These are magical fruits. If you’re in SF you absolutely must find a way to try one in the next few weeks. I promise you won’t regret it.

We are also in the midst of melon season. I’ve only tried a few, but so far they are sweet and flavorful. Next weekend I’m getting a watermelon for sure.

White & Yellow Nectarines

Summer Melons

I was also surprised to see grapes appearing already. Though I love grapes, this makes me kind of sad. Grapes remind me of fall, and it has been so cold this summer in SF the idea of skipping the rest of the season is heartbreaking. Fingers crossed for a warm September.

Gravenstein Apples

First Grapes

Seeing these apples would have made me sad as well, but I recently learned (thanks Pim!) that Gravenstein apples are summer apples. I don’t bake pies, but apparently they work nicely for baking.

I hope the rest of you are healthy and happy, and having a wonderful weekend.

Today’s purchases:

• Passport melon (The Peach Farm)
• Cherry and sungold tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Heirloom tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Armenian cucumber (Payne Farm)
• Flavor king pluot (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Summer lady peach (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Rainbow chard (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Baby leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cilantro (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Zephyr squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Bicolor corn (G&S Farm)
• Sweet pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Poblano pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Collard greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Tea bouquet (Green Gulch Farm)

Tokyo Turnips

At this time of year, salad might be my favorite food. I know, salad sounds boring. It sounds cold, tasteless and painfully healthy. The kind of healthy that no one really wants to be.

But in early summer health is the last thing on my mind when I choose to make salad. Truth is I just can’t wait to eat all the beautiful greens and fixings I find each week at the farmers market. Food like this is a treat, and probably not at all what you think of when you think of salad.

Any good salad starts with greens. The little gem lettuces, arugula, spinach, mizuna and even more untraditional greens like purslane.

Purslane

Salad Mix

Purslane is a succulent green that is supposedly high in omega-3 fatty acids. Personally I eat it for its lemony flavor and unique texture. It’s a great addition to any salad mix.

After greens I like to layer flavors and textures into my salads. Cucumbers from the farmers market are completely different from the flavorless, waxy beasts I remember from childhood salads.

Armenian Cucumbers

I love the long, curly Armenian cucumbers, but you can also find Mediterranean cucumbers, lemon cucumbers and several other varieties I’ve never tried. Most don’t require peeling. If you don’t have cucumbers, raw sweet summer squash are delicious in salads too.

Zephyr Squash

Lemon Cucumbers

Turnips, radishes and carrots are particularly good salad additions in early summer, contributing a distinctive crunch and deeper flavor than the delicate lettuces and cucumber. If you choose good quality turnips and radishes, their greens can be added to your salad mix as well.

Rainbow Carrots

French Breakfast Radishes

Summer tomatoes add both sweetness and brightness to salads, because of their relatively high sugar and acid content. For salads I prefer the deeply flavored heirloom varieties such as cherokee purple and brandywine varieties. Roasted peppers can serve a similar function.

Sweet Peppers

Summer Tomatoes

To add substance I turn to foods that are higher in fat and protein, like avocados, nuts, eggs, grain or meats. Today I picked up some avocados and eggs from the farmers market. My favorite salad green of late is the chewy and rustic farro grain. If you haven’t tried it yet I highly recommend it.

I like to finish my salad with summer fruits and herbs. Any stone fruit is fantastic and pairs nicely with balsamic vinaigrettes. Figs are also delicious if you can find them.

Pluots

Other things I loved this week include the Ruby grand nectarines from Frog Hollow and organic cauliflower.

Organic Cauliflower

Frog Hollow Ruby Grand Nectarines

Today’s purchases:

• Yummy rosa pluots (Paradez Farms)
• Ruby grand nectarine (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Early girl tomatos (The Peach Farm)
• Purslane (Madison Growers)
• Zephyr squash (Lucero Organic Farm)
• Rooted basil (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cauliflower (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Armenian cucumbers (Payne Farm – I think)
• Tokyo turnips (Green Gulch Farm)
• Italian parsley (Green Gulch Farm)
• Salad greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Mediterranean cucumber (Happy Quail Farms)
• Avocados (Brokaw Nursery)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)

White Nectarines

Dear Readers,

I know that many of you enjoy the farmers market and visit it regularly, and if this describes you I’m sure you already know what I’m about to write.

For those of you who like the farmers market but find yourself cooking up excuses each week not to go, it is time to talk yourself out of that habit. At least this once. If you’re ever going to make visiting your farmers market a priority, now is the time. This is the season when a taste of a simple plum can change your life (I got mine from Paradez Farms).

Heirloom Tomatoes

Pluot Slices

There are only a few weeks of the year when berries and stone fruits haunt the market simultaneously, when you can get sweet cherries and perfect peaches. Even the tomatoes now would never be mistaken for anything other than a fruit. At this time of year it is possible to win friends with salad (I’ve done it many times already).

Summer Squash

Green Chard

Today I saw children begging their parents to buy foods that most of us grew up hating (beets!). And I even bought a bag of broccoli simply because it was so cute. That’s right, even vegetables are getting their moment in the sun.

Adorable Broccoli

Summer Beets

(the garlic and onions are photogenic??)

Summer Onions

Purple Garlic

An added bonus is the late summer produce is just beginning to arrive as well. Today I bought my first corn, and saw eggplants available at a few different stands.

Bodacious Yellow Corn

Mission and adriatic figs are also available, and surprisingly sweet for this early in the season. I even spied a few melons hanging out today, though I was too busy cradling peaches and nectarines to get one home safely.

Mission Figs

First Eggplants

And for today’s Moment of Zen, I present: kohlrabi.

Kohlrabi

Enjoy the summer! And if you discover or learn to love anything new this year, please come tell us about it.

xoxox
Darya

Today’s purchases:

• Heirloom tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Yellow corn (The Peach Farm)
• White nectarine (Paradez Farms)
• Yellow nectarine (Paradez Farms)
• Pluot (Paradez Farms)
• Basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Baby broccoli (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Zephyr squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Mission figs (Knoll Farms)
• Red peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Salad greens (Green Gulch Farm)
• Red kale Green Gulch Farm)
• Purple garlic (Tierra Vegetables)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Yellow eye beans (Rancho Gordo)

Impressive Melons

If you follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or Facebook you already know I’ve been down in Orange County the past few days and hit up the Irvine farmers market on Saturday. I’m always impressed by what I find in the OC, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for melons like these!

Huge Watermelons

I also found some pretty spectacularly-sized daikon, or Japanese radish. Seriously, what do you guys put in your water?

Giant Diakon

I thought of about a hundred hilarious things to write under these photos, but I’d love to hear your suggestions. So let the games begin!

In the comments tell us your best caption idea for any of the 3 photos above. The funniest caption writer will be proudly dubbed the Summer Tomato commentor of the week. (note: innuendos welcome, but kindly refrain from NSFW language).

Asian Pears

Emerald Beaut Pluots

Since I am heading back to SF on Sunday, I didn’t buy much this trip. However I did grab a few of these emerald beaut pluots and Asian pears to share with friends and family.

I learned that the emerald beaut season is ending here in the OC, which is interesting since I mentioned last week it is just beginning in SF. In my experience, emerald beauts are the last available pluots at the end of the summer.

Jujubes (Chinese dates) are plentiful now here in Irvine. It is also a great time to get peppers, eggplant and assorted Asian greens and vegetables.

Jalepenos

Jujubes

Yuchoy

Chinese Eggplant & Melon

Chinese Long Beans

Don’t forget to tell us what you found at the farmers market this week!

Please visit Food Renegade for more great Fight Back Friday articles about local and sustainable food.

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)

Cherry Tomatoes

Despite the San Francisco weather–more gloomy than sunny–it is actually summer. That means pluots, peaches, nectarines, figs, melons, eggplant, corn, peppers and, of course, tomatoes.

Could anything be more perfect?

Sugar Snap Peas

Pluots

The tomatoes are especially amazing right now (don’t miss the early girls!), and I’m finally ready to make my favorite summer tomato recipe, bruschetta! Tune in tomorrow for my easy recipe.

Something else I’ve noticed lately at the market are the over-sized carrots, which look perfect for turning into soup or other mashed concoction. Likewise, big heads of cauliflower are starting to reappear, which are fantastic for vegetable stews. Last week I turned mine into Moroccan soup.

Cauliflower and Cucumber

Carrots

I’ve also noticed apples, grapes, mature onions, mature garlic, and other foods that are decidedly post-summer fare. Take this as a sign that you should eat as many plums, peaches and melons while you can. Fall is right around the corner.

Organic Shallots

Organic Garlic

Speaking of plums, the very short 3-4 week season of French plums (fresh “prunes”) is peaking and they are spectacular. I bought a full bag to have with breakfast this week.

Early McIntosh Apples

French Prunes

What did you find at the farmers market this weekend?

Today’s Purchases:

• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cipollini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Fresh basil (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Corn (G&S Farms)
• Assorted peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Israeli melon (The Peach Farm)
• Cherry/sungold tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Heirloom tomato (The Peach Farm)
• Purslane (Marin Roots Farm)
• Arugula (Marin Roots Farm)
• Sugar snap peas (Iacopi Farm)
• Kale (Green Gulch Farm)
• French prunes (Glashoff Farm)
• Chicharrones (Fatted Calf)
• Beef jerky (Fatted Calf)
• Three Africans (Blue Bottle Coffee)
• 2 baguettes (Acme Bread)