Hot Sauce

If I were only going to talk about one thing today it would have to be the peppers. What a season we are having! There are so many varieties I’m having trouble deciding what to buy each week.

Saturday I learned that ancho chilies–which I have only had dried–are actually just mature poblano peppers. Poblanos are the big dark green peppers (left in the photo below) that come stuffed with cheese and breaded in egg batter when you order chile relleno. (A good chile relleno might be my favorite Mexican food ever, but only from here. Half my family is Mexican, so I’m a little picky.)

This is the first time I’ve seen red Japanese Shishito peppers as well. They are usually green.

Red Japanese Shishito Peppers

Ancho Chilies

Anyway, I didn’t know you could ever find fresh anchos. For some reason I thought ancho defined some specific preparation of chili like chipotle, which is a smoked jalepeno. But it seems they are a type of pepper unto themselves, but also a version of a pepper I was familiar with. Confusing, I know.

Since poblanos are often spicy I expected the anchos to be even more so (peppers get hotter with age), but they were actually really sweet with only a hint of spice. I had them in eggs. It was amazing.

I also found a new variety of eggplant today, the como eggplant. These eggplants are small and dark, almost black, and very firm. This is because they have very little water and thus do not require the pre-salt that most eggplants need. They are supposed to be very sweet, creamy and not at all bitter. I couldn’t help but buy a few from Allstar Organics.

…Not sure what to make of this other eggplant I found….

Nixon Eggplant or Tricky Dick?

Como Eggplants

But despite the prevalence of all this beautiful summer produce, the signs of imminent winter are not subtle.

I saw the first early citrus this week, including Meyer lemons (not quite ripe) and sweet limes. If you’ve never had a sweet lime, imagine if you tasted a lime that wasn’t sour at all. Then imagine it tasting a little bit like fake lime flavor. It’s weird. You probably wouldn’t want to eat it like you would any other sweet citrus fruit, but it is fabulous in cocktails. They are certainly worth playing around with.

First Sweet Limes

First Meyer Lemons

But let’s not jump too fast from summer to winter. Autumn is providing us with spectacular heirloom apples, pears, pomegranates and grapes. And today I found quince!

Quince is a very old fruit that is like a mix between an apple and a pear, except you can’t eat it raw. But bake it in the oven or into some dessert and quince takes on a sublime flavor and creamy consistency almost like jelly. I’m not much of a pastry chef, but I like to cut a quince in half and bake it for dessert now and then.

Quince

Swaar Dutch Apples

I’m also delighted to announce that the first chocolate persimmons of the year have appeared! They are at Hamada Farms, so go get some while you can. I didn’t buy any today because there was a huge black spider on them (not pictured…she was hiding) and I’m a wimp, but I totally would have. Totally.

Spinach

First Chocolate Persimmons

Also notable is that Green Gulch Farm called it quits for the season today, they will return next spring. I bought some spinach to remember them by.

Despite the rain, the dry-farmed early girl tomatoes from Dirty Girl Produce were…wait for it…even better than usual this week. I realize this makes no sense, but I swear.

I was happy to find that I could still get Soul Food eggs from Prather Ranch. I wasn’t sure they would be available after the devastating fire a few weeks ago. Happy to see they are still truckin’ along

And last but not least, I couldn’t say no to these beets from Capay Organics. Beets are always a great deal because you get 2 dishes out of a bunch: the roots and the greens.

The broccoli is looking pretty darn good these days too.

Organic Broccoli

Beautiful Beets

Today’s Purchases:

• Ancho chilies (Happy Quail Farms)
• Soul Food eggs (Soul Food/Prather Ranch)
• Cippolini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Beets (Capay Organics)
• Como eggplants (Allstar Organics)
• Delicata squash (Eatwell Farm)
• Spinach (Green Gulch Farm)
• Swaar apples (The Apple Farm)
• Northern Spy apples (The Apple Farm)
• Ethiopian Sidamo coffee (Blue Bottle Coffee)

What are you eating?

citrus

Winter fruits are different from summer fruits and the undisputed king of winter is the citrus genus. Here in San Francisco we should feel thankful to have such a great bounty to start the New Year. Don’t forget the freeze that killed California’s citrus crop back in January 2007.

This week the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market had all the basics–oranges, grapefruits, clementines, lemons, limes–but half the fun is trying all the unusual varieties available.

Pomelos look like giant grapefruits with super thick skin. They come in several different varietals, each with a unique flavor and juiciness level. Interestingly, I find the less juicy pomelos to be the sweetest. You can eat them without making a complete mess of your hands and each individual pulp is like a little balloon filled with liquid candy.

At the farmers market you can find yellow, white, pink and green pomelos, and the skin color does not necessarily correspond with the color of the flesh inside. I think the green pomelos with pink flesh are my favorite, but they are all great. Eat them plain or add them to a refreshing winter salad, just be sure to remove the thick membranes that separate the sections.

Even oranges become deceptively interesting when you get them from local farmers. On the outside Cara cara oranges are virtually indistinguishable from navel oranges, but inside the flesh is pink like a ruby grapefruit. Blood oranges–great for juicing–are prized for their deep red flesh and richer taste.

For me one of the most surprising things I have discovered about citrus fruit is that lemons and limes are not always as pucker-inducing as you might guess. Meyer lemons taste like they have already been sugared and baked into a meringue pie. The juice is a little tart (though still drinkable) but the skin is so sweet and flavorful you have to try it to believe it. I zest it into everything this time of year.

One of the truly bizarre fruits of winter is the Fingered citron. Also known as Buddha’s hand, these large, tentacle-covered citrus fruits are primarily ornamental but can be used for their zest. Wikipedia claims that in Chinese and Japanese cultures they are sometimes used as air fresheners. Their white pith is not bitter as in most citrus fruits, so the “fingers” can be cut off and used in cooking. You might want to pick one of these up if you are entertaining or decorating your dining room or kitchen. They would make an interesting and unique centerpiece for a table.


Winter cruciferous vegetables are also abundant right now at the market. The cruciferous (Brassica) family is extremely diverse.

The term cruciferous means “cross-bearing” since the four petals of their leaves resemble a cross. Popular cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cabbage and kale, but also root vegetables such as turnips and rutabaga. Cruciferous vegetables are usually what we are talking about when we say “green leafy vegetables,” and they are thought to have anti-cancer properties.

One of the best things about going to the farmers market is discovering new things. At McEvoy Ranch today I stumbled upon something called a Tamarillo, or Tree tomato. Tamarillos are native to South America, but are also common in New Zealand and a few other countries. I have not yet busted open the one I bought, but I was told it can be eaten raw with either salt or sugar (similar to a tomato). The skin is thick, tart and not usually consumed.
And in case you have forgotten, it is still crab season!

This winter do not be afraid to stare cold weather in the face and make your way to the farmers market whenever you get the chance. You will certainly not regret your trip, particularly if you are adventurous. If you see something you are unfamiliar with ask the vendor what it is like and what you can do with it. You just might find yourself a new favorite food!


Today’s purchases:

• Green pomelo
  
• Cara cara oranges
• Sweet lime
• Satsuma mandarins
• Meyer lemons
• Kiwi fruit
• Shinko Asian pear
• Kohlrabi
• Sunchokes
• Baby bok choy
• Romanesco
• Brussels sprouts
• Treviso (radicchio)
• Shallot
• Assorted small potatoes
• Scharffen Berger chocolate (Tomé-Açu)

UPDATE: This article is also available at Synapse.