Farmers Market Update

by Darya Rose | Oct 25, 2008

Today is the annual Harvest Festival at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Apple pressing, butter churning and all sorts of seasonal fun is being had down at our beloved Ferry Building.

To beat the crowds I went early, about 8:30 a.m., shortly after the market opened. And it was well worth it. Arriving early means the best selection of all the produce. Also, with fewer people around the early morning is a great time to get to know the vendors and find out what is good that day or how long your favorite goodies will be available.

Fall fruits and vegetables are now in full swing and I was delighted to see some new items this week. Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, are a species of sunflower cultivated for its tuber. At first glance these root vegetables are easily mistaken for ginger or galanga (Thai ginger), however the flavor is very different. Their taste falls somewhere between an artichoke and a potato. Different, but delicious. Sunchokes are very creamy and are excellent mashed or made into soup. Since the skin is thin and soft, peeling is not necessary.

Just like last week, the market was booming with apples, pears and pomegranates. However, today was also the first time I saw Meyer lemons, which means citrus season is near.

I finally found that pile of sweet corn I have been missing too.

Another first for me this week was the Soul Food eggs I picked up at Prather Ranch Meat Co. I came right home and had them for breakfast, and I can assure you they were worth every penny of the $4.00 I paid (for six of them).

I have heard amazing stories about these eggs and did not want to try anything too complicated on my first attempt. Keeping it simple, I just scrambled them with baby leeks from Dirty Girl Produce and served them up with some wedges of Early Girl tomatoes, a hand-picked avocado from Berkeley (thanks Mo!), and a side of padrone peppers. A couple leaves from my Acme pain epi loaf was the perfect accompaniment to the perfect breakfast. Yum!

Today’s purchases:

• Meyer lemon
• Fuji apples
• Pomegranates
• Fuyu persimmons
• Sunchokes
• Shinko asian pears
• Yellow chard
• Cauliflower
• Chinese broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Padrones
• Sugar pumpkin
• Early girl tomatoes
• Midnight Moon cheese
• Pain epi loaf

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• 3 Comments

Tags: Farmers Market

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3 Responses to “Farmers Market Update”

1. Anonymous says:

   October 26, 2008 at 4:22 pm

   Looking forward to the Sunchoke recipe. I don’t ever think I’ll actually be able to find those in any regular market where I live.

   Reply
2. Darya Pino says:

   October 26, 2008 at 4:30 pm

   anon:I’m looking forward to making them!Personally I have been surprised at some of the places where I have found sunchokes. Keep your eyes open and you may get lucky.Whole Foods usually carries them if you ever find yourself there.

   Reply
3. Anonymous says:

   October 26, 2008 at 9:40 pm

   Nearest Whole Foods is 41.2 miles away!!!!!! :’-( My grocery store purchases:GrapesBroccoliGarlicArmenian CucumberThymeWhat a barren list…I’m going to the FM this week and am gonna buy every exotic item there is!

   Reply