Farmers Market Update: Two Seasons Collide
The transition from winter to spring is one of the most dramatic season changes of the entire year, with a virtual explosion in both the variety and amount of amazing produce from local farms. The next few weeks will be particularly special, since we can now get the best of winter and the delicacy of spring into the same meal.
Stop and think about that for a minute.
Crab season is ending and asparagus season has just begun. If you’ve never paired these two foods together, you are in for a serious treat. You can get Meyer lemons right now too, which are quite possibly the single most impressive farmers market find during the winter. I swear these lemons are like candy.
Citrus in general is a fantastic addition to the salads you can now make with spring greens and lettuces. While you’re at it, go ahead and sprinkle some arugula flowers on there and upgrade a dinner salad into something spectacular. The fresh almonds and walnuts available right now are another fantastic addition.
The tangelos pictured above are a late winter citrus fruit that has a much more deep and complex flavor than your standard orange. Kumquats just appeared today, which are delicious raw (whole) or cooked (try them with duck).
A few other things you should be looking out for this time of year are artichokes, carrots, beets, chard, fennel, leeks, celery root (celeriac) and fresh horseradish. I have also been finding flowering versions of more common vegetables, like kale.
Sorry to those of you who live in places where spring still hasn’t arrived. But you still have all this to look forward to!!
What are you finding this time of year?
Today’s purchases:
- Cauliflower (Swanton Berry Farm)
- Artichoke (Iacopi Farms)
- Leeks (Iacopi farms)
- Tuscan kale (Iacopi farms)
- Green garlic (Eatwell Farms)
- Parsley (Eatwell Farms)
- Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
- Broccolini (Chue’s Farm)
- Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
- Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
- Shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
- Thyme (Star Route Farms)
- Carrots (Star Route Farms)
- White truffle (Far West Fungi)
- Eggs (Marin Sun Farm)
- Dungeness crab meat (San Francisco Fish Co.)
Darya:
Are you sure those weren’t Big Hass Avocados?
http://freetheanimal.com/2010/03/avocados-sign-fail.html
🙂
Hahaha, that’s awesome. They were actually kinda small hass avocados, which is really more appropriate for Summer Tomato readers 😉
That Almond Milk looks sooo tasty. Going to get some next time I hit up the farmers market.. that and one of these: http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=54&resolution=high
LOL, that recipe calls for beeswax and bitter almonds (contain cyanide). No wonder they’re so good!