Farmers Market Update: Halloween
It’s Halloween weekend, always one of my favorite times to visit the beautiful San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
I can’t tell you how anxious I was to get to the market this weekend. I’ve been traveling a lot and haven’t been around on a weekend in what feels like forever.
At this point I’ve come to terms with the fact that summer is over and I’m completely ready to embrace autumn. Today I stocked up on some of my favorite autumn veggies like Delicata squash and Brussels sprouts.
I was also excited to get my hands on some apples today. The Arkansas black apple I tried may have been the best apple I’ve ever had in my life. It was crisp, slightly sweet and had distinctive notes of cinnamon. Mind blowing. But the star fruits right now are the pomegranates. It’s also a great time for grapes and Fuyu persimmons.
This is a particularly interesting time of year for California produce. Some of the unusual items I found today include heirloom tobacco leaves and dried sunflower seeds. The tobacco wasn’t cured, so is not yet smokable.
You can also find an assortment of root vegetables. Carrots and scarlet turnips were particularly beautiful this week. Carrots have been turning up on a lot of menus around the city lately.
The onions and sunchokes are also remarkable.
But despite the new arrivals, we still have a terrific selection of late summer vegetables like peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.
Some final notes: Dates are on their way out (get them while you can) and Meyer lemons are on their way in.
Today’s purchases:
- Assorted heirloom apples (DeVoto Gardens)
- Delicata squash (Everything Under The Sun)
- Brussels sprouts (Iacopi Farm)
- Dinosaur kale (Iacopi Farm)
- Baby bok choy (Chue’s Farm)
- Green beans (Chue’s Farm)
- Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
- Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
- Crimpson popping corn (Rancho Gordo)
What did you find at the market this week?
Those shishito peppers remind me, by the picture alone, to the peppers in Spain called Pimientos de Padron. 1 out of 10 are spicy. Grilled and salted, they are served as a tapa.
They’re a lot like padrons, but really aren’t spicy at all.