Health
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Better Than Butternut: Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe
10 Simple Ways To Eat Less Without Noticing
Juicing: Stupid and Pretentious or Nourishing and Enlightening?
10 Tasty Carbs That Won’t Make You Fat
How To Start Working Out When You Don’t Like To Exercise
Focus More on Your Brain and Less on Your Diet if You’re Serious About Losing Weight
Home Court Habits: The Secret to Effortless Weight Control
10 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight When You Think You’re Doing Everything Right
How To Burn More Calories Without Breaking A Sweat
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Foodists
Farmers Market Update: Spring Treasures
Purple Spring Onions
I’m not sure I’ve done enough yet this year to illustrate what a truly special season spring can be. In the springtime, everything is new.
Breathtaking Tulips
We get the first greens and fresh colors since the final harvest in autumn, but in the spring everything is sweeter and more delicate.
Bloomsdale Spinach
We don’t just have garlic, we have the sweeter and more subtle green garlic. Carrots, while large and husky in the winter are small and tender in the spring. These baby carrots taste nothing like the fake, flavorless “baby carrots” that come in big bags at the supermarket. These carrots are special.
Real Baby Carrots
Swiss and rainbow chard are better right now then they are at any other time of year. They’re so beautiful it’s hard to not bring extra home to put into a vase.
Rainbow Chard
Artichokes and asparagus are also peaking right now. I was so overwhelmed by the sweet, earthy smell of artichokes when I walked up to the farm stand that I forgot to actually take a photo of the beautiful vegetables (there are plenty from previous weeks if you want a peek).
Though most people don’t think about eggs as a seasonal product, they are. Chickens don’t lay as many eggs when it’s cold. Plus, pastured grass is lush and filled with plump, tasty bugs once spring arrives. We got some pullet eggs this morning from Eatwell Farm. We had asked for the extra-large eggs, but apparently they sold out before the market even opened this morning. They’re that good.
Pasture Raised Eggs
For farmers market noobies, one of the most impressive things you can introduce them to is Meyer lemons. Lemons are sour and their peels are bitter, right? Not Meyers. While they aren’t exactly sweet, their acid is not harsh. And their peels are so thin and tender you can eat them raw. Meyer lemons are divine.
Perfect Meyer Lemons
But one of the best aspects of spring is the hints of summer that sneak in from week to week. Now we have strawberries, and they’re actually getting good.
Endless Strawberries
We also have some early tomatoes and ripe, creamy avocados, two of my absolute favorite summer ingredients.
Haas Avocados
As a last throwback to winter I plan to make a soup with one of these celery roots later this week.
Celery Root
Today’s purchases:
- Rainbow chard (Iacopi Farm)
- Red Russian kale (Eatwell Farm)
- Oregano (Eatwell Farm)
- Pullet eggs (Eatwell Farm)
- Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
- Shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
- Spring onions (Everything Under The Sun)
- Meyer Lemons (Hamada Farms)
- Cara cara oranges (Hamada Farms)
- Tomatoes (Bruin Farms)
- Cioggia beets (Star Route Farms)
Oh, this post just makes me long for spring. And you’re talking about hints of summer already? Sigh. Alas, here in Toronto, it is snowing outside my window as I read this. I’m desperate for spring! At least the asparagus harvest is looming on the horizon!
Spring is one of the best seasons. You’re so lucky on the west coast! All those lovely fruits and veggies at the farmers markets now. We won’t have those for a few months. But I have noticed that between the rain yesterday and warmer weather today, we finally have baby leaves on the trees! ; )
Lovely pictures. I completely agree, there’s something very special about spring. Much as I love ripe summer fruit and juicy tomatoes the delicate, fresh offerings we get in the spring are especially lovely. My favourite at the moment is the slender stemmed, pale pink new rhubarb at our local market.
Please share a recipe! I never know what to do with rhubarb. I don’t really do sweets, are there savory recipes?
My favourite rhubarb use is ever so slightly sweetened on porridge or in an oat smoothie – the tartness goes very well with creamy oats. I have found a few good savoury tricks…
The best is Jamie Oliver’s hot and sour rhubarb sauce – it’s unusual and just delicious. He serves it with pork belly http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/my-favourite-hot-sour-rhubarb-cr (I also have a tofu version on my website). I also hear that rhubarb and mackerel go well together but this one is still on my “to do” list.
Awesome, thanks!
I love N. California. You are killing me with those pictures.
I feel like I can almost go completely meat free once the spring/summer produce starts rolling in. I can’t wait for the strawberries.
Those tulips are gorgeous! These photos make me so happy–I love SF in the Spring! Love the blog, keep up the good work!