Farmers Market Update: Back in Action
There are no words for how good it felt to get back to the farmers market this week. The past few months have been a complete blur, preparing for the wedding and the book. I haven’t had time to breathe, let alone admire the seasonal produce.
But even though I’m still crazy busy, I knew I had to get back to the market before I missed spring entirely. I’m so glad I did.
The first thing I did was load up on greens. I grabbed as many kinds of kale and chard as I could carry, and even some of these awesome looking arrowhead cabbages.
I also stocked up on colorful root vegetables, like pink-striped cioggia beets and carrots of every color: purple, pink, yellow, orange and white.
In case you hadn’t guessed, artichokes are in season too. And I was sure to grab a couple.
I had expected to see a few strawberries out this week, but I was shocked to see that cherries are already available. These Early Burlatts weren’t quite sweet enough to buy, but I bet they will be soon.
There were even some early Hot House tomatoes available today, if you’re into that sorta thing.
I made a few stops inside the Ferry Building as well. At Prather Ranch we got some marinated beef ribs and pork chops for a couple of our dinners this week.
At Far West Fungi I was delighted to see lots of new seasonal delicacies like ramps, fiddleheads and morels. Ramps are my absolute favorite onion relative to cook with eggs, and I got a basket of morels and black trumpet mushrooms, because I couldn’t resist.
I figured they would go nicely with walnuts (and butter and white wine, yum!), so I got some of those too.
Last I found a new Japanese goods stand. It was really crowded so I missed the name and didn’t get a good pic, but I was excited to see these little Japanese sansho pepper leaves that I ate often last year in Tokyo.
It’s so nice to be back.
Awesome pics of this springs goodies. Living in AL is not as pleasant as SF. I enjoy your newsletter and your blog posts – thank you for sharing dpr
I live in Ottawa (Canada). It’s still snowing here… very jealous of your SF weather!
Hello, do you have any recommendations on how to eat fiddlehead ferns? I noticed them too, and I wanted to buy them because they look so cool, but I have no idea what to do with them. Thanks:)
They cook up similar to asparagus. I cook them in a pan with olive oil, garlic and salt. They’re also nice with nuts, mushrooms and herbs.
Darya, congratulations on your marriage. I am Lyn’s friend and neighbor across the street on Mill Cove. I had never even heard of a Fiddlehead before! This is truly an education. Thanks, Lyn for sharing. Best wishes on your continued and amazing success and your happiness always. A Newbie Food Enthusiast, Karen
That’s awesome, thanks Karen!
Great pics, I just wanted to say I live in Las Vegas (middle of the desert)and there are farmers markets here. Congrats on the wedding.
I’m in northern Virginia. Our farmers markets don’t open here until next month. You’ve wet my appetite, though, with the beautiful photos. Thank you!
P.S. Any chance you know some German? The ramps look like something I used to eat when we had a stint in Stuttgart. “Baerlauch” was the name of the onion. They used it in soup and lots of other dishes for a few weeks in the spring. What else do you do with ramps?
I don’t know any German, but they’re basically small wild leeks. The flavor is incredible. I use them like scallions, but enjoy them much more.
Watching your #KitchenParty and scrolling through your site – I’m hooked!