Farmers Market Update: Midsummer in San Francisco
I checked the weather report this morning and apparently most of the US is experiencing 100+° weather. You may be suffering, but I’m jealous of all of you. It was 57° here in SF this morning, and I wore a wool sweater and windbreaker to the farmers market, but once I got there I really wished I’d had my scarf and hat. Burrrrrrr!
The grass is always greener, right?
I love sun and heat, but the one advantage I had this morning was that pictures turn out much better on overcast days. Since no one told the sunny farms around the Bay Area that it isn’t actually summer here, we had all the bright, beautiful produce a warm summer would promise. We just have to eat it in the cold.
It has actually been weeks since I’d last been to the market, due to the extensive travel schedule I’ve had this summer. And despite my shivers it was sooooooo nice to be back.
Gosh vegetables are beautiful this time of year. Have you ever tried purple beans?
Needless to say I bought everything I could carry in two Mercado bags, doing my best to take advantage of the produce peaking this time of year. Stone fruits like peaches, nectarines and plutos (plums) are working their magic right now.
Summer squash is something I look forward to all year. I was particularly excited today to find bitter melon, a vegetable I ate a lot of in Okinawa earlier this year.
Honestly I may have purchased more than we can eat, but we’ll do our best.
Today’s purchases (~$40):
- Cherry tomatoes (Everything Under the Sun)
- Sungold tomatoes (Everything Under the Sun)
- Israeli melon (Everything Under the Sun)
- Summer squash (Marin Roots Farm)
- Italian peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
- Cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
- Bittermelon (Chue’s Farm)
- Purple basil (Chue’s Farm)
- Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
- Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
- Curly kale (Green Gulch Farm)
- Salad greens (County Line Harvest)
- Assorted carrots (County Line Harvest)
- Tokyo turnips (County Line Harvest)
- White nectarines (Bella Viva Orchards)
- Dill (Star Route Farms)
What did you find at the market this week?