Fava Beans

If you have been meaning to go to the farmers market but still haven’t gotten around to it, I strongly suggest you make it happen next week. Some of these Spring treats are only available a few weeks out of the year, and they are peaking right now.

This week I bought young fava beans from Iacopi Farm. Normally fava beans require a substantial amount of work to prepare, including shelling, blanching and removing the tough skin of each bean with a pairing knife. When young however, fava beans can be roasted and eaten whole. Last night I put mine in the oven with tomatoes, green olives, chili flakes and anchovies, then sprinkled on capers, parsley and lemon juice when I pulled them out. It was amazing.

Baby Artichokes

Thumbalina Carrots

Strawberries are also particularly special right now. At Dirty Girl Produce I found strawberries from both first year plants and second year plants, and I was astounded by the difference. Apparently as strawberry plants get older they produce smaller, sweeter, more concentrated fruit. These made for the most intesely flavored berries I found at the market. The young berries were also wonderful though, big sweet and more juicy than the second years. I bought both. Can you tell which is which?

Shell Peas

1st & 2nd Year Strawberries

The flowering kale rabe was gone this week, but asparagus is available in all sizes and colors. The variety of onions right now is remarkable.

Finally, since I have been interested in Moroccan cooking lately I have been reading a lot about an ingredient called preserved lemons. I bought one this week from Boulette’s Larder and used it to make the best hummus I have ever had in my life.

Preserved Lemons

Yellow Onions

Purchases:

• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farm)
• Young fava beans (Iacopi Farm)
• 1st year strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• 2nd year strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Tangelos (Hamada Farms)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Rainbow chard (Capay Organics)
• Sugar snap peas (Capay Organics)
• Endive (Madison Growers)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Madison Growers)
• Leek (Marin Root Farms)
• Spring onion (Marin Root Farms)
• Yellow onion (Marin Root Farms)
• Carrots (Star Route Farm)
• Tatsoi (Star Route Farm)
• Arugula (Star Route Farm)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Tangelo (Peredez Farms)
• Italian parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Baby bok choy (Chue’s Farm)
• Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
• Firm tofu (Hodo Soy)
• Preserved lemon (Boulette’s Larder)
• Red pepper anchovies (Boulette’s Larder)

What did you find at the market this week?

Strawberries

Today is the first truly nice warm day of the year, so I am not going to spend the rest of it writing this blog post. Instead I am going to quickly mention what’s hot at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and let the pictures speak for themselves. Then I’m going outside to enjoy the sunshine!

First Pick Organic Strawberries

Rhubarb

Strawberries ruled the market today. They are officially everywhere and consistently delicious. I bought these lovely stemmed berries from Lucero Organic Farms, which has recently moved into the former slot of Ella Bella farms (source of the now infamous “Please don’t squeeze our tomatoes” photo I love to use). It turns out Ella Bella has relocated to Hawaii; I am a little heart broken.

Morel mushrooms finally dropped below $40/lb, so I gave in and bought some (don’t worry, they don’t weigh very much).

English Shelling Peas

Tree Tomato and Lemon

Tamarillos, or tree tomatoes, made an appearance today as well. They didn’t seem particularly ripe so I didn’t buy them, but it is an exciting prospect that they are back already.

English shelling peas and fava beans are both at the height of season right now. This week I chose the peas, since they are a little easier to work with. Fava beans will have to wait until next week.

Chili Powder

Huge Leeks

Marin Roots Farm has kale rabe, which you could describe as a being similar to broccoli except ridiculously beautiful. The kind I bought is purple.

Eggs from Happy Quail Farms are back.

Jumbo leeks seem to be all the rage.

I bought tomatoes!!!! I got some yellow ones and a few heirlooms because they finally smelled good enough to eat. I couldn’t resist and had one for lunch today. They could be sweeter, but what Bruins Farms is offering is already vastly superior to anything you can get in a grocery store.

Hint of the day: The line at the Acme bread stand in the back is much shorter than the line inside the Ferry Building.

Purchases:

• English shelling peas (Iacopi Farms)
• Strawberries (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Morel mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Ramps (Far West Fungi)
• Red kale rabe (Marin Roots Farm)
• Eggs (Happy Quail Farms)
• Assorted tomatoes (Bruins Farms)
• New Mexico chili powder (Tierra Vegetables)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farm)
• Fennel (Star Route Farms)
• Arugula (Star Route Farms)
• Tatsoi (Star Route Farms)
• Thyme (Star Route Farms)
• Swiss chard (Eatwell Farms)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Tangelos (Hamada Farms)
• Rio grapefruit (Hamada Farms)
• Organic mandarins (Twin Girl Farms)
• Epi loaf (Acme Bread)

Tell us what you found at the market today!

Heirloom Tomatoes

Every Saturday morning I wake up as early as I can (usually not very early) and head to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to buy my vegetables for the week. Seasonal vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet, and buying them each week is the single most important step you can take to upgrade your healthstyle.

(This post is part three of the series How To Get Started Eating Healthy. Part one is Stock Your Pantry and part two is Essential Groceries. Subscribe to Summer Tomato to get more free healthy eating tips)

Why Vegetables?

Decades of research on diet, nutrition and health have universally confirmed that a vegetable-based diet can reduce your risk of (and even reverse) almost every disease. Debates still rage regarding the mechanism by which vegetables improve health (Is it because they replace bad foods? Contain antioxidants? Are low in calories? Low in fat? Low in protein? Have low glycemic index?), but for you and me the reason doesn’t really matter. The important point is that vegetables are proven to make you healthy. Those other questions are only important to people who want to bottle that benefit and sell it to you at a premium.

Interestingly, one of the most consistent findings in nutrition science is that any attempt to isolate a specific element of food and create a useful dietary supplement fails to mimic the benefits of the whole food. The lesson from all of this is that you are much better off spending your money on vegetables and other whole foods than on nutritional supplements.

Why Seasonal?

If you have ever wondered how much vitamin C is in a tomato, please stop. The idea that one tomato is the same as the next is ludicrous, yet this is the kind of logic we have accepted from grocery stores and the food industry in general.

Anyone with taste buds can immediately tell the difference between a sweet, ripe heirloom tomato at the height of summer and a mealy red beefsteak from your grocery store in December. These foods taste wildly different because of how they were grown, so doesn’t it stand to reason that they may have different nutrient levels as well?

In fact, there is a tremendous difference in nutritional quality of foods grown in the correct season and in good soil. Seasonal organic produce is substantially better for you than the conventional produce at Safeway, and this difference is reflected in how your food tastes.

For these reasons, shopping in season can do wonders for how you think about vegetables. A salad may sound boring to you, but how about miner’s lettuce tossed with arugula, Tokyo turnips, Mediterranean cucumbers, ruby grapefruit and sliced almonds? If you are more excited to eat vegetables because they look, sound, smell and taste delicious, then you will lose weight and become healthier by default. Your daily greens will be a joy, not a chore.

Seasonal produce is also more affordable than out of season produce that was grown in a greenhouse or shipped halfway around the world.

How To Shop Seasonally

Farmers Markets

As I mentioned above, my preferred place to shop for vegetables is my local farmers market on Saturday. Farmers markets are wonderful because you have access to the freshest local and seasonal vegetables available, usually just picked the day before. This means that not only are you guaranteed vegetables at the peak of their season, you can even go from stand to stand and find the batch you like best. You can also discover interesting and unique offerings (like the chocolate persimmon), and build relationships with local farmers. If you are lucky enough to have a weekly farmers market in your area, it is certainly worth it to commit yourself to go every week.

Read this blog on Saturdays to keep up with local finds in the Bay Area and California in general.

CSAs

Unfortunately, farmers markets are not practical for everyone. Some people have time constraints that prevent them from attending a weekly market. Luckily there are some alternatives available. One option is the CSA, or Community-Supported Agriculture. When you subscribe to a CSA you have pledged support for a particular farm (or sometimes a group of farms), and in exchange receive a box of seasonal produce each week or on an agreed schedule. The biggest convenience of joining a CSA is that the times arranged for delivery or pick up are much more flexible than the weekly market. There are CSAs for vegetables, as well as meat and dairy.

From what I understand, individual CSAs can vary substantially in how they are run and what they provide. If you are interested in finding a CSA in your area, I recommend spending some time researching your options and deciding what works best for you.

I have personally never belonged to a CSA and would love to hear about your experiences if you have.

Local Produce Markets

Even without a farmers market or CSA it possible to shop in season. Most cities and suburban areas have local produce markets and/or health food stores that focus on fresh vegetables. While not everything in these markets will be seasonal and local, they usually provide a nice alternative to large chain grocery stores to at least supplement your produce shopping. For more information you can read my article about how to find local produce markets in your area.

Grocery Stores

Even if none of these options are available in your neighborhood, it is still likely that the most affordable and best tasting food at your regular grocery store is whatever happens to be in season. Thus it is still worth it to keep up on local produce trends in your area.

Conclusions

Eating your vegetables is the most important thing you can do for your health, and neither nutritional supplements nor regular workouts can substitute for a healthy diet. Whether you have access to farmers markets or not, you are better off eating any vegetables than no vegetables at all. The same is true if you are considering conventional vs. organic produce.

If farmers markets are not available to you year-round there are many ways to get seasonal vegetables and fruits. But the first step is committing to your health and your future by making sure seasonal, fresh vegetables are a part of your personal healthstyle.

Subscribe now to get more free healthy eating tips delivered to your inbox.

Spring Garlic

I haven’t seen crowds like this at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza farmers market since summertime. The Easter crowds were in full throttle gathering goods for tomorrow’s festivities. Luckily for market goers, the spring vegetables were certainly worth fighting over.

The signs of spring today were particularly apparent at Far West Fungi where wild miner’s lettuce, ramps and fiddleheads were all available. Miner’s lettuce (as I learned last week on KCRW’s Good Food podcast) is a delicate green ideal for spring salads. It’s leaves are shaped like a tiny lily pad with a cone of small flowers growing from the center. Ramps are tiny wild leeks that could very well be my favorite egg addition of all time. Fiddleheads are the tender curls of baby ferns. They can be sauteed and served much like asparagus.

Fiddlehead Ferns

Miner's Lettuce

Heirloom tomatoes are starting to appear, though they still didn’t look good enough to buy. But I could tell that one day soon there will be rejoicing at Summer Tomato.

Other notable findings include fava beans, lilacs, asparagus, rainbow chard, sugar snap peas, morel mushrooms, strawberries, artichokes, kale flowers, sorrel and arugula.

Note: The How To Get Started Eating Healthy series will continue on Monday with the next addition, Seasonal Shopping. Consider this post a warm up 😀

Lilacs

Rainbow Chard

Today’s purchases:

• Miner’s lettuce (Far West Fungi)
  

  Leeks

• Ramps (Far West Fungi)
• Baby fennel (Heirloom Organic Gardens)
• Baby lettuces and arugula (Star Route Farms)
• Baby leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Rainbow chard (Capay Organics)
• Carrots (Capay Organics)
• Red kale (Marin Roots Farm)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Madison Growers)
• Chinese broccoli (Chue’s Farm)
• Garlic (Chue’s Farm)
  

  Ramps

• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farm)
• Collard greens (Everything Under the Sun)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Raisins (Hamada Farms)
• Eggs (Boulette’s Larder)
• Ono (San Francisco Fish Co.)
• Coffee (Blue Bottle Coffee)
• Pain epi and soup baguette (Acme Bread)

Kumquats

It was a perfect day in San Francisco and the farmers market was full of life. Spring is in full swing and it seems like every week something new appears.

Strawberries

Finally the strawberries looked good enough to eat, so I am happy to announce my breakfasts will be getting an upgrade. I also started eating salads again last week, which is refreshing. Still no (good) tomatoes, but I tasted one today and it was greatly improved from when they first came out a few weeks ago. So exciting!

I don’t eat a lot of popcorn or I would have bought this Shaman’s Blue from Tierra Vegetables. Isn’t it spectacular?

Shaman's Blue Popcorn

Kumquats are peaking right now (apparently Paredez Farms still felt the need to charge me $0.25 to taste one) and I recommend getting some while you can ($5/lb). It is also a great time for asparagus, baby kale, arugula, artichokes and chard.

Oh! and the morel mushrooms are beautiful at Far West Fungi.

Today’s purchases:

• Kumquats (Paredez Farms)
• Small pomelo (Paradez Farms)
  

  Asparagus

• Strawberries (? update next week)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• English cucumber (Bruins Farms)
• Tokyo turnips (Eatwell Farm)
• Assorted kales (Marin Roots Farms)
• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farms)
• Mixed lettuce/arugula (Everything Under The Sun)
• Torocco blood orange (Hamada Farms)
• Navel orange (Hamada Farms)
  

  Romaine Lettuces

• Chinese broccoli (Chue’s)
• Fennel (Chue’s)
• Garlic (Chue’s)
• Zahidi dates (Flying Disc Ranch)
• Santa Maria Pinquitos beans (Tierra Vegetables)
• Harissa (Tierra Vegetables)

I cannot wait until I show up one morning at the market and it is exploding with cherries. What are you most excited about?

Chioggia Radicchio

I know, this is kind of mean. Many of you have expressed your frustrations about the shabbiness or nonexistentness of your own local farmers markets. But I can’t help but brag about all the great spring veggie action we have going on here in San Francisco. Try to think of it as inspiration for what you have to look forward to….

Sorrel

What I am most excited about today is that my bounty is markedly different from what I have been buying all winter. And it is all the more wonderful because it is easily 75 degrees and gorgeous today. (Don’t be too jealous of this, because one of the worst things about living in San Francisco is summertime fog–truly sunny days are rare).

At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market a few different vendors were selling sorrel today, so I bought some from Capay organics. Sorrel is interesting because its flavor puts it somewhere between a vegetable and an herb. When it is older it becomes more acidic and has an almost lemon-like flavor. Younger it is more mild and tastes closer to spinach. I am thinking about tossing mine up with some grilled fennel and lemon scented oil. I had a similar dish (minus the sorrel) recently at Pizzeria Delfina, and it was incredible.

Flowering Arugula

Last weekend on the KCRW podcast, Good Food, there was a wonderful segment about arugula flowers at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, so I had to buy those this week too.

Other 2009 first purchases today were the small Mediterranean style cucumbers and Belgian endive from Madison Growers. (Maybe I will may actually make a salad this weekend?) The kumquats were also finally sweet enough to buy.

Mediterranean Cucumbers

Last but not least, Zuckerman’s is again offering their famous asparagus ravioli and I bought some. They recommended I prepare it with just olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese, but I think I have had enough of taking serving suggestions from farmers for a couple weeks. I have a few of my own tricks I am excited to try on this springtime treat (hint: another excuse to use the lemon oil I bought today). I will certainly keep you posted.

Today’s Purchases:

Belgian Endives

• Sorrel (Capay Organics)
• Belgian endive (Madison Growers)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Madison Growers)
• Arugula flowers (Marin Root Farm)
• Assorted kales (Marin Root Farm)
• Fennel (Chue’s Farm)
• Baby leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cioggia radicchio (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Carrots (Star Route Farms)
• Asparagus ravioli (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farms)
• Heirloom navel oranges (Bernard Ranches)
• Kumquats (Bernard Ranches)
• Rio red grapefruit (Hamada Farms)
• tofu (Hodo Soy)
• Lisbon lemon olive oil (Stonehouse Olive Oil)
• House blend olive oil (Stonehouse Olive Oil)

What are you most jealous of?

I love watching the seasons change at the farmers market. Although it was lightly sprinkling today at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, spring was definitely in the air.

After a long winter of thick kale and collards, it is easy to forget how delicate greens can be. Now you can get almost all your favorite greens with the flowers or sprouts still attached. Until today, I didn’t even know you could buy arugula flowers to eat. If that isn’t elitist, I don’t know what is.

Apparently I also found the “only heirloom navel” oranges at Bernard Ranches today. I didn’t buy any, but it sure sounded cool.

I’m also excited to finally try the Black Calypso beans from Rancho Gordo. But I also decided that next time I buy beans it is going to be from Tierra Vegetables. They have slightly different varieties and they look absolutely beautiful.

Today’s purchases:

• Assorted wild kale (Marin Roots Farm)
• Assorted wild broccoli (Marin Roots Farm)
• Carrots (Star Route Farm)
• Aspargus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Fennel (Chue’s Farm)
• Green garlic (Chue’s Farm)
• Broccoli rabe (Chue’s Farm)
• Black Calypso beans (Rancho Gordo)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Clementines (Hamada Farms)
• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farms)
• Midnight Moon (Cowgirl Creamery)
• Chevre (Cowgirl Creamery)
• Lots of chocolate (Scharffen Berger)
• Sour baguette and pain epi (Acme Bread)

What are your favorite spring greens?

spring vegetables

Spring is continuing to sprout up all around us here in San Francisco. Today at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market fluffy spring greens mingle with waning citrus crops, in breathless anticipation of the coming stone fruits and berries.

Chard and kale are particularly beautiful these days. Kale comes in so many colorful varieties, just look at this assorted kale braising mix I got at Marin Roots today.

Green garlic is another unique spring time treat, as green onions are to regular onions, green garlic is more mild than your typical bulb and is perfect for spreads and dips. It is also wonderful in eggs or on salad.

I highly recommend the artichokes from Iacopi Farms, particularly the baby ones that can be marinated and sauteed. Fennel is another great vegetable to try this time of year.

I haven’t been overly impressed with the fruit lately, though. I am getting tired of citrus, and the apples I tried today were far too sweet for me. Kiwi are fantastic, but I can only eat so many kiwi in a week.

One day soon though, the market will transform into a cherry explosion. I can’t wait!

Today’s Purchases:

• Assorted kale (Marin Roots Farms)
• Free range eggs (Marin Roots Farms)
• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farms)
• Baby leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Treviso (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Broccoli shoots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Red Russian kale (Eatwell Farms)
• Rosemary (Eatwell Farms)
• Russian fingerling potatoes (Capay Organics)
• Carrots (Capay Organics)
• Asparagus (Capay Organics)
• Gold chard (Capay Organics)
• Tangelo (Hamada Farms)
• Clementines (Hamada Farms)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Kiwi (Four Sisters Farm)

Is it spring time in your town yet?

Today is Valentine’s Day and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market was an absolute zoo. The Food from the Heart event was offering $2-$6 tapas plates and wine tastings. The only thing I tried was the Scharffen Berger hot chocolate and fresh whipped cream. Mmmmm.

Despite the chaos, the vegetables were beautiful. I can’t get enough of the leafy greens right now. They smell so good when cooked in olive oil and are very inexpensive and healthy. Perfect food really.

I was excited to see cardoons today at Knoll Farms. Cardoons are a member of the artichoke and thistle family. I have only had them once at a fancy restaurant (I don’t remember which one), and my memory of the experience is vague. When buying them I was told they need to be boiled in an acidic liquid (water with salt and lemon) to preserve their color. They need to be cooked for approximately 45 minutes to make them tender and remove all the bitterness.

From the fruit world I purchased a Malaysian white guava. They looked interesting, so I figured I should try one. It was very fragrant and more mild in flavor than a traditional guava. Really delicious.

I tried a new egg vendor this week too. I didn’t realize I could get eggs from Happy Quail Farms, apparently it is a well kept secret. They were so colorful–like Easter eggs–I just had to buy them.

Today’s Purchases:

• Cardoons (Knoll Farms)
• Baby savoy cabbages (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Baby leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farms)
• Mixed eggs (Happy Quail Farms)
• Bok choy with sprouts (Chue’s Farm)
• Chinese broccoli (Chue’s Farm)
• Collard greens (Capay Organics)
• Clementines (Hamada Farms)
• Cocktail grapefruit (Hamada Farms)
• Meyer lemon (Hamada Farms)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Sweet limes (Bernard Ranches)
• White Malaysian guava (Brokaw Nursery)

Happy Valentine’s Day!! What did you eat today?

I’m not sure what happened to winter, but it looks like we won’t be having it this year. Although we had some rain yesterday, it was sunny and lovely today at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

Also today was the Citrus Celebration. Somehow this didn’t make it onto my radar, so I didn’t know about it until I got there. Sounded fun though:

• 10 am – 1 pm: Citrus tasting challenge
• Try a dozen citrus varieties and play a matching game
• 10 am – 1 pm: Kitchen techniques gallery
• Learn about zesting, candying and other kitchen citrus tricks
• 10 am – 1 pm: Orange smile digital photo booth
• Smile wide with a wedge of citrus in your mouth, and we’ll email you the snapshot!
• 11 am – 11:45 am: Cooking demonstration
• Alessandro Cartumini of Quattro Restaurant and Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley will prepare salad and pasta featuring citrus
• 11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Meet the citrus farmer station

I spoke to the chef from Quattro while he was preparing his cooking demo, his menu for this morning sounded divine. I wish I could have stayed.

Another sign that spring is rapidly approaching here in San Francisco: I was stunned this morning to see Bruins Farms tomatoes for the first time this season. Deep down I knew that there was no way these tomatoes could be good yet (it’s February!), but I couldn’t help myself. I love tomatoes! So I bought one just in case. Besides, it is my job to tell you guys with confidence what produce is good and what is just okay, right?

As expected, these beautiful beefsteak tomatoes were flavorless. I’ll be the first one to let you know when they are awesome, I promise.

I didn’t buy very much today because I still have a lot of veggies left over from my photo shoot last week, but I did try to buy things I haven’t had in awhile. Variety is the spice of life (and health)!

Today’s purchases:

• Beefsteak tomato (Bruins Farms)
• Fennel (Capay Organics)
• French fingerling potatoes (Capay Organics)
• Redbor kale (Eatwell Farms)
• Kiwi (Fours Sisters Farms)
• Clementines (Hamada Farms)
• Rio red grapefruit (Hamada Farms)
• Navel oranges (Twin Girls Farm)
• Chinese broccoli (Chue’s)
• garlic (Chue’s)

Tell us what was in your market basket today.

Those of you who do not have farmers markets this time of year, what are you finding at your local grocery stores?