First Strawberries

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally come. The first strawberries of the season have arrived! And what a day for them to appear.

Today is easily the most beautiful we’ve had so far this year in SF. Of course this means my pictures didn’t turn out as well, since there was too much light. But it also meant I made my first salad of 2010!

Salad FTW!

Warm sunshine always inspires me to make salad, but the appearance of cucumbers, sugar snap peas and these adorable bolero carrots helped too.

Bolero Carrots

Mediterranean Cucumbers

Beyond these new additions, the selection this week at the farmers market wasn’t too different from last week. I’m going take this opportunity to cut this post a bit short and go enjoy the beautiful day. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Spring Tomatoes

Cardoon

Today’s purchases:

• Bloomsdale spinach (Star Route Farms)
• Sugar snap peas (Chue’s Farm)
• Broccolini (Chue’s Farm)
• Bolero carrots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (McGinnis Ranch)
• Swiss chard (Iacopi Farm)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Purple kale (Capay Organics)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Beef hot dogs (Prather Ranch)

Are there strawberries at your market yet?

Loose Beets

I know that it is technically still February, but I’m going to officially declare it springtime here in San Francisco, at least for all of us foodies.

The spring greens are in full effect. Today I found spinach, lettuces, asparagus and even pea shoots.

Pea Shoots

Asparagus

Brassica greens like kale and cabbage were around for most of the winter, but now we are seeing the late season varieties such as these savoy cabbages.

Savoy Cabbage

Herbs and onions are getting more diverse as well, as more delicate herbs like cilantro and thyme are reappearing. Still no basil though.

The giant leeks you can find these days are epic.

Big Leeks

Fresh Herbs

The root vegetable season is also shifting to the tail end. I’m seeing fewer radishes and other spicy roots, but sweet beets and carrots are thriving.

Carrots

In fruit, citrus is still where it’s at. Tropical fruits like kiwi, mango and guava are also available. But it’s hard to beat these $1 navel oranges from Hamada Farms.

Deceptive Tomatoes

Navel Oranges

You should still avoid the deceptively juicy looking tomatoes, however. Trust  me, they aren’t good. The vendor said it will be about 3 weeks before the heirlooms show up.

Until then you’ll have to amuse yourself with all the rest of the amazing spring produce. These flank steaks look pretty awesome too.

Flank Steaks

Today’s purchases:

• Broccolini (Iacopi Farm)
• Cauliflower (Iacopi Farm)
• Ruby chard (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Sweet baguette (Downtown Bakery)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Yirg (Blue Bottle Coffee)

Is your season turning?

Love Apples

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The big news at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this week is the appearance of tomatoes. I won’t pretend these are summer tomatoes (it will be at least a month before I bother to buy any – no way they have any flavor yet), but their appearance is a sign of wonderful things to come.

I hope you all have a beautiful day.

xoxox

dp

Tomatoes

I’m delighted to introduce you to Stephanie Stiavetti who agreed to step in and cover the Grand Lake farmers market in Oakland while I was away this week.

Stephanie Stiavetti is a Bay Area freelance food and nutrition writer. Besides writing for magazines and radio, she also blogs about living a healthy gourmet (and gluten-free!) lifestyle at Wasabimon.com. Her top priority in life is eating well in every sense of the word and making sure people know that eating healthy can be a delicious endeavor.

You can also follow her on Twitter under the name @sstiavetti.

Thanks so much Stephanie!

Farmers Market Update: Grand Lake Oakland

Hello everyone!

This is Stephanie from Wasabimon, and I’m excited to be guest posting today on Summer Tomato. Darya’s asked me to take care of the weekly Farmers Market Update while she’s in Vegas, and since I live in the East Bay, today you’ll be getting a tour of Oakland’s Grand Lake Farmers Market.

For those not in the know, Oakland has a thriving farmers market community. With over ten markets throughout the week, East Bay residents have a lot of opportunities to buy organic, locally grown produce. Here’s just a sampling of what you can find at the Grand Lake market, which happens every Saturday from 9am – 2pm year round.

I love the colors of the market this time of year. So many bright colors as summer comes to a close! First I picked up a few of my obligatory (though no less lovely) squash and peppers from Capay Farms:

Peppers

Squash

Right across the way was Rodriguez Farms, who have some of the best potatoes and strawberries around – and who doesn’t love the fact that we can get local strawberries this time of year? Yay California!

Strawberries

Potatoes

Next up were the gorgeous radishes and carrots at Ledesma Family Farms. There is always so much color in this booth and I need to wear sunglasses when I go inside:

Radishes

Carrots

After wandering around a little bit (and indulging in some kettle corn, my favorite treat), I hit the jackpot at Toscano and Sons. They have the sweetest cherry tomatoes ever! They make such a perfect addition to salads, and I can never resist them.

Cherry Tomatoes

Toscano also had baby shallots and young leeks, which are just about my favorite things ever. I’m such an allium nut – I don’t cook with them all the time, but I love how there are so many different levels of flavor within the onion family:

Leeks

Baby Shallots

Happy Boy Farms was full of lovely winter and summer squash, and as usual their herb table was full of the freshest, most fragrant greenery. Their heirloom tomatoes were off-the-charts colorful, though I had to resist the urge to buy any since I already have some at home. Happy Boy also has my favorite salad mix, with edible flowers mixed in with the rest of the greens. I mean, how could you resist this beautiful display?

Salad Greens

I also discovered something new at the farmers market this week. I’ve seen jujubes before but hadn’t ever stopped to inspect further. These little Chinese dates are really good and I highly recommend you grab a handful if you ever see them!

Jujubees

Then how could I not stop and smell the roses at Western Sun Floral?

Roses

And on the way out the door, I stopped by my favorite stand, Marshall’s Farm Honey. Since I avoid refined sweeteners, honey is a mainstay in my kitchen:

Honey

I had a fabulous time at the Grand Lake Farmers Market today, and I hope you enjoyed my little photo tour. Thanks, Darya, for letting me share!

<3
~Steph

What did you find at your farmers market this week?

Cherry Tomatoes

Despite the San Francisco weather–more gloomy than sunny–it is actually summer. That means pluots, peaches, nectarines, figs, melons, eggplant, corn, peppers and, of course, tomatoes.

Could anything be more perfect?

Sugar Snap Peas

Pluots

The tomatoes are especially amazing right now (don’t miss the early girls!), and I’m finally ready to make my favorite summer tomato recipe, bruschetta! Tune in tomorrow for my easy recipe.

Something else I’ve noticed lately at the market are the over-sized carrots, which look perfect for turning into soup or other mashed concoction. Likewise, big heads of cauliflower are starting to reappear, which are fantastic for vegetable stews. Last week I turned mine into Moroccan soup.

Cauliflower and Cucumber

Carrots

I’ve also noticed apples, grapes, mature onions, mature garlic, and other foods that are decidedly post-summer fare. Take this as a sign that you should eat as many plums, peaches and melons while you can. Fall is right around the corner.

Organic Shallots

Organic Garlic

Speaking of plums, the very short 3-4 week season of French plums (fresh “prunes”) is peaking and they are spectacular. I bought a full bag to have with breakfast this week.

Early McIntosh Apples

French Prunes

What did you find at the farmers market this weekend?

Today’s Purchases:

• Early girl tomatoes (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cipollini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Fresh basil (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Corn (G&S Farms)
• Assorted peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Israeli melon (The Peach Farm)
• Cherry/sungold tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Heirloom tomato (The Peach Farm)
• Purslane (Marin Roots Farm)
• Arugula (Marin Roots Farm)
• Sugar snap peas (Iacopi Farm)
• Kale (Green Gulch Farm)
• French prunes (Glashoff Farm)
• Chicharrones (Fatted Calf)
• Beef jerky (Fatted Calf)
• Three Africans (Blue Bottle Coffee)
• 2 baguettes (Acme Bread)

Perfect Squash Blossoms

Today I am going to let my pictures do most of the speaking for me. In case you haven’t noticed, we are in the height of summer and in my opinion this is about as good as the farmers market gets.

At times like these I wonder why anyone bothers to eat unhealthy.

The squash blossoms from Star Route Farms were absolutely breathtaking–little treasures just waiting to be taken home, stuffed with herbs and goat cheese and deep fried. If I had more time this weekend these would have definitely been on my shopping list.

Mango Plums

Summer Fire Nectarines

Peaches and nectarines are peaking, firm but still sweet and juicy.

Flavor king pluots are the rage at many of the fruit stands, but do not over look the flavor queens, flavor hearts, flavor grenades or any other part of the “flavor monarchy,” as I call it.

The mango plums at Catalán Family Farms were particularly impressive Saturday morning.

Mission Figs

Flame and Thompson Grapes

I’m tempted by strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes and currants at every turn.

This time of year I am always sure that each week I try a new variety of melon. Today I bought an ambrosia melon from The Peach Farm–Ed was nice enough to pick me out the best one. A single sniff of the rind and I new I was bringing home something special.

Broccoli and Cauliflower

Cranberry Beans

Not surprisingly, the second best smelling things in my market bag were my peppers from Happy Quail Farms. This time I am trying the hot banana pepper!

Yes, you read that right. Jealous?

Oh, and have you tried the summer tomatoes? I can’t decide which I like more: the early girls, the cherry tomatoes or the big fat heirlooms? I usually end up buying all of them.

Tomatoes and Figs

Hot Banana Peppers

I hope you are all having as much fun right now as I am!

Today’s purchases:

• Sun fire nectarine (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Ambrosia melon (The Peach Farm)
• Heirloom tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Early girl tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Cherry tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Flavor grenade pluots (Blossom Bluff Orchards)
• Swiss chard (Star Route Farms)
• Haricot verts (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Cipollini onions (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Baby savoy cabbages (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Paprika peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Hot banana pepper (Happy Quail Farms)
• Mediterranean cucmbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Cauliflower head (Swanton Berry Farm)
• Strawberries (Swanton Berry Farm)
• Gem lettuces (Marin Roots Farm)

What did you get at the market?

Tomatero Organic Tomatoes

It was an action packed day this Saturday in San Francisco. I started the morning by checking out the Noe Valley farmers market on 24th Street then headed off to the Ferry Building to buy a few more things and chat with the people at Epicurious.

Although I have been to the Noe Valley farmers market before, it had been years since I spent any real time there. For a small market, the selection was really impressive. Many of the farms I recognized because they also have booths at the Ferry Plaza farmers market. Others I would be happy to see there.

Melons

Rosa Bianca Eggplant

I had the most fun at the Tomatero Organic Farm stand where their selection brimmed with summer bounty, especially tomatoes. I came out to the Noe Valley market to try Tomatero tomatoes because they are (drumroll, please) starting an all tomato CSA this year!

If you have ever tasted Tomatero’s tomatoes, you know how exciting this is.

Deliveries begin on August 18 and go until the end of the season. There will be 3 pick up locations, 2 in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco and one in the Lake Merrit area of Oakland. The cost is $15 per week and will include whatever varieties they have in stock. For more details please visit the Tomatero website.

Flame Grapes

White Raspberries

While I was there I also purchased some of their zucchini, spectacular white raspberries and some eggs–which I promptly left on the counter and forgot 🙁 I’ll go back and get them next week.

Everything was spectacular.

Other Noe Purchases include:

• Edible flowers and lettuce (Happy Boy Farms)
• Piel de sapo melon (Happy Boy Farms)
• Spring onion (Happy Boy Farms)
• Rosa bianca eggplant (Capay Organics)
• Thai basil (Sunny Farm)
• Green onion (Sunny Farm)

Red and Green Okra

Pluots

Even though I bought a good amount of food in Noe Valley I still wanted to head to the Ferry Building. I can’t help it, I just love it there.

It was a beautiful day and I tried so many kinds of stone fruit I should have probably just counted it as my lunch. One of my main reasons for heading there was to get some Rancho Gordo beans. I asked for a new recommendation (I’ve tried many of them before) and the woman working there nearly exploded with excitement about a new bean they have from Mexico, Alubia Criollo. This is a white bean that she claims is so creamy and luxurious it is to die for.

I can’t wait.

Also exciting is that the early girl tomatoes are finally available, even the ones from Dirty Girl Produce. Folks, early girl tomatoes are the summer tomatoes that changed my life. Definitely get yourself some this season from Tomatero, Dirty Girl or wherever you can find them.

Huge Zucchini

Early Girl Tomato Frenzy

Another reason I visited the Ferry Building was to check out the Epicurious booth that will be hanging around at various SF foodie events this week, giving out free tote bags and goodies. If you haven’t heard of Epicurious, it is a fabulous online resource for food lovers.

Epicurious Booth SF

Nectarines

Apples have also appeared at the market, and there are more grapes every week. They are delicious, but it is hard for me to buy grapes when there are so many stone fruits and melons still around.

I’d love to hear what you got at the farmers market this week.

Tomatillos

Ferry Plaza purchases:

• Alubia Criollo beans (Rancho Gordo)
• Flavor queen pluots (Honeycrisp)
• Flavor king pluots (Honeycrisp)
• Basil (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Pagoda figs (Balakian farms)
• Sweet Italian frying peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Ginger flowers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Arctic Jay white nectarines

Corn

After two weeks of miserable cold and fog the sun finally came out today in San Francisco and the crowds found their way to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. It was a blast!

I faced a unique challenge while shopping this weekend. A few days ago my refrigerator died and to my dismay we cannot get anyone out to fix it until Monday. *Gasp!* That meant no greens, berries, eggs, or a bunch of other goodies I had been looking forward too. I was panicked at first, but once I started shopping I realized I would continue to eat like a queen this week as usual.

What can sit happily on the counter for a few days? Summer tomatoes, of course!!

Jalepenos

Heirloom Tomatoes

But the fun doesn’t stop there. I also loaded up on peppers of all shapes and colors, sweet corn, eggplant, summer squash, carrots, potatoes, onions and more stone fruit than I’m comfortable admitting to.

Yep. Life goes on, even without a refrigerator.

I also spent some time today with the nice folks over at Bella Viva Orchards. We talked awhile about all the wonderful summer produce and discussed a number of ways to enjoy peaches, one of my favorite stone fruits. Delicious! I will post a link to the interview when it goes out in their newsletter in a couple weeks.

Radicchio

New Potatoes

On that note, the best finds at the market right now are peaches and nectarines, pluots, melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, greens, corn, onions, berries (there was a berry tasting event today too) and fresh beans. I was surprised today to see that grapes are also starting to appear, sweet and crisp.

Oh, and the cherry tomatoes I got are da bomb. You should get some.

What are your favorite scores from the farmers market this weekend?

Today’s goodies:

• Assorted heirloom tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Cherry tomatoes (The Peach Farm)
• Poblano peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Sweet peppers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Thai dragon chilies (Chue’s Farm)
• Chinese eggplant (Chue’s Farm)
• Yellow peaches (Bella Viva Orchards)
• White peaches (Bella Viva Orchards)
• Nectarines (Bella Viva Orchards)
• Pluots (Bella Viva Orchards)
• Nectarine (Frog Hollow Farm)
• Summer squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Carrots (Marin Roots Farm)
• Small lettuce (Marin Roots Farm)
• Fingerling potatoes (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Corn (G&S Farms)

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week I found yet another reason to eat fish for health, as well as some great discussions on the pros and cons of food industry regulation. For those of you who still don’t have a pressure cooker, Mark Bittman says you might still be able to prepare delicious bean dishes.

If you would like to see more of my favorite articles each week or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there.

Submissions of your own best food and health articles are also welcome, just drop me an email using the contact form. I am currently accepting guest posts at Summer Tomato for any healthy eating, living and exercise tips.

For The Love of Food

• Large Study Points to the Brain Benefits of Eating Fish <<It is starting to seem like eating fish is just as important for your health as eating vegetables–first cancer, now dementia. Woohoo! (New York Times)
• Calorie Disclosures Fail to Weigh Whole Enchilada <<The Wall Street Journal chimes in why it is dangerous to rely on calorie counts posted on restaurant menus. While they do help people eat less, you are still eating more than you think.
• Trans fats in restaurants: The New York City experience <<Fascinating illustration of how industry regulation is effective and self-policing is not, using the case of trans fat in New York restaurants as an example. (Los Angeles Times)
• Dietary Oils May Help Some Fight Fat <<Remember when we were told “low-fat” was a good thing? Well, the opposite is true: fat helps with weight loss and can protect against diabetes. (HealthDay)
• How to Choose Healthy Eats and Drinks at a Coffee House <<B.S. of the week once again goes to Diets In Review for using the word “healthy” to describe the junk food served at coffee shops. Fast food is never healthy. Oh, and did I mention there is no benefit in “low-fat”?
• Treadmill Love. <<Fabulous discussion of why adding weights is a more effective workout than cardio alone. (MizFit Online)
• Rethinking Canned Beans <<Mark Bittman is rekindling his relationship with beans from a can. Interesting news for us dried bean snobs. (Bitten)
• 10 Ways to Right-Size Your Meals <<Great tips for practicing portion control. (Reader’s Digest)
• Reveling in the season’s tomato bounty, from pasta sauce to easy preserving <<Inspiring discussion of what to do with all these summer tomatoes! (Grist)
• Shop at Local Ethnic Markets to Lower Your Grocery Bill <<Save money with these great tips on eating fresh in a struggling economy. (LifeHacker)

Did you write any fabulous food or health articles this week? Share your links in the comments!!

Green Tomatoes

Healthy eating starts with fresh, seasonal produce, preferably from your local farmers market.

Years ago when I started my column at Synapse and began advocating seasonal vegetables as the best path to health, one of the most common questions I got was, “How do I know what’s in season?”

In response to this I wrote my first Farmers Market Update, and this has become one of the cornerstones of Summer Tomato.

There are many reasons I write these updates every week, but occasionally it is important to step back and make sure my objectives are met with each post.

Here are the main goals I aim to achieve with my Farmers Market Updates:

Education

As mentioned above, I hope that by reading these Farmers Market Updates you will get a feel for what is in season. Even if you are shopping at your local supermarket, seasonal produce is your best bet.

Follow along to get a general idea of what you should be eating this time of year.

Inspiration

For me just seeing the beautiful vegetables, fruit and other goodies at the farmers market makes me want to spend the rest of the weekend in the kitchen–and I’m not exactly the domestic type. With Farmers Market Updates I hope to inspire you to find your own local markets and look for the best seasonal produce you can find.

Going to the farmers market is by far the best part of my week and I wish you could all experience it with me. I realize not everyone has the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to wake up to on Saturday mornings, but your own farmers market is still better than anything you will find at a big chain store.

There is nothing like spending a little time with the local farmers that grow the food you eat. Every meal you prepare with these ingredients is special, even if it isn’t exotic.

Demonstration

I’m the first to admit that cooking can be scary and the thought of it overwhelming. Most of us were never taught how to use a stove, let alone poach an egg. But we are extremely proficient at using Google to help us figure things out, right?

Cooking is no exception.

I make a point of finding things at my farmers market that I do not know how to cook. Why? Because exploring new foods is one of the most important things in making healthy eating fun and enjoyable. You can even rediscover foods you think you don’t like by buying them at the height of season and learning to cook them properly.

I promise, liking things is more fun than not liking things 😀

I try to convey this sense of adventure in my Farmers Market Updates. This week, for example, I bought all the flavors I associate with Thai food even though I do not have a specific recipe in mind. I also purchased some lemon cucumbers simply because they looked cool.

You do not need to know how to cook something before you buy it. Vegetables are cheap, just get what looks good and figure the rest out later. Email me if you need suggestions!

———-

Farmers Market Update

Cucumbers

Brown Turkey Figs

Summer officially started this week in San Francisco (according to me). With melons and figs popping up all over the place, there is no way I can keep sitting here and telling you it is springtime.

Woohoo!

Thai Basil

Purple & White Peppers

Summer tomatoes are already fabulous, summer squash are as sweet as can be (especially the yellow Zephyrs!) and who knew there were so many kinds of cucumber? Green garlic has morphed into the bulbous “fresh garlic.” Green beans are starting to appear and there are 2 kinds of basil. Not one, but two!

Darya is happy.

Cucumbers

Fresh Garlic

Check out my first Farmers Market Update video from my new apartment. It is just under 3 minutes.

Today’s Purchases:

• Summer tomatoes (Bruins Farms)
• Lemon cucumbers (The Peach Farm)
• Chinese eggplant (Chue’s Farm)
• Lemongrass (Chue’s Farm)
• Thai chilies (Chue’s Farm)
• Thai basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Cilantro (Chue’s Farm)
• French green beans (McGinnis Ranch)
• Blueberries (Triple Delight Blueberries)
• Boysenberries (Glashoff Farms)
• Garlic (Short Night Farms)
• Limes (Bernard Ranches)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Purslane (Marin Roots Farm)
• Summer squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Bing cherries (Kashiwase Farms)

What did you find at the market this week?