Have Pizza, Will Travel

Five years ago, the most you could expect to get at a farmers market in terms of prepared food was tacos off of a taco truck, or tamales. Well, things have really changed, and now you can get just about anything, from crepes to pupusas. Last week at Alemany Farmers Market, we came upon this vendor selling wood-burning oven pizzas, right there in the parking lot! They had built their own oven with a take-apart frame that could be transported on a trailer. We were allowed to look inside and see the pizza-making in action.

The pizza itself was wonderful - warm and crisp with a tangy sauce and delicious toppings. This one was egg, proscuitto, and mushroom. At at $11 (enough for 3 people), it was very reasonable. Warm foods taste especially good on typical San Francisco mornings, which can be overcast and chilly before the fog burns off in the afternoon. The food was so good, I almost forgot that we had come to buy produce!

There are a lot of pizza places in San Francisco, and a handful that serve a decent pie. But pizza-on-wheels is a novel idea, and they have the right strategy by doing parties and events (imagine having your own pizza oven roll up along with someone to do all of the work!) This is definitely the first pizza I have seen at a Farmers Market, and by using the ingredients all around them, such as the "market pie" special that was featured, including California walnuts and fresh greens, they are doing a great job of participating in the local community.

Cherimoya, Self Destroy-a

On Saturday, I went to the Alemany Farmers Market, where I have not been in about a year. It's a wonderful market, the oldest in San Francisco (started in the 1930s), and has evolved a lot since I have lived here. While they used to not have any organic stalls, now it's about half and half. And the prepared food, my goodness...but that's another post.

I was tickled to see Cherimoyas for sale - a fruit from South America that I don't see often. They're expensive (about $3.50 each), so they are something to be purchased when you want to indulge in an exotic treat. They are well worth it though, not only for the great taste, but for their beauty in your fruit basket. The skin reminds me of dragon scales.

The hardest part is waiting for it to ripen - it takes about 3-4 days after purchase. You can tell when it is ripe because the flesh will give a little when you touch it, and you can smell a faint vanilla scent when you hold it up to your nose. Once they are ready, you can just slice it in halves or quarters and scoop out the flesh, discarding the seeds.

The taste is both unusual and familar - it reminds me of so many different fruits at once: banana, melon, pear, lychee, maybe a hint of berry. If they ripen even further, the flesh can have a custard-like consistency - this is how I have had them before, but this time I was too anxious to cut into it to wait another day, and possibly risk it going bad. I hardly suffered though - it was so delicious! I can't wait to get another one.