Summer of Salad

I've been hitting the farmers markets hard this summer. It's now a twice a week habit due to the Wednesday market that I discovered in the Castro. It's a tiny market, only a block long with about 15 vendors at most, so for me, that's perfect. I can be in and out in 10 minutes, depending on what I am looking for. There is one cheese vendor who had tastes of this delicious feta, which I finally bought after a couple of weeks of just tasting it when I walked by. It tastes so salty on its own, but in a salad it gives that perfect tang.

Today's lunch salad consisted of spinach, raw corn (shaved off of the cobb right before composing the salad), tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and some leftover Israeli couscous from earlier in the week. This would be an easy one to add some cooked chicken to, but it's very satisfying as is, with just a few splashes of olive oil and red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

One of the many cool things about the farmers market, is that you are assured of eating what is seasonal. For example, stone fruits were in abundance, like this incredible peach from Frog Hollow Farms, but there were no apples or broccoli imported from somewhere where they can grow them or from hothouses. And while it may be more expensive than going to your neighborhood grocery store chain, you are assured that each piece of produce will taste great. And if you know it's going to taste great, you are more likely to eat it than forget about it and end up throwing it away at the end of the week. And I consider that to be a savings in the end.

A Carrot of a Different Color

On Saturday, I went to the *fancy* Farmers Market (aka the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market) and came back with some really nice produce. One of the things that I am really enjoying this week are a bunch of carrots that are in a variety of sizes and colors. Here are a purple and a yellow carrot sitting side by side on my cutting board.

While it would be really cool if the purple carrot was purple all the way through, I find it really interesting that it is orange inside. The yellow carrot is, as you might have guessed, yellow.

What is also very interesting is that each color of carrot has a very distinct flavor. The purple carrots have a stronger and more bitter taste, while the yellow ones are sweeter. One thing that they have in common is that they are softer than grocery-store-bought orange carrots, and easier to cut.

Because they are so unique, you really don't want to cover them up with too many other flavors. I have been cutting them up in salads, and here I steamed them lightly with some broccoli and drizzed them with a little bit of lemon olive oil and coarse salt, to have as a side dish with some spinach lasagne for lunch. Beautiful, simple, nutritious, and tasty.

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.

Pea-Brained

Spring is here, and with it comes the arrival of English peas. I shelled about a pound and a half of them yesterday - long work, for such a little yield - but oh were they tender and delicious.

They popped up beautifully when immersed in boiling water.

And with a kiss of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, made a lovely addition to a Sunday supper of roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, and just-picked red-leaf lettuce.

Farm Fresh Fast

Dreary day at the Farmers Market today. Overcast, cold, felt like rain. Even our beloved Golden Waffle did not hold its usual magic for me. I felt sorry for the vendors - what a miserable day to be outside trying to sell produce. I bought some vegetables including brocolli rabe, ginger, sweet potatoes, green onions, kale and chard, and some of Donna's Tamales to make at home.

Well, what was a lackluster shopping experience made for a delightful lunch experience. I sauteed the broccoli rabe in some olive oil with ginger and garlic, and heated up the tamales in the microwave. My plate looked and tasted like sunshine and warm days, rich in flavor and nutrition. I added a little chipotle salsa for just the right amount of acid and heat, and it was great.

The smoked cheddar and black bean tamale was rich and satisfying, and the sweet corn and roasted chile tamale was wonderfully fresh, like eating fresh summer corn straight off the cob. The masa, which is ground fresh daily, is lighter than what I have had at the traditional Mexican booths, and they use only vegetable broth in their recipes - the tamales are either vegetarian or vegan, and you don't miss the meat. The taste is completely satisfying, without that heavy feeling afterwards.

It's amazing how now matter what the weather can bring, how good you can feel when you are warmed and fortified on the inside.

Eat Your Greens

I blame the vegetarian. I think she jinxed me.

Today was a very strange day, food-wise, and I think it was because I spent an hour talking to a vegetarian last night. All I know is that I had great intentions, and the fates were not with me.

This morning I bought some nice produce at the market, including some beautiful kale, and a packet of Korma mix from a trusted vendor. When I got home, I planned a healthy Indian meal for dinner. I got started at 4:30, with a brown basmati rice on the stove, and chicken breasts simmering in a savory sauce. I then prepared a kale and chickpea dish, successfully getting everything coordinated to be ready at the same time.

When it was done, I tasted the Chicken Korma. Awful. I had my husband taste it. He made a face. It looked like watery paste and tasted like perfume, not like the silky, vibrant korma sauce we were used to. All of that work and preparation, for nothing! It was SO frustrating. Not to mention wasting a pound and a half of chicken - it was with a heavy heart that I threw it in the compost bag.

My vegetable dish, on the other hand, turned out very well, and was great over the rice. The spices were very nice and mellow. I added some roasted sweet potato chunks to the recipe but it was very tasty as is, too. I added salt to the original recipe, and altered it to use less of the broth.

As I started on dinner #2, bacon and eggs, I put some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in the oven. Another miss! The dough was too crumbly and the cookies did not flatten properly. Some days, it's just best to stay out of the kitchen!

Indian-Spiced Kale & Chickpeas

• 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 C. chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 t. ground coriander
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 t. garam masala
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 sweet potato, diced and roasted for 30 minutes with olive oil and salt and pepper (optional)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over med heat.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds

Add kale and cook, tossing with 2 large spoons, until bright green, about 1 min

Add broth, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 8 to 10 min

Stir in chickpeas, cover and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 1 to 2 min

Add the sweet potato and toss to combine

Kirsten's Sweet Potato Salad

On Sunday I found this funny sweet potato at the Farmers Market and had to buy it - doesn't it look just like a pig's trotter? How perfect for today when I decided to try my friend Kirsten's Sweet Potato Salad recipe, which has a savory warm bacon dressing.

I love roasting the sweet potatoes this way - I actually did not stir them at all and let them caramelize and get a little sticky - so wonderful, it's hard to keep from eating them right off of the pan. The dressing is a gorgeous and colorful combination of vegetables, bacon fat, fresh ginger and cumin.

You only use a little of the bacon fat and the rest is olive oil, so it's not as unhealthy as it might sound. The citrus from the orange is a nice combination, and even though it said four portions, I was able to eat two at one sitting with no problem.

The only change that I made was to add orange zest to the dressing before squeezing the juice, and I added some salt and pepper after tossing the salad. Delicious!

Kirsten's Sweet Potato Salad

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 thick slices of bacon
• 1 bell pepper, cored and chopped
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Juice from 1 orange
• 1 pound fresh spinach

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with two tablespoons of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast, turning occasionally, until crisp and brown outside and tender inside, about 30 minutes. Remove and keep on the pan until ready to use. While potatoes cook, put bacon in a stainless steel or other nonreactive skillet and turn heat to medium. Cook, turning once or twice, until crisp. Drain on paper towels and pour off fat, leaving darkened bits in the pan. Put back on medium heat; add remaining oil to the pan. When hot, add bell pepper, onion, and ginger to the pan. Cook, stirring once or twice until just softened, about five minutes; stir in cumin and bacon (broken into pieces). Stir in orange juiceand turn off heat. (The recipe can be made up to an hour or so ahead to this point. Gently warm dressing again before proceeding.) Put spinach in a bowl large enough to comfortably toss the salad. Add the potatoes and warm dressing. Toss to combine. Serves four.

10/29/09 Update:

I made it the next day for lunch, and added some garbanzo beans. Delicious - this is going to be on my regular lunch rotation for sure.

Jujubes

Part of living in a place with a large Chinese community is that you often get to see produce that may be unfamiliar to you. We noticed jujubes, or red Chinese dates, at the Stonestown Farmers Market last week and didn't buy them - this time, my curiosity got the best of me and I bought a bag.

I got them home and had no idea what to do with them. There were no recipes online for fresh jujubes, only ones using dried ones. Finally I found an article that told me how to eat them - like an apple, skin and all.

They are about the size of a kumquat, and have a beautiful green/brown skin. The taste is similar to an apple, but not quite as sweet and more dry.

What a cool, portable little snack! And so pretty to display, too. I'll no longer attribute this name just to stick-to-your-teeth gummy candies - I will instead think of this lovely and rare fruit that I was so fortunate to come upon.

Cinderella's Coach

At the Stonestown Farmers Market this morning, my friend Jude & I met a really nice vendor who sold nuts, produce, and a slew of pumpkins. He has some really unique varieties such as the ones pictured here (click on the photo to enlarge it and see the amazing texture), and on the back of his truck he had the most perfect Cinderella pumpkin for sale.

When I went to buy it, we discovered that it had a big puncture wound on the bottom. We were sad, and the vendor was visibly upset. Think about what it took to grow a gorgeous pumpkin, harvest it, load it in the truck, drive it all of the way to San Francisco, and create an appealing display. Only to have its side stabbed by some unknown culprit - and have it destined to be a cheap sale item only to be used for cooking that day or be thrown away. All of that effort, and probably not a cent earned. And this is a business in which every dollar counts, so those kinds of mistakes are not to be taken lightly.

I found another, nearly as nice pumpkin right away and he felt so bad that he cut me a deal - I think I paid about $6.00 which is nothing. I was feeling slightly disappointed driving home, but when I took a good look at the pumpkin that I got, I realized just how pretty it was, and having bought it from someone who we made a connection with made it that much better. Without that punctured pumpkin, I probably wouldn't have thought as much about what it took to get it there, and now I have a real appreciation of where it came from. Look at how lovely it is - can't you just envision Cinderella dressed up for the ball with her mice-turned-horses and rats-turned-coachmen?

Children of the Corn

I am so lame. For two years now, I have been getting notices from the Parkmerced Farmer's Market, which is set up less than 5 miles from my house. I could practically walk there. Yet, I always choose one of the bigger markest, Alemany or Ferry Plaza.

I finally went there on Saturday, only for the reason that I didn't have a lot of time and it was convenient. It was a little bit hard to find, but eventually I saw these signs:


Nestled in between some pretty unattractive high rises, it it set up on an empty patch of concrete and has about 12 stalls, with about 3 food stalls at one end and some tables for eating. For a lot of people, this would be way too small, but for me it was perfect. I settled down in a plastic chair and sipped a perfectly made Earl Grey tea and ate a vegetarian crepe, all the while indulging in some great people-watching.


The shopping portion of my excursion took no time at all - 10 minutes, tops. I got everything I could have thought of - some Beckman's granola for breakfast, Brentwood corn, Ice Princess peaches, raw organic almonds, and some beautiful dahlias.



Everything I bought has been wonderful! This is probably the first time I have visited a FM and not ended up throwing some things away - because I simply bought what I needed and didn't get distracted by other things, I actually ended up with a reasonable amount of food.

Best of all, every vendor that I visited was extremely nice and thanked me for stopping by. I really felt like I could become part of the community there, something I don't normally feel when I am fighting the crowds at the other markets. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the bigger ones too, but I doubt anyone would ever recognize me as a "regular" there.

With its convenient location, great quality produce, and ease of shopping, you can be sure that this will be my new go-to farmers market. It's about time!

To Market, To Market

Every year, we host at least one meal for our neighbors and friends in town. This time we did a Monday lunch, which was perfect since the Mirepoix Market takes place on Mondays and I knew that I could get everything I needed there. It's a market that we have been going to for many years, and it hasn't changed much - it's medium-sized, with local produce and things like honey, meats, and cheeses, all of great quality. We arrived at 8:30am, which was the right time to be there - not overly crowded, and with some of the fruits and vegetables still being unpacked - as close to picking them yourself as you can get.


For nibbles to go along with our apperitifs of rose wine, we went to the olive stall and picked out some fresh, uncured olives (bright green and so tasty), and a dip called Anchois, which is usually found in Provence. It is a paste-like concoction of anchovies and fennel and has a wonderfully salty flavor.


The cheese stalls are my favorite - especially ones that insist that you taste something (I taste everything). This one had beautiful farm-made goat's cheeses, very reasonably priced.


They had some wonderful fresh organic pasta for sale, along with some hearty whole-grain breads. The pasta was so soft, we had to take care not to let it get smashed in the market basket.


One thing that I did not buy, but will definitely check out next time, was sausage. This stall had every kind of sausages that you can imagine, from pork, to beef, to wild boar, to donkey!

By the time we were done, we had visted no less than 10 stalls, and our bags were heaving with food...time to cook.

June is Busting Out All Over

Summertime means that the Farmers Markets are open, and produce is simply bursting from the stalls. Today I joined Andy & Kristina at the Noe Valley Farmers Market, which is a small but plentiful market just off of 24th Street.

One of the best things about getting up early on a Saturday morning is the promise of a good breakfast, and I was greeted by a warm plate of chilaquiles from El Buen Comer as the day began. My friends are very, very good to me.


We bought all kinds of wonderful things, from vegetables to berries to mint. One thing on our list was fruit, and the pluots were especially inviting this morning. The sweet taste and dripping juice of the stone fruits remind me of summers from my childhood, when there was nothing better than standing over the sink, biting into a ripe piece of fruit after being outside playing all day.


I love the simple pleasure of going to the market in the morning, then making a nice lunch inspired by whatever you find there. It's nice to see other people out doing the same, and all of this wonderful food being celebrated and enjoyed, under blue skies rather than depressing flourescent lighting.

Shades of Winter

Beautiful organic Swiss Chard from the Alemany Farmer's market last Saturday. So tasty, so good for you. Sauteed it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, toasted pine nuts, and lemon juice. Like a patch of sun on a rainy day: uplifting and divine.

I'll Have the Tomato & Salmonella Salad, Please

Summer without tomatoes? Have I landed in Hell?? Is this the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, for real?

I don't know which I find more shocking about this summer, the tomato recall, or the fact that it costs $99 to fill up my gas tank. Both run the risk of making me sick to my stomach, that's for sure.


I stopped to use the bathroom at La Salsa in Pacific Heights today, and there was a sign on the salsa bar saying "None of our salsas were made with raw tomatoes". Yup, this thing is real.

So, say no to Romas, Plums, and round red tomatoes. Say yes to cherry, and still on the vine tomatoes, as well as homegrown ones (which includes those from the farmer's market, I believe).

Well, I guess if we start growing our tomatoes at home, we're going to save on all of that gas, too.

The Raw & the Cooked

I'm pretty proud of this lunch because it is representative of the way I am eating now.

What you are looking at is a bowl of carrot soup, risotto-style barley with toasted walnuts, and a shaved asparagus salad, with a glass of pineapple juice.

The carrot soup and barley dish are both from "Super-Natural Cooking", and I have to thank Heidi Swanson for the thousanth time for writing it. The carrot soup is wonderfully rich and creamy, with no cream added. It uses whole organic carrots, skin-on, and lots of vegetable broth. The key is the extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top - mine is from Stonehouse, and it adds a beautiful green flavor and velvety texture.

The barley dish is really interesting - the methodology in preparation is the same as for a classic risotto, but instead of arborio rice, the grain is barley. It's simmered and stirred for about 30-40 minutes, then you add in winter citrus (lemon & orange zest, and orange segments), chopped arugula, and equal parts sour cream & parmesean. It tastes a lot like risotto but isn't nearly as heavy, and the flavors are both bright and earthy. The barley has a certain chewy quality that I really like. The added touch of toasted walnuts adds great texture and crunch.

I made both of these dishes on Sunday so I would have them to eat during the week.

I LOVE this shaved asparagus salad, which I learned to make today from "the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook".


As a lot of people know, I love asparagus, and finding a new way to use this vegetable is exciting to me. This recipe is unique because the asparagus is raw, shaved thinly using a peeler or mandoline, dressed in a simple lemon vinaigrette, and topped with shaved Parmesan. The flavor of raw asparagus is much more delicate that when it is cooked, and it gives a very satisfying crunch. Hooray, yet another not-boring salad! This one would travel well for a picnic, so that is another plus.

Lastly, I am drinking pineapple juice because my aesthetician said that it's good for my skin.

Yeah, it's just lunch on a rainy Tuesday, but it's what it represents that is important to me. Change, growth, consciousness, and choice. Doing good things for my body and loving it.

And the Secret Letter is....P

It's so much fun to go to the Farmer's Market and see what the season has to offer. This Saturday's offerings included a lot of produce starting with the letter P, including

Pomegranates:

Persimmons:

and Potatoes:

There were also a fair number of vendors selling Peanuts in the shell (is there such a thing as Peanut season?), but for some reason I didn't buy any.

I just love Fall - the earth gives it one last shot with all of the rich, dense foods and beautiful colors, before going into a winter sleep.