Farm Fresh Diary

July 2, 2011

My first visit to the farmers' market in quite some time. Summer produce is in full swing and there were some new vendors.


2 yellow peaches, 1 nectarine, 2 avocados (for less than at the supermaket), some Japanese eggplants, and 2 kinds of basil: sweet Italian and Thai.




Beautiful Dahlias from a new vendor. Turns out today was their first day at the market and they were very busy. Gorgeous flowers (all organic) at a great price--2 bunches for $10.


Herbs for my patio garden (more on that tomorrow). Hi Ho Silver Thyme and Spicy Basil seedlings and a lovely conversation with the vendor for $6.

Came home very pleased.

Farm Fresh Diary

May 7, 2011




First cherries of the season.


Pencil thin asparagus. Also known as lunch.


Vine ripe tomatoes.


Wheat bread from Panorama.




Breakfast. (Also from Panorama.)

Farm Fresh Diary

April 16, 2011

One word: STRAWBERRIES!


I'm making something special and I need strawberries.


I was off at an appointment this morning and stopped by the farmers' market on my way home to pick up the berries. I forgot to look up the exact quantity needed and so I guestimated...and bought 1/2 flat.

Which, of course, turned out to be way too much, but that's ok.


Check out this monster!

Farm Fresh Diary

I shopped vicariously through others today at the farmers' market. Two of my friends (the ones who have the cats that I've been watching) have been our of the country for nearly a month. They come home tomorrow and I wanted to make sure that they would have a (somewhat) fully stocked fridge upon their return. So I broke into the "emergency" envelope and headed to the market with them in mind. Here's what they'll find in their fridge tomorrow:

Baby spinach, romaine lettuce, celery, onions, garlic, tomatoes, avocados, mandarin oranges, apples, and strawberries. Summer produce is here!

I picked up a few things for myself. I had a couple of dollars and couldn't resist some skinny asparagus and mint (I'm making spanakopita tomorrow).

3 samosas and one chocolate croissant also came home with me, but we ate them before I could get out the camera. The croissant was delicious.

Farm Fresh Diary

Last night I dreamt of the farmers' market: I bought a pretzel from OctoberFeast and ate it while I meandered through the stalls, checking out all the great produce and enjoying the sunshine. Too bad I woke up to gray skies and and a heavy drizzle. But I got up anyways. It had been far too long since my last visit and I wanted to visit my favorite spots, even in the rain. So I pulled on my rain boots and bundled up and headed out into the elements. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The drizzle wasn't too heavy and I discovered (again) that as long as one's head or feet don't get wet, then walking about in the rain without an umbrella isn't all that bad.

Understandably the market was not very busy, and although some vendors were absent, I found some great stuff:

Today

Carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, and lemons. It's rainy, it's cold, it's great weather for making soup. But first, I need to make some chicken stock (hence the mirepoix and celery). I'm thinking about making 2 or 3 soups: butternut squash, chicken and rice, and maybe avgolemono. I've never made avgolemono but I absolutely love it and I'm feeling adventurous.

Breakfast

Almond danish (for Evan), pretzel croissant (for me), and 2 pretzels (just because). I ate one on the way home.

Lunch this week

3 bunches of kale. Tasty.

Let's make some soup.

Farm Fresh Diary

February 26, 2011

I woke up this morning and jumped out of bed (sort of) because it was sunny and I knew that Panorama would be at the farmers' market. We've been out of sliced bread for a while and I passed up buying a loaf at the super market this week because I wanted to try one of Panorama's. Imagine my disappointment when they were nowhere to be found. Oh, well. Instead I picked up some other goodies:

Asparagus

There was lots of this stuff at the market this morning.

Avocados

These weren't on my radar but I saw them and thought that they'd make good guacamole for Oscar Sunday.

Potatoes

2 Yukon Golds (they're under the onions) along with the asparagus. I needed them for the Spanish tortilla that I wanted to make for breakfast:

It turned out ok...not as good as the previous 2 times I've made it. The potatoes took forever to cook and for some reason there didn't seem to be enough egg. I don't think I did anything different, but some days the cooking gods just aren't on your side.

At least it looks tasty...right?

Farm Fresh Diary

February 19, 2011

It's a chilly, rainy Saturday in Oakland. I pulled on my rain boots, bundled up, put on my cap, and stepped out for a quick trip to the farmers' market. My shopping list was short this week--partly because of the weather and partly because I have other things to spend my cash on this weekend (Homeroom with family and friends tomorrow!!!).

Stir Fry Winter Greens

As you might remember I bought a bunch of this stuff two weekends ago. Amazingly it kept really, really well and I finally got around to cooking it this week. I sauteed the mix in a chicken broth, garlic and an ample splash of lemon juice and it was delicious! Evan isn't a big fan, but sauteed greens like these are one of my favorites for lunch. I thought about picking up a bunch each of two of the greens in this mix, but opted for the mix instead. Though I did pick through the basket for my favorites (kale). Isn't it beautiful?

Pink Ladies

The apples from last weekend's trip to the farmers' market did not disappoint. The Fuji was pretty good and the Pink Lady apples were delicious. This morning I bought 3 (organic) Pink Ladies from another vendor that I've patroned before. They were a little over $1 each, but I'd rather pay a little bit more for a good apple than pay nothing for a bad one. I'm looking forward to eating these for breakfast. Oh, and they smell heavenly.

Breakfast pastries

Panorama was not at the market this morning (they usually aren't when it rains). I was hoping they would be there because Evan requested a cheese danish for breakfast. Thankfully OktoberFeast was there and they had their usual selection of breads, pastries, pretzels, and danishes. I got a cheese danish for Evan and a pretzel croissant for myself.

Farm Fresh Diary

February 12, 2011

Woke up early today to my tummy craving something savory for breakfast. I thought for a moment and then an idea popped into my head: farmers' market dim sum. "Yes, farmers market dim sum sounds like a deliciously brilliant idea," my tummy said to my head. And my head agreed.

Before I could indulge in my dim sum breakfast, I needed to pick up a few other things:

Apples. I've decided to stop buying apples from the supermarket because I'm constantly disappointed by them. I ran out of money last week during my trip to the farmers market and so I went without apples this last week. And boy did I miss them. Today I picked up 2 pink ladies and 1 fuji, and I'm looking forward to munching on them this week.

Mandarins. Easier to peel and more predictably tasty (in my experience) than oranges. If the sample mandarin slice is an accurate representation of the mandarins for sale, then I am going to be very happy with the ones that I picked out. We'll see.

Breakfast for Evan. He wasn't so keen to the dim sum idea, so instead I set out to get him some potato paratha. Unfortunately, the stall from which I usually buy this was just begining to set up when I arrived. I didn't want to wait for them to set up and so I searched for an alternative. My search ended about 30 seconds later when I found a vendor giving out samples of vegan bolani. Now, I couldn't just buy a potato bolani without trying it first--how terrible would it be, I thought, if I bought this bolani and Evan didn't like it. We don't eat vegan very often (read: at all) and so I had no idea what difference a vegan preparation would have on this type of food. The samples were delicious! Evan liked his bolani and I don't think he even realized it was vegan.

And last but not least, my farmers' market dim sum:

Tru Gourmet Organic Dim Sum offers a wide variety of treats: dumplings, pot stickers, buns, pancakes...They all looked so good that I didn't know where to begin. So I took the easy way out and ordered the Chef's Choice Sampler: 10 dim sum selected for me by the Tru Gourmet crew. At $15 this decision was a bit of a splurge, but when you think about it, it was also a great deal. The price and quantity of dim sum per order varies slightly: some were $5 for 3 pieces, others were $4 for 2. And seeing how I couldn't make up my mind on which dim sum I wanted, the Chef's choice won out as the best option for me.

The girl who completed my order was kind enough to describe what was in each dumpling, but I have to admit that I don't really remember. All I can say is that most of them had some type of seafood, one had pork, one had chicken, two were filled with leafy greens, and they were all delicious (except for the one with mustard greens).

As I walked home I thought about my breakfast to come and decided that the only thing that was missing was some condiments. I quickly whipped up two dipping sauces: sesame soy sauce with green onions, and sambal oelek soy sauce. I ultimately ended up combining the two; very tasty and perfect for my dim sum. Though I made sure to take a small bite of each morsel before dipping them into my sauce so that I could experience them in their true, uncarved block* state.

After a dim sum morning Evan and I are off to check out the Chinese New Year celebrations in Oakland Chinatown. So I guess it's looking more like a dim sum day. Delicious.

* Tao of Pooh reference.

Farm Fresh Diary

January 15, 2011

The rain has stopped, the cold spell has snapped and today was a perfect day for a trip to the farmers' market. I brought my camera along and took a couple of pictures so I could share the bounty that is the Grand Lake Farmers' Market. As I walked into the marketplace and surveyed the great produce and pleasant weather, I thought about how lucky I am to live in California. Take a look.

Saturday morning princesses grooving to steel drums.

Beautiful citrus...and tomatoes (in the back)--only in California.


This guy has amazing heirloom carrots and tons of hearty greens.


The Roli Roti stand smells sooooo good!

What I came home with:


A gigantic head of cauliflower, a bunch of heirloom carrots and two bunches of kale

(a variety I've never tried), all for $8. And, potato rosemary bread from Panorama.

A lovely bouquet of flowers. So pretty!