Get intimate with your produce!
Archive for April, 2010
Farmers’ Market Bag 4-28-10
Apr 28th
Wow, what a week! Did you guys see the NBC spot by FMB enthusiast, @jensrad? Check it out, we’re hoping it will turn into something regular! Enjoy & share what you made with the FMB community on our FB page!
YouTube video:
Post on Twitter with the hashtag #spFMB
Italian Sorrento Lemon – Rancho Del Sol
Spinach & Endive – Sage Mountain Farms
Blood Oranges – Garcia Organics
OR
Cara Cara Oranges – JJ’s Lone Daughter Ranch
Mixed Beets – McGrath Farms, Sage Mountain Farms or Weiser Farms (feel free to search our produce database if you’d like more info)
Assorted Head Lettuce – Coastal Organics
Baby Summer Squash Mix – Black Dog Farms
Crimini Mushroom – Mountain Meadow Mushroom
Persian Watercress – Rutiz Farm
Oro Blanco Grapefruit – Polito Farms
If you haven’t joined yet, you can order a bag for next week on our FMB page!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRING CROPS:
Artichokes, Arugula, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cardones, Carrots, Cherimoyas, Citrus: , Grapefruit, Meyer Lemons, Mandarins, Kumquats, Blood Oranges, Cara Cara Oranges, Pomelos, Tangelos, Eggs, Fava Beans, Fennel, Fiddlehead Ferns, Green Garlic, Herbs: Dill, Leeks, Chives, Parsley, Mint, Tarragon; Lettuce, Mushrooms: Chanterelles, Hedgehog, Morel, Cremini, Nettles, Parsnips, Passion Fruits, Pea Tendrils, English Peas, New Potatoes, Treviso, Radicchio, Radishes, Rapini, Snap Peas, Sorrel, Strawberries, Watercress
Neighborhood Foodie on NBC!
Apr 27th
Our friend Jen Barthell was on NBC San Diego yesterday talking about eating “in season” & local foods! I like to call her @jensrad which, BTW is a very fitting name because in the 3 weeks or so that I’ve known her she’s brought something for us to enjoy each time she pops in for her Farmers’ Market Bag!
The first was this lovely jar of pickled grapes which she displays in the video as well:
The second was a Fiddlehead Fern & Mushroom Risotto that arrived at the exact moment I needed lunch. Needless to say, I ate before I even thought about taking a picture, so here’s the one she posted on our facebook page:
———-Thanks for the shout out Jen! You are awesome, and I can’t wait for what you come by with next!
You can find all the recipes, including the one below on Jen’s blog, Neighborhood Foodie for a Spring Dinner Party!
Cous cous with Oranges, Almonds and Chives
from Neighborhood Foodie
one box plain cous cous
Cara Cara Oranges
1/4 C sliced toasted almonds
snipped fresh chives to taste, about 2 TB
salt and pepper
Prepare cous cous according to package instructions, let cool.
Slice peel and pith off orange, then cut segments free from membrane using a small sharp knife.
Use kitchen shears or a knife to snip or chop fresh chives.
Toss all ingredients in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste.
FARMERS MARKET REPORT: WEEK OF APRIL 25, 2010
Apr 25th
CITRUS ABUNDANCE
Cara Cara Oranges – J.J.’s Lone Daughter Ranch
Seasons/Availability
These particular Cara Cara’s are peaking right now!!!
Description/Taste
The Cara Cara is a type of navel orange with a deep pink almost red flesh offering a sweet hybrid of sweet tangerine and subtle grapefruit flavors. The fruit varies in size from small, medium, and large.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
An old variety, the Brazilian type of navel orange is properly called “Bahia.” The name orange actually refers to the fruit’s scent, not its color. The word comes from the Sanskrit word “naranga”, which comes from the Tamil word “naru”, meaning fragrant.
Current Facts
Cara Cara Oranges contain lycopene, the same antioxidant found in tomatoes that is the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen.
Grower
Polito Family Farms
Seasons/Availability
Peak season is early Spring through June.
Description/Taste
Oro Blanco grapefruit is characteristically thick skinned and white-fleshed. A popular nearly seedless grapefruit hybrid with white flesh is produced from huge fragrant blossoms and large glossy-green foliage. As with many white fruits, the Oro Blanco’s flesh is sweet and lacks any of the typical bitterness of a grapefruit.
Geography/History
A cross between a Duncan white grapefruit and a pummelo, the Oro Blanco was developed by the University of California in Riverside, California. This great grapefruit variety is very sweet even when grown in coastal areas having low summer heat. Specifically developed to be produced in a colder climate, grapefruits were typically only cultivated in warm regions. Oro Blanco grapefruits are also known as Sweetie, which are the grapefruits imported from Israel. Naming its grapefruits “Doublesweet”, Polito Family Farms in California makes certain its grapefruits fully mature on the tree to assure a sweeter flavor.
Grower
Garcia Organic Farms
Description/Taste
Prized for its beautiful deep red color and exceptional flavor, the nearly smooth skin of the Star Ruby grapefruit has a characteristic dark pink pretty blush. Containing few seeds, inside is an intensely deep rich red flesh that delivers a delicious sweet-tart flavor. The redder the flesh, the sweeter the taste.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
The grapefruit is believed to have been first discovered in Barbados during the 1750′s as a mutation of the pummelo. Evidence has confirmed that grapefruit is a hybrid of a pummelo and the sweet orange. In the 1800′s, a Jamaican farmer called the fruit “grapefruit” for the grapelike cluster in which it grows on the tree.
Blood Oranges
Lee, Honey Sweet and Clementine Mandarins, Oro Blanco Grapefruits, Meyer Lemons, Sorrento Lemons, and Nagami Kumquats!
Farmers’ Market Bag 4-21-10
Apr 21st
Hi guys! Ahhhhmmmmmaaaazzziiiinnnnngggg bag this week! Sorry if some of the links below have no information yet, we received a whole bunch of new products today & you guys get to be the very first to try them! Pretty cool right! Enjoy & share what you made with the FMB community on our FB page!
YouTube video:
Post on Twitter with the hashtag #spFMB
Pencil Asparagus – Life’s a Choke
Chicory Frisee, Spring Onions & Pirat Lettuce – Coleman Farms
Red, Pink or Gold Beets – McGrath Farms
Arugula – Rutiz Farms
Black Kale – Coastal Organics
White Corn, Mixed Baby Summer Squash & Baby Zucchini w/ Flower – Black Dog Farms
Plum Radish – Sage Mountain Farms
Hass Avocados – Rancho Del Sol
Valencia Oranges – Garcia Organics
OR
Cara Cara Oranges – JJ’s Lone Daughter Ranch
If you haven’t joined yet, you can order a bag for next week on our FMB page!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRING CROPS:
Artichokes, Arugula, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cardones, Carrots, Cherimoyas, Citrus: , Grapefruit, Meyer Lemons, Mandarins, Kumquats, Blood Oranges, Cara Cara Oranges, Pomelos, Tangelos, Eggs, Fava Beans, Fennel, Fiddlehead Ferns, Green Garlic, Herbs: Dill, Leeks, Chives, Parsley, Mint, Tarragon; Lettuce, Mushrooms: Chanterelles, Hedgehog, Morel, Cremini, Nettles, Parsnips, Passion Fruits, Pea Tendrils, English Peas, New Potatoes, Treviso, Radicchio, Radishes, Rapini, Snap Peas, Sorrel, Strawberries, Watercress
FARMERS MARKET REPORT: WEEK OF APRIL 18, 2010
Apr 18th
Grower
Polito Family Farms
Seasons/Availability
Peak season is early Spring through June.
Description/Taste
Oro Blanco grapefruit is characteristically thick skinned and white-fleshed. A popular nearly seedless grapefruit hybrid with white flesh is produced from huge fragrant blossoms and large glossy-green foliage. As with many white fruits, the Oro Blanco’s flesh is sweet and lacks any of the typical bitterness of a grapefruit.
Geography/History
A cross between a Duncan white grapefruit and a pummelo, the Oro Blanco was developed by the University of California in Riverside, California. This great grapefruit variety is very sweet even when grown in coastal areas having low summer heat. Specifically developed to be produced in a colder climate, grapefruits were typically only cultivated in warm regions. Oro Blanco grapefruits are also known as Sweetie, which are the grapefruits imported from Israel. Naming its grapefruits “Doublesweet”, Polito Family Farms in California makes certain its grapefruits fully mature on the tree to assure a sweeter flavor.
Grower
Garcia Organic Farms
Description/Taste
Prized for its beautiful deep red color and exceptional flavor, the nearly smooth skin of the Star Ruby grapefruit has a characteristic dark pink pretty blush. Containing few seeds, inside is an intensely deep rich red flesh that delivers a delicious sweet-tart flavor. The redder the flesh, the sweeter the taste.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
The grapefruit is believed to have been first discovered in Barbados during the 1750′s as a mutation of the pummelo. Evidence has confirmed that grapefruit is a hybrid of a pummelo and the sweet orange. In the 1800′s, a Jamaican farmer called the fruit “grapefruit” for the grapelike cluster in which it grows on the tree.
