Get intimate with your produce!
Archive for May, 2010
FARMERS MARKET REPORT: WEEK OF MEMORIAL DAY, 2010
May 31st
Luna Oysters: LOCAL AND SUSTAINABLE!!!!!!!! CARLSBAD AQUAFARM
It is officially Sustainable Seafood Week in San Diego!! Hopefully this week marks the greater awakening of a needed era in our relationship with the ocean’s edible populations. 67% of the seafood that America consumes is via restaurants. As chefs we hold the great responsibility to be responsible for the seafood we serve to our guests. How does this pertain to a farmers market report? We do not just find produce at the farmers market: there are cheese makers, cattle ranchers, egg producers, chicken growers and seafood mongers AKA fishmongers. Fishmongers are our great connection to the ocean. Just as global food distribution and our taste for seafood have increased tenfold over the past few decades, fishmongers have become a dying breed, a metaphor for what is left in the ocean and where our conventional collective consciousness lies. Food has become a forefront topic in the 21st century in a way that we have never quite seen in our lifetimes. Farmers markets are increasing in size, awareness and they are contributing to our regular source for food. We have decided we want to know where our food comes from. We want to meet the farmers and shake their hands. We trust them to grow food for our restaurant guests, our friends and families. That same connection to the farmer in the field should translate to the fishermen in the ocean, lakes and rivers. Where does your seafood come from? Who is fishing the seafood that you are putting onto the plate? Do you trust him? When was the last time you shook your fishmonger’s hand?
http://www.specialtyproduce.com/fish/
watch these videos:
What does sustainable seafood mean to you? by Specialty Produce
How I fell in love with a fish (Dan Barber)
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRING CROPS:
Artichokes, Arugula, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cardones, Carrots, Cherries, Citrus: Buddha’s Hand, 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, Porcini; Nettles, Parsnips, Passion Fruits, Pea Tendrils, English Peas, New Potatoes, Treviso, Radicchio, Radishes, Snap Peas, Sorrel, Strawberries, Watercress
***GLORIA TAMAI WHITE CORN IS IN FULL ABUNDANCE!!!! PUT IT ON THE MENU NOW***
***FITZGERALD PEACHES AND APRIUMS ARE RIPE AND BEING HARVESTED!!!***
Farmers’ Market Bag 5-26-10 #spFMB
May 26th
This weeks Farmers Market Bag is sure to please! Filled with all sorts of farm fresh spring goodies it’s the perfect assortment for everything from a casual lunch to a graduation celebration dinner! Enjoy & share what you made with the FMB community on our FB page!
YouTube video:
Facebook video:
Post on Twitter with the hashtag #spFMB
Radicchio Grumolo & Pirella Lettuce – Coleman Family Farms
Arugula & Mixed Cherry Tomatoes – Gloria Tamai Farms
White Icicle Radish – Sage Mountain Farms
Yellow Peaches – Fitzgerald Farms
Cantaloupe – Black Dog Farms
Portuguese Garlic OR a few will find Green Garlic (which is just a younger version) – Windrose Family 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
FARMERS MARKET REPORT: WEEK OF MAY 23, 2010
May 24th
Murray Family Farms and Barbagaleta are harvesting Brooks Cherries this week, sweet and simply delicious. Don’t hesitate, for the season is brief!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRING CROPS:
Artichokes, Arugula, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cardones, Carrots, Cherries, Citrus: Buddha’s Hand, 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, Porcini; Nettles, Parsnips, Passion Fruits, Pea Tendrils, English Peas, New Potatoes, Treviso, Radicchio, Radishes, Ramps, Rapini, Snap Peas, Sorrel, Strawberries, Watercress
THE FARMS:
“The real deal is this: these are our products. You know me. I’ll shake your hand. I’ll give you a hug and a smile and my ear. You know our integrity. We aren’t hiding anything. You can talk to us anytime. You can visit the farm. You know our values. Our dreams. Our goals. You can call me out, right or wrong, and I’ll take it and try to make it better. I’m not perfect, but I’m doing my best. I like you. I want to help you. I think what you are doing is cool. Maybe you think what we are doing is cool. Let’s do something cool together and show it to some other cool people…” Lucila De Alejandro (co-owner of Suzie’s Farm) on building relationships with chefs and the culinary community
Local, organic, sustainable real people growing really good real food just out our backdoor (11 miles south of downtown, just west of I-5). Owners and operators, Robin Taylor and Lucila De Alejandro are passionate risk-taking farmers on a mission to provide an abundance of beautiful produce in harmony with the land and Mother Nature. They seek out unique varieties of well, just about everything. Currently they have 13,000 tomato plants in the ground, several varieties of shelling beans, radishes, spinach, sweet and hot peppers, summer squash varieties, peas, lettuces, red okra and so much more! The current harvest includes:
Farmers’ Market Bag 5-19-10
May 19th
This weeks Farmers Market Bag is sure to please! Filled with all sorts of farm fresh spring goodies it’s the perfect assortment for everything from a casual lunch to a graduation celebration dinner! 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 Farms
Fennel & Cilantro – Rutiz Farms (Cilantro pictured is not the actual product but a similar one)
Lettuce Freckles & Lettuce Pirella – Coleman Farms
Lettuce Outrageous & French Breakfast Radish &
Purplette Onions – Sage Mountain Farms
Baby Summer Squash Mix – Black Dog Farms
Primavera Tangerines – Polito Family Farms
And as an added bonus we have included a bunch of mixed herbs that the owners of Rancho Del Sol surprised us with today (dill, lemon verbena, epazote, and mint)
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 MAY 16, 2010
May 17th
LOCAVORE
By definition, a locavore is somebody who eats food grown, produced and harvested locally, within a certain radius, whether it be 50, 100 or 150 miles. Locavores support local sustainable farming practices and are proponents of the local food movement. This is a collaborative effort to build locally based, self-reliant food economies. Sustainable food production and distribution is supported by its near immediate consumption and this enhances our economic, environmental and social sustainability.
Locavores are putting their money where their mouthes are at farmers markets and in CSA programs as well as in restaurants that are featuring local farmers fare on their menus. They are a growing conscious group of people that have are making decisions that are supporting local foodways, farming tradition, indigenous knowledge and agricultural practices , and potentially endangered crop landraces. Their growing movement has even manifested itself into our technological airwaves.
For those who would like an immediate pulse on what is in-season right now and where – a pocket-like guide – there is an amazing iPhone and iPad application called Locavore.
It is also available via iTunes. For those without an iPhone or iPad, yet plenty savvy enough for social media, well, there is a Facebook application too!
So what’s so special about the Locavore app? Locavore can tell you what is in season at the exact moment that you open up the application. It lists fruits and vegetables that are harvested throughout the year and you can scroll down the list, choose a fruit such as kumquats and it will reveal a map and on the map California and Florida are highlighted. Florida’s season is for two more weeks and California for one more month. For a chef, menu-planning just got safer. If you want to do some menu planning based on seasonal projecting, Locavore will also tell you when Figs will be in season, where and for how long. Now we all know nothing is bullet-proof and Mother Nature will ultimately decide, but Locavore is an incredible tool to really answer your what’s-in-season-now-or-later questions effortlessly and on a moment’s notice. For those of you who have the ability to harness this incredible tool, I recommend you do so.
Speaking of what’s in season now!!!!!!
CHERRIES (for about a month or less)
Murray Family Farms and Barbagaleta have their first and second pickings of Brooks Cherries this week, sweeter than last and perfectly mildly sweet and delicious. Don’t hesitate, for the season is brief!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRING CROPS:
Artichokes, Arugula, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cardones, Carrots, Cherries, Citrus: Buddha’s Hand, 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, Porcini; Nettles, Parsnips, Passion Fruits, Pea Tendrils, English Peas, New Potatoes, Treviso, Radicchio, Radishes, Ramps, Rapini, Snap Peas, Sorrel, Strawberries, Watercress
NEW FARM!!!! SUZIE’S FARM:
Local, organic, sustainable real people growing really good real food just out our backdoor (11 miles south of downtown, just west of I-5). Owners and operators, Robin Taylor and Lucila De Alejandro are passionate risk-taking farmers on a mission to provide an abundance of beautiful produce in harmony with the land and Mother Nature. They seek out unique varieties of well, just about everything. Currently they have 13,000 tomato plants in the ground, several varieties of shelling beans, radishes, spinach, sweet and hot peppers, summer squash varieties, peas, lettuces, red okra and so much more! The current harvest includes:
