Cook Here and Now

San Francisco Farmers Market Watch: June 28th

Buongiorno and hello to Organic Flavor Supreme, my favorite pluot (3/4 plum, 1/4 apricot hybrid), which arrived at the market this week. Tangy, meaty, perfect. I bought 10 pounds of them right away and made jam the same day. I hardly added any sugar, so it's great with bread or savory meat dishes - this stuff is all pluots, all the time, with fruit reduced to about 40% of its original volume.

What I found this week at the San Francisco Alemany Farmers Markets:

You heard it here first: California extra virgin olive oil scented with white truffle essence. The essence comes from Italy, but the oil is produced near Sacramento by Bariani, the family-owned-and-operated company that produces our best olive oil from grand old estate olive trees. The truffle oil is mild enough that it won't overwhelm your dishes, but strong enough to add pervasively savory wow factor to pizzas, pastas, and bruschette. Say ciao to Emanuele from me: I've been buying his oil for 12 years.

Opo is available. This squash is also known as a calabash (not to confuse with calabaza). In Central America, the seeds of the Calabash gourd are toasted and ground with other ingredients (including rice, cinnamon, and allspice) to make the drink horchata. Dried, it makes a great container, so it's also known as "bottle gourd". In Italy, we call it cucuzza.

The first blackberries are appearing on the stands. I made some poached wild-caught salmon last week and ate it with halved berries. Try it: the tangy berries cut through the fatty flavor of the salmon better than lemon, and go so well with California Pinot Noir.

I found these 5' tall Japanese leeks. A bit hard to carry on 2 wheels, but they sure looked beautiful. If you used them, let me know how they were.

Yellow Doll organic watermelon. These have a thin rind and very few seeds and should be very sweet. The one I tried was good but not great, so try them before you buy.

Black Mission figs are available on a few stands. These taste great halved, baked in a 375 degree oven with a small piece of goat cheese, half a walnut and a sprig of rosemary (and maybe a drop of honey?) on top. Man, do I love summer.

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

San Francisco Farmers Market Watch: June 21st

Buongiorno.
We're having a heat wave (yes!) so or the first time I could ride to the market in a T-shirt. Any of you living in San Francisco know that being on a scooter at 8 AM without multiple layers is tantamount to masochism. Not today. There were abundant treats for those of us who headed to the market before the beach. The ingredients for our dinner tomorrow were well represented -- can't wait to taste what you're making with them!

What I found this week at the San Francisco Alemany and Heart of the City Farmers Markets:

The first good-looking grape tomatoes (see above), small and sweet. That earthy smell and the sight of the sun reflected on their skin were worth sweating in my helmet on the way to the market. It's summer, all right.

Eggplant in all shapes and forms. Anyone making some spreads for my breads?

Take advantage of Ronde de Nice zucchini. They bruise easily so supermarkets rarely carry them, but they're plentiful at the market and perfect for stuffing and baking.

Fresh green garlic can be had for a dollar. I got some to sprinkle on the Walla Walla onion focaccia I'm making.

Very hard-to-find California-grown Montmorency sour cherries. They were pricey (about $5 a pound) but worth it if you're craving cherry pie -- some of you pie lovers asked me to keep an eye out for them. It pays to go to the market frequently, because you never know what will make a cameo appearance.

Deliciously tangy Boysenberries are ready for vanilla ice cream or pie. Hint, hint.

And of course, take some flowers home. Purple irises, anyone?

See you tomorrow.
Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

San Francisco Farmers Market Watch: June 14th

Buongiorno. Since my teenage cousin was visiting us this past week, I've been scheming seasonal dishes that might entice a teenager away from a steady diet (if you can call it that) of Jamba Juice and bagels. My secret ingredient: fresh, flavor-bursting berries. I stirred strawberries and raspberries into a few batches of muffins with organic cornmeal and vanilla beans and trace amounts of sugar, just to have enough food handy at home when teen munchies strike (you parents out there know what I mean). They're more convenient, tasty, and low-sugar than a Jamba Juice smoothie, and without all those dubious "boost" powders (what's in that stuff anyway, crack?)

What I found this week at the San Francisco Alemany Farmers Market:

The new yellow onion crop is here, sweeter than storage onions and ideal for pasta. Make sure you buy them without any green shoots coming over from the top, and keep them in a well ventilated bag. Don't put these in a plastic baggie, or they will spoil. Here are some recipes from Allrecipes and Epicurious.

Wild arugula: so fresh that the flowers haven't even wilted yet. And talk about peppery...
Recipes from Allrecipes and Epicurious.

I found small, sour-tasting grapes about the size of a dime. Apparently they're good for savory dishes, not unlike lime (that's what the farmer said). If you use it, please let me know what you did with it.

Wild cauliflower. This is one of my new favorites these days. I cut it into florets and roast it in the oven with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme for about 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Such a treat, and nothing like the watery cauliflower you may have had as a kid.
If you do boil it, do it briefly, and use this anchovy-based bagna cauda on it. Umami fest!
Here are some other recipes from Allrecipes or Epicurious.

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

San Francisco's Heart of the City farmers market hearing

Buongiorno.
Some of you may know that the city is planning to take over the Civic Center farmers market.
There is a hearing this Thursday to hear from the public and the farmers (who are opposing it because of higher fees for the stands and a few other changes).
Do come by, I'll be there from 5 or call the Mayor’s Office at (415) 554-6171 and let them know how you feel about it.
If you want to talk about it, I started a post on the Forum under Farmers Market talk.

" Last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom introduced legislation that would hand operation of the market over to the City’s Real Estate Division. Currently, the market is run by farmers and the community that loves to shop there, its board of directors made up of five farmers and two community members. The mayor wants to take over the operation — which includes 67 stalls that grossed $187,000 last year – saying he thinks the cash-strapped City could streamline the operation and bring in $234,000 to help close its $338 million budget deficit. "
--from the San Francisco Bayview

What:
Heart of the City farmers market hearing

Where:
City Hall Room 250

When:
Thursday, June 19, 5 p.m.

Let's cook and eat together: Sunday June 22nd ALL SLOTS FULL

Buongiorno,
Thank you. All our slots are full.
If your name is not listed in the comments section of the previous post, please stay tuned -- we'd love to have you next time. If you wish to be on the waiting list, please leave your email address and name as a comment to this post. I'll contact you if anyone cancels.

Ciao e grazie mille,
Marco Flavio