Farmers Market Watch: January 28th

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Our dinner to celebrate the Year of the Ox was a resounding success - many thanks to all 47 of you for crafting such inspired dishes, including mountains of dumplings paired with great local wines and ales. (Lamb-pork dumplings and Alexander Valley Zin = magic.) The photos will be up in a few days.
Our February dinner will feature legumes, mushrooms and home-preserved foods. Start getting ideas... it's only 3 weeks away. The call for participation will go up in a few days.
A presto,
Marco Flavio

What I found this week:
Tree-ripened Valencia oranges from Bernard Family Ranch in Riverside (see above), my favorite citrus producers. A freshly-squeezed, sweet, tangy  OJ puts all those Jamba Juice concoctions to shame, and it's just the thing after a cold, rainy run or in a mimosa.

Romanesco cauliflower is abundant on the Capay Farms stand. As the name suggests, it's from my part of the world and a must in many Roman salads and pastas. I love to chop it, steam it for 4 minutes, then added it to a soffritto of olive oil, garlic, hot pepper and 2 anchovies (or Vietnamese fish sauce). Toss and serve with pasta or over rice for a megadose of umami.

There's plenty of daikon on the stands this time of year. It tastes like a mild radish, and it's a perfect pairing with sushi, or fermented in kimchi. Try this easy recipe to make your own pickled daikon:  it's simple and comes out right every time. Maybe for our next group dinner?

Fresh lima beans and black-eyed peas from Raqueno Farms. I bought 2 packs of the fresh lima: they taste like grassy, tangy fava beans. They're cooking right now in my Dutch oven in a pancetta/chipotle soffritto.

Organic Toscano kale is available on the Tomatero Farms stand. This is the one to use for the classic Tuscan soup featuring kale alongside cannellini beans. Try it out!

Very hard to find cherimoyas are in season. They have a velvety flesh with pineapple, banana and strawberry underflavors - Mark Twain once characterized the cherimoya as “deliciousness itself." Get them when slightly soft to the touch, like an avocado.

I found fresh tamarind from the same vendor as the cherimoyas. You can eat the flesh straight out of the pod, or cook it in water to make your own paste for your favorite Thai recipe.

Don't eat the strawberries. Someone asked, "Are they sweet?" What do you think? It's January, people: they're sour and hard.

And finally, it's Lunar New Year: don't forget your blooming quince branches.

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

Comments

[SippitySup]

I found you because we were blogging some of the same things these past few days. Romanescu Cauliflower, Kale etc. I am sure it's just the season. I just thought it was a fun coincidence! GREG

[Chez Us]

Which Bay Area farmers market do you go too? Thanks!

Mostly Alemany and Civic Center.
Marco Flavio

[Nina]

Hi, I'm a bit luddite with all this blog stuff, but would greatly appreciate if you could add me to your mailing list for upcoming dinner events. Thanks so much,
Nina

[Meredith Gafford]

Hello,

I would like to be involved in a group like this. Was hoping that you have some events on sundays or mondays. Is there an e-mail list that I can be a part of if so?

Thank you,
Meredith Gafford
(Sausalito, CA)