San Francisco « (y)our food choices™

August piles the farm’s colorful bounty on tables that look as though they can barely contain the massive tangles of green beans, the heaps of fresh new potatoes and more stone fruit than you can imagine. I love these images and the promise they hold of bright, fresh flavors at the table.

At this point in the season, the tomatoes and squash are threatening to overtake the farm stalls. Prices are coming down and so the time has come for home canning and freezing in preparation for winter.

Market Wonder

As we scouted around the market this morning, we noticed that a few of our favorites are making their fall debut including firm white fennel bulbs and Gravenstein apples. The Brussels sprouts showed up this week, but they looked like medium sized cabbages. They just weren’t right.

So Much Color

So much of the pleasure we take in the farmer’s market is tied to the visuals of flower and fruit, veggie and pastry. In our little market you can buy brown, cage free eggs, a cactus, a loaf of fresh bread and a package of smoked tofu. We have access to fresh octopus, French plums and Chinese spinach. The corn is now in but we didn’t see much of it selling. People flocked to the melons and peaches.

Sunny Flowers, Cloudy Day

Our Buys

We grabbed fresh lobster ravioli and egg fettucini from our favorite pasta vendor. To supplement our weekly produce box, we bought potatoes, an egg plant, fresh herbs, a tomato and a big red onion. We wanted to buy a little of everything, but our fridge is full and we have a box coming from Capay Farms on Tuesday.

Images

The produce is perfect right now. This is THE time of year to visit a farmer’s market. Farm fresh fruits and veggies taste better than the grocery store stuff so why not enjoy them while they’re in season and so accessible? To inspire you, we’re posting the pictures from today’s foray. We hope they inspire you!

The Real Deal!

A farmer’s market has finally come to our neighborhood. Farm booths line up, tucked into a parking strip dividing the block between Irving and Judah at 8th and 9th Avenues. It’s now well into June and the market’s bounty hints at the summer weeks to come. Lot’s of things are now in season. The strawberries are getting bigger, the tomato varieties are more plentiful and the summer squash are beating their growers in the game to keep them at a manageable size before harvest.

Eating seasonally makes sense if you’re trying to consume the freshest locally produced foods available in the market. There will be much more written on the virtues of eating organic, locally produced food. For now, we’re just happy to say our choices have gotten better.

We’re lucky to live in California where fresh produce comes into local farmers’ markets year-round. If you’d like to know what’s in season in your area, take a look at this useful site. Winter can be tough in certain parts of the country, but taking advantage of the summer market’s bounty by freezing or canning while things are cheap and plentiful can make a huge difference in your winter consumption. Seriously, even if you live in a home that has modest storage capacity, you can put a lot of food up in storage at a fraction of the cost of grocery store shopping. What’s more, you’ll know where the food came from and the people who grew it for you.

For a list of farmers’ markets near you, visit Local Harvest online. This exceptional site allows you to search for farmers and markets in your area. You’ll also find a host of blogs and resources to keep you in the loop on local food trends. Of course, we hope you’ll take note of what’s out there and then step away from your computers, walk outside and head to the nearest market. Enjoy!