It was frosty early this morning when I drove to the farmers market, but by the time I left it was 70 degrees and sunny. We are so lucky!
The farmers market is at Wilson Park in Torrance, California. This shot was taken standing in the very center, so you can get an idea of how big it is. There are probably 70 booths although I never think to count them. I always walk it from end to end without buying anything, to scope out who's got what (sampling liberally along the way). Then I go around again with a tote bag and my fistful of dollar bills, gathering beauties and hoping they'll all make sense together eventually...
This week I wanted to show you some of the beautiful displays. These artichokes are a different variety than the ones at all the other booths, called Big Heart. So pretty. The guy who manages this booth spends a lot of time carefully stacking his vegetables and it really is an eyecatcher.
I sampled strawberries from all eight booths offering them -- the ones that were the least ripe-looking were the sweetest by far, like to a freakish degree. Better eating through science? I think the variety is called Oxnard.
These strawberries are a different variety, I forget the name, sorry -- but I took the photo because of their odd shape! I bet at Valentines Day they will try to sell them as being heart-shaped, but they remind me of crustacean claws.
I love these mushrooms -- the delicate shades of champagne don't really show up in this photo but I was reminded of Christian and Chris' avant-garde gown, do you see it? Or have I eaten one too many weird mushrooms?
I thought these heirloom tomatoes were pretty, and the woman running the booth was so nice. She cut me juicy slices of four different varieties. The yellow/orange ones are called pineapple tomatoes and they were my least favorite (and hers too); they are kind of squishy and mealy, and not very flavorful, although they would look gorgeous in a salad... The brownish tomatoes at upper left are called cherokee purple and those tasted okay, but the clear winner for me was the old fashioned beefsteak (at lower left). So tomatoey and tender. By contrast, the regular hothouse tomatoes on the upper right tasted pretty good but they have a tough skin -- clearly, they are bred for traveling to market (less bruising along the way). Give me an heirloom any day.
By the way, the white veiling you see pulled back to the sides is not there for decoration. We are in a medfly quarantine zone, so all the vendors must cover their fruit.
My big find this week was this booth offering delicious balsamic vinegars, and marinades and salad dressings made from them. I have never tasted balsamic vinegar as sweet as these, and there is no sugar added -- they're just made from very ripe grapes. The woman minding the booth explained it in various terms: "No added sugar! All natural! Low calorie! Only one Point per serving!" She plied me with tiny samples, centimeter-size cubes of rustic bread dipped into each offering. The plain balsamic vinegar was delish, but the fig balsamic vinegar is the one that really captured my imagination -- it would be so good drizzled on homemade vanilla ice cream and grilled peaches, maybe some grilled poundcake fingers on the side... And the garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette is good enough to drink straight from the bottle, I swear. The stuff ain't cheap, but the flavors are so rich I think it will only take a splash per recipe so it should last a while... For dinner tonight I made a salad with baby spinach, sliced strawberries and a bit of the fig balsamic vinegar. Oh my gosh. Soooo good. Seriously, their phone number is in the photo. If you enjoy balsamic vinegar you should check these out.
Oh, here's what I had for breakfast! This farmers market has an amazing little "food court" down at the end, with everything you could possibly desire for breakfast (and then some). Omelets, sweet and savory crepes, corn roasted on the cob, fat quesadillas stuffed with artisan sausages and griddled potatoes, Hawaiian donuts (I haven't investigated those yet!), good coffee, you name it. For a long time I was loyal to the tamale booth, but lately I've been drawn to the pupusas instead. A pupusa is a Salvadoran specialty, it's sort of like a thick pancake made of corn masa, filled with cheese or finely minced meat. It comes with a pile of vinegared cabbage on top and a generous helping of killer salsa, and a little dab of mayonnaise-based crema on the side to cool things down. Crispy radishes are a traditional accompaniment. The pupusa booth also serves aguas frescas, which are sort of Mexico's answer to fresh-squeezed lemonade. Today I had one made with fresh strawberries and lime -- so refreshing!
I cannot think of a more pleasant way to spend Saturday morning.
