FARMERS MARKET REPORT: WEEK OF NOV. 1, 2009
- © 2007 martini media
- © 2007 martini media
FOOD IN THE 21ST CENTURY: SUSTAINABILITY
It’s interesting to think that we talk about sustainability as if it were a new trend or seemingly more fashionable than ever. The Post-World War 20th Century turned agriculture into a scientific analysis and the Green Movement allowed food to sustain incredible population growth. That model was based on a surplus of global resources: land, water, fuel and environmental sustainability. Today, none of these resources come cheap nor can they sustain our planet’s increasing food demands and decreasing agricultural productivity. Sustainability has always been the model for survival. It is now that the sense of urgency can no longer be ignored. Agribusiness cannot be sustained economically. It is the economics that drives the future of agriculture. It gauges the viability, rationality and plausibility of agricultural productivity. What does it mean for us? Small sustainable farms growing regionally specific foods are at the core of present and future agricultural models. Each week we embrace the farm to market method we are putting money into a sustainable system. We are directly investing in food and farms because they matter. We are supporting our community, creating vital relationships and food sources of capital for small farmers and growers. Paul Newman said, “I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out.” That is basic math and economic sustainability. It isn’t fashionable or trendy. It is now and it is our future.
FEATURED FARM:
PENRYN ORCHARD
Penryn Orchard is a 100% sustainable boutique-sized 4 acre orchard that is growing amazing tree fruits: from rare heirloom Asian pears to eight different varieties of persimmons. Jeff Reiger purchased the orchard from a retired Japanese immigrant, George Oki who started the orchard in 1980. Jeff knew nothing about growing fruit when he started. George handed him a map of the orchard and said “Good Luck!” Today Jeff farms the land with the assistance of bees for pollination, bugs and guinea hens for a healthy ecosystem and sheep and cow fertilizer for composting. The result is a prolific orchard growing “uncommonly good fruit”
Tsuru-No-Ko (Stork Egg)
Chocolate Persimmons – Japanese variety: small quantities of alcohol exude from the seeds which cause tannins in the flesh to clump together and lower the astringency. This turns the pulp brown giving it its nickname “chocolate”. The flesh is red and brown, sweet, spicy, rich and delicate when ripe.
Fuyu Persimmons –
Fuyu persimmons are non astringent, meaning that you can eat them when still firm. Very sweet with a smooth, silky texture
Maru Persimmons (Cinnamon) –
Pretty rounded shape with reddish orange skin and cinnamon colored flesh. Pollination-variant non astringent type. Eat when texture approximates a ripe plum. Lighter and crisper texture than the tsurunoko. Juicy, with a spicy flavor that hints of coffee and cinnamon. Rare.
Gosho (Giant Fuyu) – Non astringent. Handsome fruit, with pretty rounded shape and very glossy reddish skin. Softer, juicier texture than Fuyu.
Hachiya –
Large, heart-shaped persimmon. Astringent type must be eaten when fully soft. Incredibly sweet, rich, complex flavor. Rich, sweet flesh is reddish orange, sometimes with “Goma” – dark streaks thought cross-pollination. This is the variety used for making hoshigaki
Hyakume –
Pollination-variant non-astringent variety persimmon can be eaten firm when “goma” – dark inside. Must be softened or alcohol-treated when not goma. Sweet brown sugar to yellow flesh, very juicy and full bodied. Rare.
Tanenashi –
Astringent type must be eaten when fully soft. Hybrid of hachiya was supposed to be seedless, but still has seeds. Rich, sweet orange flesh.
Beck Grove:
Beck Grove, Fallbrook is home to a 100% certified biodynamic and organic orchard/farm. Biodynamic farming stimulates and supports soil fertility through the use of farm-produced manures and composts. Beck Grove has a singular cow that meets all of their manure needs. I was there and the scent was in the air. Their orchard was converted from an abandoned avocado farm to the 33 acre orchard where over 15 different fruit crops, most of which are unique to the produce landscape, yet perfect for a chef’s palate. There grove spirals east to west and north to south with rows upon rows of fuyu persimmons, pomegranetes, kumquats, kaffir limes, blood oranges, satsuma tangerines, meyer lemons, bearrs limes, passion fruit and minneolas. All of their fruits are on the trees and getting ready for their season. Kaffir limes are ready and persimmons are just around the corner. The other citruses will be ripening come winter. Having seen the furits with my own eyes, I can tell you it is going to be a prolific harvest at Beck Grove this year! As with many growers, due to water restrictions the orchard faces serious consequential decisions of having to let some of the land go wild as they will not be afforded the water resources to feed all of their crops.
Available now: kaffir limes – indulgent, fragrant, sexy, sweet, zesty are just a few words that come to mind when thinking about this exotic citrus that is finally finding its way to a more “global” stage.
Fallbrook Mushroom Farm
A field trip to Fallbrook Mushroom Farm on Monday was an educated journey into a virtual Chinese forest where mushrooms were dominating the landscape. Long and narrow, screened barns are home to thousands upon thousands of oyster “spawns” and shitake logs. The mushrooms are cultivated on agro-waste (which is essentially recycled agricultural food sources) in spawns filled with rice, grains, cotton, straw, wheat, millet and maize that serve as the mushrooms’ food and protein source. The spawned bags (see picture above) are stored in low-lit raised shelving as they begin colonizing. They are watered from a sprinkling system above daily to retain the appropriate levels of moisture for the mushrooms to grow prolifically. Harvests occur approximately every 60 days and are picked before the mushrooms begin to spore. The most effective way to harvest the mushrooms is to remove the entire colony from the spawn’s stem so that a new crop can grow all at once. One spawn bag can cultivate about 3-5 harvests.
Also being harvest now are peewee shitakes – 100% edible!!! Tiny, thin and tender stalks and a meaty cap make for an amazing mushroom experience! The mushrooms are harvested the SAME day they arrive in your kitchen. And their local!!!
What is unique about Fallbrook Mushroom Farms besides the information that I shared with you? Well, considering that 85% of the world’s oyster mushroom production comes from China and the fact that the oyster mushroom is the third largest cultivated mushroom, having an oyster mushroom farm in our own back yard is simply a privilege. Fallbrook Mushroom Farm is a pristinely run organic family farm. They harvest their mushrooms the same day we have them delivered and they are harvesting the mushrooms smaller so that they are more tender and the mushrooms themselves are higher yielding. The mushroom caps range in sizes from button to half-dollar versus SAND dollar, making them the only oyster mushrooms known to be picked at that size. You can do so much more with these mushrooms than adding them to “Hot Pot”. They are the newest addition to the farmers market program and they will be available by the pound or by the five pound flat.
The loose list of what to expect this fall at the Santa Monica Farmers Market and from our Southern California farmers: while some of these crops may be available year-round they are at their finest and in their peak in the fall months of the year:
Allow this to be your navigational guide to menu-making and spontaneous cravings, getting what’s in season locally and just one chapter of living, breathing sustainability.
UPDATE:
ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS OF TSURU NOKO “CHOCOLATE” PERSIMMONS!!!!!
WEISER FARMS HAS BABY CARROT MIX AND A BEAUTIFUL NEW HEIRLOOM POTATO (FINGERLING SIZE) MIX. NO MORE BLACK MISSION FIGS, BROWN FIGS, BLUEBERRIES, PLUMS, YASUTOMI MINERS LETTUCE IS GAPPING BUT THEIR BUTTER LETTUCE IS AMAZING! SHELLING BEANS ARE EXTREMELY POPULAR AND WILL BE AROUND FOR AT LEAST THIS MONTH. Heavy rains have caused a lot of farming uncertainty. That means what one predicts on a Friday can be reversed on the following Monday. Updates will come as frequently as needed**
More Gapping News: Semi Savoy and Bloomsdale Spinach, Red Thumb Potatoes and Ron’s Burgundy Potatoes from Weiser Family Farms and several radish varieties from Jaime Farms – each week check back as the farmers check their progress daily.
SHELLING BEANS~
Available this week: Persian Beans, Rattlesnakes, Mauve Runners, White Caps, Cranberry and Flageolets.
Rattlesnakes!!
Persian Beans – from McGrath Farms
Flageolet Beans– McGrath Family Farms – Creamy and firm in texture, these beans, unlike other shelling beans do not typically require soaking.
Cranberry –
Mauve Runner –
White Caps –
Actually pole beans, White Cap shelling beans reveal a characteristic duel personality when it comes to identifying markings. Resembling cranberry beans on one side, these uniquely colored beans are solid white on the other side.
MARKET PREVIEW:
Red Frill Mustard – McGrath Farms: is back!
Sweet Dumpling Squash – Windrose Farms: A Native American ivory colored squash with dark green stripes averaging 1/2 pound in size. The flesh is golden orange, tender and incredibly sweet!
Watermelon Radishes – McGrath Farms
Brocolli Spigarello – Coleman Farms
Red Okami Spinach – McGrath Farms
Baby Bear Pumpkins – Rutiz Farms
Pomegranates – Rancho Del Sol
Green & Orange Kabocha Squash – McGrath Family Farms and Rutiz Farms: both are sweet and rich tasting. No doubt, one of the best winter squash varieties at the market!
Baby Carrot Mix – Weiser Farms: is back!!
Mutsu Apples – Windrose Farms : crisp, sweet and tart – perfect for eating fresh!! (best apple I have eaten in memory…..)
Baby Omaha Artichokes – The meatily dense omaha artichoke can become rather rotund when it grows to maturity, up to six inches wide! It has a striking appearance, sporting sharply tapered red-and-green leaves. Although similar in color to the anzio, it is much rounder in shape. The omaha is also less bitter than many artichoke varieties.
Mixed Heirloom Potatoes – Weiser Family Farms: Fingerling sized heirloom variety of six different potatoes, including french fingerlings, Russian bananas, King Edwards, All blues, Ruby crescents and red thumbs.
Persian Watercress – Coleman Farms – A.K.A. “Shahi” the peppery frilly leaf that has a similar shape to wild arugula, yet it is more fragile and “cressier” in flavor.
Coastal Organics Mixed Baby lettuces!!!
Shishito Pepper – Coleman Family Farms: an old Japanese variety, the shishito is a wrinkly thin skinned savory and mild flavored peppers that is about three inches long. This peppers should be harvested when its skin color is bright lime green. It is 100% edible, including the seeds.
Red Bok Choy from Coleman Farms! – Also known as Red Violet Tatsoi Hybrid, this is a unique bok choy vartiety The shiny leaves range in color from red-violet to dark purple, and they hold their color well even in the summer heat, although this variety also tolerates colder temperatures. Lightly textured, the spoon-shaped leaves have a mild mustard flavor.
Thai Basil – from Coleman Farms; “Siam Queen” has a delicious, spicy sweet flavor with a licorice basil aroma.
Duck Eggs – from Ramona Duck Farms!! Larger in size than chicken eggs, the whites of duck eggs tend to be a bit more thick and opaque and the yolks are a striking yellow. As the bird is naturally wilder, duck eggs typically have a stronger flavor compared to that of a chicken egg.
Walnuts – grown in the Santa Rita Hills at Rancho La Viña; these are addictive!!!
Black garlic is cultivated and harvested right here in California and it is waiting to allure you…
Fiesole (Baby Purple) Artichokes from Life’s A Choke – Bred from the violetta de provence, a purple variety native to southern France, the fiesole has a meaty heart and tender stalk that can be quickly steamed and eaten. Virtually chokeless, the fiesole artichoke yields little waste.
Japanese Tomatoes – Beylik Farms: I love this meaty& hefty number. Thanks to being grown hydroponically in Southern California, it is available year-round!! Nicknamed “Tough Boy” for its temperature resilient texture and succulence!
White Corn from Gloria Tamai Farms: tender pale white kernels so sweet you’ll forget another color of corn exists…
Baby Calabrese Broccoli – Rutiz Farms
Cherokee Heirloom Tomatoes- from Tutti Frutti Farms
Pirella Lettuce from Coleman Farms: a rich and buttery lettuce with a slight mineral finish as it is a limestone lettuce variety that was originally developed in Kentucky, hence its other name, Kentucky Limestone.
Delicata Squash – Rutiz, Windrose and McGrath Farms
THE FARMS:
Beylik Family Farms – Fillmore, CA
Persian Cucumbers – petite and crunchy! No seeds=sweet!
Japanese Tomatoes – “Tough Boy” brings hefty flavor, succulence and meatiness.
Yellow Tomatoes – sweet, tangy and heartier than your average yellow tomato!
Pineapple Tomatoes – awesome through and through! Low-acid, beautifiul color variegation, hold up well for an heirloom!
Coastal Organics – Oxnard, CA
Cherry Tomato Mix
Cavalo Nero Kale
Also being harvested at Coastal: sweet basil (sold by the pound), red and green chard
HUGE Collard greens
and their sweet mixed small lettuces (by the case)
Coleman Family Farm – Carpinteria, CA
Pirella Lettuce – My new favorite! A mild-flavored limestone variety originally developed in Kentucky to withstand the heat!
Deer’s Tongue Lettuce – Triangular shaped leaves give this loose-leaf lettuce its distinct look and name. The leaves are tender, mild, succulent and have a melt-in-your-mouth flavor.
Red Butter (Piret) Lettuce – you won’t find this anywhere else! Award-winning for its taste and texture, Pirat is a butterhead variety that has tender and sweet red-tinged leaves with a snappy succulent blanched heart.
Freckles Lettuce – Freckles! Sweet leaves, crispy inside. Perfect lettuce for salads mixes.
Lollo Rossa Lettuce – A red leaf lettuce variety, the distinct red color increases and becomes more intense in this remarkable lettuce when confronted with severe cold or heat.
Treviso – Gorgeous, green and red and a hearty crunchy leaf. Has a tendency toward bitterness. Soak the greens to remove unwanted astringencies.
Radicchio –
Red Bok Choy! – Also known as Red Violet Tatsoi Hybrid, this is a unique bok choy vartiety The shiny leaves range in color from red-violet to dark purple, and they hold their color well even in the summer heat, although this variety also tolerates colder temperatures. Lightly textured, the spoon-shaped leaves have a mild mustard flavor.
Thai Basil – “Siam Queen” has a delicious, spicy sweet flavor with a licorice basil aroma. It is
Sapote –
Passion Fruit
Shunkyo Radishes
Brocolli Spigarello
Garcia Organic Farm – Fallbrook, CA
Mexican Cream Guava – Offering aromas of pineapple and passion fruit, these small to medium-small, roundish fruits have a pale yellow skin that is often just slightly blushed with red. Their flesh is memorably creamy white, thick and decadently sweet – excellent for dessert. They have a small seed cavity that holds a handful of soft seeds.
Gloria Tamai Farms, Oxnard, CA
White Corn – tender pale white kernels so sweet you’ll forget another color of corn exists…
Heirloom Cherry Tomato Mix
Wild Arugula (bunches)
Jaime Farm – Ontario, CA
Mixed Baby Bunch Carrots – GAPPING!! beautiful yellow, orange, red, and purple haze carrots with tops
Rainbow Chard – striking colors, hearty leaves. hit or miss availability this season.
LA NOGALERA
Walnuts – grown in the Santa Rita Hills at Rancho La Viña; these are addictive!!!
Life’s A Choke – Lompoc, CA
Baby Omaha Artichokes – The meatily dense omaha artichoke can become rather rotund when it grows to maturity, up to six inches wide! It has a striking appearance, sporting sharply tapered red-and-green leaves. Although similar in color to the anzio, it is much rounder in shape. The omaha is also less bitter than many artichoke varieties.
Baby Anzio Artichokes – a cross between green and purple artichokes, and very meaty!
Baby Purple Artichokes – a fruity flavor and a deep wine color that does not fade with cooking. Bred from the violetta de provence, a purple variety native to southern France.
Baby Green Zucchini with Flower – Life’s A Choke Farms inject water into each squash blossom’s stem to ensure their freshness and livelihood. A wonderful and glamorous spring and summer menu accoutrement!!
Lyon Artichoke with stem– large and in charge! This is a very jumbo, round, meaty variety from Southern France that yields a whole lot of heart!!
“California” Pencil Asparagus – Skinny, tender, tasty purple-tipped and LOCAL! So thin it cooks in a flash!
McGrath Family Farm – Camarillo, CA
Shelling Beans – Persians, Cranberry, Italian Red, Rattlesnakes, Flageolets (see above**)
Watermelon Radishes
Kabocha Squash
Rainbow Chard –
Beets: Chioggia (Candy Stripe), Forono, Gold, Red & White – Forono Beet produces smooth, cylindrical shape beets–for perfectly round slices every time.
Rapini Spigariello and Sessantina Grossa
Delicata Squash
Purple and White Turnips
Red Okami Spinach (3 lb. Box) – Delicate lovely, baby red spinach produces rich green spear-shaped leaves with tender contrasting red edible stems and offer a mild spinach flavor.
Mixed “Saute” Greens (3 lb. box) – A gorgeous mix of flavorfull and spicy baby greens suitable for salads and light sautéeing. In the mix: mustard greens, mustard frill, dandelion greens, arugula and tatsoi.
Wild Arugula (3 lb. box)
Mike and Son Egg Ranch – Ontario, CA
Brown Eggs farm fresh eggs that are unequivocally delicious with gleaming yolks! Each egg is individually candled! (5 doz case only)
Polito Family Farm – Valley Center, CA
Oro Blanco Grapefuit – golden-flesh, sweet and juicy
Pudwill Farm – Nipomo, CA
Golden Raspberries – If I were allowed to use the acronym, OMG, I would use it right here.
Raspberry Mix, Red Raspberries
Blackberrries
RANCHO DEL SOL – Jamul, CA
Pomegranates –
Italian Sorrento Lemons
RAMONA DUCK FARM
Duck Eggs – Larger in size than chicken eggs, the whites of duck eggs tend to be a bit thicker and the yolks are a striking yellow. Duck eggs typically have a stronger flavor compared to that of a chicken egg.
Rutiz Farm – Arroyo Grande, CA
Orange Kabocha Squash – inside that bright orange bumpy skin is a sweet deep smooth and rich flesh (once you’ve roasted it, of course…)
Baby Bear Pumpkins
Persian Watercress– a unique variety, with a wonderfully spicy-sweet kick
Baby Calabrese Broccoli – available sporadically until late fall..
Purslane – Clustered and succulent, Purslane is a clover-like herb that bears small wedge-shaped oblong rich dark green fleshy leaves on its reddish-tinted smooth round and juicy stems. Tasty and delightfully crunchy, the entire plant can be used, the stems being the most succulent. Raw stems offer a mild slightly sour and definitely an unforgettable tangy flavor.
Romano Beans – flat beany, crispy Italian green variety. Perfect summer bean for snap pea lovers.
Savoy Spinach – Gapping for 2 weeks; cut in small clusters of 3-4 leaves – beautiful!!
Tutti Frutti
Heirloom Cherokee Tomatoes
Marvel Striped Tomatoes
Tutti Frutti aslo has red and pink beets, late-season strawberries and other miscellaneous herbs and root vegetables.
Weiser Family Farm – Bakersfield, CA
Baby Carrot Mix-
Mixed Heirloom Potatoes – Fingerling sized heirloom variety of six different potatoes, including french fingerlings, Russian bananas, King Edwards, All blues, Ruby crescents and red thumbs.
Red Thumb Potatoes – GAPPING!! red skinned on the outside, and pretty in pink on the inside
Russian Banana Fingerlings – oh so creamy..
Chilean Red – oooohhhhhhhh, I like these! A starchy, slightly sweet heirloom fingerling potato. The only fingerling with a true white flesh.
Ron’s Burgundy Fingerlings – variations of red through and through, tender skin, great attractive potato for multiple applications!
French Heirloom Fingerlings – Red-skinned, medium sized with creamy white-flesh, has a very silky texture ( I love these!!)
La Ratte Fingerlings – Nutty flavors, stand out fingerling, one of the best potatoes, ever!!
Baby Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Windrose Farm – Paso Robles, CA
Spicy Greens Mix -a perfect combination of loose leaf arugula, mizuna and chard! You’ll love it!
Rustic Arugula – loose leaf, frisee style and perfectly peppered!
Sweet Dumpling Squash – A Native American ivory colored squash with dark green stripes averaging 1/2 pound in size. The flesh is golden orange, tender and incredibly sweet!
Red Russian Kale
Mutsu Apples – Windrose Farms : crisp, sweet and tart – perfect for eating fresh!! (best apple I have eaten in memory…..)
Kidds Red Apples –
Belle De Boskoop – A popular heirloom dual-purpose apple from the Netherlands
Other apple varieties are available week to week; harvesting has been more difficult to estimate this year with water shortages and pollination concerns. Look for Melrose, Jonagold, Ashmead’s Kernel and White Pearmain
Yasutomi Farm – Pico Rivera, CA
Butter Lettuce!!!!!
Baby Bok Choy – amazingly tender, great flavor, good for braising and hey, even the grill…
Baby Celery – more leaves than stalk, hydroponically grown, slender and tasty stalks. The best baby celery available. Period.
Green Onion Chives – mild, sometimes sweet green onion and chive hydroponic hybrid. great shelf-life too!
Miners Lettuce – GAPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s hydroponic!!! It’s an heirloom European seed. It’s perfect!