Alhambra

Last week, it rained all weekend, and I did not get to any farmer's market, hence no blog posts... Today, I visited the Alhambra farmer's market on the intersection of Monterey and Bay Aves.

The market reflects that this is a predominantly Chinese neighborhood. The produce stands have lots of fresh cilantro, mustard greens, daikon radishes, pea shoots, Chinese broccoli, etc. So, this is definitely the place to be for your next stir fry.

I ended up buying relatively little this week, as the coming week is rather busy. However, I tasted several interesting items, some for the first time. At the stand of Pato's Dream Date Garden, I tasted a marvelously sweet honey date. At other end of the spectrum, a Chinese red date (at another stand) was not sweet at all. In fact, the flavor is rather subtle.

The find of the day were Cherimoyas, also known as custard apples (see picture). I had never had these before, and so it was a bit of a revelation. I brought some home to ripen. I would also like to figure out what to do with them, apart from eating them as is.

My final thought of the day is a bit of a complaint about Farmer's markets. Since I started writing this blog a few weeks ago, I always made a point to mention the farmers/producers from whom I procured the goods. Farmer's markets are a perfect place to get fresh food directly from the people who grow it. It is also a place where you can develop a relationship with these producers.

When it's not too busy, I strike up a chat and ask all kinds of questions. When it's busy, however, I don't want to keep these hardworking folk from making some money, and I just keep it brief. Then, I just ask the name of the farm and go on to the next venture. My complaint is that most stands don't even bother putting up a sign of who they are, where they come from, or what makes them special. This is a missed opportunity, and farmers are selling themselves short. Produce as a commodity product is available at any grocery store. Produce at a farmer's market should have a story to tell.

Stands that sell special items, like Pato's Dream Date Garden, do an outstanding job at this. Most produce growers, though, have much to learn. It does not have to be complicated; a simple sign, a flyer, a business card, or a picture of the farm will do.

Studio City, Dinner four days later

So, this is the last meal from this week's visit to the Studio City farmer's market. I had left five sweet limes from Cliff McFarlin, Brussels sprouts from the Rancho Cortez farm, and one tomato from the Tomato Man.

In my humble opinion, Brussels sprouts demand pork fat. My local supermarket butcher carries Kurobota pork chops, and I thought that would be just the ticket for this meal. Compared to the usual supermarket pork chops, it's a bit of an extravagance. But there is nothing normal about Kurobota pork chops. Spend the money; you will not regret it. Even if you are a fat-phobic fanatic, please, do NOT cut the fat of these. It is comparable to cutting the fat out of prosciutto. (If you do the latter, you and I do not belong on the same blog!)

I obtained about one cup of juice from the sweet limes. With some salt (3 tsp), brown sugar (1 tsp), pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, and a cup of water, I turned it into a super-flavored brine for the pork chops. After a two-hour brine, I let the pork chops dry out on a rack for about an hour. (I used Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie book as a guide for the salt/sugar proportions in the brine, but reduced the amount of sugar to offset the sweetness of the sweet lime juice.)

I fried the chops to medium doneness in the fat of a few slices of bacon. While the chops were resting, the blanched and halved sprouts went into the bacon fat together with a diced shallot. I like the sprouts when they are nicely browned on the cut side. When plating, I topped the sprouts with the rendered bacon and a diced tomato from the Tomato Man. Finally, I finished this with a dab of Maille mustard.

OK, this is not diet food. But, wouldn't you want some of this now?

Studio City, Lunch two days later

So, when is the last time you saw a really nice frisee salad in the supermarket? Well, at the Studio City farmer's market, I bought three of the freshest, nicest heads of beautiful, young, yellow-green heads one can find anywhere. I bought this from the stand of the Rancho Cortez (Santa Maria) farm.

The traditional French way demands to toss this salad with a warm vinaigrette made of rendered lardon fat and to top it with some poached eggs, the lardons, and croutons. In America, bacon and its fat can be used. However, lardons are so much more satisfying. So, here is my plea to American butchers: please get out of your rut and start stocking some good traditional charcuterie!

Of course, the pork fat turns the salad into a saturated-fat calorie bomb. For dietary as well as convenience reasons, I simplified the tradition for yesterday's lunch. I tossed the salad with some good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fleur de sel, and black pepper. I topped that with poached eggs and some toast. Simple. Good. Satisfying. Cheap.

Studio City, Dinner from Sunday's Harvest

At Sunday morning's Studio City Farmer's market, I picked up a package of Five Cheese Ravioli from Spaghettata (Long Beach). The owner, John, was clearly someone passionate about his craft, so I thought I should give it a try. Originally, I was going to pair the ravioli with a meat sauce, a Bolognese say. By the time dinner time came around, that seemed a bit too heavy.

So, I decided to pair the Ravioli up with the simplest of tomato sauces. I had also picked up some vine-ripened tomatoes from "The Tomato Man" at the market. The deep-red color of his tomatoes was to good to resist. While cooking the ravioli, I sweated some onion and garlic in an olive oil. Then I added in the tomatoes and some homegrown thyme for a few minutes and then the cooked ravioli.

In the future, I'd cook the tomatoes a bit less. These tomatoes are harvested at their peak and, hence, disintegrate much faster than typical store-bought varieties (even if vine-ripened). This did nothing to the taste, but the sauce was a bit more soupy than I'd like. I would also have liked to add some basil, but our garden is in winter remission...

All the prep was easily done in the time it took to boil the water. Ten minutes after that, we had a satisfying meal.

Studio City

Today, I visited the Sunday farmer's market in Studio City, at the corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon Blvds.

How often do you get to taste a new fruit? At least, I never heard of the sweet lime. Its name is a bit of a misnomer though. It does not look like a lime. Instead, one could mistake it for a lemon (see picture), though more round than oval. It is has a definite citrus flavor, but it is not very sweet. The flavor is probably more tangerine, but with hints of grapefruit. I got this at the stand of Cliff McFarlin, who brings his fruit fresh from his family's orchards near Fresno. Aside from the sweet lime, he brings all kinds of citrus. He also sells wonderful sundried raisins.

At the Ipatzi nursery, I obtained some lemon grass to grow in the yard. For $3, I expect to have a life time supply. In the grocery store, one can pay almost as much for one packet of old stalks.

These are just the immediate highlights. I brought enough vegetables for several dinners, and I'll report on those over the course of the next week.

West Hollywood Farmer's Market

My first blog post! If it all looks a bit primitive, please give me some time. I'll work on the design, I'll introduce myself better, etc. Right now, I just want to get it started and see where it leads.

Today, I hit the West Hollywood's Farmer's Market and tasted my way through some great goodies.

The discovery of the day was some amazing Kim Chi from Dave's Gourmet Korean Food. I have visited Korea before, and I knew Koreans love their Kim Chi. I did not get it. Today, I got it. It looked great. These fermented vegetable morsels tasted surprisingly fresh and retained their crunch. One particular mixed-vegetable Kim Chi built up pleasant peppery spices in your mouth. After a minute or so, it did get quite hot. Dave was all prepared for this, and he give me a sample of tofu, which neutralized the spiciness just in time. A very nice spicy condiment that plays well with others!

A cherry danish from La Boulangerie was intended as a snack, but it filled me up satisfyingly, and I skipped lunch. Thierry, the owner of La Boulangerie, is clearly someone who loves his craft, and I look forward to exploring more goodies from him. On the way home, I did snack on some wonderful Lemon Almonds from Alex's Fruits and Nuts. Count on a blog item on them in the near future.

I also brought back some beautiful purple heirloom tomatoes from Bonsall Farms, which will serve as a light supper tonight with some wine and cheese.