One of the great things about living in California is the abundance of farmers’ markets. There’s almost one per day within a 5 mile radius of my house. Even if I don’t buy anything, they’re great for seeing what’s in season. My only “problem” with farmers’ markets is that produce can be expensive and sometimes I go overboard and buy too much. What I’ve been doing recently is to limit the amount I spend, say $10-15, and put the cash in my pocket. When that cash is gone, I cut myself off.
(To find a farmers’ market near you, click here.)
It’s summer so it seems like everything is in season: peppers, squash, tomatoes, berries, stone fruits (nectarines, peaches, but no apricots this year!), as well as the year-round vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, herbs, onions, and potatoes. Here are some of the photos from today. Enjoy!
Entering the Berkeley Farmer's Market
Today was tomato tasting day at the market. Each farm donates produce to this table so that customers can have a one-stop comparison shopping experience.
Not your typical salad-in-a-bag.
A rainbow of bell peppers...
Nectarines are so good right now. I'm a big fan of the white peaches and white nectarines.
One of the things I love about the farmer's market: free samples! Here's a bunch of different nectarines and peaches from Kashiwase Farms.
My friend J's beautiful veggies from the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in downtown SF.
That picture of the diced fruit samples makes me rumble…
There are many many reasons why summer is my favorite time of year. But the most highly anticipated summer pleasures for me are 1) the ripening of the peaches, blueberries, nectarines, and muscadines, 2) finding wild or free versions of said fruits that no one else takes advantage of, and 3) the farmer’s market.
This year I’ve managed to find about 10 wild muscadine vines (filled with fruit this year) that no one else will harvest from, as well as a handful of wild blueberries. And I’ve been getting peaches from two trees at work and at a friends. My own tiny trees produced a grand total of 3 peaches this year (woo hoo!), but I also grew blackberries, and 4 clusters of grapes.
That salad looks pretty damn good too. I love adding daylily flowers to salad. Slightly sweet and colorful.
actually there was a huge abundance of apricots about a month ago. the season just ended i think. yum, berkeley markets. also ive found that wild blackberries are EVERYWHERE. so fun but spiky to pick!