Market Scene: 'Cold' Weather in San Francisco
It was super cold in San Francisco this weekend—around 52 degrees—so I had to don a hat and scarf and coat in order to go to the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market. Friends and I giggled as we realized how ridiculous it is that we consider the low-50s to be unbearably cold, but such is the life of a Californian.
While a friend scoured the market for local gifts for faraway friends, I had a goal of buying some basics to get me through the week. I've been in a bit of a cooking slump lately, so while shopping I focused on the basics that would sustain me for the week but not overwhelm my energy level.
Heirloom Organics had beautiful bags of greens: chard mixed with spinach and other braising greens that I will cook up the "Bittman Way." Long ago, I learned to cook most greens in the way advised in most of Mark Bittman's books. You put a small amount of oil in a pan, sauté greens for 2 or 3 minutes over high heat, then add spices and chicken stock (about a cup for a pound of veggies), and cook a few more minutes (I usually cover, but it depends on the vegetable).
The beauty of this recipe is how many variations there are on it. You can cook it with peanut oil, ginger, and a bit of soy sauce for an Asian-influenced dish or with olive oil and red peppers for a more Italian dish. I have used this cooking method with broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tatsoi, chard, kale, and brussels sprouts.
I'm on a cauliflower bender, so bought a large head for roasting this week. I also purchased soup fixings and some fuyu persimmons. While the fuyu variety is usually eaten hard, Knoll Farms was selling the persimmons soft, and I carefully packed a couple in my basket and brought them home to eat frozen.
We are lucky in the Bay Area to have a local, heirloom bean grower. Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo, has been bringing beans to market for a few years and has spoiled us all with unique, New World varieties. My newest obsession is the tiny alubia bean—a small white bean that takes on the flavor of what it is cooked with. I have been keeping them in the fridge to toss with salad, wheat berries, or to mash into a bean spread for toast.
Seasonal Produce Guide
In Season Right this Minute
- Broccoli romanesco
- Radishes
- Meyer lemons
- Mizuna
- Persimmons
Coming Soon
- Tangerines
- Pomelos
- Blood oranges
- Chicory
It's Time To Put Up
- Limoncello
- Home-cured olives
About the author: Jennifer Maiser writes about locally and sustainably grown food. She is the founder and editor of the Eat Local Challenge website and writes at Life Begins at 30, her personal weblog.
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8 Comments:
I love frozen persimmons! My first introduction to them was from a street vendor off Tiananmen Square -- the weather was below freezing and Mom originally thought she was buying perfectly firm persimmons. Imagine our surprise and subsequent delight to find that they were the consistency of frozen slushies back on the tour bus =)
onedaylingers at 6:46PM on 12/08/08
I feel your pain. It was seventeen degrees F when I donned my hat, scarf, coat, gloves, and thermal boots to go to the farmers market last Saturday here in Cleveland.
dineomite at 9:55PM on 12/08/08
My favorite fall to winter fruit - Persimmons! They are especially good this time of year when they are really ripe. Not only do they make a wonderful fruit, but also make fabulous salads. Bought cauliflower at farmer's market and love roasting this with chopped garlic, s/p, EVOO in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Yum.
Catharine56 at 12:06AM on 12/09/08
Ummmm...what is that a picture of?
erinlovestoeat at 10:30AM on 12/09/08
@onedaylingers This was my first try with frozen persimmons and I really liked them!
@dineomite see, I'm not sure I'd survive in Cleveland.
@catharine56 that's exactly how I make cauliflower, minus the chopped garlic.
@erinlovestoeat THAT is a broccoli romanesco. Isn't it cool? It's a fractal. The best thing about it is its look. Other than that, it pretty much tastes like cauliflower.
Jen Maiser at 10:55AM on 12/09/08
"THAT is a broccoli romanesco. Isn't it cool? It's a fractal. The best thing about it is its look. Other than that, it pretty much tastes like cauliflower. "
eating a fractal sounds so mathematically decadent.
redhead at 11:15AM on 12/09/08
I'm so jealous. I LOVED my visit to the SF farmer's market so much that my husband had to drag me onto the plane (sans fruit, which I was desperate to buy.) Note to self: next time, arrive in SF the day of or before the market, buy lots of stuff, and eat for a week before going home.
The market in Union Square here in NYC is almost as good, but during the winter it can be difficult since so few vendors are there.
susanl73 at 1:12PM on 12/09/08
@redhead I try to only eat foods that make sense mathematically ...
@susanl73 THAT sounds like a fantastic SF plan!
Jen Maiser at 11:31AM on 12/11/08