Note: On Mondays, one of our various Market Scene correspondents checks in with what's fresh at farmstands, what's coming up, and what you better get while the gettin's good. This week, we hear from SoCal correspondent Leah Greenstein of SpicySaltySweet. Take us to the market, Leah! Carnival Squash at McGrath Family Farms. [Photographs: Leah Greenstein] I'm tired of tomatoes. There. I said it. After two months straight gorging myself on Early Girls and Purple Cherokees, Green Zebras and Sun Golds, I think I've finally had enough tangy-sweet-tomato-goodness to last me until next summer—or at least until January, when I break into my stash of homemade canned heirloom tomatoes for lasagnas and stews. Fortunately, the Los Angeles farmers' markets (and Southern...
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Note: On Mondays, one of our various Market Scene correspondents checks in with what's fresh at farmstands, what's coming up, and what you better get while the gettin's good. This week, we hear from West Coast correspondent Leah Greenstein of Spicy Salty Sweet. Take us to the market, Leah! [Photographs: Leah Greenstein] Labor Day can mark the end of summer or the unofficial start of fall, depending on how you look at it. This time last year autumn's apples, pears, and pomegranates had already begun to arrive but this weekend at the Santa Monica Pico Farmers' Market on Cloverfield and Pico (map) summer seemed to be holding as tight as a kid to their last day's of freedom before school...
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The hoards of people stocking up for the Thanksgiving holiday on Sunday made the Hollywood Farmers' Market (map) feel like Lollapalooza with vegetables, which means the upcoming Santa Monica market on Wednesday may end up looking like Burning Man at the beach. The best way to battle the crowds this time of year is to hit the market with a plan and a heavy helping of patience. With that in mind, the Southern California farmers' markets have almost everything you need to have a delicious Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to thank your farmers! Turkeys Dozens of people lined up early this morning to pick up their organic, pastured turkeys from the folks at Healthy Family Farms, who also had an on-farm...
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Habeñeros and Jalepeños Southern California is suffering from a case of the "in-betweens." It's practically October—normally time to trade in the grilling gear for a cast iron Dutch oven—but yesterday it felt like the middle of August. Now I realize complaining about hot weather won't inspire much sympathy when most of the country is unpacking their sweaters, but it can be a little disheartening when you're eager for those cooler weather fruits and veggies. Instead, most of the Hollywood Farmers' Market (map) still looked like late summer. The heirloom tomatoes were beautiful (and bountiful) and there were a surprising number of tables full of peaches, plums, berries, corn, and melons. There were also still lots of hot and sweet...
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Blackberry sorbet made with blackberries from Burkart Organics. For a former New Yorker there's a lot to get used to about Southern California life. For the first eight years I lived here I felt like a winter kale wilting in the summer sun. It took leaving and moving all over the country before I figured out that there's something truly special about Southern California. Rest assured it's not Lindsay Lohan. While to most people California is a postcard of beaches and palms trees, much of the Golden State is actually farmland, a fact that is reflected by the more than 50 certified farmers' markets in Los Angeles County alone. Perhaps the most famous of these markets is the one...
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