Photograph from thebittenword.com on Flickr A Slate reader asks the Green Lantern, "If I can't eat my share, is a CSA still an environmentally sound choice?" This spring I considered joining a local CSA. I like knowing exactly where my food comes from and the direct connection to a farm, and the weekly or biweekly pick-up meant I'd be eating plenty of fruits and veggies, at least in theory. In practice, I find it can be challenging to cook with unfamiliar ingredients or even familiar ones that I'm tired of. I ultimately decided that shopping at the local farmers' market would be a better choice for me—I could support local farms, and buy only what I needed and wanted. If... More

More than 300 people nationwide have signed up for the annual Eat Local Challenge this year. This is my fourth year taking (and leading) the challenge and it's a way of life for me now. Taking the challenge means that I step up my visits to farmers markets during the month-long project, and am more diligent in knowing where my food comes from. In San Francisco, October is a good time to eat local, as there is an abundance of fruits and vegetables in the market. The true overlap of seasons seems to be in October this year, and walking through the market I saw peaches next to persimmons, and winter squash next to summer squash. Tomatoes should still... More

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... More

Among others, Ginger Gold, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Red Delicious, Fuji, Gala, and Honeycrisp, are showing up in their familiar crates, begging to be turned into applesauce, apple pie, and cooked with pork chops. Here, some suggestions on what to do with fresh-picked apples. More

It may still feel like summer outside, but fall's long, golden fingers are slowly drawing the shade down on long, lingering days. Here in Southern California you might not even notice the season changing without the Back to School and Labor Day sales. But at the Hollywood Farmers' Market (map) the fruits and vegetables tell a different story. Tables of nectarines, peaches and plums are slowly giving way to the cornucopia of fall treats like apples, asian pears, dates and grapes, while melons, green beans and berries try to hold on to summer like a teenager who doesn't want school to start. Heirloom Tomatoes from Givens Farms. The season's final hurrah will come next week, on September 7th, when the... More

It's easy to get local produce at this renown San Francisco market, "But now, shoppers ... can buy wheat berries from the Eatwell Farm stand and either grind it into flour themselves in the stand's small mill or ask one of the farm stand helpers to do it for them. The whole wheat flour, from a hard red winter wheat, works well in pancakes as well as bread recipes, says Nigel Walker."... More

Many of us in the Bay Area are unusually obsessed with food and freely admit it. Still, the extent of our obsession can even take me by surprise. The Thursday morning San Rafael farmers' market in Marin County is a joy. Relatively mellow and full of the area's best farmers, it's a very pleasant experience. Plus, odds are good that you'll run into a well-known chef or two purchasing fruits and vegetables for their restaurants. Back to the Bay Area food obsession. While tasting stone fruits at the Kashiwase Farm booth recently, trying to find my favorite nectarine, a nearby four-year old walked up with his mother. "Mom, remember last week I liked the Flavor Kings the best," he... More

Golden Jubilee tomatoes. The Hollywood Farmers' Market (at Ivar Avenue & Selma Avenue; map) looked like a gem show yesterday with hues of ruby, garnet, and citrine spilling across most farmers' tables. It's August and tomatoes are finally here, and their sweet, fruity, meaty perfume will spin you around like a child on a merry-go-round. Your mind surges with the possibilities: heirloom tomato tarts, gazpacho, caprese salads, tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and salt, tomatoes out of hand, tomatoes with ricotta and fresh herbs on crostini. Fortunately this bounty will continue unabated through September. According to produce guru Russ Parsons, "scientists who study flavor chemistry have identified more than four hundred compounds that go into the taste of a... More

Because a majority of my food comes from the farmers market, I am often tied to the schedule of farmers markets around the Bay Area. I missed my home market twice in a row due to scheduling conflicts in recent weeks, but I made up for it by visiting the brand-new Divisadero Farmers Market and the Napa Farmers Market. I was in Napa for the unbelievably great Taste3 Conference and snuck out between speakers to visit the small, but extremely friendly and adequate, downtown market. Cruising the markets, I noticed a proliferation of plum and apricot-like stone fruits: pluots, plumcots, apriums, plums, and apricots. It wasn't until I came home and perused the Internet that I figured out the... More

Corn from Underwood Family Farms Weaving your way through the crowd at the Hollywood Farmers' Market most Sundays takes an athlete's focus and precision. It's hard to pull your gaze away from the teeming piles of Santa Rosa plums, citrine-colored nectarines, and beckoning un-husked corn that line Ivar and Selma Avenues long enough to watch where you're going. And watch you must—the traffic is like a pedestrian version of the 405 at rush hour, complete with Mercedes-like strollers and impatient drivers. Started 17 years ago by Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA) the Hollywood Farmers' Market has grown from 25 stalls to include approximately 90 farmers, as well as artisans and food vendors. SEE-LA also operates smaller markets... More