Cherry Time! May is cherry season and the farmers' market is filled with brightly colored piles of sweet local cherries. From Bings and Burlats, to Brooks and Rainiers, these cherries will sweeten your springtime! They're available only in May and June, so get some now! For more about California fresh cherries click here.
Cool Cucumbers Botanically speaking, the cucumber is a fruit in the gourd family and in the same genus as the muskmelon. Cucumbers partner well with tomatoes, onions, lettuces, and cheeses, as often found in Mediterranean cuisines. Cultivated worldwide, common market varieties include English, Armenian, Japanese, Lemon, and pickling. Cucumbers are typically available in the farmers' market from May through October. Get out the canning jars!
Market Highlights
From the Manager: We have a special booth just for kids now at the Upper Haight Market! It's filled with toys, bubbles, chalk for coloring on a sidewalk, and a mural. This booth will be here every week. There are a few enter-to-win's and giveaways this month, so please remember to come on out if you don't want to miss them! We also have pasture-raised eggs again at the market! Stop by Shelly's Garden booth to pick up some beautiful multi-colored eggs for your spring and early summer egg dishes! Thanks! --- Ashley Weidman
Blue House Farm: All organic produce! Lovely fresh greens, calendula bouquets, torpedo spring onions, Albion and San Andreas strawberries, green garlic, and chiogga beets.
Fernandes Flower Growers: Beautiful spring bouquets, gerber daisies, calla lilies, roses of all colors, stargazer lilies, and carnations.
Her Farms: All Asian vegetables! Sugar snap peas, fava beans, sweet potatoes, daikon radish, broccoli raab, spinach, gailon (Chinese broccoli), Shanghai bokchoy, yuchoy, dill, spearmint.
NEW!Authentic Bagel Company: New producers from Oakland! Assorted bagels made with salt, honey whole wheat, everything! They have sourdough rye, onion, plain, and more. Cream cheeses like salmon cream cheese, veggie cream cheese, and jalapeño cream cheese.
Virginia's Live a Little: All kinds of fresh ready-made salads and dressings! Dressings: red wine, lemon caesar, and ginger sesame. Salads: strawberry pine nut, salami cobb, asparagus caprese, and chopped green salad.
FlourChylde Bakery: Gluten Free Bakery! Italian herb focaccia (not gluten free), rustic vanilla cake, chocolate tort, lemon coconut tort, almond oat raspberry preserve bars, onion and sea salt crackers. Market Events
May 1: May Day! Ten May Day baskets with treats will be available for the first 10 people who sign up for the E-Newsletter. Enter to win a Mother's Day Brunch Basket with eggs, asparagus, greens, fruit, and flowers! Also, enter to win a grill and grilling set for your Memorial Day picnic!
May 8: Happy Mother's Day! Kids' Mother's Day card coloring station, roses for the first 25 moms to stop by the information booth. Enter to win a grill and grilling set!
May 15: Recipe Swap Day! Bring your favorite recipes to the information booth to swap! There will be index cards and different colored pens available for sharing and trading your favorite recipes. Also, enter to win a grill and grilling set!
May 22: The Cookin' the Market chefs will be here to show you how easy it is to eat healthy and cook simply and fresh. Pick up a recipe and taste a sample of what they've prepared. First 25 to sign up for the E-Newsletter get a basket of strawberries or cherries. Find the secret word of the day on the market Facebook page and mention it to the manager for produce prize.
May 29: Special Guest Speaker Day! First 25 to sign up for the E-Newsletter get a basket of strawberries or cherries.
►Keep up-to-date! Check the farmers’ market Facebook page for event updates or changes. Locavore
It would seem that the locavore food movement is a recent occurrence. With terms like "locavore," eat local," "local challenge," and "100-mile diet" cropping up everywhere, you would think that it was a new phenomenon. But, up until sometime in the early 1950's, the majority of people in the U.S. actually were "locavores." The term did not come into existence until a few years ago.
You probably wouldn't want to go back to the "good old days" of eating local, but eating foods that are grown or produced locally have many economic, social, and health benefits. Fruit that can be picked at the peak of ripeness and purchased within the next day or two is unmatched for flavor, but it would never survive a trip to the next State.
According to Locavore Network there are 15 Ways to Become a Locavore. We hope you all try to eat locally for many reasons. Read up on how important it is to buy fresh and buy local. There are many books and websites on the topic so we're sure you will become an informed "local" consumer! Cookin' the Market ---Chef Anna Buss
One of my personal favorites, the avocado is one of healthiest foods in the market today. Add them to your diet to increase your absorption of two key carotenoids, lycopene and beta-carotene. The highest concentration of carotenoids lies in the dark green part near the skin. Often people will miss out on this by scooping the flesh out with a spoon. Instead, cut the avocado into slices or halves and then peel away the skin.
When selecting avocados at the farmers’ market choose those with thin necks rather than the ones with rounded necks, the thin necks are a sign that the avocados were tree ripened and will have better flavor. California grows 95% of the avocados that are produced in the United States. Many varieties are too delicate to ship. Fortunately for us Californians, farmers like Phil Rhodes pick their avocados fresh daily and bring them to the farmers’ markets, making even the delicate varieties available to the local community. Try this Avocado with Curry recipe from Chef Mario.
►Look for recipes, cooking tips, tricks, and more on the Cookin' the Market Facebook page! Your Community
San Francisco Cinco de Mayo Festival Saturday, May 5, 10am to 6pm, Dolores Park. Live entertainment, mariachis, dancing, salsa, great food and more.
BerryFest Saturday and Sunday, May 11 & 12, Placer County Fairgrounds. Certified organic and local from Placer County and some bordering counties. Great food, arts and crafts, music, contests, exhibits, demonstrations, and shopping.
Castroville Artichoke Festival Saturday & Sunday, May 19th and 20th, Castroville Park. Agro-art competition, parade, live music, children's activities, and artichokes - fried, sautéed, grilled, marinated, pickled, fresh and creamed in soup. There will be cooking demonstrations and field tours to nearby artichoke farms.
Fresh Approach
May is an exciting time of year for Fresh Approach! We are piloting a Mobile Farmers’ Market this spring in Contra Costa County. Starting this month, the Freshest Cargo vehicle will be visiting sites in Richmond, San Pablo, Pittsburg, and Brentwood. Add us on Facebook to hear about sites we are visiting and follow the truck’s progress here!
We’ve also partnered with three community clinics to offer our VeggieRx program, which provides class participants with nutrition education classes, and fruit and vegetable vouches to spend at PCFMA farmers’ markets. Programming begins the second week of May at the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley in San Jose, the LifeLong Medical Jenkins Pediatric Clinic in Richmond, and the LifeLong Medical Brookside Family Clinic in Richmond.
Cherry Recipes
Sweet California cherries make wonderful sauces, salads, relishes, desserts, snacks, and more. Here are a few favorites:
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Pacific Coast Farmers Markets 5060 Commercial Circle, Ste. A Concord, California 94520 US
fruit in the gourd family and in the same genus as the muskmelon. Cucumbers partner well with tomatoes, onions, lettuces, and cheeses, as often found in Mediterranean cuisines. Cultivated worldwide, common market varieties include English, Armenian, Japanese, Lemon, and pickling. Cucumbers are typically available in the farmers' market from May through October. Get out the canning jars!
the majority of people in the U.S. actually were "locavores." The term did not come into existence until a few years ago.
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