Earth Day Excursion

It was very cold and wintery this afternoon, threatening rain. I felt a bit sorry for the farmer's market, since I have found that it is poorly attended when it is cold, so I decided to stop by and see what is new.
This was my first visit since the market changed location, and I'll tell ya, I was really happy to see how spacious it was, compared with the old location. The place was just crowded with lots of moms and strollers, plenty of toddlers munching on carrots and strawberries.
Now that I am not confined by the 100 miles, farther-away farm-fare looked pretty inviting. I picked up a very large avocado, a basket of crisp Oxnard cucumbers, a 3-pack of Oxnard strawberries, and a bag of Northern California raisins.

Day 28 - A day at the Market

What a difference a day makes! The weather was beautiful, so after the usual breakfast (made with broccoli instead of kale or chard) I headed off to the farmer's market. The walk was wonderful, and many other families had the same idea. The market sidelines were full of Dads with strollers and large dogs, and the accumulated purchases. A couple of booths featuring vegetables were mobbed with customers.
I sampled plenty of fruit: strawberries, tangerines, pears and apples, and a bit of cucumber. I felt pretty full after shopping only a couple of rows. I purchased some Pink Lady apples and some dried persimmons (for tomorrow!) and then stopped by a few other stores on the way home. My basket felt pretty heavy by the time I arrived home.
For lunch, I enjoyed some ginger and regular tea from partner Otto, the rest of the vegetable soup, another huge plate of greens cooked with the rest of the sausage, dehydrated apples, raisins and the final chunk of cheese.
This afternoon, I will assemble a beet salad for the potluck, with Detroggia beets, freckles romaine lettuce, corn salad, and blood oranges from partner Danielle.

Cookie Exchange - My winning entry??

Every year my neighbor hosts a cookie and gift exchange, and this year I have decided to use my last December exception meal to celebrate Christmas and eat lots of great locally-made cookies.
I thought long and hard about this one. What prize-winning cookie could I make with red amaranth, honey and chard? One year I DID make some interesting dog biscuits for the gift exchange, and last year made another really popular batch with favorite locally-sourced ingredients such as chicken fat, winter squash and dried kale. They turned out to be less of a hit when my husband popped one in his mouth before fully comprehending what they were all about, but the dog really loved them.
I couldn't do this to my friends again, after all, I want them to remain friends. I decided to make something simple and non-local, something I really like, but with an added decadence.
The cookie would have to contain lots of pecans, for sure, and probably macadamia nuts and cherries. I stopped at a couple of stores looking for cherries, but could find none.
Yesterday at the public market, a man was selling hoshigaki persimmons, so I bought a package to use in January. Today I decided to incorporate them into my oatmeal cookies. Here's the recipe:

Hashigaki Oatmeal Cookies
Use the recipe on the lid of the Quaker Oats box with the following changes:
use only 3/4 cup raisins
Add 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Add 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Add 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Add 1 cup chopped hoshigaki dried persimmons
Bake according to package directions

Next week I hope to get to the public market again and purchase more of these wonderful persimmon treats before the season is over.

Stepford farmers market?

I went to my new local Farmer's Market today. I guess all the real Ventura county farmers were at the Ojai market. Only a few veggie booths had food that looked real. Several fruit booths were staffed with knowledgeable and friendly merchants, but the fruit was mostly from Northern California. There was an egg guy from San Diego.
What I found most unusual is a complete absence of signage. These farmers and their farms have no names, no business cards, no addresses, no organic certificates on display.
Yes, yes, all the strawberries were from Oxnard, they said.
Then again, I stopped at a booth with all sorts of overpriced candied nuts, and artificially-colored dried fruit. When I asked about origin, the lady with the blank stare told me they were from Lancaster. I mentioned that they couldn't all have been grown in Lancaster, and asked which foods were grown there. She said most of them were. When I asked which foods specifically, she admitted that only the cashews had been grown in Lancaster.
I still haven't decided if I am going to join the Locavore Lites in 2010. I will have to agree to visit a farmer's market at least once a month. I sure wish there was a way to be a Locavore Lite while enjoying my own local vegetables instead of patronizing fake markets.

Salad competition - Locavore potluck redo

Kris posted his salad, but now we need a salad-off. Since I don't have a camera, I'll have to describe what I got to eat this week. I started with spinach from R, freshly plucked from his garden, crispy-tender and very curly. I added my own freckles romaine baby lettuce, and plenty of lettuce that B gave to me. (She was in Ojai this Sunday and went a little hog-wild at the farmer's market.) The varieties look like cos romaine, red oak, lolla rossa and buttercrunch. She also gave me some tender new asparagus, so I steamed it along with the haricot vert string beans and baby broccoli from my garden. I chopped a huge orange sweet tequila sunrise pepper and a small but deadly orange habanero and added it to the mix. The radishes came from M's garden. They were large and pink, with pink markings on the inside. I also slivered my own celery stalks, scallions and baby fennel.
I did have a dressing, made with local olive oil, sea salt, lime juice from La Casa, Italian and lemon basil from my patio, and R's dried marjoram. I topped the salad with sweet pomegranate seeds that P gave to me.

New farmers' market

Around here, farmers' markets are springing up on any open bit of sunny pavement, like wayward celery plants after a winter storm. Last summer, there was only one local market, and it was a bit of a drive. Finally, I have a market I can WALK to!!! At a convenient time!!!
It hasn't started yet, but I am ready, market basket in hand. Let's see: straw hat, sunblock, birkenstocks, big organic or bamboo fiber skirt with a flower pot applique, small bills, canning jars waiting for me at home.

May local farmers live long and thrive

I always thought it ironic that at the entryway to my HMO's regional medical center, brimming with "creative and passionate" medical professionals eager to deliver cutting-edge preventive care, stood a coffee kiosk studded with sugary drinks and snacks. During a recent visit, I was pleased and astonished to see the front driveway lined with fresh food tables instead of ambulances.
Read about it HERE