Sunday, November 20, 2011

Randy Newman and I agree: I Love LA... LA Farmer's Market

Farmers Market collage 1
Happy Sunday Morning! I'm taking a break (read: procrastination) from washing the walls and ceilings of the bathrooms (seriously, it is hard to maneuver a ladder in that small space) to post some photos from my trip to the Farmers Market. (Taken on my Samsung Charge phone...not bad, huh?!)

Farmers Market collage 2
As I walked through my Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, I thought about how lucky I am to live someplace with year-round Farmer's Markets and such great California produce. A friend of mine is moving back to Los Angeles after a few years on the East Coast. My message to the M family: Welcome back guys! Welcome back to the land of fresh delicious strawberries in November!

Farmers Market collage 3
We have one vendor that grows every type of eggplant known to man! :) There are Chinese, Japanese, Indian, etc. variations...Los Angeles is diverse and the farmer's market reflects that.  A bunch of vendors have fuyu persimmons now too. It is really funny because I've always grown up eating persimmons (very popular among the Japanese American crowd, everyone has a relative with a tree in the backyard), but they were hardly in stores in my youth. And here they are everywhere! Reminds me of sushi, octopus, miso soup...I was eating that way before you could find in the mall food court. :)

Farmers Market collage 4
Love the Farmer's Market food vendors. Sometimes, I get Thai food or a Pupusa or maybe a BBQ turkey leg to take home (there are also crepes, corn on the cob, seafood, sausages and bacon wrapped hot dogs). Of course, kettle corn is a must! Yesterday, I picked up the Corn Maiden pumkin, raisin and rum tamale with tomatillo sauce. Delicious!

I'm working on the National Bundt Day round-up. It's going to be epic! Over 100 bundts!

While I'm working on it, I'm going to eat some fresh fruits and veggies and... as Randy Newman sings, "I Love LA" and I shout back, "We Love It"!

9 comments:

  1. AllThingsYummyNovember 20, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    Wow, that tamale looks delicious.
    The LA Farmer's Market is so fun.

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  2. The Path TraveledNovember 20, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    How beautiful all the fruits and veggies look!

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  3. mary bethNovember 20, 2011 at 1:55 PM

    Wow! I am so jealous! Those blackberries are gartantuan! I'm sure that's not spelled right, but don't hold it against me..I'm too lazy to do anything about it. Loved the Bundt series, they are my favorite cake to bake and am looking forward to trying each and every one.

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  4. curatorNovember 20, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    That's a bit fancier than the farmer's markets up here in the Pacific NW, but the effect is the same - beautiful fresh food, and a way to bring simple goodness into our lives in the course of a fun morning.

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  5. Meister @ The Nervous CookNovember 20, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    1) The LA farmers market looks amazing! I want to bring home all the eggplant.

    2) I made my first-ever Bundt today and thought of you! Too bad it wasn't in time for National Bundt Day, but better late than never?

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  6. mboveNovember 22, 2011 at 9:05 AM

    Wow all those look great! Two questions...
    1. What can you do with persimmons??
    2. Are the foods grown there local to that area or are they brought from an outer source?

    Just curious but very nice article!

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  7. KathyNovember 22, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    This market looks fabulous! How nice to still be able to buy so fresh!

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  8. The Food LibrarianNovember 22, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    @mbove Dear MBOVE,
    You can eat FUYU persimmons like apples. I like to peel them and eat raw. You can also add to a spinach salad or use it in baking. See this: http://foodlibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/11/fuyu-persimmon-bundt-day-30-of-food.html

    Just make sure you know the difference between the Hachiya (must eat totally soft) and the Fuyu persimmon (can eat hard or soft).

    Produce at the Certified Farmer's Markets has to be grown at the vendor's farm. Most of the farms aren't located in Los Angeles County (not much farmland left, although there are some pockets) but areas such as Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Orange County and Central California where much of California's agriculture is located. The vendors drive down with their produce and sell direct to consumers. Luckily, there are farmer's markets throughout SoCal everyday so they can often go from one market to another. Here is a listing and more info about LA Farmer's Markets: http://www.farmernet.com/events/cfms

    -mary

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  9. kyleenNovember 22, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    Wow these photos are gorgeous! I can't believe you took them on your phone. You're so lucky that you live in LA and have farmers markets in November. Up here is Canada, it's freezing rain...

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