Skye and her pink gerber daisy

This is how our “eating only what we can buy at the farmer’s market” idea came about. It’s far from original but in our modern world it seems a little “out there.”

A few weeks ago I was clipping coupons and shopping at a huge supermarket, with double coupons. I was buying things because I had a coupon not because it’s what I wanted to feed my family – it didn’t feel right. I felt like something needed to change but I didn’t know what to do because we really can’t afford to buy organic at “Whole paycheck” right now. Just to be clear, I have no problem with coupons or Whole Foods – I love them both.

One Saturday morning (this January) we woke up to a beautiful (hot) day, it felt like spring and made me think “we should go the farmer’s market!” We hadn’t been to the big farmer’s market in Torrance for months. There we were buying our fruit and veggies when I realized that you can get almost everything you need at the farmer’s market, from local farmers! and it’s all as fresh! as absolutely fresh as possible! without the middle man taking his cut!

At that moment a big light bulb went on. Why was I spending so much money at the store when I could be getting everything here?! Probably for less than I was spending at the grocery store using coupons! I feel I need to say at this point that I know we are extremely lucky to live in southern California where we have all of this available to us year round. I know this would not be possible in most parts of the country, especially during the winter months. I am always aware and grateful for this fact.

Fresh berry assortment

Obviously I had a few reservations about buying everything at the farmer’s market. Such as milk. The only milk at the farmer’s market is “raw” unpasteurized  “the way God made it” milk. “Is that even legal?” I wondered. I thought everything in this country had to be pasteurized. Isn’t that why the cheese tastes so much better in Europe? Well, as it turns out, raw or unpasteurized milk is illegal in many states but no longer here in California. O.k. so what about giving it to a one year old?

Milk straight from the farm - literally

Being illegal in 18 states, it’s a controversial subject but after much research we decided the benefits outweigh the risk, actually there have been zero reported cases of illness in California from unpasteurized milk in over 25 years but several cases with pasteurized milk including some resulting in death! Here is a chart drawn up for a Los Angeles County Board of supervisors vote on permitting raw milk in the County. A growing body of evidence from university research conducted around the world suggests these nutrients help counter conditions as diverse as asthma, allergies, colitis, and diabetes. Anyway, I’m not going to preach about raw milk, I just wanted to explain our decision.

What about meat? As it turns out the people that sell eggs also sell chicken! Who knew? Apparently many people because I had to wait in line. You can buy a whole chicken or just breasts, they even have boneless skinless and it costs less than the supermarket.

There is also a fishmonger with an amazing selection of fresh fish right off the boat.

The fish monger

But the most intriguing find for me was J&J grass fed beef, to be completely honest, I don’t like grass fed beef. It tastes sort of weird to me, gamy I guess you would say. It reminds me of deer meat but there are many health benefits such as, higher levels of vitamin A and E, more Omega 3’s and conjugated linoleis acid which helps reduce bad cholesterol levels “LDL” and aids in the reduction of body fat mass – so I am going to see if I can get used to it, I will keep you posted. Thus far we have only tried to breakfast sausage which I actually did like because it reminded me of the deer sausage we ate growing up – yes, I am from the south, Austin Texas to be exact. One down side is that it’s more expensive than grocery store meat but, upside, less than Whole Foods meat which is where I normally buy my meat because personally I would rather not eat meat than eat growth hormones and anti-biotics, but that’s just me….

Abe selling his meat

At the big Torrance farmer’s market you can also buy, amazing cheese, butter,coffee beans (roasted the day before!)

Rocky Roasters

vinegar, oil, olives, nuts, dried fruit, the most awesome dates in the world from the Bautista family,

Bautista Family Organic Dates

fresh squeezed juice, bread, pies, flowers, herbs and there are even several ethnic booths where you can buy delicious Greek and middle eastern fare. At the smaller Hermosa market I found a guy that sells awesome Korean stuff like miso and kim-chee but more on that later…

Authentic Greek Food

Greek Salad

3  Tomatoes cut in wedges, heirloom if available – a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected,    and handed down from one family member to another for many generations- and they taste incredible!
3  Avocados sliced
2  Cucumber, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces, no need to peel Japanese or Persian cucumbers
1  Small red onion cut in half then thinly sliced, soak in water for 5 minutes to remove bitterness
Feta, buy the best quality feta you can find, it makes a huge difference, cut in to large chunks
Juice from one Lime
EVOO
Fresh thyme and oregano
Sea Salt – sea salt contains 100+ trace minerals missing in our diets and it tastes much better so enjoy!
Fresh ground pepper, pepper is also very good for you and freshly ground pepper is the best – experiment with  different color peppercorns.
combine all above, drizzle EVOO and squeeze lime juice over top, sprinkle thyme, oregano, sea salt and pepper and toss to coat, serve on a large platter

* Great with shrimp or scallops too!

• Farmer’s Market Pasta
• Potato Onion Bread
• Handmade Butter
• Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Strawberries

It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning so we decided to go to the big Torrance farmer’s market. Normally I go to the small Hermosa Farmer’s market on Fridays just down the street but Skye slept until 3:30 last Friday and it closes down around 4:00 so we didn’t make it last week.

Trust me, I realize how very, very lucky we are to live in southern California where we have the most amazing farmer’s markets year round. I never take it for granted and I always feel overwhelming gratitude to have locally grown strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers on the table in January.

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My favorite find this week is the handmade butter from Spring Hill Farms located in Petaluma. We also bought the garlic curds which Skye loves. Randy’s Favorite thing is the Halawy organic dates from the Bautista family located in Mecca. They have several different types of dated to choose from and of course you can sample all of them while you get a lesson in how dates are grown and harvested. They even have pictures of the brothers harvesting the dates from palm trees, quit fascinating! I didn’t even know they came from palm trees.

Farmer’s Market Pasta

Whole wheat or whole grain pasta, I used Barilla plus – ½ lb.

Grape tomatoes – about 20 cut in half

Asparagus – one bunch cut into ½ inch pieces

Arugula – large handful

Garlic – 3 cloves, smashed rough chopped

Evoo

½ cup Dry white wine – I used Coppola Diamond Collection chardonnay, you may substitute wine for chicken stock and lemon juice

2-3 Anchovies, optional but strongly suggested, you will not taste them I promise J

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Note: You could add any protein you like; it’s great with sausage, chicken or shrimp.

Boil water for pasta and add a hand full of salt and a little olive oil (It should taste like salt water)

Heat evoo in a large skillet – at this point add sausage or chicken, if using shrimp wait.

Add garlic, tomatoes, anchovies and a pinch of sea salt, cook for about 5 -10 minutes or until meat is fully cooked, add white wine and scrape bits from bottom of the pan ( Anchovies will dissolve into the sauce) add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.

Cook pasta as instructed, 2 minutes before its’ done add the asparagus, do not overcook the asparagus, it should be firm and slightly crunchy. Drain pasta and asparagus then add to the skillet (if using shrimp add it now) add arugula and freshly ground pepper, Serve immediately with grated parmesan.

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Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Strawberries

Harvest Loaf

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp groud cloves

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Mix with electric mixer adding in above order. Place in greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes, done when toothpick comes out clean. Recipe makes one loaf. Serve with Strawberries and whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Emie