MEN WHO LIKE TO COOK: At the Santa Monica Farmers' Market
Wednesday was one of those picture perfect moments in Southern California. After days of overcast skies and
the threat of rain, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a deep
blue. A few women had on tank tops and some men were wearing
cargo-shorts, but there was enough of a cool breeze that light
sweatshirts were still the order of the day.
Last week the Santa
Monica Farmers' Market was uncrowded--maybe people were out of town in
advance of Memorial Day--but today was another story. Getting close to
the farmers' tables took a lot a patience and excuse-me's.
Flowers were everywhere and as Russ Parsons described in 
the Los Angeles Times , early season cherries made an appearance--Rainiers, Burlats, Black Tartarians, Queen Annes, and Brooks.
The
best news was the return of the pluot. Besides the Ha Farm's Mountain
Grown Fuji Apples, Scott Farm's pluots and plums (which come later in
the season) are my favorite fruits. There were nectarines and peaches
but they looked too green and didn't have the fullness that comes from
long days of summer heat.
Jimmy
Williams of Hay Ground Organic Gardening was selling potted herbs and
vegetables. Amazingly he grows all of his high-quality plants in the
backyard of his Hollywood home. In the past I had been tempted to buy
his plants but never did because our backyard was too heavily shaded.
Happily our next-door neighbor is renovating her house and she's
thinned out the giant bamboo that had doomed our garden to perpetual
shade. To celebrate our backyard's return to full-sun, I picked up an
Italian parsley and three tomato plants: Green Zebra, Sweet Olive, and
Cherokee Purple.
Walking through the market today made me very
happy. Compared to the waxy displays in the supermarket produce
section, the farmers' market feels alive with displays of freshly cut
flowers, mounds of cherries, arugula, corn, squash, onions, garlic,
artichokes, asparagus, carrots, beets, bok choy, spinach, lemons,
oranges, apples, apricots, cantaloupe, Lily's eggs, Rockenwagner's
baked goods, Carlsbad Aquafarm's shellfish....the list goes on and on.
Because
Michelle is out of town, I didn't need much, just the pluots, a bunch
of scallions, parsley, and arugula for Michael's salads. The cherries
looked so beautiful I couldn't resist buying a pound. I could happily
have eaten them straight out of the bag, but friends were coming for
dinner and with a little extra effort the cherries would turn into an
easy-to-make dessert. I ate one handful and consigned the rest to the
oven.
Baked Cherries
Yield 4-6 Servings
Time 45 Minutes
1 pound cherries
1 tablespoon raw sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pit the cherries and put the halves on a Silpat sheet on a
roasting pan. Lightly sprinkle the cherries with raw sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove and let cool. Cherry nectar will have accumulated inside each cherry, accented by the raw sugar's caramel flavor.
Dust with raw sugar and serve with yogurt, ice cream, or mixed with other fruits like mango or cantaloupe.
Comments (3)
Got something to say? Comment on this blog post:
I’m happy about the return of heirloom tomatoes. My salads have been lacking without them.
The markets I’ll talk about are the ones in Santa Monica and the Palisades. I hope readers will comment about what they’re seeing at their local farmers’ markets. I’m happy to say that my visits to the supermarket are only to buy household cleaners and meat, otherwise I rely on the farmers’ markets. I’m finding that the best, freshest seafood is now at the... more >
I had cherries from the market myself. I was very happy with them. So happy I ate them not only straight from the bag, but whole, pits and all. I find cherries far more pleasurable that way. Please keep writing about the market, telling us what’s in season, what’s at its peak, and who has the best stuff. Invaluable information and I don’t really know wh... more >