A Farmers Market, Bay Area Style

Last weekend I went back to the Bay Area for my grandmother's 90th birthday. Let me tell you, 90 is old, but I hope when I am 90-years-old I have her life of living independently with my husband, dog and garden. Then I want to celebrate the big 9-0 surrounded by close friends and family- this is exactly what happened last weekend.

Every time I return to San Francisco for a visit, it is nothing short of an eating marathon. Much amazing food was consumed including from Whole Foods, a Falafel sandwich, high-end Peruvian food (with the most amazing Sangria I have ever tasted- and I lived in Spain for six months), crepes and Zachary's pizza (I was raised on this pizza, it is the best pizza on the planet- read about it on Yelp). Anyway, one of the perks of the trip was going to one of the many Sunday farmers' markets. This particular one was the Montclair Village Farmers' Market. This is one of the smaller markets around, but it was jam packed with yummies that would be rare to find in a square state's farmers' market. Here are some highlights:

German Bakery

Peaches as far as the eye can see.

Tomatos.

Enough said for those of you, like us, who live where it snows in late June and have an insanely hard frost on September 7.

Beautiful salad mix.

Squash galore.

Giant fruit and veggies down every aisle, you know the kind of goodness that it takes three months or more to grow.

They also had fresh seafood stands, but since I got there right when it opened the fishy goodness was not out yet. I also really enjoyed all the ethnic food prepared on sight to munch on while shopping. Those of you that are still unsure about this small market, you can read about this place on Yelp.

Bottom line, where ever you are take time to check out the local farmers' market, you won't be disappointed. And if you are in the Bay Area go to Zachary's.

by Lindsey

One Stop Shopping

New this year in our town is a People's Market, it is on Wednesdays near our Town Square. From what I can tell, it is a farmer's market that has a little of everything (jewelry, herbs, fresh veggies, dog accessories and treats, pizza, seafood, the list is endless!) and goes the distance to promote buying local. Oh wait, first I have to tell you that while driving to the People's Market we had an earthquake, it was a bit of a surprise but being a San Francisco native I didn't think twice and a little earthquake wasn't going to keep me from my fresh produce.

People's Market with Snow King Mountain in the back, afternoon thundershower also looming.

I have a method when I go to farmer's markets. First lap, browse by each stand. Second lap, buy! On the first lap I saw a few things that I liked, beer, cheese, jewelry, live herb plants and mushrooms. I have had the delectable mushrooms from Mountain Valley Mushrooms before so I made an exception to my usual rule and stopped off for half a pound. I can't remember the type of mushroom, just that I asked for the best ones for grilling and received two big mushrooms! On the second lap I picked up

cheese after sampling the Idaho product.

This is sheep's milk cheese from Lark's Meadow Farms and let me tell you, it is creamy and sweet with a touch of salt. I have just been nibbling away at the block since Wednesday, no crackers or fruit needed. Yum!

Back at the homestead my dog inspected the afternoon's work

cheese, mushrooms and earrings.

So to re-cap, I survived an earthquake, added to my jewelry collection, satisfied my cheese addiction and found something for dinner. Not bad for a Wednesday afternoon.

P.S. One of the best parts of the People's Market is the live music and lawn you can relax on while drinking a beer and enjoying local treats.

Just another Wednesday afternoon in Jackson Hole.

Popsicles for Adults

Here we go, my first every published blog post.

I'm not much of a cook, my boyfriend (who also used to work for New West KnifeWorks, back in the day when each knife was hand crafted in Corey's backyard studio) is the one who does the slicing, dicing and cooking. On the other hand I am pretty handy with dips, appetizers and anything liquor based. Last summer my culinary school student sister came to visit and whipped up half the recipes from Gourment magazine's July 2009 issue (I am fairly certain she shed tears when she found out that the publication was discontinued). I was so inspired by the tasty delights that I purchased the magazine, needless to point out I have not re-created a single item. Though for the past twelve months one particular recipe article has always been in the back of my mind: boozy ice pops. That's right, popsicles with alcohol, what could be better on a hot summer day? With summer here and a girls night tonight what better chance to put this updated, childhood treat to the test?

I made two flavors, Peaches and Cream and Watermelon Margarita

First, the Peaches and Cream, here are the ingredients:

On Saturday I finally made it to one of my favorite summer activities, the Jackson Hole Farmers Market. Unfortunately, the trip was short lived because of a summer thunder and lightening storm that blew all the tents away (we literally helped a vendor chase his tent into the tourist traffic, tackled it and folded it up). While I was dodging flying tents I was able to make it to a brave fruit vendor and bought three peaches for my popsicle project.

The plan is easy

chop with your New West KnifeWorks Petty Knife , put ingredients in the blender,

pour liquid into the popsicle molds, freeze and wait...

Next I made Watermelon Margarita popsicles

As I mentioned I am not much of a chef, so I by skipped the directions of straining the puree through a fine-mesh sleeve. So we'll see tonight how that worked out. For this flavor of popsicle I used our New West KnifeWorks The 9 chef knife. I must admit that I am one of those people that is horrified of loosing a hand to a giant chef knife, but I braved it so that we can all enjoy these boozy pops.

Also easy to make

the ingredients

put ingredients in blender, pour liquid into molds

put in your refrigerator, wait 24 hours

and enjoy with friends!

P.S. The liquid from the watermelon margarita popsicles makes a delicious margarita!