Up, Up and Away to San Francisco

This year has been the first of many for our sweet little boy, but traveling has been by far the most exciting of these novel experiences for our family. Our first trip was to San Francisco to introduce Alex to friends and family. I've heard horror stories of babies crying for hours on end on planes so I was expecting the flight to be tearful and exhaustive, and possibly ending with my head stuffed between my knees from the shame of bringing chaos into an already uncomfortable situation. 

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Fresh From New York Union Square Farmer's Market August

Heirloom tomatoes, $4.50/lb

It's Saturday morning in the city that never sleeps, and no I have not gone on my morning run. As far as I know I don't own a pair of sneakers, or a body that has the machine-like physique to carry me through town, but I'm hoping that will change.

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Fresh from San Francisco - Ferry Building Farmers' Market

It seems impossible, but each year the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers' Market gets better and better. Newer heirloom varieties, more organic choices and as always married with the same passion and commitment to quality that spawned this amazing location.

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Easy Duck Confit with Lentil Salad Recipe

Inspiration abounds at the farmer's market, where I inhale just about every petal, root, leaf and fruit it has to offer. 

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Fresh from New York Farmers' Market June Spotlight on Strawberries

We're coming upon the peak season at the farmer's market on the East coast, although we're not quite there yet. At the market were loads of red and green colored produce. These gorgeous ruffle layered and blushed peonies are a gorgeous reminder of the stunning flora and fauna available here. $10 per bundle.

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SAN FRANCISCO FERRY BUILDING SWEETS

Whenever I walk through the San Francisco Ferry Building, I can always gauge the types of food people have affinity towards. Typically the sweet tooth variety will immediately will be attracted to Miette, a patisserie shop which always has three or four large jars stacked high with macarons to entice innocent passerbyers.

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SAN FRANCISCO FERRY BUILDING, Pt. 1

I
magine a location that unites America's gourmet creme de la creme. The finest cheeses, wines, chocolates, coffee, pastries, breads, olive oil, cured meats and fresh produce and meats. I know it's a bold assertion to name any one place, so I'll make the leap to at least proclaim one place that comes pretty darn close: the San Francisco Ferry Building. If I had to choose one place to grocery shop and eat from for the rest of my life, I would choose the San Francisco Ferry Building. It  contains one of the strongest collections of suppliers of artisan/organic products I've encountered yet.

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MADISON SQUARE MARKET

The streets are growing more lively at Madison Square Garden as its first seasonal market is being held just outside the park. From now until November 1st, a wide array of food and artisan craft vendors will offering their finest creations along 5th Avenue and Broadway.
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BEST NEW YORK GARLIC IS KEITH'S

As an avid follower of the farmer's market, I have come to develop favorite sources for certain ingredients over time. For pork I like to buy from Flying Pigs, for apples I prefer Red Jacket Orchards, and even for something as common as garlic, I go out of my way to purchase from the best source.

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MASHED ACORN SQUASH WITH APPLES

A few weeks ago, I was overtaken by unrestrained enthusiasm with the arrival of autumn squash at the farmers' market. I was practically prancing around picking up one beautiful specimen after another until I accumulated close to a dozen varieties, including the traditional butternut and acorn, among several more that I've never cooked with such as hubbard, delicata and red kuri.
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FRESH FROM NEW YORK Union Square Farmers' Market

It's getting colder in New York, cold enough for Rockefeller Center to open the ice skating rink! I guess this is my signal to get ready for winter. Before long, I'll be posting photos of me skidding gliding through the arena.

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APPLE PICKING AT PHILLIPS FARM

Each Monday Phillips Farms brings in a truckload of their freshly picked produce from rolling hills of Milford, New Jersey to showcase at Manhattan's Union Square Greenmarket. An impressive array of vegetables and fruits from leafy greens to apples, berries and pumpkins don their farm stand and attracts a large following of farmers market attendees.

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A FIG TREE GROWS IN MANHATTAN

Photo by Julie O'Hara of NPR

Divinely honeyed, jammy and sticky sweet, fresh ripe figs are a tantalizing fruit that is stunning, both visually and in taste. Due to the fruit's highly perishable nature, figs are a scarce commodity outside of California where it is predominantly grown, making it an object of both tremendous intrigue and mystery.

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HEIRLOOM TOMATO VARIETIES

Early Girl

It's the peak of the season! Did you know there more than 600 heirloom varieties in existence? Each one is uniquely interesting and beautiful. I have been studying and tasting many different types of heirloom varieties, and some tomatoes I liked so much that I saved the seeds for my pop's garden next year. And just for fun, I thought I would take this opportunity to distinguish a couple of the more common ones featured at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza market.

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FRESH LOCAL & BEST in SAN FRANCISCO

After too many days of muggy weather in New York, I am in San Francisco for a retreat from the heat. It's only been a few months since I moved to Manhattan, but this is my second visit back home. Needless to say, I miss dearly the beautiful foggy city by the bay.
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FRESH LOCAL & BEST in CRESTED BUTTE

Situated at 9,000 feet elevation, Crested Butte is a small rustic town, southwest of Denver. Like many parts of the state, Crested Butte offers amazing hiking trails and incredible views from levels as high as 12,000 feet.

On a recent visit to Colorado, we stopped by Crested Butte's farmers market, which runs every Sunday between June and October.


While the growing season in Crested Butte is slim, spanning roughly 60 days, the farmers market does offer impressive variety.

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SAVOY CABBAGE

Double-click on the photo above to get an even closer look at this lacy, vein-patterned leaf. Pretty cool, isn't it?



Tender and milder in flavor than the green and red cabbage varieties, savoy cabbage is my favorite variety for sauteing.

GREEN CABBAGE

RED BEETS & CARROTS

RED SORREL

This is a slight variation from the classic green French sorrel. Sister plant red sorrel features beautiful deep rich veins throughout its delicious lemon-accented leaves. I use it salads, sauteed, and blended in sauces and soups. Sorrel is an easy way to add a wonderful bright, fresh and zesty flair.