Farmer’s Market Find: Cucumbers

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This week I went to three different Farmer’s Market in the city! On Thursday I went to the grand opening of Mission’s Community Market. I couldn’t resist and bought a head of lettuce from Blue House Farm ($1.50), stone fruit from Arata Farms ($2), 2 squash blossoms from Tomatero Farms ($.50), and mint from Happy Boy Farms ($1.50), even though I wasn’t headed straight home.
A very lively FM in the Mission, offering produce, entertainment, youth mural project, and artisanal goods

I stopped by the Ferry Plaza FM on Saturday because I wanted to check out the Epicurious booth and grab something delicious to take to the Slow Food San Francisco picnic. I was greeted by bright colors popping from every booth- peppers, plouts, plums, nectarines, raspberries, kale, mint, marigolds- oh it was hard to not buy anything! I did buy sprouted lentils, and a delicious roasted beets and coriander yogurt sandwich and 1/4 rotisserie chicken from Il Cane Roso and headed to South Park for the picnic.

It was a beautiful day on the Embarcadero.

 

I returned to my usual FM at Fort Mason today to get my weekly groceries. Perfect as always, except there was no glimmer of the sun today. I was glad to see the familiar faces of the farmers and hot food vendors. I splurged and bought farmstead “Foggy Morning” cheese from Nicasio Valley ($7), to stuff in the squash blossoms I bought on Thursday. Also, the cheese is light and a great substitute for ricotta and feta. I was amazed to see the varieties of cucumbers that I bought all three kinds from Hamadas Farms. They also had the most plumpest, juiciest peaches and melons that I could not resist ($7.50). I also bought a lot of tomatoes, but Satish and I appreciate seasonal tomatoes! Maybe, I will make an Indian curry out of them. Or maybe, I will just roast them in the oven with salt and pepper. Or eat them with the farmstead cheese.

 

Enjoying the sandwich from Il Cane Roso

Other purchases:
Fingerling potatoes, basil, heirloom tomatoes, and baby spinach ($9.50)- Happy Boy Farms
Cherry tomatoes and one large beefsteak tomato ($2.00)- ?
Strawberries and a variety of zucchini ($5.50)- Serendipity Farm
Chard, kale, and purple bell peppers ($7.00) – Rio Parras Organics
Broccoli, red onion, garlic, and tomatoes on the vine ($5.50)- Swank Farm
A dozen large, fresh eggs- $4.50
Sandwich buns ($2.00)- Bakers of Paris

I spent $50.50 on this and much more! We are dining in every night this week and having a friend or two over for a meal. 🙂

Trifecta Cucumber Salad

I was really hungry after a pleasant time at the Farmer’s Market. I wanted something quick, healthy and filling. I decided to try out the different cucumbers I bought by making a simple salad. I had bought a Lemon, Armenian, and “Normal” cucumber.

1. Wash and dice or cube 1/3 cup of cucumbers
2. Wash and dice or cube ripe 1/3 cup of tomatoes (any variety)
3. Wash, pat dry, and roughly chop 1/4 cup mint

 

4. Toss all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. 5. Add 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well.
6. Transfer salad to a serving plate 7. crumble 1 tablespoon of Ricotta/Feta/Goat Cheese on top of the salad.
Cucumbers and mint are “cooling” foods, perfect foods for the summer.
Tomatoes contain Lycopene-an antioxidant that fights cancerous cell formation.

This salad can easily be made with one or many varieties of cucumbers and tomatoes; it’s all a matter of preference and what you have on hand. On a hot day, chill the tomatoes and cucumbers in the fridge before tossing in the mint and lemon juice.

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