arugula

Find fresh sorrel from Suzie’s Farm and JR Organics at the North Park Thursday Farmers’ Market!

Like its distant cousin, arugula, sorrel straddles the line between an herb and a salad green; it’s too flavorful to be lumped in with with lettuces, but too exuberant to be chiffonaded and sprinkled like dainty basil. While arugula found culinary fame and glory, sorrel struggles in obscurity in this country.

But sorrel’s not bitter (if anyone’ bitter, it’s arugula), sorrel’s tangy, tart, fruity and vibrant, ready to mix it up with roasted winter vegetables like beets or butternut squash in a salad, or swim with Springhill Cheese Company’s butter and braised radishes. Sorrel soars in simple dishes that showcase high quality ingredients - it will really bring out the qualities of estate bottled olive oils from the California Olive.

Find more recipe ideas here, and be sure to take home a bunch this week or you’ll be sorrel!

You can find dozens of varieties of bitter herbs from our vendors at the Little Italy Mercato- Imagine the fragrance of fresh arugula or mustard greens, mizuna, sweet peppermint, dandelion, citrusy sorrel, soothing chamomile, endive and bright coriander.  These are all what we call "super-good-for-you-in-every-way" greens. Historically, "bitters"  are used for ceremony, healing, and cooking. These herbs naturally improve digestion and relieve inflammation throughout the body. So, when you cook and create salads with bitters, it's like a two-for-one deal: Outstanding flavor and superb health benefits. 

Try putting together this, or your own version of a bitter herb salad. You can find mizuna, sorrel, and romaine at JR Organics. Pick out a few bunches of cilantro, mint, and dandelion from Vang Farm. Then head over to Suzie's for a pinch of arugula and some dill. Toss everything together with olive oil or drizzle a bit of walnut & basil pesto from Likso Imports over all the greens. Or do as they did in biblical times and dip (or sprinkle) your leaves with salt. The cyprus blend from Salt Farm is fabulous...To balance out the bitters, add red walnuts from Terra Bella Ranch and a few halved sweet Royal Flame grapes from Smit Orchards. Sprinkle with a few sprigs of dill, and then enjoy with slices of toasted sourdough bread from Belen Bakery or maybe a glass of wine from Triple B Ranch. 

You know those greens you find in certain salads with really assertive flavors, like peppery arugula or bitter endive and dandelion? When paired with sweet citrus fruits like oranges, ripe pears or crunchy apples, and figs, you change the flavor experience of your daily dinner salad from great to sensational. Roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pecans) bring out the even more sweetness in the greens. There are endless possible variations on this theme, especially if you account for dressings and oils or other heavier decorations. If you're hankering for something fresh, tasty, and not overly saturating, try combinging fresh arugula from Suzie's Farm with Valencia oranges from Paradise Valley Ranch, and roasted almonds from Hopkins AG. Or, for an easy lunch salad, combine frisee (that curly, fancy looking lettuce at Suzie's), with quartered ripe apples, toasted pumpkin seeds from the gorgeous varieties available at Maciel & Family, then top it with thin sheets of tender slices of beef that you can pick up from Son Rise Ranch and cook until they're perfectly roasted and juicy. 

Though its still definitely appropriate to don your homes, hearths, and patios with colorful squash and scattered fall decorations, Halloween has come and gone and it might be time to pitch your pumpkins and use up all the guts for some home baked goodies. If you're running behind and still need to pick up an orange beauty, come out to the Mercato next saturday morning and gather your goods from some of our lovely vendors.

Autumn calls us to flavors like allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. You can make some pretty fantastic pumpkin oatmeal cookies using all farmers market ingredients. Use organic, cooked pumpkin from Schaner's Farm or Suzie's Farm, raisins or dried apricots from Smit Orchards, walnuts from Terra Bella Ranch and a bit of sweet granola from Granola Girl to give them some texture. 

Or perhaps you want to go a little more gourmet and serve something savory AND sweet? How about a pumpkin-inspired bruschetta? Trust us, it's worth it. Combine fresh arugula from Sage Mountain Farm and crumbled goat cheese from Nicolau Farms with fresh squeezed lemon juice and a dash of Phil's honey from the folks at Marion's Olive Oil. Toss together with cooked pumpkin pulp, chopped red onions, a bit of your favorite vinaigrette and spread generously over sliced and toasted french bread from Bread & Cie. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and a hint of curry and cinnamon. 

It's summertime and the stone fruit is blushing, spilling onto tables, piled high everywhere you look. It's the time of year - just before the tomatoes hit - that everyone looks forward to. Eating sun warmed peaches over the sink as the juice drips down your hands and arms. Find them now at Smit Orchards and Lone Oak, along with nectarines, apricots and pluots and let the stone fruit celebration begin,

Salads of Sage Mountain’s arugula tossed with sliced yellow peaches, wisps of prosciutto and Hopkins Ag chipotle roasted almonds. Halved and grilled peaches served with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Pureed white peaches mixed with Prosecco for bellinis.

How do you like them peaches?

A MARVELOUS MARKET SALAD

Candy sweet and juicy strawberries, the spicy kick of arugula and green onions, creamy avocados and crunchy almonds. This is one of my favorite springtime salad combinations and a perfect addition to your table this weekend.

Here's how you do it. Pick up a bag of arugula from Sage Mountain, their spinach or spring mix would be fantastic here as well and toss it lightly with a basic vinaigrette using Bistro Blends Fig Balsamic vinegar and equal parts olive oil. Put it in a wide bowl and top with sliced strawberries and a few thinly sliced green onions from JR Organics. Add to that a diced avocado from Paradise Valley and a handful of coarsely chopped honey vanilla roasted almonds from Hopkins Ag. Sunflower sprouts or pea shoots from Suzie's Farm are also a nice addition. Or, consider substituting Nicolau Farm's fresh chevre in place of the avocados for a tangy rendition.