blueberries

Look for the first fresh blueberries of the season at the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers’ Market from Lone Oak Ranch and Smit Orchards. Toss them in a cool fruit salad with Suzie’s Farm’s strawberries and Kawano Farms’ raspberries or enjoy them stirred into Ancient Secrets’ yogurt with a drizzle of Mikolich Honey.

Pick up fresh chevre from Nicolau Goat Farms and organic butter from Spring Hill Cheese Company for blueberry goat cheese muffins - we serve them with a cup of Black Rose from the Tea Gallerie. Grab citrus from Paradise Valley Ranch and fresh mint at Gilbert Quintos Farm for a refreshing blueberry lemonade.

Ask L’Ardiguel to fold some fresh berries into one of their authentic French style sweet crepes. It’s going to be a blue Tuesday!

When Little Italy restaurants are saying goodnight to their last dinner guests on Friday evening, Pudwill Berry Farms’ truck is leaving their Central Coast fields loaded with just picked raspberries, blueberries and blackberries for the Little Italy Mercato!

They’ve found the perfect location to grow sweet, ripe berries all year long and it’s made them a very popular stop at the market. Try fresh blackberries with Ancient Secret’s Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of Safari Crunch Granola, mix blueberries into Sustainable Pantry’s pancake batter, or spoon raspberry coulis over grilled sea bass from Poppa’s Fresh Fish or Salmon Slinger for a savory-sweet sensation. 

Strawberries from Suzie's Farm, Kawano Farms and J.R. Organics have been coming to the market in abundance. Chop these juicy, sweet fruits and use Greek yogurt from Divine Fresh to make these strawberry shortcake muffins. For lunch, toss arugula from Sage Mountain Farms, roasted almonds from Hopkins AG and feta from Nicolau Farms with bright red strawberries for a wonderful seasonal salad. Drizzle aged strawberry balsamic vinegar from Bistro Blends on to bring out the flavor of the berries. 

No matter how you eat them, berries from the Mercato will be berry good! 

Despite no rain for many weeks, rainbows can be spotted all throughout the North Park Farmers market!  Stop by JR Organics, The Produce Stand, Valdivia  or Kawano Farms and your eyes will be treated to multi-colored melons and tomatoes.  Suzie's farm has peppers of every color;  R&L Farms has vibrant yellow & orange stone fruit;   John Gilruth's avocados are emeralds in the rough;  Smit Orchards' deep purple blueberries shimmer in the sunlight and Hillside has exotically colored passionfruit. 
Those colors mesmerize the eyes, but we suggest that you do more than gaze at the colors! Take a bunch of big bites because those colors, scientists and clinical nutritionists agree,contain essential health components that can help you stay healthy.   We found these recipes that  serve up a big slice of the rainbow and are delicious:   A Tomato, Watermelon and Nicolau Farms Feta Salad  or a  watermelon, peach, tomato and avocado salad .  After trying them you'll be clicking your heels and repeating that familiar phrase "there's no place like the North Park Farmers market!"

Math geeks, we know you're out there, this one's for you. Monday is Pi Day - 3/14 - or as we like to call it Pi(e) Day. Forget about the traumas of high school geometry class; use your weekend bounty from the Little Italy Mercato to bake a pie instead.

There's crisp, sweet Fuji apples from Smit Orchards and Lone Oak to make the classic American treat, it's up to you to decide double crust or crumble. Try adding some Fiscalini 18-month cheddar from Taste Cheese into the crust for an elegant twist. Blueberries from Pudwill Farms and sweet potatoes from Vang Farms will each make outstanding options in the confectionary category, but don't forget about savory!

Wilt any of the hearty greens like chard or kale from JR organics and Maciel Family and mix with duck eggs from Schaner and some cream as a base for a rich custard-like quiche. Sautéed baby purple artichokes from Suncoast, Nicolau Farms’ fresh chevre and a handful of chopped herbs from Suzie’s are another great combination.

The pie-sibilities are endless and we want to see what you’re making with the Mercato offerings. Share your pie pictures and recipes on our Facebook page or email them to info@sdweeklymarkets.com