okra

Fresh okra is here at African Sisters, Proios Farm and JR Organics at the North Park Thursday Farmers’ Market! Try tossing a few lightly with California Olive oil, grill quickly on a hot grill, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and eat! For fans of Cajun and Creole cuisine, okra season means gumbo time. Lucky for you, the North Park Farmers’ Market is loaded with great ingredients for the perfect bowl. Find onion and garlic at Proios Farm, celery and cayenne peppers at Suzie’s Farm, green onion at Valdivia Farm and tomatoes at Kawano Farms. DaLe Ranch has naturally raised chicken and the Meat Men supply spicy fresh and cured sausage. If you’re new to gumbo, learn some technique and check out a recipe, but remember the key is to use great ingredients and have fun! 

LABOR OF LOVE

Labor Day weekend is here and whether you're barbecuing, picnicking or just partying the North Park Farmers market has all the traditional and some of the not-so-traditional holiday food faves. Why not give your favorite summertime lemonade made with lemons from John Gilruth or Paradise Valley Ranch a new twist by adding Hillside Family farms' passion fruit. Try adding a sharp Firehouse Jack from Springhill to your Da-Le Ranch ground beef burger or top your veggie burger with some cool tzatziki from Baba Foods. Kick your "tried and true" salsa to the curb and make some peach salsa with the sweetest  peaches of the season from Smit Orchards or R& L Farms.Tired of your old sides? Dip grilled okra from Suzie's in your favorite Bitchin' Sauce. Layer JR Organics strawberries with fresh goat cheese from Nicolau Farms and Safari Crunch granola. 

Of course there's always room for some traditions and Labor Day would not be the same without corn from Kawano farms and watermelon from the Produce Stand, JR Organics or Valdivia farms.  Whatever you do with your day, the North Park Farmer's market wishes you a happy and delicious holiday!

Tomatoes, corn,  green beans, okra, oh my!   So many choices for delicious produce at the North Park Farmer's market, how can one decide what to buy?   Not to worry-succotash to the rescue! 
At the heart of succotash is corn and beans and the dish resembles a stew in texture.   However, there are as many recipes for succotash as there are imitations of Sylvester the Cat  lisping over the syllables..  Our version of succotash  starts by  sauteing Da-Le Ranch bacon and removing it from the pan.  In that same pan, saute Valdivia farms zucchini, Suzie's purple okra, onions from the Produce Stand,  Kawano farms corn,  green beans and cherry tomatoes from JR Organics.  Finish by adding back the bacon and season with Salt Farm's roasted garlic infused salt.  The result is no more sufferin' succotash!

NEXT, ON OKRA

Okra is here at Little Italy's Mercato market! You’ll find it at JR Organics, Suzie's Farms and Kawano Farms. And, we hope that it doesn't cause you any fear. Okra has gotten a bad rap over the years because when cooked, it produces a viscous substance, or "slime" that makes an excellent thickener for gumbo, but turns most folks against okra for life. We want to change your minds about the much-maligned vegetable and offer a few cooking methods that  eliminate or minimize the slime quotient.

First, try coating the okra with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill them or sauté them in very hot oil. The extreme heat significantly reduces the slime factor! Another way is to add plain white vinegar to the okra when it's cooking. This rids the slime every time and nobody is the wiser.

With that tip in mind, why not try this simple dish of smothered okra and tomatoes? Heat some olive oil in a Dutch oven; add okra, red or white onions from Vang's, and tomatoes and garlic from Sage Mountain Farms. Stir mixture together and add salt and pepper to taste, and let it cook for an hour! Delicious addition to any summer meals. It's time you give okra another try. You may find the flavor to be truly sublime!

NEXT, ON OKRA!

Okra is here at the North Park Farmer’s market. You’ll find it at JR Organics, Suzie's Farm and Rodney Kawano Farms.   And, we hope that it doesn't cause you any fear!   Okra has gotten a bad rap over the years because when cooked certain ways it produces a viscous substance, also known as "slime".  That slime makes an excellent thickener for gumbo but turns some folks off okra for life!

We want to change your minds about the much-maligned vegetable and searched for cooking methods that would eliminate or minimize the slime quotient.  First, try tossing the okra in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill them or sauté them in very hot oil.  The extreme heat of the grill/oil kills the slime factor completely!

 
Another way is to add plain white vinegar to the okra when it's cooking. It gets rid of the slime every time and nobody is the wiser.  With that tip in mind, why not try this simple dish of smothered okra and tomatoes.  Heat some Gianni's herb infused olive oil in a Dutch oven; add okra, red or white onions from Valdivia farms, tomatoes and garlic. Stir mixture together and add any salt from Salt Farm and pepper and cook for an hour!  It's time you give okra another try.  You may find the flavor to be truly sublime!

Did you notice those cucumbers that resembled tiny watermelons at Suzie’s Farm’s booth?  Mexican sour gherkin cucumbers, also known as the “mouse melon” is a newly re-discovered heirloom varietal that has a surprisingly sour taste.  Their sourness got us thinking about pickling and the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmer’s Market has a plethora of picks for pickling.

According to Chinese medicine, one should consume pickles during the hottest summer months as a tonic for cooling the stomach and strengthening the kidneys.  But don’t stop at cucumbers, almost any vegetable or fruit can be pickled.  Why not consider pickling chard from JR Organics, squash from Kawano Farms, beets and let’s not forget the pickled peppers from Maciel Family Farm!

Here is a basic pickling recipe that will get you started: Start with approximately 4 pounds of any vegetables.  Combine 3 cup vinegar, preferably apple cider, but rice, white or red wine are fine too with 3 cup water, 1/4 cup non iodized sea salt!  Check out Salt Farm for more adventurous infused and flavored salts. Cover the vegetables with the vinegar, water and salt mixture, fill sterilized mason jars and refrigerate.  Some vegetables, such as chard and leeks will need to be boiled for 5-10 minutes, before jarring.

Not so much into the whole do-it-yourself thing, then stop by the Happy Pantry booth, where they have an amazing selection of pickled veggies and salads.  However you choose to get your pickling fix, we think pickling is a great way to save your summer vegetables for consumption when you long for the taste of summer!

Did you notice those cucumbers that resembled tiny watermelons at Suzie’s Farm’s booth? Mexican sour gherkin cucumbers, also known as the “mouse melon” is a newly re-discovered heirloom varietal that has a surprisingly sour taste. Their sourness got us thinking about pickling and the North Park Farmer’s Market has a plethora of picks for pickling. According to Chinese medicine, one should consume pickles during the hottest summer months as a tonic for cooling the stomach and strengthening the kidneys. But don’t stop at cucumbers, almost any vegetable or fruit can be pickled. Why not consider pickling chard from JR Organics, green beans or squash from Kawano Farms, and let’s not forget the pickled peppers from Valdivia Farms!

Here is a basic pickling recipe that will get you started: Start with approximately 4 pounds of any vegetables. Combine 3 cup vinegar, preferably apple cider, but rice, white or red wine are fine too with 3 cup water, 1/4 cup non iodized sea salt! Check out Salt Farm or She Sells Sea Salts for more adventurous infused and flavored salts. Cover the vegetables with the vinegar, water and salt mixture, fill sterilized mason jars and refrigerate. Some vegetables, such as chard and leeks will need to be boiled for 5-10 minutes, before jarring.

Not so much into the whole do-it-yourself thing, then stop by the Happy Pantry booth, where they have an amazing selection of pickled veggies and salads. However you choose to get your pickling fix, we think pickling is a great way to save your summer vegetables for consumption when you long for the taste of summer!

According to Chinese medicine, one should consume pickles during the hottest summer months as a tonic for cooling the stomach and strengthening the kidneys.  But don’t stop at cucumbers, almost any vegetable or fruit can be pickled.  Why not consider pickling chard from JR Organics, leeks from Schaner Farms, beets from Sage Mountain Farms, green beans or okra from Vang Farms and let’s not forget the pickled pepper!

Here is a basic pickling recipe that will get you started: Start with approximately 4 pounds of any vegetables.  Combine 3 cup vinegar, preferably apple cider, but rice, white or red wine are fine too with 3 cup water, 1/4 cup non iodized sea salt!  Check out  Salt Farm or She Sells Sea Salts for more adventurous infused and flavored salts. Cover the vegetables with the vinegar, water and salt mixture, fill sterilized mason jars and refrigerate.  Some vegetables, such as chard and leeks will need to be boiled for 5-10 minutes, before jarring.

Not so much into the whole do-it-yourself thing, then stop by the Happy Pantry booth, where they have an amazing selection of pickled veggies and salads.  However you choose to get your pickling fix, we think pickling is a great way to save your summer vegetables for consumption when you long for the taste of summer!