This Month at the Farmers Market. Spring Has Sprung!

By Debra Morris–

Hippity hoppity Easter’s on its way! Make your way to your neighborhood Castro Farmers’ Market to pick up all of your spring feast ingredients, from eggs and strawberries to leafy greens, honey and baked goods.

Get your fresh eggs from Shelly’s Farm Fresh out of Brentwood who has the most delicious eggs around! Collected from her pastured “girls,” the eggs are perfect for a spring omelet, quiche or deviled eggs. Get an extra carton for the Easter egg hunt! Once you’ve tried her eggs, you won’t go back to any others.

Pick up a flat of sweet strawberries from BerryLicious in Gilroy. Their rich agricultural land grows some fantastic fruits and they offer both conventionally-grown and organic berries.

And who can forget asparagus at this time of year? Jacob’s Farm of Los Banos brings to market some awesome asparagus just waiting to be roasted, grilled or added to a quiche. Whether you like them jumbo or thin, their spears are some of the best around.

Spring honey at the market? You bet! Pirate Creek Bees brings their local honey collected from bees buzzing around the hills near Sunol. Their raw and unfiltered pure honey will make you roll your eyes in delight with their wildflower honey. Try some in your tea, atop your yogurt or on a hot biscuit.

Be sure also to pick up some fresh baked bread and rolls from Feel Good Bakery of Alameda, a dozen freshly-made tamales from Donna’s Tamales out of Martinez, and some fantastic aged raw goat cheese from Evergreen Acres Dairy from Tres Pinos.

We have everything you need to make your spring the tastiest with fresh produce and other products from the farmers who grew them. Our farmers and additional purveyors of fine goods would like to thank you, our valuable customers, for making the Grand Opening last month a highlight of the season. Thank you for your support, and we’ll see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Browned Buttered Almonds
1 16 oz. bag of raw almonds, blanched*
4 tbsp. of pastured butter
Quality local honey to taste (we used around 4 tbsp.)
Kosher salt to taste
Optional; garnished with lavender flower

Place four tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan until it melts and starts to bubble. Add the blanched almonds and cook until the butter and the almonds are slightly browned. Add honey and salt to taste. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow the almonds to cool. Serve inside a bowl and garnish with lavender flowers.
Recipe: Cookin’ the Market, PCFMA.

*Blanching almonds: Place the almonds in a bowl. Then pour boiling water into the bowl to barely cover the almonds. Let the almonds sit for 1 minute and no longer. Make sure not to let the almonds sit in hot water too long or else they’ll lose their crispness. Drain the water from the bowl and rinse the almonds under cold water; drain again. Pat the almonds dry with a soft cloth or paper towel. To slip the skins off the almonds, take one nut at a time and pinch one end, allowing the skin to loosen. The nut will basically pop out of its skin.

Debra Morris is a spokesperson for the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA). Check out the PCFMA website for recipes, information about farmers’ markets throughout the region and for much more: https://www.pcfma.org/