Peaches, Plums, Pluots, and Pickles

by Jill Klein Matthiasson

This week at the Napa Farmer’s Market the selection of peaches, plums, nectarines, and pluots (all “stone fruit’) is at the height of the season!

So what is a pluot? A pluot is a cross between a plum (75%) and an apricot (25%). The pluot's flavor is dominated by the plum, but it has the mouthfeel of the apricot. Pluots are not to be confused with plumcots, another plum-apricot hybrid, developed by Luther Burbank, or apriums which are 75% apricot and 25% plum.

The pluot  and the aprium were bred by Floyd Zaiger, one of the most important stone fruit breeders in modern times. He has developed  over 100 varieites of fruit, including white-fleshed peaches and nectarines that are found at farmer’s markets around the country. Look for some of the Zaiger varieties that can be found at the Napa Farmers Market in the coming weeks including: Heavenly White Nectarines, Zee Lady Peaches, Zee Glo Nectarines, Flavor Queen Pluots, Dapple Dandy Pluots, Flavor King Pluots and Flavor Supreme Pluots.

The Zee Lady is a yellow-fleshed peach with a vibrant red blush dusted over a warm golden skin. It has a great acid-sugar balance. The Zee Lady's juicy flesh is as great for baking as it is eating out of hand. Zee Lady peaches also freeze very well.

The Heavenly White Nectarine is a very large and firm, white-fleshed freestone. The Heavenly White has superb acid-sugar balance with a rich, complex flavor. The fruit has a dull red and cream-colored skin.


…..and PICKLES

Another exciting feature of the upcoming Napa Farmer’s Market on Saturday, July 28, will be a demonstration by Napa local pickling expert Aram Chakerian. Aram will show market goers how to preserve vegetables by making pickles. This is a follow up to another very interesting demonstration about fermenting vegetables by Napa Farmers Market newcomers Wild West Ferments.

At the July 14 demonstration by Wild West Fermetns, we learned that fermenting foods is not only an age-old way to preserve food, but that the process of fermentation actually makes the food more nutritious. Many common foods and drinks are fermented including bread, cheese, wine, beer, chocolate, coffee, tea, pickles, sauerkraut, vinegar, and yogurt.

PLUM OR PLUOT TART

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
1 egg yolk
2 pounds firm, ripe plums or pluots, pitted and quartered lengthwise

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.

Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.

Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Healthy Drinks and Upcoming Demos

Congratulations to the winner of the “Rethink Your Drink Spa Water” contest, Chef Ronnie Glass of Health and Human Services Kitchen!  The contest challenged local chefs to come up with a flavorful water alternative to sodas. Chef Glass's Hibiscus Spa Water received the most votes. Stop by Blue Skies Coffee and Tea on 2344 Old Sonoma Road for a free sample of this refreshing beverage throughout the month of July!

Hibiscus Spa Water
Ingredients

• 2 pack of Hibiscus Flower
• 6 Juicing Oranges
• 2 Lemons
• 1 Lime
• 2 Gallons of water

Directions
1. Steep Hibiscus in hot (not boiling) water for 5-10 minutes.
2. Wash oranges, lemons, and lime
3. Slice lemon, lime, and 4 oranges
4. Squeeze juice from 2 orange
5. Add to water and let sit in refrigerator for 1 hour
6. Add ice and serve.

Wild West Ferments

One of the newest additions to the Napa Farmers Market, is Wild West Ferments, which is owned and operated by partners, Luke Regalbuto and Maggie Beth Levinger.  Wild West Ferments is based in beautiful Point Reyes Station, California.  They sell traditional-styled fermented foods and beverages, rich in probiotics.  Wild West Ferments believes that fermented foods are the perfect synthesis of raw foods and whole foods.  According to Luke, the fermentation methods that Wild West Ferments employs, stretch back 1,000 years, before the advent of refrigeration.

Wild West Ferments sources all of their produce from local, organic farms.  They offer a variety of fermented foods at the Napa Farmers Market, including four flavors of sauerkraut (including their signature sauerkraut – a twice-sown sauerkraut with cumin and coriander seeds), a taqueria-style curtido consisting of fermented carrots, radishes, jalapeno peppers and cabbage brined in Mexican spices, and the ever-wildly popular kimchi (these were moving especially swiftly during market).  These fermented foods are versatile and can be paired with just about any dish, especially sauerkraut, which can be eaten with pizza, salad, sandwiches, etc.  Wild West Ferments will be rotating weekly specials, so that a visit to their market stall will never be the same twice.  Weekly specials in early July included two varieties of sauerkraut – green garlic and lemon dill.

Wild West Ferments also sells fermented fruit sodas, including varieties self-dubbed as “Professor Plum” and “Apricot Cardamom.”  These fruit sodas take one week to ferment.  As Luke describes it, the process of fermenting fruit sodas is similar to making Kombucha, except his sodas do not impart a strong vinegar flavor.
Although fermented foods do not spoil, Wild West Ferments nevertheless recommends that customers consume their products within six months from the date of purchase for optimum flavor.  Wild West wants the public to be aware that there has never been a recorded case of foodborne illness involving fermented foods.
Luke is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge of fermentation with the general public.  He previously ran a raw foods café and has been fermenting foods for 10+ years.  Luke will be teaching krauting classes locally, both now and the future—not to be missed if you are fan of fermented foods or are curious about learning more about them.
Make sure to stop by to see our live demo events!  Start time: 10:00am and admission is free!

July 14, 2012 - Fermenting with Luke Regalbuto of Wild West Ferments
July 28, 2012 - Pickling with Aram Chakerian, local pickling expert
August 4, 2012 – Chef Elizabeth Skylar and BOCA Farms
August 11, 2012 - Home Canning with local canning experts

Get Grilling

Just walk down your street around 6:00pm and smell. Is that barbeque? I swear, it should be outlawed—just like popcorn in a small office space, no one has the right to cook it. Not unless they share, anyway.

July 4th is tomorrow. That’s right. And you know what that means: Time to fire up the grill. The Napa Farmers Market has two local meat producers with just the thing to make your barbeque and tummy happy.

Long Meadow Ranch’s grass-fed beef comes from their own herd of Scottish Highland and Shorthorn cattle, all of which are chemical-, hormone- and antibiotic-free. The bulls and selected cows are housed at the ranch in St. Helena, while they have several cooler climate pasture leases in Humboldt county where the herd is rotated daily to feed on nutritious grasslands. The resulting meat is lean and full-flavored, and every week they bring a different selection of steaks and other cuts, including ground beef and the best hotdogs I’ve ever eaten. There’s a reason that restaurants want to serve this meat and that Farmstead (their wonderful, seasonally-driven restaurant at the entrance to St. Helena) cook it up in various fantastic dishes including carpaccio, chili, beef ragu over housemade gnocchi and a juicy steak of the day. Paired with their own LMR wine, olive oil and veggies grown in their own Rutherford Gardens…well, pretty hard to beat.

current generation of Gleason Ranch Family farmers

Gleason Ranch is new to the Napa Farmers Market, though not new to the locally raised and produced meat scene. Coming to us from Bodega, this sixth-generation family-run business is committed to sustainability, conservation and hormone-free animal husbandry. Like Long Meadow Ranch, they are also pasture-fed, and the meat they butcher is small-scale, just what they know they’ll need for market and for their customers…no waste. They bring a varied selection of lamb, pork and heritage-breed chicken to market, including Freedom Ranger chicken (aka Poulet Rouge) that’s pretty much made for July 4th. I bought a thick pork roast, coated it with Apricot Ginger Rosemary jam (made by NFM vendor The Handmade Pantry) and cooked it as a slow, long braise, and it was mouth-watering and pull-apart tender.

Any of these meats—beef, lamb, pork, chicken—will be stunning on your barbeque tomorrow or any other day. Dive in, and know that this is the most local, most sustainably raised, most healthy meat you can serve to your family and friends. And to yourself, of course. This is celebration of local American food at its best.

Take note: Blueberries are only here for another week or so, as are cherries. Get ‘em now or hold your peace until next year!

Grass-fed Beef Brochette Kebabs

From Long Meadow Ranch comes this easy and delicious recipe. Leftovers make terrific toppings for pasta and rice, too.

Ingredients:
• 1 pound LMR Grass-fed Beef Brochette                            
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried sumac
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced                                
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped                                                    
• 2 tsp Sambal chili paste              
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 lemon

Directions:

Mix first seven ingredients in a bowl and marinate for 6 to 24 hours.
Alternate beef and vegetables evenly onto skewers.
Grill over high heat using wood or natural charcoal. The key is to caramelize the vegetables and cook the meat medium. Squeeze fresh lemon over the meat and finish with additional salt, if needed.