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.

Rare Fruit Finds

By Jill Klein Matthiasson: Napa Farmers Market Board Member

It’s starting to be that time of year again when, first apricots and apriums (a cross between apricots and plums) and then peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots (another plum/apricot cross) and other stone fruit appear at the Farmers Market. Stone fruit is a truly seasonal treat, and the most flavorful, ripest, juiciest fruit appears at the market for a small window from Mid-June to Mid-September. Like tomatoes, there is really no substitute for freshly picked stone fruit, so now is the time to hit the Farmers Market in full force!

Blenheim Apricots

You can start your visit at the Bera Farms stand for their coveted Blenheim Apricots. In the early 1900’s, the Blenheim Apricot was the most commonly planted apricot variety in California. However it is a slightly homely fruit, with a green shoulder (the area next to where the fruit attaches to the tree) and a tendency for the fruit to get a lot of scars, and since the fruit is very soft it doesn’t ship well. So although there were 32,000 tons produced in 1988, that number had dropped to only 4,000 tons by 2008 and the number has gone down every year since.

Because of it’s amazing flavor, with the perfect balance of acid and sugar, a number of chefs and foodies are rallying to bring the Blenheim apricot back into popularity. As one Blenheim farmer has said, “It has a complex flavor and only reaches its perfection in certain climates. It has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, aromatics and true apricot flavor. When they both reach perfection, everybody celebrates.” Because of the limited production of this delicious fruit, they are rarely available at the grocery store, but you can find them at the Napa Farmers Market.

Santa Rosa Plums

Another delicious variety of stone fruit that will make an appearance at the market very soon is the Santa Rosa plum. The Santa Rosa plum was bred by a brilliant horticulturalist name Luther Burbank.

Born in 1849, Luther Burbank, famous for breeding the Russet Burbank potato, the Freestone peach (any peach which comes away easily from the pit or stone), and the Shasta daisy, introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants. Though he is most famous for the potato that bears his name, fruit lovers might argue that his crowning achievement was the Santa Rosa plum. Introduced in 1906, the Santa Rosa is still the gold standard for plum flavor, and though it has fallen out of favor commercially, you can find these plums at the Napa Farmers’ Market in late June and early July. And after you bite into a rich, tangy Santa Rosa, almost anything else tastes insipid.

Apricot Jam

Blenheim Apricot Jam

2 ½ lbs Blenheim apricots, pitted and cut into quarters
3 cups sugar
Noyaux (apricot kernels *see below)- 10 or fewer
juice of 1 lemon

Stir the diced apricots and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed nonreactive pot.  Let the mixture stand at least 30 minutes, to overnight...this will let the apricots release their juices and the sugar dissolve.  Chop up your noyaux and add to the fruit and sugar (they are strong, so don't use more than 10 for a batch this size).  Put a small plate in freezer to use later for checking the consistency of the jam.

Prepare four 8-oz. canning jars and self-sealing lids, per manufacturer's directions.

Bring the pot of fruit to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom.  The mixture will bubbleup dramatically, rising high up the sides of the pot.  Skim off any light-colored foam that rises and collects on the sides.  Soon the jam will boil down, forming smaller, thicker bubbles.  At this point, start testing for consistency by putting a small spoonful of jam on the plate.  This will cool off the jam sample quickly so you can tell what finished texture will be like.  When the jam has cooked to the thickness you want, stir in the lemon juice.  Turn off heat and carefully ladle the jam into the prepared canning jars, allowing at least 1/4" of headroom.  Seal, per manufacturer's instructions.  The jam will keep for about a year.  Alternately, make a smaller batch and keep it in the fridge or use it right away.

* the Noyaux is the kernel inside the apricot pit. It has a very good, bitter almond flavor. To prepare the Noyaux, place 10 apricot pits on a sheet/pan and roast them in a 350 degree F oven for ~15 minutes.  Then crack open the pits to extract the kernel (noyaux).  The kernel is very hard, so use a hammer or the butt end of the knife...or a nutcracker.  Put the kernels back in the oven and roast them for another 10 minutes. Chop them up and they're ready to use.

The Napa Farmers’ Market is held Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7:30a.m.-noon, May through October in the Oxbow Public Market parking lot.  It accepts WIC and Cal Fresh benefits.  For more information on upcoming events visit us online at www.napafarmersmarket.com and on Facebook.

Enhance the farmers’ market experience through Facebook!

By: Isla Ruffo, NFM Board Member and former NFM Market Manager

     In modern society, where grocery stores can sustain a wide array of produce from all over the world, all year long,  the awareness of what’s in season locally has become elusive.  You can buy perfectly sweet table grapes imported from Chile in the middle of December when our local climate is too cold to grow them. It’s nice to have the luxury of limitless produce year round, but it also forces us to lose touch with the seasonality of our own geographic area.

Now there’s an easy and fun way to keep track of what’s in season and what will be available at the market each week. Use Facebook to connect with the Napa Farmers Market and with our vendors, then ask them for information about produce and products or place a special order to be picked at market.  If you’d like to be better in tune with local seasonality but don’t know where to start, you can begin by “liking” the Napa Farmers Market  on facebook to receive updates of what’s new each week.  Tenbrink Farms actively uses this communication tool, and if you hit them with a “like”, you will find out that succulent apriums (apricot-plum hybrid) are now in full swing and that there’s something delicious out there that you’ve never tried, like a loquat - a unique and delectable fruit, indigenous to southeastern China, that successfully grows here in California right now, for a short time.  

You can also keep up-to-date on other market news through Facebook, such as the seasonal debut of Story Time, which begins today at ten o’clock – it’s a half hour of  animated story telling for the little ones.  You may also want to know that Napa Humane will be at the market this coming Saturday with some very special four legged friends--including Lofty, the friendliest and sweetest pup that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and who, ironically, has been at the shelter since November.

Since blueberries will be available at the market for only two more weeks, I’m including this simple but delicious recipe that I came up with last summer, which allows us to enjoy the simply beauty of the fruit itself, fresh and raw.  Enjoy!

Fromage Blanc & Blueberry Toasts

Yield: about 20 bite size pieces

-6 ounces of fresh blueberries

-1 small loaf of walnut bread

-1  half-pint size container of Fromage Blanc

-1 lemon, juiced

-1/2 teaspoon of Honey

-Sea salt to taste

-Mint leaves for garnish

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

1- Slice bread about 1/8 of an inch thick so that there are at least twenty bite size pieces. You may cut the pieces in half to make them smaller if they are too big around.

2- Place bread on a sheet pan in the hot oven for about ten minutes or until they start to gold. Then pull out and let cool.

3- Wash blueberries and place them in a bowl along with the lemon juice and honey, and toss together being carefull not to damage the berries too much.

4- Scoop a small spoonful of the Fromage Blanc on each piece of toast and then drop a few of the marinated berries on top.

5- Garnish each toast with a  few grains of sea salt and a small mint leaf.

Morningsun Herb Farm

For 17 years, Morningsun Herb Farm has been a staple at the Napa Farmers Market. That’s quite a legacy for garden-planting Napans!  Every Tuesday and Saturday morning, Rose Loveall is there, helping her loyal customers—and customers she’s just met—with potted herbs and plant starts so they can be assured of strong, healthy gardens in their own backyards. For those who are new market goers, this is the go-to place for all of your planting needs.

Named after the glorious sunrise that glows over the hills above this Vacaville property, Morningsun Herb Farm has been in business for 18 years on Rose’s family property where she has lived since she was 3 days old. With the support and hands-on help of her father, mother and brother, Rose and husband Dan made Morningsun happen. It was very much a group effort, with Rose and her father at the helm. And every day is a testament to that strong union.

Supplying some of the larger local gardening shops with inventory, Morningsun Herb Farm is well known for its healthy plant starters and knowledgeable advice on how to nurture those babies into adulthood. They host two large events on their home turf in Vacaville: Open House on the day before Mother’s Day, and Tomato Day with more heirloom varieties to taste and be amazed at than you’ve ever imagined in mid-August.

What to plant now? “EVERYTHING!” says Rose.  “Honestly, this is the main planting time for all your summer veggies, herbs and even perennials. Put in peppers, eggplants, melons and squash—both summer and winter varieties—now. And your short season tomatoes, too (cherry tomatoes and early girls, for example). All annual herbs, like basil and parsley, should have a second planting now.” And for those of us who love a garden filled with blooms year-round, don’t just go for instant color. Think three months ahead and get those vibrant autumn-blooming perennials into the ground. (Make sure your watering system is plumbed up and ready to roll, too.)

Anything to avoid planting? “Cilantro. It will bolt, unless you have a really shady spot for it,” says Rose. Instead, substitute Vietnamese cilantro (aka rau rum), a shade-loving perennial that adores our climate. Who knew? Rose…of course!

Asian Super Slaw

This easy salad, featuring Vietnamese cilantro, is a favorite at the Loveall table -- and was served at Morningsun’s recent Open House.

Ingredients:
• 6 tbsp rice vinegar                              
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil                            
• 5 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 3 tbsp soy sauce                                
• 3 tbsp golden brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced and peeled                                                          
• 1 ½ tbsp. garlic, minced                    
• 5 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced                                                                
• 1 bunch chives
• 2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced    
• 2 large red or yellow bell peppers, cut into matchstick-size strips
• 2 large scallions, cut into matchstick size strips                                            
• ½ cup fresh Vietnamese coriander (rau rum), chopped

Directions:
Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a small bowl to blend.  Cover, and let chill. (This dressing can be made 1 day ahead).  Let the dressing stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the dressing and toss to coat.  Season the salad with salt and pepper, and serve.

The Cycle of Life is a Wonderful Thing

by Lassa Skinner

In 1953, Harold and Jean Taramasso moved their family to the Napa Valley. Harold grew apples and pears and raised chickens, and Jean grew tomatoes and raised their boys. A daughter came along and the farm shifted to raising horse and cattle. That daughter, Joan Taramasso, is now grown up and the ranch has come full circle—back to raising chickens and growing tomatoes.

Some of you know Joan well as the former manager of our market, which she lived and breathed for 12 years (and, before that, she was a vendor). Joan also managed the Napa Chefs Market for 7 years, and the Napa Wine & Craft Fair for 6. And now, amazingly, she’s back as a vendor at the market again—selling eggs laid by free-roaming, pastured chickens on her family ranch, and ready-to-plant heirloom tomato starts.

Joan, Matthew Blach, and Cohan Sculley are the industrious team behind Taramasso Ranch, which began raising chickens over a year ago and now have 1000-plus vigorous, thriving chickens of many shapes and sizes. Because of the different breeds—including Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Dominique, Aracauna, Pearl White Leghorn and White-Crested Black Polish—their eggs come in a spectrum of colors, from pale blue to light tan, darker brown, and bright white. All of them, though, have extra-thick shells and deep orange yolks, the mark of freshness and health.

In addition to eggs, Taramasso Ranch raises heirloom tomato plants (7 varieties) and will continue selling them at the market through the end of June. Once tomatoes start coming, canning and sauce-making will begin--all part of Joan’s family heritage. “It is shaping up to be an epic tomato growing year,” she says, which means it’s time for all of us to get those plants in the ground before the heat sets in. The future? As the ranch evolves, there will be other crops for market as they figure out what the property will best sustain. Stay tuned!

Look for Joan, Matthew and Cohan on Saturdays with their eggs and tomato starts, as well as Matthew’s Organic Karma coffee every Tuesday and Saturday—which he sells both brewed onsite and by the whole bean or ground. For 4 years, Blach was the proprietor of the Organic Karma Café on Third Street, and he continues to slowly tumble-roast his delicious coffee beans locally. Try his signature blend, Karma, or his 100% Guatemala Single Estate. Alongside a couple of Taramasso Ranch fried eggs, perhaps—sunny side up.


Joan’s Auntie Jean’s Torta

This recipe will sound like your average, everyday frittata, but "torta" is what our family always called it. While I don't know the exact derivation of the word, I'm sure it's from the Genovese dialect, since that's what my entire family spoke as a first language prior to my generation's birth.

Ingredients:
• 4 cups of any combination or single item of the following:
• Raw zucchini or squash, diced
• Cooked green beans
• Left-over white or brown rice
• Steamed chard or spinach
• Raw or cooked whole kernel corn
• 5 Taramasso Ranch eggs
• 1 tsp crushed garlic (or more, if you really like garlic)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup Bisquick
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly coat a 13x9-inch baking pan with olive oil.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the garlic and olive oil.
• Add the diced onion, grated cheese (save 2 tablespoons for later) and Bisquick, and stir to combine.
• Add salt and pepper to taste (1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper is about right for most).
• Combine wet mixture with the 4 cups of vegetable(s) you have chosen.
• Pour everything into the prepared baking pan, and sprinkle the top with a little more grated cheese.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until top is a light golden brown.
• Serve hot, cold or room temperature.