A longtime fan of KCRW's Good Food, which I used to listen to as a podcast from Paris, I was thrilled to finally discover the fabled Santa Monica farmers' market. It turns out that the abundant and luscious produce is only one aspect of the market. You can also buy local pistachios, nuts, dried fruit, raw milk, free range eggs, fresh unpasteurized cheese (that's right, Carlotta...)(private joke, sorry) such as mozzarella and Gouda, fresh honey (hurray!), vibrant bouquets and potted plants as well as herbs, jars of olives, and more... I even found some genuine bread, not the odd concoctions sold around the US with cryptic and endless lists of ingredients.It seems there are endless varieties of tomatoes and apples - I chose the tart Pink Ladies. The intoxicating, sweet smell of guavas brought back blissful memories from my childhood; I bought a small basket of yellow guavas of the delicate pink flesh and felt content.
I suspect there will be many more visits to the Farmers' Market on this blog. Anything you'd like me to add to my photography shopping list next time I'm there?
Emily Dickinson
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34 comments:
sigh. what i would give to be near a market like that!!
Fantastic, we have to drive a bit to collect our raw milk, but that has the advantage of providing a personal relationship with a particular cow......but raw cheese, that is so excellent. We don't have nuts either, well not that kind at any rate.......
wow! looks amazing.. i need to visit some markets here :)
I'm on an all liquid diet today in preparation for a routine procedure tomorrow, and all I can say is...
F O O D !
W O N D E R F U L . . . F O O D !
I love food markets!
This looks wonderful! I wish we had one close by. So fresh. Lovely pix.
D. MOLL - a personal relationship with a particular cow, how GREAT!
CANDACE - a procedure? I'm a bit worried... I hope you're okay... I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.
I DO have a pic request, but not from the farmer's market... is the Reel Inn taco joint still there on PCH? Would you please order a fish taco & shoot it for me?
HEIDI - hmmmm, tell me more, do you remember where exactly (or approximately) on PCH the taco place is located?
If I find it I'll definitely let you know and will enjoy a taco (yum!) on your behalf.
Did you use to live in LA?
love the farmer's market! and pink ladies...an excellent choice. i vote for pics of flowers!~
It was so lovely meeting you, Mary-Laure. I hope we can do it again sometime.
Oh, and I know what place Heidi is talking about. The Reel Inn is located on PCH just north of Topanga Canyon (which is closer to Pacific Palisades as opposed to Malibu). I've never been there for tacos myself, but I hear they're fab.
I'd love to visit the market with you!
My family used to always get our food from the Santa Monica markets. MAN I loved that stuff.
What beautiful colours in those photos! x
Mmmmm - I request shades of creams and brown, please - mushrooms, potatoes, sweetpotatoes, eggs. Markets are lovely!
"Ah... Quand-même!!!"
Though as a recognized cheese-purist (by skilled & tactful Norman Fromagères), may I point out if it's pasturised it ain't Cheese.
Sounds like a great market!! I'd like to see that "real" bread you were talking about :)
ha ha
about the bread! :)
I need a good market around here!
oooh....I do envy you when I read this ;-) I love this kind of markets, doesn't it make you feel like cooking all kind of things?
enjoy it and happy tasting!
Solange
I love pommegranates!!
These photos are just delicious.
OCTAVINE - flowers you shall have!
JOANNA - I was absolutely delighted to meet you.
And the funny thing is that on my way back home, I spotted the Reel Inn taco place; maybe we can go there together some day.
MURALIMANOHAR - I had no idea you were from around here. I can imagine you'd miss this amazing produce...
AINARAM - I'll see what I can do - the mushrooms are indeed spectacularly beautiful.
SOLANGE - it DOES make me feel like cooking but I don't have a stove or ANYTHING to cook here in my studio! Too bad...
FRANCO - yes, they're as beautiful as they are tasty!
que hermosas fotos y colores! son tan lindos los mercados!
Do they have some stalls with essential oils, soaps, and local natural products?
JENNIFER - in my next post, I was actually going to write about the honey guy, who sells home-made lipbalm. I also spotted a guy who sells natural body products such as moisturizing oil, dried herb "sachets" for the bath etc. I'll check it out next time and will let you know...
I aggree with Charlotte pasteurized it's not cheese enfin pour nous les frogs...fromage pasteurise egale "plaster" Que veux-tu, c'est culturel!
Notre superiorité gastronomique ne fait aucun doute, Jean-Louis... "Qu'ils mangent du Cheddar!"
oh you lucky girl!!! our farmer's market has it's last week tomorrow and only hearty dark greens and potatoes are available (although I'll take it!) the beauty of a temperate climate...do some shopping for me, please :)
JILL - I will buy some Californian avocados, pomengranates and watermelon and think of you on Saturday!
It's wonderful you have a farmers' market in Cambridge - I don't think it was around when I was living there.
I love photos of food, and you have done a wonderful job of capturing the simple beauty of the food there.
[quote]MURALIMANOHAR - I had no idea you were from around here. I can imagine you'd miss this amazing produce...[/quote]
I'm from all over...we move a lot, lol. But yepp, at one point, we lived in Oxnard for a few years. Which, mind you, I am NOT recommending to ANYBODY. But our proximity to everything up and down the coast was great, and we took FULL advantage of it. :D
To make it worse, right after there, we moved to the Gold Coast, Australia, about 16 years ago. Talk about culture shock. The greengrocers..shudder. Sydney now is better, but I still have dreams of going back to CA and all the produce available there. *sigh*
Came to visit your blog and I fell in love with your photos and descriptive prose! :D
I buy pistachios at the Santa Monica farmer's market every week! I used to call it my vice, but Dr. Painter says it's ok:
http://pistachiohealth.com/the_pistachio_principle.html
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