navel oranges | fennel | golden beets | purple kale | red leaf lettuce | onions | herb mix

{navel, blood, cara cara} oranges | meyer lemons | kale | {napa, green} cabbage | cauliflower | yu choy | cilantro | garlic | ginger | onions | tomatoes

Looking at another year begins.

n.♥

Fennel | Cabbage | Tomatoes | Onions | Kale | Red Leaf Lettuce | Valencia Oranges | Arkansas Black Apples

Oops… Guess I forgot about that last trip to the Hollywood Farmers Market.  You can see images from all of the 2011 HFTM posts here.  Happy New Year!

n♥

Arkansas Black Apples | Tomatoes | Onions | Kale | Fennel | Yu Choy | Red Potatoes

A lost post that was supposed to go up in November.  Oh, well.

n♥

n♥

Cabbage | Kabocha | Mint | Thyme | Ginger | Onions | Tomatoes | Fennel | Kale | Yu Choy | Apples |

It was the middle of the week and I was listening to an old episode of KCRW’s “Good Food” with Evan Kleiman on my trusty mobile phone.  Each ep starts with what’s new and in-season at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market.  I usually get through the “Market Report” with a *shrug* at the ready, but rarely fired.  You’d think I could always “get it up” for a little ‘what’s hot at the market’ talk, but, yeah, no.  Something different happened this time, though.  I was transfixed by the coolest of winter squashes, Kabocha.  A couple of chefs described delectable warm, sweet wintery flavors and shared recipes; a bartender’s experiments in squash mixology had my brain scanning the aisles of TJ’s for the requisite spirits.  It all piqued my curiosity something awful.  I think I rewound or came back to that portion of the podcast at least 8 times, just to hear all that squashtalk.  It was so Harvest Festival-Day of Thanks.

As the weekend slowly approached, I kept checking to see how soon I could get my hands on some kabocha.  Sunday, seemed to stay away on purpose.  The morning finally came when I could wander the two blocks from Sunset to Hollywood; going from stall to stall looking for my obsession.  I found them.  One, a deep shade of sunset and the other, an ode to the perfect mottled forest.  They were beautiful.

They still are, actually.  They’re in the platter on the shelf.  I haven’t decided what to do.  Sounds familiar, huh?  I should to listen to that Good Food, again.  Don’t cha think?

n♥

Meyer Lemons | Garlic | Ginger | Tomatoes | Onions | Apples | Kale | Yu Choy

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Fennel | Cucumbers | Mint | Lemongrass | Sage | Watermelon Radish | Turnip| Bay Leaves | Tarragon | Broccoli | Kale | Apples | Garlic | Parsnip | Honey | Tomatoes | Onions | Oregano | Celery | Yu Choy

n♥

Kale | Cucumbers | Lemon Basil | Garlic | Arkansas Black Apples | Pink Lady Apples | Purple Carrots | Rainbow Chard | Cilantro | Yu Choy | Tomatoes

After using some of the lemon basil to flavor my first excursion into home brewing, I hung the rest up to dry.

n♥

Here’s some more about making T’ej.  I did tell you I was making honey wine, right?

Arkansas Black Apples | Pink Lady Apples | Lavender | Onions | Tomatoes | Banana Peppers | Cauliflower | Green Beans | Kale | Cabbage

n♥