Mar Vista Farmers Market: January 19th

Romanesco Farmers Market Mar Vista California Los Angeles

Hot and Dry

It was a balmy 80 degrees this weekend, not bad for a January weekend in Los Angeles. The air quality has been really bad, because of a forest fire (probably started by arsonists) over in Glendora, but the smoke has been providing us with some dramatic looking sunsets.

Unfortunately I didn’t take the opportunity to head down to the ocean to take a few snaps, but I’m sure they’ll be another opportunity. California’s Governor Gerry Brown said “this is the driest year on record”, and he’s issued a drought proclamation, so I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the fires.

What’s Hot at the Market?

Ever since I started my own plot at the Community Garden at work, I’ve been paying more attention of the produce available during the different seasons throughout the year. What better way to see what’s harvesting now, than heading down to the Mar Vista Sunday market.

These stalls reminded me of our cycle ride in Ojai last year, where we gently cycled past a never ending row of Californian citrus groves. The continuous heady aroma of blossom was the best part of the ride.

I had a taste of the Pomelo (but called Pummelo on the sign), which tastes like a sweet grapefruit, with none of it’s bitterness, and the rind is quite thick and is good for making marmalade. This Pomelos are huge (I put a full-size orange in the pile of Pomelos to show the scale of these fruit)

There was colorful array of winter squash, including my favorite – Butternut Squash, which has a deep orange flesh and is delicious for making roasted butternut squash soup with. It’s a traditional Thanksgiving soup, and I was surprised me to see these still in season.

Another oddity that caught my eye, was labeled a “Yellow Cauliflower”, but is actually a Romanesco, which has a striking appearance. The texture is far more crunchy that a regular cauliflower, and a little bit milder. I resisted the temptation to buy one, but next time I’ll have to succumb to one as they’d add a touch of elegance to any meal; art on a plate.

Mar Vista farmers market celebrated it’s 7th Anniversary last year, and it’s amazing to see how it has grown over the years.

The first 6 months or so were like a ghost town, and only a handful of stalls, but nowadays it draws a loyal crowd and the number of stalls keeps expanding.