SD Weekly Market Blogs

Look for leafy green Swiss chard at Maciel Farm, JR Organics and Suzie’ s Farm at the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers’ Market. Sautee it simply with a little extra virgin oil from The California Olive, with sliced spring onion or crimini mushrooms from Kawano Farms.

Make a chard pesto with pistachios from Hopkins AG, spread it over crostini from Belen Bakery and top them with Nicolau Goat Farm’s fresh chevre. Cook chard with raisins from Smit Orchards and rosemary in this recipe, or wrap chard leaves around an Alaskan filet from Salmon Slinger for lemon-thyme halibut - see Gilbert Quintos Farm for the citrus and herbs and Springhill Cheese Company for butter.

Besides being delicious, chard is super low in calories and loaded with vitamins K and A, calcium, potassium and other important nutrients, so make a healthy, tasty dinner tonight - it’s easy with chard!

The busy bees at Mikolich Honey have been working overtime to supply the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers’ Market with Wine Country Wildflower, Orange Blossom, Wild Buckwheat, and Sage and Alfalfa honeys.

Stop by for a sample and note the subtle differences in flavor based on the nectars of the different plants the bees feed on. Create a sticky situation by spreading your favorite honey on toasted Belen Bakery bread and cover another slice with Pacific Beach Peanut Butter for a high energy sandwich. Get all four ingredients needed for this Strawberry Honey Jam recipe at the market; Grab strawberries at Suzie's Farm or Kawano Farm, lemons from Gilbert Quintos Farm and apples from Smit Orchards.

Spoon a little honey into a steaming mug of Tea Gallerie’s specialty infusions and keep warm on chilly mornings. Pick up thyme from Maciel Farm and chevre from Nicolau Goat Farm for these honey-goat cheese appetizers. Have a sweet Tuesday!

Stop at Spring Hill Cheese Company at the North Park Thursday Farmers’ Market for organic cheddar and so much more from their Sonoma County Farm.

Don’t miss the Dry Jack - it’s an aged cheese that’s been been rubbed with black pepper, cocoa powder and olive oil to create a flavorful, edible rind. Use it like parmesan - we love it grated over roasted broccoli from Kawano Farms.

Smoked Yellow Cheddar is perfect for snacking - slice some up and serve with Smit Orchards’ apples, Hopkins AG roasted almonds and a San Diego brewed beer. Try making this mac n' cheese with Springhill's colby jack cheese and their rich and creamy butter. Speaking of their butter, grab some honeycomb from Meljess Bees and whip up some honeycomb butter to go with this apple-zucchini bread you can make using Smit Orchards apples and zucchini from Valdivia Farms. 

When Little Italy restaurants are saying goodnight to their last dinner guests on Friday evening, Pudwill Berry Farms’ truck is leaving their Central Coast fields loaded with just picked raspberries, blueberries and blackberries for the Little Italy Mercato!

They’ve found the perfect location to grow sweet, ripe berries all year long and it’s made them a very popular stop at the market. Try fresh blackberries with Ancient Secret’s Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of Safari Crunch Granola, mix blueberries into Sustainable Pantry’s pancake batter, or spoon raspberry coulis over grilled sea bass from Poppa’s Fresh Fish or Salmon Slinger for a savory-sweet sensation. 

Strawberries from Suzie's Farm, Kawano Farms and J.R. Organics have been coming to the market in abundance. Chop these juicy, sweet fruits and use Greek yogurt from Divine Fresh to make these strawberry shortcake muffins. For lunch, toss arugula from Sage Mountain Farms, roasted almonds from Hopkins AG and feta from Nicolau Farms with bright red strawberries for a wonderful seasonal salad. Drizzle aged strawberry balsamic vinegar from Bistro Blends on to bring out the flavor of the berries. 

No matter how you eat them, berries from the Mercato will be berry good!