SD Weekly Market Blogs

November usually brings apples and pears, pomegranates and pumpkins to the Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market (and you will find those things this week!), but the heat wave a few weeks back means we’ll also see another wave of warm weather crops that are usually gone by this time of year.

JR Organics is still picking heirloom tomatoes; stretch summer out with this cool tomato and basil salad, using olives from Lisko Imports, basil from Schaner Farms and crumbling some chevre from Taste Cheese on top. Or welcome winter with a warm bowl of tomato soup! Belen Bakery country French bread and cheddar from Spring Hill Cheese Company will make a tasty grilled cheese to go with that salad!

Kawano Farms and Proios Family Farm have more eggplants and summer squashes, and we spotted sweet and hot peppers Suzie’s Farms.

Lone Oak Ranch and Smit Orchards are still harvesting peaches and pluots, and cantaloupe and watermelon are especially sweet right now. Enjoy the fall that feels like summer!

Find fresh fuyu persimmons from Gilbert Quintos’ Farm and Rainbow Ranchito at the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers’ Market. Look for small, bright orange fruits with a sweet floral aroma and firm flesh. They may look like squat, orange tomatoes but will have large flat stem on top.

Some varieties of persimmons are very tannic, and nearly inedible before they’re fully ripe and soft, but fuyu persimmons are much less astringent and can be enjoyed while they’re still crisp like an apple. Be sure to ask your farmer what kind of persimmon they are offering and how to best prepare them to eat. 

We've heard of persimmon salads, teas and even persimmon maragritas made in cinnamon salt rimmed glasses (yum!). Grab a bag of fresh-made tortilla chips from Ochoa Chorizo and whip up this persimmon salsa recipe! Their sweet-tart flavor pairs well with soft, fresh cheeses, like Nicolau Farm’s classic chevre or lemon quark from Springhill Cheese Company. They also make wonderful pies and tarts if the weather should cool off enough for us to use our ovens again!

Try this persimmon carpaccio with fennel salad, using fennel from Maciel Family Farm, radishes from Suzie's Farm and a red onion from Proios Farm. Toast pumpkin seeds from J.R. Organics' pumpkins and carve the rest for Halloween! Persimmon granted to enjoy the fall!

Go nuts at the Little Italy Mercato Farmers' Market! Hopkins AG brings a wide variety of dry roasted almonds, along with 100% pure almond butter- try a smear of on your sprouted wheat bread from Belen Bakery toast in the morning for a champion's breakfast. Toss slivered almonds in a salad like this; using the beet stems or a bowl of torn watercress from Suzie's Farm instead of romaine, goat cheese feta from Nicolau Farm and roasted yellow beets from Proios Farm. Feeling extra nutty? Grab a bag of gala apples from Lone Oak Ranch and dip in a jar of your favorite flavored PB Peanut Butter!

Gilbert Quintos Family Farm has fresh picked macadamia nuts by the basket. These seasonal tree nuts have tough shells to crack, but Gilbert opens them up before he loads up the baskets, saving you the trouble. Feeling perplexed about nuts at farmers' markets? Check out a little back-story on these protein-rich treats here.

Pumpkins and all your other favorite fall squashes are starting to arrive at the Little Italy Mercato’s farm booths. We spotted spaghetti squash at Gilbert Quintos Farm, bought butternut squash from JR Organics, and we ache for acorn squash from Proios Family Farm.

Try stuffing a baked acorn squash with sausage from SonRose Ranch and goat cheese from Nicolau Farm. Make the most of the squashes this season! Get creative with your stuffing ingredients. 

Butternut squash soup never ceases to please- try this easy recipe for the nights that will eventually get chilly! Add a Honeycrisp apple from Smit Orchard to your soup for a sweet touch. 

Pick up adorable miniature pumpkins from Maciel Farm or grab bigger specimens from Suzie’s Farm. Find even more squashes at Sage Mountain Farm and Schaner Family Farm. Roast squash until it’s soft and drizzle with honey from Mikolich Honey or Farmer’s Daughter, sprinkle with spices from Starre’s Spice, or top it with crushed roasted almonds from Hopkins AG.

It’s going to be an awesome autumn!