basil

What’s the best way to enjoy artisan cheese from Nicolau Goat Farm at the Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market? Maybe it’s classic chevre layered with beets from Sage Mountain Farms in a beautiful terrine. Could it be the goat feta combined with citrus-y sorrel from J.R. Organics and extra-virgin oil from the California Olive in sorrel pesto?

We love to spread red pepper chevre on country French bread from Bread & Cie and top it with caramelized fennel from Maciel Farm. Slice up aged Stanislaus Supreme and serve on a cheese plate with Fuji apple wedges from Lone Oak Ranch, roasted almonds from Hopkins AG and a drizzle of Heratige Farm honey, or try the Stagionato Misto, a semi-firm cheese of sheep and goat milk, garnished with peach-blackberry preserve from Terra Verde Foods.

Try these variations of Goat Cheese Salads, using Kawano Farms' strawberries and Smit Orchard cherries. You can't go wrong with a Strawberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Panini; grab whole wheat levain from Belen Bakery and basil from Suzie's Farm.

What’s your goat-to recipe?

Buy fresh sweet basil from Suzie’s Farm or Valdivia Farm at the North Park Farmers’ Market and lend its lovely aroma to fruit, vegetable, cheese and pasta dishes each Thursday. You’re probably already imagining ripe tomatoes from JR Organics mixed with chopped basil and spread over bruschetta of toasted slices Belen Bakery’s ciabatta rubbed with California Olive new truffle oil. What says summer like simple plates of basil, tomatoes and sinful fresh burrata from Taste Cheese? Try fresh linguine from Lisko Imports topped with homemade basil pesto.

Basil also gets friendly with fresh summer fruits: try a salad of fresh greens from Maciel Farm topped with sliced peaches from Smit Orchards, a little chevre from Nicolau Farms and a healthy handful of freshly chopped basil. Use strawberries from Kawano Farm and Eureka lemons from Paradise Valley Ranch in this strawberry-basil lemonade or add an apple for this summery Sangria. Basil’s in season throughout the summer, so add a little basil-dazzle to dinner tonight!

Watermelon Gazpacho

It's the last week of August, which means there are way too many melons rolling around. With dozens of varieties at this week's Little Italy Mercato, It's time to try on watermelon gazpacho this week and dazzle your friends at your next dinner gathering. You could make a watermelon salad, serve it up in standard, succulent slices, or use the whole fruit as a canteen for your favorite mixed beverage! (Even early world explorers like Magellan were smart on this trick, come on!)

Kawano Farms offers perfect, round red tomatoes to mix in to gazpacho and there are peppers and onions and basil galore at Sage Mountain Farms.Grab one or two sweet yellow watermelons from JR Organics or Tom King Farms to start. Dice the melon (sans rind) and add one medium sized Armenian cucumber from Suzie's Farm. Add freshly chopped red bell peppers, mint, and parsley from Vang Farms, a dash of aged balsamic vinegar from Gianni's Fine Foods and one minced shallot from Schaner's. Drizzle with olive oil from Marion's Olive Oil, and a hint of Salt Farms blended Tomato Spice Salt.

PS: Go ahead and make yourself a double batch- seems to run out quickly on these hot days!!
 

CUCINA ROMANA

Summer vegetables are in their peak, and we have to admit we're up to our cheeks in heirloom tomatoes. So let's all take a night off from the fish tacos and craft brews and shop  the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers' Market to revisit the real flavors of mediterranean cuisine. Do as the Romans do this week and set yourself up for a delectable and carbohydrate loaded Italian feast.

We're giving you the freedom to be creative here and let the produce inspire you. Be brave, and be colorful! (We won't blame you if you stop by Enoteca Adriano on Cass Street on the way home, to enjoy a nice class of red wine before cooking up a rich, sensational meal.

Start with "antipasto", or appetizers. Toasted bruschetta always pleases crowds and can be served hot or cold as you linger in good conversations. Pick up a fresh baguette from Bread & Cie, rub the slices with garlic, freshly chopped basil from Maciel & Family, and drizzle with organic olive oil from our new vendor, Bari Olive Oil. Now, move on to the first course, "primo". Nicolau Farms has a superb goat cheese gnocchi that you could serve in small portions, just after you've whet your appetite with the antipasto.

Take home a few pounds of heirloom tomatoes from Kawano Farms or JR Organics to make a homemade, spicy red sauce and create something tantalizing with those voluptuous eggplants from Suzie's Farm, or their emerald skinned zucchini.

There are so many options, you might try braising some grass fed beef or pork from SonRise Ranch and serving that over a steamy, buttery squash ravioli pasta from Lisko Imports to combine the secondo (main dish) and contorno (side dish).

Every meal must end with dolce, or sweets, and a juciy nectarine from Smit Orchards, a handful of almonds from Hopkins AG with a scoop of rich, creamy gelato from Gelato Busstop will end your meal in a sugarplum dream…
 

WHERE THE WATERMELONS GROW

In the summertime, when the sun is shining and you have a beautiful view of the bay, your thoughts turn to picnics and watermelon. That's right, the watermelon's have made their debut at the Little Italy Farmers' Market! These sweet and juicy melons herald in the season of eating outdoors, where it's perfectly acceptable, encouraged even, to eat with your hands and get messy. Find them at JR Organics in shades of pink and yellow, but you better come early, these guys disappear fast.

Sliced into triangles and eaten plain. Sprinkled with Tajin - a seasoning mixture of salt, chile and lime for fruit and vegetables - found at Gourmet Tamales. Cubed and tossed with slivers of fresh mint leaves from Maciel & Family. Blended with a bit of lime juice and water to make an agua fresca. Watermelon, we love you so.

While there are no shortage of ways to eat this summertime staple, I find myself daydreaming about a watermelon salad I had in San Francisco last summer. A darling of restaurant's summer salad menus, this one was like no other I've ever had - it was a plate of summer's best offerings. Chunks of heirloom tomatoes, crisp cool watermelon, green and fragrant basil, slightly pickled onions and pops of nicoise olives. I've waited patiently for almost a year for the watermelons to return to the markets, and now that they're here it would be a shame not to make this salad again. JR Organics has your melons and basil, Suzie's Farms has a gorgeous rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, Vang Farms has onions of all kinds (I use sweet onions, but red onions that have been rinsed with cool water to take away some of the sting and then pickled would be great too), the nicoise olives are at Lisko Imports and the recipe to put it all together is right over here.

TOMATO BASIL PANZANELLA

Nothing brings a smile to my face and a glimmer to my eye quite like summertime heirloom tomatoes. Last Saturday I spied the first of the crop on the tables of JR Organics and Suzie's Farm and already I have a list the length of my arm for what I'm going to do with them. But for starters, let's keep things simple and make a panzanella, aka bread, salad.

Grab a fist sized heirloom tomato from JR Organics and a pint of yellow grape tomatoes too, for color. While you're there, grab a bunch of basil as well. From Suzie's you'll want a red onion, a head of garlic and a handful of the gherkin cucumbers (they look like mini watermelons!). Now grab a loaf of rustic bread from Belen, Charlie's Best or Bread & Cie and you're all set to start.

Take six slices of rustic bread and cut into 1-inch cubes. Drizzle lightly with a bit of olive oil and toast in an oven set to 350F for about 10 minutes or until just turning golden brown. In a bowl mix equal parts olive oil and red wine vinegar, about a 1/4 cup each, and season with a bit of mustard, salt and pepper and a minced clove of garlic or two. Thinly slice half the red onion and let it marinate in the dressing to mellow and slightly pickle the onion. Cut your grape tomatoes and gherkin cucumbers in half and your larger tomato into bite sized chunks. Once the bread has toasted and cooled, toss it with the tomatoes and cucumbers, onions and dressing. Tear off a handful of basil leaves and toss them in the salad too. Want a little cheese with that? Crumble some goat milk feta from Nicolau Farms on top or add some tiny balls of mozzarella from Taste Cheese. Now do a little dance for summer!