Taste

WE'VE GOT YOUR GOAT

Twenty years ago goat cheese was all but impossible to find in the United States, but these days you can find an amazing selection of California goat cheeses, as well as some of the finest imports from Europe, at the Little Italy Mercato.  Taste Cheese will be bringing Balarina aged goat gouda from Holland and soft-ripened Leonora from Spain as well as Humboldt Fog and Purple Haze from California's Cypress Grove.  Ask Mary about other goat milk cheeses on Saturday.

Springhill Farms has goat's milk versions of their cheddar and dry jack cheeses; add sauteed mushrooms from Kawano and fresh spinach from your favorite farmer, you are well on your way to a world class gourmet grilled cheese. Nicolau Farms has been milking goats since 2000, and their herd has finally grown large enough to allow them to bring fresh and aged cheeses to the Mercato.  Try their original chevre with a drizzle of fresh pesto from Basiltops, or their Portuguese style aged cheese with sliced Pink Lady apples from Smit Orchard; you'll be sold!  Look for their fresh goat's milk yogurt later this spring. 

FINOCCHIO!

It's so fun to say, and it's the Italian name for fennel, the fragrant bulb sprouting beautiful, feathery green fronds at Suzie's Farm this time of year.  Fennel doesn't enjoy quite the same popularity here as it does in Italy, and that's a shame.  Raw fennel is adds an amazing flair to  salads. You can find a fantastic recipe here; find the crimini mushrooms at Kawano's stand, the cheese at Taste, olive oil at Bistro Blends and lemons at Paradise Valley. 

With our recent cool weather, you may also want to try braising fennel; put a little olive oil in a sautee pan, brown the fennel lightly, then add chicken or vegetable stock and braise until the fennel is soft and your house is filled with that fantastic aroma.  You may want to add leeks, thinly sliced carrots, apple slices or use our imagination to come up with your own recipe.  Have fun and enjoy your finocchio!

TACOS TAKE ON PIZZA AT FARMERS' MARKET

In this corner, fresh, warm tortillas from Don Tommy's Mexican Food, ready to be filled with grilled tri-tip from DaLe Ranch, or shrimp from Poppa's Fresh Fish, sauteed summer squash from Valdivia Farms, avocado and cilantro from R&L, lettuce from Suzie's, jalapeno and green onion from JR Organics, and maybe a smear of chipotle flavored Bitchin' Sauce.

In the other corner, homemade pizza dough with fresh marinara sauce from Conchetta's, topped with mozzarella from Lisko Imports or parmigiano-reggiano from Taste, DaLe Italian sausage, roasted winter squash from Suzie's, and all your other favorite farm fresh vegetables.  Who will win?  You will if you shop at the North Park Farmers' Market!