Cabbage Hat at Mexico City Market

While strolling through the tianguis (local street market) in Condesa in Mexico City, I ran into this lovely lady selling produce. It was so hot out she made a little hat out of a cabbage leaf to keep her head cool. That's some inventive fashion and problem solving!

Woman with cabbage leaf hat in Mexico City market

Fruit Freak: Meyer Lemon

Citrus is among my favorite fruits. Well, I am a fruit freak, so I love all fruits near equally. However in the lemon universe there is one lemon that is galaxies beyond the others, the Meyer Lemon. It's sweetness overcomes the acidity of other varieties of lemons. It's soft skin is an intense hue of yellow and very fragrant. The Meyer Lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and an orange (possibly a mandarin variety).

It's delicious over chicken or fish. I also use it often with my vegetables.

Meyer Lemons, California

Summer Salad in Winter: Heirloom Tomato & Arugula Salad Recipe

The one thing about living in Los Angeles is that we even have summer weather in the winter. We haven't seen a hint of the "polar vortex", unfortunately we're having quite the opposite situation as we are experiencing a drought here in California and should all be doing our part to conserve water.

Even though we are having a drought, there is still beautiful California produce available. Here's a quick, delicious and healthy salad I threw together from some fresh veggies from the market.

Heirloom Tomato & Arugula Salad

Heirloom Tomato & Arugula Salad

Ingredients:
1 Large Heirloom Tomato (or 2 Small Heirloom Tomatoes)
1 Handful of Arugula
Juice of Half a Lemon
1-2tbsp of Good Olive Oil
Pecorino or Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:
Put a handful of arugula on a plate. Top with sliced tomatoes. Add a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of olive oil. Top with Pecorino cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. This is more of a method and nothing is really done by measurement, but more to your personal taste.

Fruit Freak: Longan

Longan Fruit

While at the Farmers' Market this week, I stumbled across this fruit I was unfamiliar with. It's the longan. It's a relative of the lychee but listed as "near threatened". I decided I'm going to save the seeds and try to grow a tree, though they will not likely be true to seed. This means, I won't necessarily get the same tree exactly that these came from. This is why fruit trees are usually grafted.

Once peeled, you can see why they call it "Dragon's Eye"

Like it's relative the lychee, they are both in the soapberry family. The shell of this fruit is soft and leathery. The flesh is translucent white and slightly gelatinous in texture. You can see the black pit at the center through the translucent flesh. This is why the Chinese often referred to this fruit as the "Dragon Eye". The longan has a dry sweetness and a very subtle taste like a bland, white grape. It's not as sour or juicy as the lychee, but just as refreshing on a hot day.

Fruit: White Sapote

White Sapote Fruit, California

I picked up a variety of fruits this afternoon at the Silver Lake Farmers' Market. One interesting fruit was the white sapote. White sapote is a drupe fruit with a very thin, delicate skin that can be scratched off with your finger. Inside the fruit is a soft creamy flesh with a taste that is slightly like a pear and pineapple. The flesh usually contains four pits (seeds) that easily separate from the flesh. When ripe the fruit is soft like an avocado when ripe. These fruit are relatively small - about 2inches in diameter. Wikipedia claims the skin is inedible, but I eat it. It's slightly more tart and tangy than the flesh. Eating much of this fruit can make you feel drowsy. The aztec word for the white sapote was "cochitzapotl" - meaning "sleep sapote".

Growler spotted at Silver Lake Farmers' Market

A fan sent in this image of the Growler seen buying produce at Silver Lake Farmers' Market.

Like the Sasquatch, you can sometimes spot a Growler. A fan of our blog captured the Growler this weekend shopping for produce at Silver Lake Farmers' Market. 

Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. Thankfully in most parts of California, we can enjoy locally grown strawberries year round. Here are some berries from the Silver Lake Farmers' Market today... Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries.

Trying Lotus

Lotus root had long been one of my favorite snacks. The first time I tried it was at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles years ago. The root is sliced and pickled in a light sauce. When sliced it has a beautiful flower-like pattern inside. It is crisp, savory and slightly sweet and very refreshing for summer. Available at Silver Lake Farmers' Market.

Artichokes at the Farmers' Market in Silver Lake

Artichokes with a beautiful purple to green color at the Farmers' Market in Silver Lake. The market is now on Saturdays in the morning from 8am - 1:30pm and also now on Tuesday afternoons from 2pm-7pm.

The Silver Lake Farmers' Market is located where Griffith Park Blvd. meets Sunset Blvd. near Sunset Junction.

Silver Lake Farmers Market
3700 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

SAT 8am - 1:30pm 
TUE 2pm-7pm.

more info 213-413-7770

Bok Choy from the Garden

Bok choy is a delicious leafy green. I like to lightly stir fry it with a splash of oyster sauce, soy sauce and garlic in sesame seed oil.

Here is bok choy I recently harvested from my garden.

Bok choy freshly harvested from my garden

Bok choy a different perspective

Recipe: Mandarin Ginger Roasted Beets

Mandarin Ginger Roasted Beets

I grew up eating beets but they were usually pickled. One day after seeing them at the farmers' market regularly, I decided to buy some and make a beet dish. Here is the recipe for Mandarin Ginger Roasted Beets I created:

MANDARIN GINGER ROASTED BEETS
Recipe by Larimie Garcia for GrowlerEats.com

Ingredients:

3 Medium Beets, Washed, Peeled and Cut into quarters/sixths
½ Red Onion, Chopped into small pieces
1 Mandarin Orange (can substitute any type of orange or tangerine)
1 Tsp Ginger, Fresh is preffered. Chopped very fine.
1 Tsp Butter, Softened
½ Tsp Chile Powder
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Set Mandarin Orange aside.

2. Wash, peel, chop Beets into quarters/sixths depending on how large your beets are. Dice Onion into small pieces. Chop Fresh Ginger very fine. Mix with remaining ingredients in large bowl.

3. Add zest of 1/2 madarin orange. Now peel orange and squeeze all the juice out of the flesh and add remaining flesh to bowl. Mix in.

4. Put all ingredients in small, shallow roasting pan.

5. Cook at 350 for 40-60 min. Stirring and basting beets in juice every 10-15 minutes.

Served as vegetarian course or side dish with beef, duck or pork.

Color: Pink

Dragon Fruit, Silvelake Farmers' Market

The color of the Dragonfruit is rich and vivid. The flesh inside is a blend of bright pink, fuchsia and megenta peppered with black speckles. The skin has a pink tone that turns a yellow-green at the edge of it's scales. This Dragonfruit is from the Farmers' Market in Silverlake, Los Angeles, California.

Raw Cane Juice being made at Farmers' Market

Watch Raw Sugar Cane Juice be made at Farmers' Market in Silverlake, Los Angeles.