Celebrating Spring

Spring is here, bringing with it a host of exciting early vegetables! We've been featuring asparagus over the past few weeks, and it's been a pleasure to see so many folks at the markets and to introduce you to some new ways to use these tender little spears. You'll find the asparagus pesto and salad in our recipe database, with more to come soon. Thanks for all of your great questions and suggestions out at the demos, we always love to talk food and explore ideas about why and what we eat! Keep your eyes here on the website to see when we'll be coming to your local market with seasonal cooking demos and tastings. A new bunch of veggies will be hitting the markets soon, including cucumbers, basil, peppers, and tomatoes, as well as a variety of delicious fruits like apricots, peaches, and raspberries. We'll continue making the rounds, bringing you more easy recipes that incorporate these new ingredients.

It's important to remember when using these recipes that they're meant to be guides, not strict instructions. Ultimately, your own tastebuds should determine the exact proportion of ingredients in the finished food. It's often a good idea to add only half or two-thirds of a given ingredent to the dish, give it a try, and then adjust it to taste. Not only does this tailor your food to your own palate, but it also gives you an idea of what that dish tastes like with too little of this, or too much of that. Learning to identify the components in a dish and judge their strength will help you understand how to achieve a specific flavor in the future.

We're going to be out all season celebrating the beautiful simplicity of cooking with farmers' market produce. Come join us at one of our upcoming events, and see how you might be able to use these spring-time products in a new way!

Recent Cookin' the Market Blog Entries

Changing Seasons: Winter in California
Winter is a time when our natural systems tend to rest and cool off. This natural period of rest is vital to a healthy ecosystem. Less activity allows for decomposition to occur in our soils, revitalizing nutrient stores and strengthening soil structure. Rain saturates the ground and builds stores of water for the spring and summer. But even throughout the winter, California's small farms continue to thrive, bringing delicious products to your local farmers' markets.
Posted: December 22, 2007

Celebrating Autumn's Abundance
Fall is a time when we collect the fruits of summer’s labor in anticipation for the hibernation of winter. It is the most abundant time of the year. It is a time of transition. We not only feast upon the last of the summer crops, but we also see the arrival of fall and winter fruits and vegetables.
Posted: September 23, 2007

Strawberries in Spring
Spring is one of those magic times in the farmers’ market. Spring represents the transition from Winter to Summer and also happens to be the beginning of the Vernal Equinox. What this all means is more time for the soil to warm and better conditions for plants to ‘spring’ forth new life.
Posted: April 6, 2007

So Much to Look Forward to in 2007
A new year always brings an abundance of new possibilities. Here at the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association we have tons of great plans for bringing more fun and entertainment to the farmers’ market. Cookin’ the Market will continue play a major role in these events.
Posted: January 1, 2007