Berkeley Farmers Market, Berkeley, Calif.

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010

farmers market in Berkeley, Calif.

The Tuesday market, the oldest of three year-round farmers markets in Berkeley that are run by the Ecology Center, is now in its 23rd year. The market features 28 farmers and 14 prepared food vendors this time of year.

The Ecology Center, which started curbside recycling decades before most communities, has also long been a leader in implementing environmentally sensible policies at the farmers markets that it manages.

Location:
Derby St. between Martin Luther King and Milvia Streets
Tuesdays, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
(winter hours: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Almost all of the vendors at the Tuesday market are certified organic. Genetically modified ingredients are banned, as is produce grown with the use of methyl-bromide (a fumigant commonly used on strawberry fields). 

The market was also one of the first in the nation to ban plastic bags, starting in April 2009, when the market was declared a “Zero Waste Zone” and refuse containers were eliminated. Vendors now use either compostable bio-bags or paper bags and are required to charge customers a quarter for each bag they use. This has acted as an incentive and educational opportunity, encouraging customers to bring their own bags and reusable containers from home. The plastic ban has also been extended to packaging, prepared food containers and utensils. If it can’t be composted or recycled, it doesn’t have a place at this market.
berries at Berkeley farmers marketOn my most recent visit, it was a beautiful, mild fall afternoon, a few days after the first heavy rains of the season hit portions of Northern California. I expected summer favorites like basil, tomatoes, peppers and strawberries to be nearly gone from the market, but was happy to see that the rains spared some farms. Lucious looking summer fruit and veggies could be found beside the first winter squash.

With summer over, one of my favorite crops is dates. Man, I love dates! I hit Flying Disc Ranch, from Thermal, Calif., for their amazing selection, including the Derrie, Medjool, Khadrawi, and Zahidi varieties. With a bag of dates as tasty as candy, I had satisfied my sweet- tooth and went on to look for something more vegetal.

As the father of two young children, I’ve been trying to get more greens into my family. Sometimes I have to saute them with bacon to get the job done. Other times, I luck out and find something they’ll eat without being doctored up too much.

–Dylan Cardiff

slide show


New Zealand spinach and amaranth greens

New Zealand spinach (left) and amaranth

These greens are from Four Sisters Farm in Aromas. When I got these home, I picked some red butter lettuce from my backyard, mixed it with the amaranth and a few pinches of each of the sprouts (see below). I topped it with chopped, roasted almonds, some tasty red and green heirloom tomatoes, also from my yard, and a poppyseed vinaigrette. Wow! The amaranth is fairly mild, a bit nutty, with just a touch of lingering bitterness. Even the kids ate it!

Price: $2/bunch


sprouts

‘Sprout Krout Salad Mix’ (left) and fenugreek sprouts

Price: $3/handful

The Sprout Krout Salad Mix includes, I believe, alfalfa, cabbage, clover and onion. The sprouts, from Brooks and Daughters, of Forestville, are sold by the “handful,” one of which is pictured above, composed of half a handful of each type.


pear varieties

(left to right) two D’anjou pears, a hosui pear apple, and two bosc pears

Price: $3/lb.

The D’anjous are from Guru Ram Das Orchards, in Esparto, the apple pear is from Solano Mushroom Farm, in Vacaville, and the bosc pears are from Woodleaf Farm, in Oroville. Tonight, my family is going to have all three varieties of pears on a faux spinach salad of New Zealand spinach (not a true spinach) with some local blue cheese and maybe a walnut or two on top.


chanterelle mushrooms
Chanterelle mushrooms

Price: $20/lb.

With Solano Mushroom Farm at the market, I had some great choices in mushrooms: portobellas (big and small), shiitakes, trumpets, oyster mushrooms, matsutakes, chanterelles and porcinis. It was not an easy choice, but settling on chanterelles, I couldn’t wait to get home and start cooking. But not before also getting one of their Hosui apple-pears, my absolute favorite. This is approximately a quarter pound of chanterelles, from Solano Mushroom Farm, of Vacaville.


multiple potato varieties

(clockwise from top left) yellow creamer, purple majesty, mountain rose, russet, and french fingerling

Price: $2/lb.

This selection of potato varieties is from Riverdog Farms in Guinda.


pork bratwurst and lamb

Highland Hills lamb and pork bratwurst (left) and bacon

Price: $9/lb. for bratwurst
$12/lb. for bacon

Moving on to carnivorous treats, I talked to Ted, of Highland Hills Farm in Petaluma. All of his livestock are pasture raised and you can taste it. Wanting some sausage, either for the grill or to complement a pan of tubers, onions, and mushrooms I had planned for later, he pointed me toward a package of lamb and pork bratwurst. Perfect. Spotting some bacon, and figuring I might need it for something kid-related, I added a package of that to my purchase.


dates and almonds

dates and almonds

Price: $12/lb. for almonds
$6/lb. for dates

The almonds are from Massa Organics, in Hamilton. The dates are the Khadrawi variety from Flying Disc Ranch, in Thermal.