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The Market:
Santa Monica Farmers Market
Arizona Ave. between 1st and 4th St.
Wed. and Sat., 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
(310) 458-8712
Market-Goer: Mark
Thompson
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What I Bought:
Asparagus Asparagus
was offered in the market today in three sizes. I
bought a bundle of the largest and smallest. I had
never bought such large asparagus before. They
were a revelation. I found them to be better
suited than thinner asparagus for stir frying with
other vegetables, since the large chunks, cut
diagonally, hold up well.
Price: $3.50/bunch
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'baby'
artichokes After removing all of the
outer leaves and trimming off the tops, I halved and
steamed these artichokes in olive oil and a
little water in a covered cast iron skillet for 30
minutes or so. All but the very centers were still too
fibrous to eat. Maybe I should have cooked them long.
Or maybe these cut little artichokes are better to
look at than to eat.
Price: $
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Snow
peas, fava bean, and (front)
Mexican red and black turtle beans
Recipes:
Nine fava
bean recipes
Two more fava bean
recipes
Price: $3/lb. for dried
beans
$2/lb. fava beans
$4/lb. snow peas
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red
amaranth
Red amaranth is also known as Chinese
spinach, though it is unrelated to spinach. It
can, however, be used like spinach, either
raw as a salad green or cooked. It's loaded
with vitamins, but like some other greens,
is also relatively high in oxalic acid,
which can inhibit absorption of calcium. And
it apparently can produce harmful nitrites,
if cooked amaranth greens are reheated.
Here's a fuller description of the nutritional
merits and demerits of red amaranth. And
here are six ways
to use red amaranth.
Price: $1/bunch
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onions
and leeks
Price: $1/bunch
Albian
Strawberries
Price: $3/basket
'Visually
Challenged Apples'
That's what they were called. They needed
trimming, but they were a bargain a third of
the price of pristine apples from an organic
farm/.
Price: $1/lb.
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