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Market
Report
Goleta, Santa Barbara
County, Calif.
Sunday, September 17, 2006 |
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The Market:
Goleta Farmers Market
Camino Real Marketplace
corner of Storke and Hollister
Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m
(805) 962-5354
Market-Goer: Mark
Thompson
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When I first saw
these photos of the Goleta market, I thought, something's
wrong with the camera setting. The lighting is off. Then I
remembered. A massive brush fire was burning not far to the
west in the foothills east of Ojai, and this was the
smoke from that fire. |
The day before my market visit, searing Santa Ana
winds had blown over the mountains from the desert to the
sea, whipping up the flames and pushing a vast pall of smoke
through the Ojai Valley onto the coastal plain, where it
muffled the sun from
Ventura to north of Santa Barbara.
| Grey skies aside, the market was
fabulous, as are all of the markets managed by the Santa
Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association. There
were perhaps 20 farms on hand, selling fruits and
vegetables. At markets in the Santa Barbara area, you
can count on finding all of the standard seasonal items,
in multiple varieties. You can also count on finding
items you've never had before. In my case, today that
would be the pods of a leguminous tree, guajes. |
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Guajes
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What I Bought:
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Assorted Peppers
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Tomatoes The
pepper varieties include cayenne, on the far right,
and moving to the left, Peruvian purple, Serrano and a
Hungarian variety.
Price: $2-3/lb. for tomates
$3/lb. for peppers
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Thompson
(top) and Pinot Noir grapes The
Thompsons are tiny because the vines aren't girdled
and the bunches of grapes aren't doused with
gibberellic acid, two commonly used techniques to
make grapes bigger. Price:
$2/lb.
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Chinese and
Indian Eggplants
Price: $2/lb.
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Parsley,
Cilantro, Guajes (top photo); Bag of
spinach (right) Guajes
grow on trees, and the seeds, which are
rather tender, supposedly taste like
garlic or onions. Those tastes come
through faintly, almost to the point of
being undetectable, at least to my palate. Price:
$.50/bunch for herbs
$1/bunch of guajes
$2.50/bag of spinach
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Southeast
Asian squash (top), tomatillos and lemon
cucumber (middle row), zucchini (bottom)
Granny
Smith apple flanked by a Fuji-gala cross
(left) and Fuji (right)
Price: $2.50/lb.
Elsa
Craig onions (left) and purple pearls
Price: $2/lb.
Black Mission
Figs
Price: $3/basket
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