Small Farm Table life in the foodshed
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farm hunting in LOS ANGELES
Southern California is a magical place where all kinds of fresh produce grow on trees, in the ground, on vines, in bushes, near the water, in a ditch and under the smog all-year round. It’s not really fair. If it weren’t too warm to grow great wine I would have to pick up and move there. On a recent trip to LA, SFT felt homesick, so she visited the town’s best markets for fresh, natural produce, documented here, plus a favorite market store and restaurant.
for your health and pleasure, BEET carpaccio
Beets are pretty good for you. Their high concentration of betalain provides unique antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detox support, their phytonutrients are thought to help our nervous system, which includes important organs, like, I don’t know, the eyes, and also they taste great. Either pulled from the autumn harvest stock in your root cellar or plucked from a jar, beets can be enjoyed year-round.
three bean veggie CHILI
It’s cold, you’re hungry and fresh produce is scarce. You didn’t do all that laborious canning in August for nothing. Break out those pink girls, san marzanos, romas or whatever tomatoes you preserved, grab some beans and any other veggie you canned or jarred that you’d like and make some chili. Serve with a crispy baguette for a warm winter dinner.
sft fast food: roast chicken THIGHS & root veggies
Because you can roast the whole bird on turkey day. Thighs take half the time, are well-priced, juicy and delicious. Roast along with any of the season’s earthy root vegetables for an effortlessly hearty fall meal.
spaghetti AGLIO, olio e peperoncino
For most of us in temperate climates, now is just about the time when local produce begins to dwindle. Instead of reaching for that Guatemalan tomato, get creative or as SFT likes to do, keep it simple. Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili peppers (fresh or dried) is one of the simplest pasta preparations hailing from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Serve with a side of fresh greens, easier to find locally this time of year, and toast to the changing season.
VIDEO: BOROUGH MARKET, sft style.
SFT is far from the farm, but not complaining. Borough Market sits at the base of the London bridge, a prime location for fresh food purveyors who have been selling here since 1014. Today SFT takes a tour of London’s finest outdoor market for fresh goods, ranging from myriad varieties of apples to French sea salt and prepared food vendors. Go early to score a famous Kappacasein grilled cheese. Go late and settle happily for their raclette (you’ll know it when you see it.) Join us now for a preview.
scenes from a GREEK farmers’ market
Though more Greek farming families are sending their kids away from the fields and towards universities, farmers’ markets are still ubiquitous throughout the country. Many Athenians rely on markets for their weekly produce and bustle through with large trolleys and intense purpose. There’s less browsing than in American markets, less spectacle. It’s not hip here, nor is there a young man with a beard and bandana just off his dairy apprenticeship touting the virtues of rBGH-free milk. Just food. And Greeks who know what to do with it.
not-your-nonna’s HEIRLOOM caprese
In the fashion of our ever-increasingly efficient society, the hybrid tomato was created to extend shelf life, increase productivity and look perfect. Today SFT celebrates the imperfection and strain of the heirloom tomato, by creating an equally complicated but totally worth it iteration of the classic tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. Because do you really have somewhere better to be than in the dirt or kitchen?
cucumber VICHYSSOISE with chives & crème fraiche
Digging potatoes from the ground after 3 plus months of habitation is not a glamorous job. There’s this thing called a dirt stain, akin to a grass stain, except its brown and makes my mother cry. But pair this dirty root vegetable with the onions’ s fancy cousin, the leek, some cucumber, and a few accoutrements, for a refreshing twist on one of the most elegant summer soups: the vichyssoise.
