Momma Nature's Bounty
Aug. 12th, 2007 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
merchimerchThis is one of my favorite times of year for produce. It isn't as flashy as strawberry season or cherry season (which have passed for the most part), but it's that time of year when you know summer is in full swing (no surprise that Lammas/Lughnassagh coincides with this very bountiful time of year). Every early August I find myself bringing home loads of delicious fruit and veg from the farmer's market that I can't always get during the year.
Right now peaches and nectarines are in season and are sweet and ripe and HUGE. I have 2 white peaches, 1 yellow peach, and a white nectarine from the market today.
Also, my favorite breed of grape is in season, which always brings me such joy. I found this grape last year while I was living in Sacramento, and the grape lady had a no pesticide year. I was tempted to her stall by grape samples and fell in love with the tiny delicately sweet green grapes. They taste basically like green grapes but so light and sweet, not crunchy with bite like green grapes from the supermarket tend to be. These grapes are petite and don't look full to bursting like the supermarket varieties. The best description I can come up with is that they are like "kishmish" in Uzbekistan, but green. Kishmish are tiny purple seedless grapes, raisin grapes I think, and my friends and colleagues in UZ would always tease me because I LOVED fresh kishmish so much that I could eat a whole stem myself. They had kishmish at the market last week and I got some, but the green variety I got last year in Sac and today at the Encino market are even better - lighter I think. They're in season, which means the price is only $1.50/lb, so I came home with over 2 lbs of them today and will be ready for more by the time I return next Sunday.
I also came home with green beans and carrots for stir fry, a load of basil that left my car smelling fragrant and edible, and the spherical zuchinni squash that I love to stuff with bread crumbs, chicken and cheese. I will be eating well this week!
Right now peaches and nectarines are in season and are sweet and ripe and HUGE. I have 2 white peaches, 1 yellow peach, and a white nectarine from the market today.
Also, my favorite breed of grape is in season, which always brings me such joy. I found this grape last year while I was living in Sacramento, and the grape lady had a no pesticide year. I was tempted to her stall by grape samples and fell in love with the tiny delicately sweet green grapes. They taste basically like green grapes but so light and sweet, not crunchy with bite like green grapes from the supermarket tend to be. These grapes are petite and don't look full to bursting like the supermarket varieties. The best description I can come up with is that they are like "kishmish" in Uzbekistan, but green. Kishmish are tiny purple seedless grapes, raisin grapes I think, and my friends and colleagues in UZ would always tease me because I LOVED fresh kishmish so much that I could eat a whole stem myself. They had kishmish at the market last week and I got some, but the green variety I got last year in Sac and today at the Encino market are even better - lighter I think. They're in season, which means the price is only $1.50/lb, so I came home with over 2 lbs of them today and will be ready for more by the time I return next Sunday.
I also came home with green beans and carrots for stir fry, a load of basil that left my car smelling fragrant and edible, and the spherical zuchinni squash that I love to stuff with bread crumbs, chicken and cheese. I will be eating well this week!
