mmm-yoso!!!

Big Island: South Kona Green Market and Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company

After a nice lunch at The Manago Hotel, we noticed a "farmer's market" across the street.

It was the Sunday South Kona "Green Market".

There weren't too many produce stands, but lots of health food and "new age-y" type booths.

It was quite amusing. I turned to the Missus and told Her; "the sixties never ended, it just moved to South Kona". Seeing the all health products made me feel kind of guilty having eaten that nice pork chop across the street, but that didn't last very long.......

We jumped in the car heading toward Kona. But instead of stopping there we ended up all the way in Kawaihae and the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company. The reason I remembered the place was because of the last photo in this post.

Part store, part factory, part tour,  samples galore.

Like the sign says...."welcome to the nut house".........

After sampling just about everything they had out and chugging some samples of Kona coffee, I pretty much decided that the best items were plain nuts, the Spam flavored(more like bacon), and some of the glazed stuff.

All hail the shrine of Spam nuts......

There's a production line behind the window.......

you can even get your, ahem, nuts cracked.....

 

We had the whole place to ourselves and the nice ladies working here were a hoot!

As we paid for our stuff a minivan of tourists arrived and they were organizing a short "tour"....our que to hele on.

 Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company
61-3251 Maluokalani St
Kawaihae, HI 96743

 

Roadtrip: Torrance Farmer's Market and a revisit to Tasty Noodle House (San Gabriel)

The Missus and I had a great time in Vegas and our time there ended on a high note. When we initially made plans for our short jaunt to Las Vegas, we thought we'd do what we've done before, make a quick stop in the SGV for a meal then hit the road home. But after thinking things through, we decided to spend a night in Hacienda Heights. After all, we lived in the area for a good chunk of time. It would be nice for old times sake. We also decided to do some of the things we used to do on a Saturday......that would be hit the Torrance Farmer's Market. So we left Vegas at around 545am and made it to the Torrance Farmer's Market in no time at all!

I've already posted on the Torrance Farmer's Market three times already, so I'll spare you a rehash of the same old story......

Ice chest full of produce, we stopped and topped off the gas tank and headed to San Gabriel.

I'd been craving the Tianjin Baozi from Tasty Noodle House for a while, so that's where we stopped for lunch.

Remember, it was still January, so the Missus was still in the mood for soup and ordered the Suan Cai Yang Rou - Sour Vegetable and Lamb soup which was both warming and cleansing, if not super good.

I prefer mine a bit more sour and salty.....but this did fine.

Of course we got the Tianjin Baozi, which was just as I recall, yeasty aroma, light and fluffy, with a light, yet tasty pork filling.

Just the fragrance takes me back to China.

Seems like everyone who eats here orders this. A guy comes in, has one order for lunch, then proceeds to get five orders to go. Though I don't think you really the full enjoyment of these after reheating.

I could probably eat this a couple of times a week.

Tasty Noodle House
827 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776

After lunch we took our time driving up to Rowland Heights and wandered around the neighborhood.....up and down the streets we used to drive on often....Nogales, Harbison, Azusa, Colima..... We checked into the Courtyard a bit early and got a nap in.....then it was dinner time of course!

Big Island: Akaka Falls, Hilo Farmer's Market, Suisan, and other "stuffs"

Our little road trip took us from the Keauhou Farmer's Market, through Kamuela, with a stop at Village Burger. Just outside Hilo, we made a stop at one of those "old familiar places", Akaka Falls State Park....which actually has two waterfalls; the smaller Kahuna Falls....and the "Big Kahuna", Akaka Falls.

The trail here is really easy, about a half mile total and was a good opportunity for the Missus and I to get out and stretch our legs.

Not much has changed here....except there's now a $5 parking fee.

There's something about bamboo that cools me and gives me that relaxed "aaaahhh" feeling.

 

Before heading to our hotel, we drove into Hilo, near the airport and hit up Big Island Candies.

I've often recommended visiting Big Island Candies when in Hilo, but always add on...."make sure to bring money." They'll start serving you samples from the time you walk in the door, don't be surprised if you've done the ol' credit card damage before leaving. I was surprised not to see a tour bus or two in the parking lot while we were there.

Instead of staying around Banyan Drive, we opted for the Dolphin Bay Hotel, in a semi-residential area, right across the Wailuku River from downtown Hilo. The place reminded me of those 60's-70's apartments I grew up in. No A/C, but there was a kitchenette....so we decided, as we often do, to self cater.

I'm lucky enough to remember the fish auction at Suisan, long gone now. Suisan is still the major food and seafood distributor on the island and of course the shop on Lihiwai Street is still open for business.

The Missus was shocked when She asked for samples they'd give Her a couple of pieces of fish to try. I was surprised at the quality of fish for the price.

We ended up buying some "stuffs" for dinner.

If you're staying on Banyan Drive, Lihiwai street is close by.

It also seems that if you buy fish from Suisan, you can take it to the shop next door and they'll fry it up for you.

Suisan Company Limited
93 Lihiwai St
Hilo, HI 96720

We were happy to arrive on Saturday, because Suisan, like most of the other shops in Hilo is closed on Sunday.......we often joke that everyday feels like Sunday in Hilo, so Sunday feels like Christmas Day without the festivities!

We wanted to hit up one of our favorite places in Hilo, the Hilo Farmer's Market. We'd be leaving early the next morning, so even though the place was winding down, we wanted to see if things were as we remembered.

Even though the Farmer's Market runs 7 days a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays are the busiest, with the most vendors. You can get everything from rambutan to musubis here. The Missus loves the papaya from the market.

Located on the corner of Kamehameha Avenue and Mamo Street, you really shouldn't miss it if you're in Hilo.

Hours:

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sunday 7am - 4pm

Wed and Sat 6am - 4pm

It really seemed like Hilo hadn't changed much....... After driving back to the hotel, the Missus decided on going for a walk....a loooong walk. We'd pretty much seen most of Hilo during our previous visits, so I thought why not.? We walked from the hotel right off of Puueo Street onto Kamehameha Avenue, drifting in and out of businesses, finally stopping on Bishop Street....here you can see a bridge over the Wailoa River.

It hard to believe that this area was once Shinmachi "New Town", a "thriving community" which was wiped out in the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960. If you ever have the chance, check out the small, but interesting Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo.

It was getting a bit sticky out and we headed back....stopping at KTA to refresh ourselves in the A/C and pick up some liquid refreshment. Dinner itself was quite satisfying, all the great veggies and the saussicon we bought at the Keauhou Farmer;s Market.

Because we had samples of the poke from Suisan, we knew we'd enjoy it. Though there seemed to be a lot of "sauce",  the two poke we had weren't salty. The Missus preferred the wasabi poke.

There was just enough wasabi in this with a touch of sweetness.

The furikake poke was also good, though not quite as good as the wasabi version.

We both really took to something they called "Hawaiian Candy" at Suisan. It's very crisp, dried fish....crunchy like candy, salty like dried fish, it has an addictive quality that we both enjoyed.

Since this doesn't need refrigeration it lasts and we snacked on it during the rest of our trip. Good stuff!

 We had tried the Mehana Red Ale earlier in the trip, so we opted for the Pale Ale, which turned out to be a bit too "hoppy" for the Missus. I still enjoyed it though. I would have enjoyed visiting the brewery, but we were in Hilo outside of their hours.....we'll get that in next time.

Of course, we had to have some boiled peanuts which the Missus just couldn't get enough of. I think She would be perfectly happy if all we ate was poke and boiled peanuts the entire time we were home.

We also finished up the tamarillos.....

Because we'd be getting an early start the next morning, we crashed early....but man, those coqui frogs, an invasive species of tiny, quarter sized frogs from Puerto Rico which make a very loud "KOOO-KEEE" sound kept me awake. I don't recall it being this bad before. Yikes! Oh well, we were on vacation, so what a couple of million frogs mating outside our window, right? Perhaps things had changed in Hilo since our last visit after all.......

Big Island - Keauhou Farmer's Market

We left for Hilo on a Saturday morning, so we decided to drive back to the Keauhou Shopping Center on our way out of Kona. We had read a banner about the Keauhou Farmer's Market on Saturdays and had decided that maybe doing a bit of self catering might be the way to go for dinner. Of course there's still the Hilo's Farmer's Market, but the Missus was really enjoying the local produce...so why not? Also, I thought I'd grab something for breakfast as well.

The market is located in the "Long's side" of the shopping center and didn't seem very large.....but we enjoyed the range of merchants.

The stand that seemed to be getting the most attention was this one.

And with good reason. We bought a bag of tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers...they would be the best we would have on the trip.

Most of the folks here seemed to be regulars....the vendors knew a lot of them by name.

In the end, the Missus and I split up....She went to find some kale and other stuff, while I decided to get something to eat from here.

We didn't have anything in the way of a cooler or anything, but the weather wasn't particularly hot. I decided to buy a saussicon, a cured sausage which would hold up for dinner.

This shop made a nice variety of charcuterie, so I thought why not grab something for breakfast? The had an Asian influenced sausage and made something called a Banh Mi Royale.....I know, I'm not a fan of sticking anything in a roll and calling it a banh mi, but thought why not.

So while th Missus had cucumber, tomatoes, and other stuff, I had the banh mi royale.

The sausage itself was pretty tasty as was the chili mayo, but there was just too much of it slathered all over the rather routine roll. Way too much cilantro as well. The saucisson, however was delicious and would be a nice part of our dinner.

The Missus had found a stand selling this.

It's called a tamarillo, also known as tree tomato. And is also from the nightshade family. It has a very thick skin, which is slightly bitter, the pulp is very much tomato like, nice acid and a bit sweet. We would see this fruit several more times while on the island, so I guess it's being grown here now. Apparently, the fruit, native to South America, is now being grown, harvested, and exported from New Zealand as well. We may start seeing these more in the near future.

We really enjoyed the short time we spent here and will return when in the area in the future. We were eating, sitting on the parking lot wall, and admiring this view........

Talk about a nice morning......

Keauhou Farmer's Market in the Keauhou Shopping Center
Saturday 8am - 12pm
78-6831 Alii Drive
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

Pasadena Farmers Market and lunch at The Slaw Dogs (Duarte)

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy blog here, with the primary subject 'food'.  Today, Cathy is blogging, because Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just plain busy. 

This is a continuation of our Saturday road trip to watch a road test of the 2013 Rose Parade floats. When we got to Euro Pane, The Mister grabbed a few of those free newspapers stacked at the door and was reading while we were eating while I was checking my phone for spam on the blog. He saw that The Pasadena Farmers Market was held on Tuesday and Saturday and we knew the exact location- in the parking lot of Pasadena High, on Sierra Madre Boulevard, where the Rose Parade floats line up end to end, after the Parade. 

So we drove until we saw vehicles parked on the street, parked, walked across the median and into the vendor area.

and enjoyed the vast selection of fruits and vegetables in the two long aisles of booths.

I must say, the selection and prices were overwhelming- we walked through, noting prices, taking a few samples, 
enjoyed the three musicians (two with guitars and one playing a zither) spread out in separate areas,

 

as well as checking out the fresh seafood vendor- 

There was one 'taco stand', several vendors selling baked goods, one egg rancher, one olive oil stand and a honey vendor. 

 

Then I saw these, and learned what fresh picked jicama looks like! We made some purchases and started driving East, knowing we were heading home.

At some point, we were on the Original Route 66 and in Duarte.  I spotted this building

drove two blocks and turned around.  The name alone...

We walked in and looked at the menu...and it was overwhelming.  Because the possibilities of combinations of available ingredients and preparations is overwhelming.

-There are five dog types(1/4 lb Vienna, natural casing Vienna, 1/4 lb turkey, Kosher beef or veggie)

-Six choices of links (Vienna Jumbo 12" all beef, 7" spicy Polish, 1/4 lb spicy chicken or chicken apple, 1/4 lb Bavarian bratwurst or 1/4 lb ghost pepper pork hot link) types, three preparation choices(steamed, charbroiled or 'ripped' (deep fried and the casing bursts).

-Then there is a choice of 11 Sauces: ketchup, mustard, BBQ, curry ketchup, spicy sesame aioli, chipotle mayo, roast garlic aioli, horseradish mustard, dijon and buttermilk ranch

-Three from a list of 15 (or 39¢ for more than three) toppings: diced onions,  grilled onions, relish, pickle chips, dill pickle spear, jalapeños, sport peppers, pepperocini, sauerkraut, cole slaw, diced tomato, celery salt, chopped Romaine, garlic salsa verde or habañero pickled onion...

-And you can choose from 23 custom toppings for 99¢ each: Beer chili, veggie chili, bacon, pastrami, ground beef, jalapeño bacon, fried egg, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, Nacho cheese, Goat cheese, Feta, Blue, Kimchi, avocado, guacamole, mushrooms, sauteed bell peppers and onion, olive mix, truffle oil or roast garlic pieces.

Fortunately the menu is not only "Build Your Own", but does have a choice of ten 'Slaw Dogs'. Of course, we decided to share "The Traditional"

1/4 lb Vienna beef dog, beer chili, cheddar, mustard, onions and slaw ($4.99) (the only choice was between Cole Slaw or Thai Slaw, and we decided on Cole Slaw).

A cross section view- the chili was really good and the slaw was excellent- crispy and lightly dressed with mayonnaise and a bit of spice (The flavor could have been Lawry's Seasoned Salt...very pleasant and mild)

Then there were Sides available.  Not only fries and sweet potato fries, but onion rings, tots, potato salad, slaws, chili cheese bowl, small tossed salad...but 1/2 skin on fries 1/2 sweet potato fries as well as chili cheese fries, truffle fries, parmesan fries, garlic fries or, our choice...Kimchi sweet potato fries ($5.99) (yes, more than the Slaw Dog).  Sweet potato fries, perfectly nicely fried and topped with spicy sesame aioli (the 'spice' may have been Sriracha)bacon pieces (large, real bacon pieces), fresh made kimchi (not too spicy; a great version) and an over easy fried egg.

There were burgers and salads on the menu also- the salads all came with a choice of butterflied, chargrilled link.  The kimchi fries was a perfect melding of flavors and textures and was a meal in itself.  So glad we stopped.

When leaving, I asked about breakfast , since the sign out front advertised it Friday, Saturday and Sunday only...not only French Toast, pancakes (buttermilk or seven grain), oatmeal, and egg dishes (all served with fruit and either rosemary potatoes or potato tots), but some of the omelet selections contain available links (a Ghost Buster omelet using a ghost pepper sausage, with bell peppers, onions and fresh jalapeño and cheddar cheese is $7.99) and the bottom of the list- a Belly Buster scramble (diced pork belly, cilantro and green onions ($8.99)) has the only mention of pork belly on the menu. 

The Slaw Dogs 1355 Huntington Drive (the original Route 66) Duarte, CA 91010 (626)358-8898  website

Morena District Certified Farmer's Market

About two weeks ago, I received a flier in the mail announcing the new Morena District Farmer's Market. My good friends PeterL and his lovely wife Ange, had mentioned something about this to me a few months back. Well, today was the premier...grand opening...opening day, I'm not quite sure what to call it. I just made sure to check it out.

The market occupies the space between Toys 'r Us and Petco on Morena Boulevard and takes place on every Tuesday from 3pm to 7pm. You can see the set-up from the street and if you've never been here, the parking lot is huge so I don't think parking will be a problem.

It really didn't look like much from the parking lot, but there were more stands than I anticipated. I was surprised at all the prepared food stands, which I think outnumbered all the other stands put together. Here's a sampling.

Quite a selection, huh?

I'm thinking that the range of produce vendors could be a little better, but that didn't stop me from buying a few items.

But a lot of what was available was quite nice......

In the end I picked up some beets, avocados, and some of that lovely broccoli.

And of course I made sure to grab some produce from these folks.

If there's anyone I'd like to support, it would be them.

 I also picked a bottle of unfiltered extra virgin olive oil.....just to try out.

Walking through the market, I tried to think of some fast items for a light, but satisfying dinner for the evening.

There's one booth that I didn't photograph.....by the time I decided to purchase something from them, my hands were full of produce. It seems that since I first picked some up at the Little Italy Mercato in 2009, I've noticed one of these booths at every farmer's market. Yes, I bought an uni of my very own......

It was quite active....in fact, while I tried to figure out what I'd make for dinner, I'd open my fridge every so often and "pet my uni". Man, that does sound kinda wrong.....

Anyway, no time to roast beets, so I trimmed off the greens and did a nice saute.

I really had to think of what to do with the uni....as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn't keep petting it all night long. All the pigment was also starting to stain my hands. I love eggs with uni, but didn't want to take this lovely fresh uni and mix it into scrambled eggs, so I went with 8 minute boiled eggs topped with uni, drizzled with a generous amount of olive oil. Again, I won't win style points on this one, but with some kaiware on the side, this was delici-yoso!!!

Even though the Linda Vista Farmer's Market is almost the same distance, Bay Park is our neighborhood and it's good to have a farmer's market of our own. I'm hoping it does well and grows......so that I can keep on having uni for my Tuesday dinner!

Morena District Certified Farmer's Market
1210 Morena Blvd (Between Toys-R-Us and Petco).
San Diego, CA 92110

Every Tuesday 3pm - 7pm

 

Crete - Chania: A morning walk, farmer's market, Vasiliko (again), the Agora, and staying in for dinner

Crete, and Chania specifically had worked its magic on us. we were really charmedby the town, the alleyways and cobblestone pathways that wove around the Venetian structures really took you to a different time. Especially in the early evenings when the day-trippers had left and the partyiers were taking a little siesta before a hard night. The mornings were even more fun as the usually packed areas are devoid of activity other than restaurant workers setting up for the day. There's a peacefulness that overtakes you.

The Missus and I walked through just about every street close to the harbor, just soaking in the personality of the old town. It's hard ot imagine that this part of Chania was heavily bombed during World War II, or that much of the population of the city were either imprisoned or executed by the Germans, suspected of participating in the resistance. Almost the entire Jewish population of the town was shipped off to camps during that time as well, essentially destroying what was a very long history on Crete.

Yet, the beauty and charm of the town survived......

It was a nice time to try and figure out where we'd want to have our next meal....and perhaps where we wouldn't.....

I don't think that I mentioned that a pretty impressive wall was built by the Venetians around what is now Old Town. Unfortunately, the fortifications didn't stop the Ottomans from taking the town from the Venetians in 1645.

On this morning, we headed around the city walls and into Chania proper.

So what would lead us out of Old Town? Well you know it had to do with food right? When we headed out from Madonna Studio's in the morning, I stop and chatted with Thomais, who noted my interest in food. She told me that today was "market day" and the local one was just outside the city walls in front of the fishing harbor. You know I just can't resist these, right?

 I believe it's fellow blogger Lynnea, who once mentioned that the classic mmm-yoso travel post will always include farmer's markets and dogs....well, here's the proud little fellow who followed us to the market...then found more interesting folks to follow....

In contrast to the sleepy Old Town, the market was pretty busy.......

The location overlooking the harbor is quite nice as well.......

While walking through the market admiring the super fresh offerings the Missus had an idea.....

Why don't we....which of course means me, make dinner tonight? Well, I hadn't really taken inventory of what was available in our room. I did note a two top burner set-up, so the Missus settled on having a big lunch and a very, very, simple mostly veg dinner. Which was a relief to me since as much as I was tempted to try stuff like this.....

I really didn't feel up to it. So we kept it very simple.......

We headed back to our room with our bounty, then the Missus settled back in to start reading one of the books in the cabinets....book exchanges are wonderful!

When lunch rolled around, the Missus had only one thing one Her mind.......Vasiliko again. Which was just fine for me......

This time around, I ordered the calamari, just to see how it would be. The Missus isn't a big fan of the usual tough squid, but this was very tender....very, very, tender.

Of course we had the octopus....we just had too.

As we had our cheese pie and raki, one of the gentleman working here came over to chat. He had remembered us from the day before. Along with the infamous "how can you live without olive oil", we now got the "why sea salt is healthy for you" presentation.......

 Opening the little container of sea salt on the table, "you know, sea salt is very healthy for you....more healthy than almost anything! I will tell you why!" I look at the Missus with an amused look, we're both just waiting for the shoe to drop. "I can take all this sea salt, pour it in water, then mix....it will dissolve, be all gone. The same thing must happen in your body....so it can do you no harm!" We look at each other, trying not to laugh. He looks at us and add the disclaimer, "of course, if any of you is a doctor or medical person, I take this all back!" You gotta love it!!!

After lunch we returned to our room, the Missus settled in,but I was wide awake. I decided to head out for provisions I needed for dinner. Along the way out I got some directions from Thomais to the local market....

I also decided to stop by the Agora, the old central market which is fairly close by........

The building that houses the market is quite impressive; built in the shape of a cross it was inaugurated back in 1913, when Crete was officially unified with Greece as part of the Treaty of London. On this day, when I arrived, the Agora was almost totally empty. It was late in the day and all the seafood vendors had cleaned up and were long gone.

Though most of the other shops were open, the place had a "ghost town" feel to it.

It was nice to walk around a bit, but I ended up going to the market to purchase, well. just a couple of bottles of wine really.

You see, when I asked Thomais about finding a market nearby, she asked me why. I mentioned needing some salt and perhaps a little olive oil. Did I mention how generous and accommodating Thomais is? Well, I was told not to worry about salt.....and Thomais also brought us olive oil pressed from her very own trees!

Does service get any better than that? Really? We popped open the bottle of red I got from the market...the Missus had a seat on the little porch under the late afternoon sun in Chania.

It was a very humble dinner........quite simple. But this was Crete and the pure and simple are savored. Of course here, the tomatoes are sold when they are truly ripe.

So what better than a simple salad dressed with fresh pressed olive oil.........

We really took our time with dinner.

Soon we finished that bottle of red and I opened the bottle of white we bought in Iraklios. It refreshed us......

We started in on the bread and cheese we bought earlier in the day. Such substance filled us up.

Our main course may seem perhaps too simple, but we truly enjoyed it. The flavors of potatoes picked the day before, zucchini, fresh, ripe, and sweet. Just simmered in water and dressed with sea salt and olive oil......something this simple would actually cost you much more here if bought from the grower here in the U.S......this actually cost us 3 Euros, farm fresh.

After dinner, we took a walk....we had hit that mellow evening time, before much of the dinner crowd had come out.

I'd always thought the lighting at twilight and dusk to be the same, but it is surely not true.....

It's easy enough to be taken by the charm of Chania to forget the history. And you can be easily overwhelmed by the history of Chania as well. Our after dinner walk took us to a street just off the waterfront and up a hill. Here we found a archaeological site right in the middle of a group of buildings and apartments. Apparently, this is the location of one of the city's original settlements on the Hill of Kastelli, where the Minoan's settled in 3000 BC.

This was a nice post-dinner walk. But of course, according to Cretan tradition, we never finished dinner! We never had raki.......luckily, I had also bought a little bottle of raki at the market. This turned out to be good stuff! And it was a nice aperitif....especially for me. The next morning we were to hike the Samarian Gorge!

Scenes from the Linda Vista Farmer's Market

A couple of weeks ago, my good FOY (friend of yoso) Candice forwarded an email to me.... lots of info there. One of the items that caught my eye was the announcement of a farmer's market in Linda Vista from 3pm to 7pm on Thursdays. A few weeks went by and I finally managed to drop by this past Thursday. This small farmer's market is located in the parking lot of  the strip mall that houses Thuan Phat (Shun Fat) Market, Flavaful Yogurt, Pho Hiep, Pho Hoa Huong, et al....

And even though the market didn't look particularly packed at 430pm.....

 

The parking lot sure was. I ended up finding an open space down by the library.

Though were just a couple of produce booths, I ended up spending much of my time at two of them. The one Asian vegetable stand was predictably the busiest, with some major elbowing going on as women jostled for position.

 

Even though it was only 430, much of the choice greens and herbs were already gone.

I managed to sneak my way in and get some eggplant, getting out mostly unscathed.

 

There also was a organic vegetable stand, manned by some really friendly folks.......

 

After inquiring about some of the more interesting vegetables.... I picked up two types of kale and some pretty interesting cucumber.

There was also two stands selling Asian type fruits, rambutan, jujubies, and jackfruit. There was also a stand selling different varieties of heirloom tomatoes from Valley Center.

 

There were a couple of food stands present.....

 

 

But I had to be on my way home.........

I'll have to leave the other stands for my next visit.

 

And I will be back. Even though the offerings seemed a bit limited at first, I appreciated the quality of what I did purchase.....some really good grapes, nice, fresh eggplant, these.....

 

Can you guess what they are???

They call them Lemon Cucumbers......

 

And of course the kale......

 

The Missus wanted them simply sauteed...... so that's what I did. Sauteed in bacon fat, with some red chile flakes, garlic. salt, pepper, and a dash of sherry vinegar.... the Missus loved them.

 

So I guess I'll be back for more kale......

Linda Vista Farmer's Market

In the parking lot of Thuan Phat Market

Thursdays from 3pm to 7pm.

Road Trip: Torrance Farmer's Market, I-naba Restaurant, and a quick shopping stop - Torrance (Los Angeles)

Following breakfast at Fukagawa, I set my sights on the Torrance Farmer's Market. I've posted on the Torrance Saturday Farmer's Market a couple of times already. But, I'll just say it again...."boy do we miss the Torrance Farmer's Market".

There's one stand that we've been hitting for years.

 

This stand has a huge variety of Asian Vegetables and fruit.

 

There's a very diverse variety of leaves and greens......

 

 

Anybody got a recipe for Ampalaya or Okra leaves? I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick-up the yam leaves next time as well.

On this day, the Jujubes looked wonderful......

 

The Missus thought these were the best She's had in a while. I also bought three types of pluots, Chinese eggplant, Asian pears, baby bok choy, and these lovely Taiwanese white bittermelon. After all, I had to fill up that large ice chest I had in the back of the car, right?

Torrance Sat CFM
Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw
Sat, 8A-1P

 

My next stop, was a bit farther away..... but since I had some time to kill before lunch, I did a short detour at.....

 

I spent a good amount of time sniffing and shopping........

 
I displayed amazing restraint, and spent less than $20......

I also asked the very friendly woman at the register if Penzey's would be opening a shop in San Diego anytime soon. I was told that there's been mention of Penzey's opening perhaps late next year..... I do hope so.

Penzey's Spices
21301 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510

By this time, I'd pretty much digested breakfast, and was ready to move on to lunch. I'd pretty much whittled my choices down to Sanuki No Sato or I-naba. Since it was fairly warm, and I was already near Hawthorne, I chose I-naba.

 

Eating solo, I was shown to the Tempura Bar.

 

The environment is somewhat austere, though the people working here are very friendly. Five minutes after I was seated, the dining area of the restaurant was packed. There was only one other person at the tempura bar though.

I was once told that the tempura at I-naba was top notch, so I decided on the Zaru Soba (cold soba) with Ten Don (Tempura Rice) combo ($9.80).

 

This was a good amount of food.

First off, let me say that this was the best soba I've had in a while. Nothing in San Diego even comes close to this.

 

The noodles made this dish..... more stretchable and chewy than the norm, and with a more pronounced..... I can only say, almost nutty flavor, I could really get used to eating this quite often. When I mentioned how good the noodles were; the Server, a very nice young lady said it was their own hand made soba. The Tsuyu was good, not as salty as I'm used to, and quite refreshing..... needless to say, I was a very happy slurper on this day.

 

The tempura on the other hand, the reason I'd been recommended I-naba, did not quite live up to it's reputation. I found the batter a bit gummy for my tastes, and it was also on the oily side. The ten-tsuyu was delicious, as was the flavor of the shrimp. I'm not quite sure if the tempura chef was having an off day....

I'm definitely coming back for the soba.

I-naba
20920 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510

The Farmers' Market Bag from Specialty Produce..and the first meals.

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Today's episode is written by Cathy.  Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are researching future posts.

Hi.  This is an  unplanned cooking episode/$5 Friday of our blog.  Let me explain.  Here is a link to the website: SpecialtyProduce.com It's in an obscure part of town, close to the airport.  Once you find it,  park on the street and walk down near the railroad tracks to the side of the building and up some stairs and go inside the warehouse loading dock (there are footprints painted on the floor).  There are racks of kind of fancy and bulk fancy groceries (salts, oils, noodles) and a desk where you check in (and sign a waiver if it is your first time visiting) and then you can walk into the refrigerators and see many many other products. Some are sold by the case and some by the package.  There are microgreens and wraps and eggs and Dulcinia cantaloupes and watermelons and stuff that normally restaurants use (cases of squash blossoms, 5 lb bags of mixed lettuces, gallons of heavy/whipping cream). There are no prices marked, but you can ask and compared to other places,  the prices are really good for the quality.  The cash drawer closes at 4 but the building is open until 6 p.m. daily, when I have seen restaurant owners and chefs coming in to buy stuff for their kitchen.

You can also do what I have started doing, ordering the Farmers' Market Bag (look at the top left corner on the site).  You place an order for a bag by Sunday at Midnight and then pick up the bag on Thursday or Friday.  You don't know what is in the bag until you pick it up (or see a video of it, posted online about 6 p.m. Wednesday Here is a link to the SP videos of prior Farmers' Market Bags ) (Or click onto the 'Past Boxes' link).  The bag is $20, different each week and includes fruits and vegetables from about 12 farms in Southern California.  I believe in buying and consuming fresh/local/California products when I can, without having the obligation of joining a CSA , which has waiting lists, membership fees and sometimes gives you pounds and pounds of vegetables you get tired of eating and are basically inflexible with ordering weekly (i.e., you can't skip a box).  Plus there are a few variables to the SP bag which you can order (like 2 lbs of fresh seafood from Catalina Offshore  for $12, again,not knowing what you will get or a special bread or baguette from Bread on Market, chocolates from Chuao Chocolatier,  Jackie's Jams, Peerless Coffee or some California cheese). So, anyhow, this week's bag:
From the top left- two ears of white corn from Gloria Tamai Farms; four Lipstick peppers from Beylik Farms; five Heirloom tomatoes from Coastal Organics; Freckles lettuce form Coleman Farms; sage, rosemary and thyme from Rutiz Farms; a pound of mixed Pee Wee fingerling potatoes from Weiser Farms...but, there is more
From the top left: another pound of all white fingerlings (a bit larger than the Pee Wees) from Weiser Farms; the optional seafood- this week two pounds of skinless ocean whitefish fillets from Catalina Offshore , one of a handful of places I buy seafood anymore; two New Jersey Apples from Windrose Farms;  two Goldmine nectarines and a White peach from Fitzgerald Farms; about a pound of Summer Muscat grapes from Murray family Farms and  six Cippolini onions from McGrath Farms.  So, $32.  (The bag is $20 and the optional seafood is $12)and I am going to make three preparations of the fish (one fish fillet per prep, but some will turn into two meals).
Right now it is very hot out.  I am going to make "packets" in foil to cook on the grill. For my lunch.
I took the largest fingerlings, tossed in olive oil and tore the leaves off of one of the sprigs of rosemary. I sealed the packet and put it on the grill to begin cooking while I prepared the fish. Pretty much steam from the oil will do the cooking.
The Whitefish is so very fresh that I just want to taste it and not other flavors, so I coated it with olive oil and some dry slightly seasoned breadcrumbs.  (I dry leftover pieces of bread and put some Herbes de Provence in the container once I crush the dry bread). Fold the foil tight- again, steam will cook the fish.
Here are both packets on the center grill.  The potatoes were on about 8 minutes before I put the fish packet in the center.  I turned the heat on high on the two sides of the grill; there is no direct heat under the packets. It is kind of just an oven, without turning on the one inside my non-air conditioned home.
The potatoes are done when you can easily poke a fork.
The fish is done when just translucent. That bottom left end of the photo above shows the fish needing less than a minute more of heat/steam; I re-sealed the foil so the steam cooked it the rest of the way.  The fish was on the grill for about 6 minutes; so the potatoes went for about 14 minutes.
I made a salad with about half the head of the Freckles lettuce, a Lipstick pepper and one heirloom tomato, topped with olive oil and balsamic.  The tomatoes are so very sweet, the red pepper is pretty much a red pepper and the lettuce has the texture of Romaine but is more delicate tasting, like a red leaf lettuce.
The potatoes still got cooked to a lovely brown crispiness on the bottom, taste so perfectly sweet and the fish just needed the six minutes on the grill.  The fish was so perfectly sweet in flavor.  I hope the rest of the fillet will be there for The Mister's dinner...
I chopped one of the New Jersey apples -grown in Paso Robles, but never seen anywhere but from Specialty Produce- and put it in a bowl with some grapes and had some coffee for dessert.  The apples have the most wonderful strawberry undertone scent and in the flavor...they are different and tart and I like tart apples.  They are also a bit softer in texture than a MacIntosh, my favorite. The Summer Muscat grapes are  sweet,  with a softness in texture. A  pleasant grape.  The two fruits did not really compliment each other and each could have stood on its own, but I don't want to finish anything without The Mister tasting it.
The Mister got home late Thursday night and everything needed to be reheated, so I took the already cooked fish, topped it with sliced Heirloom tomatoes and some Parmesan and put it under the broiler, just to get the cheese melted, sliced and sauteed the leftover potatoes with some of the red pepper and made a half assed omelete(i.e., an egg pancake instead of the proper fluffy goodness with crispy crust that is an omelette) and filled it with some fresh Mozzarella and sauteed Swiss chard bought on sale, from Henry's, this week.  A fresh, filling and tasty dinner. 

Specialty Produce is open 7 days a week, so you can drop by on the weekend to see what they have and just enjoy what they have to sell and sign up for a Farmers' Market Bag online by Sunday night.  It is always an adventure. A very fresh adventure.

Specialty Produce 1929 Hancock Street San Diego 92110 (easiest way to get there is to be on San Diego Avenue, which goes through Old Town all the way to Washington and then go under the I-5 on Noelle Street.  Then right on Hancock.  It's on the left (West) side of the street.) 619-295-3172   Open 7 days. 8 a.m.-6 p.m.