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.
Man, I sure do crave kale sometime. Not a bad thing I guess.
Posted by: Janfrederick | Saturday, 20 August 2011 at 08:30 AM
The seafood vendor looks good. We have a chicken vendor in Santee. No mojitos or pupusas either; shaved ice and tamales. Looks like a good Farmers Market; will have to stop by.
Posted by: Cathy | Saturday, 20 August 2011 at 09:41 AM
nice, nice kale prep...
Posted by: Nate | Saturday, 20 August 2011 at 09:24 PM
I adore lemon cucumbers. I see them only rarely (like once a year or less) in the international market here, but crave them all the time. I love the texture and all the seeds (I know most people don't like the seedy parts of cucumber or tomato, but it's my favorite part!!).
Posted by: h | Saturday, 20 August 2011 at 11:20 PM
Hi Kirk,
Those lemon cucumbers, do they taste like cucumbers? It reminds me so much of a Taiwanese fruit called Hsiang Gua (fragrant melon). The outside appearance is just like the lemon cucumbers, except it is green, the size of an apple. Oh, the fragrance of those melons are sooooo good! Juicy and lightly crunchy at the same time... Have you seen those anywhere?
Posted by: tenjo | Sunday, 21 August 2011 at 11:39 PM
Not bad at all Jan!
Hi Cathy - It's pretty small, but I enjoyed what I got from there.
Thanks Nate..... not much really.
Hi H - They do have large seeds, but the flavor is quite intense.
Hi Tenjo - They have a really strong cucumber flavor. I know the melons you're mentioning. They have them at Zion market from time to time in case you're looking for them!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 22 August 2011 at 06:47 AM
This is great! The only other farmers market with any amount of Asian produce is the Mira Mesa market on Tuesday, but that one is such a huge hassle to get to and from that I've only been twice. (even though it's tchnically on my way home from Escondido- but man, Mira Mesa Blvd in the afternoon is a PITA!)
I'll check this one out on Thursday!
Posted by: Jenkay | Monday, 22 August 2011 at 02:41 PM
Hi Jenkey - There are only three stands with ASian produce, so it's by no means a large amount of Asian produce.....but I hope you find some good stuff! Good luck.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 22 August 2011 at 02:59 PM
It's more than you'll fine at any of the other 4 markets I frequent! (well, two of those I actually *work* at, so I don't know if that counts)
Posted by: Jenkay | Monday, 22 August 2011 at 03:41 PM
Let me know what you think if you do drop by!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 23 August 2011 at 06:49 AM
Will do!
Posted by: Jenkay | Tuesday, 23 August 2011 at 09:15 AM