Here at Love Handling Food, we really love fresh, quality foods and drinks. One of the best places that you can find these, is none other than your local farmer's market. On top of the quality ingredients that you can purchase at these markets, we also like being able to support the local producers rather than the corporate grocery chains. Now that I am back living in San Diego, a goal of mine is to visit many of the farmer's markets around the city.
To begin, I thought it best to first visit the market in my own neighborhood. Every Tuesday from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm, is the Mira Mesa Farmer's Market. Held in the parking lot of Mira Mesa High School, there is an abundance of great buys to be found. I took my dad along for the foodie adventure, and he was especially pleased at the freshly prepared food options at a decent price, and I was especially pleased that I was convincing him to try something other than Denny's for a change. We had a range of choices from fresh seafood that included mussels and oyster plates, to authentic Thai food. It was the Filipino food stand that lured us in though, offering rather largely portioned combo plates for $7.00. For that price, we were able to get a whole plate of thin, pancit noodles with veggies and chicken that were flavored with lemon juice, in addition to a chicken or pork kebab straight from the BBQ and many pieces of lumpia, prepared right in front of us. For those of you who have not been lucky enough yet to try Filipino food, lumpia is best described as little tastes of paradise. They are fried spring rolls, and are typically stuffed with pork, minced onions, carrots, and a bouquet of delicious spices, perfectly paired with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.
After satisfying our appetites with that delicious Filipino cuisine, I wanted to take a look around the market, as I was on a hunt for some fresh produce to take home with me. As we made our rounds, though, I found that this market held much more than fruit and vegetable stands. There were crafts! There was art! There was an array of potted plants to make any gardener's heart jump for joy!
I stopped to admire some beautiful orchids, when much to my excitement, I saw a stand that held a very wide variety of potted herbs. I suppose it would be appropriate to tell you another goal of mine now that I am back in San Diego: to have a pallet garden on my porch. Who says that you can't still garden if you're living in an apartment? I went over to the herb stand, and for $2.00 a pot, I was able to buy basil, thyme, rosemary, and a twilight chili pepper plant. I was especially intrigued by the pepper plant, because it produces tiny peppers, that turn from purple, to yellow, then orange, and then red when mature. Although this plant is typically used more for its ornamental purposes, I'm sure a few of the peppers can still add a mild spice to many dishes. I am very excited to see how my garden progresses, and am returning next week to pick up some more plant additions. The man who sold me my starting plants even told me he would have a potted cherry tomato plant for me next week!
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| I still have to pick up a couple of pallets...but for now this table will do! |
Once I gathered my four pots that were just waiting to be placed out on my porch, it was then time to pick out the produce I wanted to buy, and wow, I am so delighted with my choices. I purchased (and I am not exaggerating) the best strawberries I have ever had. They were perfectly ripe, and tasted like tangy, sugary candies of the earth. I also bought some broccoli, green beans, and tomatoes that were still on the vine. My most unusual buy, though, was the tropical fruit, cherimoya, which is also known as a custard apple. This fruit had green, scaly skin, and white, creamy flesh. The woman who ran the stand taught me that the cherimoya is native to South America. Although I had never tried it before, its look and texture reminded me greatly of another tropical fruit that I had tried on the island of Antigua, called soursap. Its taste was nothing like soursap though, which has a very sour, yet sweet flavor. If there was any good way to describe the taste of the cherimoya, I would say it was a mix of mango and coconut, but a lot more mild in flavor compared to the two.
I left the Mira Mesa Farmer's Market with a full stomach, and full hopes. I was ready to get growing, and get cooking.
Please, do check back if you're interested in reading reviews on other San Diego farmer's markets, or just are curious about the pallet garden's progress.
-Ianna
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