the farmers' market capital of the world

newspapers have changed, and so too has journalism. the frontier of this once juggernaut news format is unknown and the days of past reporting are sliding farther and farther away. the la times, the paper i grew up reading at the breakfast table, is no exception to this. and the first time i opened the chicago tribune, which owns the la times, i couldn't believe how bad the paper was. ads larger than articles and poor typefaces and mismanaged formatting. it was hard to even read. and the la times, simply, is just not the paper that it used to be.

but, lately—and maybe it's a glimmer of hope—i've been damn impressed by the food section.

on the newspaper's food section of the website right now, there's not only the farmers' market map that i'd written about a few weeks back, and also a write-up on saving the season, which i also featured more recently, but there's a newly posted guide to seasonal foods and how to cook through the seasons. for bartlett pears, they encourage that it's okay to buy unripe fruit from the market, because they will, and need, to ripen at room temperature, and it is then that they can be refridgerated. there's tips for persimmons and peaches and grapes, and so too cranberry beans and apples and figs and zuchinni, and recipes to boot. and all with perfect timing as coming home with peaches and cranberry, or shelling, beans from the wicker park farmers' market yesterday suggests.

and then there's this story, in commeration of the first l.a. farmers' market thirty years ago. mayor antonio villaraigosa, who in conjunction with the huge party that will be thrown in honor of the first market, has announced a food policy task force, its primary function to "help turn l.a. into the farmers' market capital of the world." with 121 markets, the county already has by far the most farmers' markets in the country, and i can't help but scratch my head at the thought of it becoming the epicenter of the market in the world. think about all of the agricultural history in europe and asia and other parts of the world, where organized markets, where farmers and fishermen sell directly to their customers, have long been the practice. has l.a. really come that far? the things you take foregranted about the places you once called home...

the market map

california is one of the most amazing places in the world. in the same state that's home to death valley, known for its record breaking heat—and the lowest point below sea level in the country—there're also the jagged peaks of mt. whitney, which at 14,505 ft., tops out as the highest elevation in the contiguous united states. highways sprawl through barren deserts, where cacti and blowing tumbleweeds literally dot the landscape, and yet, somehow, there are glistening avenues, lined and stacked with palm trees, in cities up and down the coast—the sign of the tropics. where in just under about an hour a sunday morning drive will take you from the near summer heat of the los angeles basin to the tops of the san gabriel mountains, covered in winter snow and packed with skiers and boarders. and the agriculture. year round, california grows and produces some of the finest, most coveted foodstuff in the world.

that's why, when going through my ritual wesbite roundup, and i came across a detailed map of southern california's farmers' markets from the l.a. times, i immediately wanted to share. the thing literally dots the markets all over the southland, and can be broken up by zip code and day of the week, and provide detailed information for each different market. an absolutely invaluable tool.

if you're in the southland, take advantage. if you're not, like me, take this as a two-minute chance to view the ways and means of a place different than our own. two minutes is nothing. and, it's fun stuff.

the non-committal locavore

it's well documented now just how hard it is to eat local, and if the touted advantages are even advantageous, but the locavore movement continues to garner steam. what started as a grassroots sort of trend has now become mainstream, garnering attention on the likes of twitter, facebook, and other mass market media platforms. in a word, it's hot. in my own experience, it's just hard to do. i look forward to the farmers' market, and buy organic from the grocers, but it's just not all that easy to always do. like the single bachelor who fails at relationships every time the honeymoon is over and commitment comes into play, i just can't go all in. like the bachelor, undoubtedly i'd be breaking hearts, muttering the words, it's not you, it's me.

but we do buy local as best we can. last night alicia made what was really a garden vegetable sandwich, roasting golden beets bought at the wicker park farmers' market and slicing them thin, added with roasted red peppers and sautéed red onion, julienned cucumber, micro arugula, a white cheddar, honey mustard, and labneh on thick sliced san francisco sourdough wheat bread. the labneh we picked up from sultan's which they get from cicero, outside the city, the cucumber from the daley center farmers' market, the micro arugula from the wicker park farmers' market, and the bread from labriola, a local bakery. but the red peppers were jarred and from trader joe's, the cheddar was boar's head and sliced at the deli, and the honey mustard from the german mustard maker inglehoffer. she seasoned the onion, which was organic and from olivia's, with ras al hanout, which we brought with us from formaggio kitchen in cambridge, and salt and pepper, which we buy in bulk and add to our grinders, and is for sure not local. our staples, like the bread and condiments, will almost always not be of the locavore promise, which i'm okay with, because my favorite parts to the sandwich last night were the beets, cucumber, and the micro arugula, all from the local farmers. and i can't wait for later on this summer when we'll be using heirloom tomatoes instead...

and how is that not eating with the seasons? in the meantime, we'll be here saturday morning, continuing the non-committal support to our local foodstuff: