News and notes from the Napa Farmers Market. The Napa Farmers Market takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., May through October, in the parking lot of the South Napa Century Center, 195 Gasser Drive, Napa.
I like toast — who doesn’t? — but I adore bruschetta. Never mind that they are one and the same; to me everything sounds better in Italian. Maybe you think of bruschetta as something you eat for lunch, or as an appetizer with a glass of wine, but I have bruschetta for breakfast, too. It’s ju…
There are so many aspects of the changing seasons at the Napa Farmers Market that I anticipate with great gusto: the new incoming fruits and vegetables, the change in temperature, humidity and even the scent of the air. Each season, it seems, attracts a new kind of shopper at the market, too.
With Labor Day behind us, the end of summer is in sight. Barbecues and swim parties give way to school lunches. Most parents breathe a sigh of relief as they pack that first lunch.
Pears are a very underappreciated fruit. I will usually reach for an apple over a pear. I basically psyche myself out about pears, telling myself they are too mushy or too mealy for me to eat and they won’t have much flavor anyway, right?
School is officially back in session. Parents may breathe a sigh of relief, while teachers work on getting back into that early morning wake-up routine. It is also the time of year when we begin to see a variety of crisp, just-picked apples at the Napa Farmers Market.
Every time I see a head of cabbage at a farmers market stall, I feel torn. Yeah, it’s just a head of cabbage, but it is potentially so much more.
Farmers markets have been an addiction of mine for 40 years. The first time I bought food straight from the farmer, I was a college sophomore studying in France. I can still picture that market in Aix-en-Provence four decades later. My mother served us fruits and vegetables, plenty of them, …
The Napa Farmers Market wants to make fresh fruits and veggies accessible and affordable for all of its customers. This is why the market offers a Market Match program to individuals and families with CalFresh (“food stamp”) benefits. The farmers market doubles each CalFresh dollar a shopper…
Recently, I started a fitness challenge. As part of the challenge, I’m supposed to avoid alcohol, gluten and sugar and, of course, to drink a lot of water.
I recently had reason to look back at my files from the 2015 Napa Farmers Market season, our last season on First Street in Napa’s Oxbow District. What a difference a few years and a location change have made.
Ah, the smells of summer in Northern California. The sweet, briny air of the ocean mixed with eucalyptus and redwoods as you approach the coast. The intoxicating smell of a fresh tomato just off the vine. And of course, the irresistible aroma of meat searing over an open flame. We are now of…
Happy National Martini Day to you all. June 19 is National Martini Day. A classic martini is made with gin or vodka, a splash of dry vermouth and an olive or lemon-twist garnish.
Although Europeans are credited with the discovery of the strawberry in 1588, America made the discovery possible. At that time, the Algonquin peoples already had deemed the seventh full moon of the year, the June full moon, the Strawberry Moon — so named because it marked peak season for wi…
As much as I love cool-season produce, it’s time to move on. What better way to do it than with stone fruit? Peaches and nectarines are now available at the Napa Farmers Market, and they are delicious.
For many of us, it’s back to work today, after what was hopefully a fun-filled three-day weekend. Traditionally, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer.
It’s the time of year to haul out the dusty grill from the garage and start the season of outdoor dinners featuring fresh local produce shared with family and friends. In Northern California, Memorial Day weekend typically launches the barbecue season. However, in most years, summer crops ar…
Hello, people with mothers! Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, May 13. In five days. Five. If you are reading this column and have absolutely no idea what you will do for the mother in your life, you are in luck.
Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican Army’s triumph over the French on May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Puebla. The Mexican Army was greatly outnumbered, so the victory provided an important symbolic boost for the Mexican government and the resistance.
Spring has sprung in the Napa Valley and the first two weeks of the Napa Farmers Market season are successfully behind us. The turnout for the first few markets has been great, and we’re pleased with the support for the later market hours and the return of live music.
Chef Mike Lata of Fig in Charleston, South Carolina, was recently quoted in Food & Wine magazine as saying, “Cooking in the spring is like make-up sex after the bitter fight with winter.” That quote gave me a chuckle, but he’s right. Spring is a chance to lighten up and have some fun in …
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Two of my favorite activities are shopping for produce at the farmers market and growing my own food. It might not seem like it, but at this time of year the two hobbies go together quite nicely.
When the wildfires began to subside and we began to plan for recovery, the Napa Valley wine business came to an interesting and provocative conclusion: that in asking for help, it was OK to ask for peoples’ business.
If you have a hard time finding the perfect holiday gifts for friends, remember that the ideal place to shop is at the Napa Farmers’ Market. Think about it. Everything is local. Everything is handmade. Everything is awesome.
My original intention was to write about the wonderful and much anticipated change of season to the cooler weather of the fall. However, after the tragedy that has befallen the Napa Valley community, I decided to change my focus slightly.
Our traumatized community has some recovery to do. Even those of us who suffered no lasting damage won’t soon forget the emotions we felt about possibly losing our homes and the stressful days of not knowing what the future might hold.
People who know me know I’m a yogurt fan. Maybe “addict” is more accurate. Forgive the double negative, but I never don’t have yogurt in the fridge. That would be like running out of coffee, which, in my world, is a crisis.
At this time of year, the Napa Farmers Market is brimming with all varieties of eggplant. This is the season to enjoy eggplant, and my favorite way is the northern Italian version of the classic eggplant parmigiana.
I’ve been enjoying fresh tomatoes for several months. Now I am starting to think about preserving some of these wonderful veggies (or fruits if you want to be technical) for the months when fresh, locally grown tomatoes are not available.
People start their own business for many reasons. Some say they didn’t want to work for anyone else. I just wanted to create tasty cookies and was hoping they would make people happy.
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
This is how an interview with chef Polly Lappetito goes:
As a food writer and enthusiastic cook, making dinner is often the highlight of my day. My husband puts on some music, I pour us each a glass of wine and I get into “the zone.” For me, the zone is that mental space where I am totally in the moment, not thinking about some annoying thing that…
As we head into the dog days of summer, you’ll want something simple to make that’s cool and refreshing. There is nothing like a fruit soup, which is traditional in Scandinavia but less common here. For complexity, add some pickled berries. The tangy berries balance the naturally sweet straw…
I am always amazed by the abundance and variety of what’s for sale at the Napa Farmers Market. From peaches to beans to eggs, everything is in season and fresh. Don’t worry, apple lovers. This year’s crop will be harvested soon and back for you to buy.
It’s hard for me to believe but we’re approaching the midway point in the Napa Farmers Market season already. Time flies when you’re having a good time.
Cucumbers are always with us, so we tend to take them for granted. But the peak season for local cukes is now, so it’s the moment to show these unglamorous vegetables some respect. Your summer salads are about to get a whole lot better.
I know, I know, this is the wine country. The last thing anyone around here wants to do is to rethink their drink. But maybe some of you are looking for a change or some ideas to brighten up your daily beverage.
Happy Fourth of July! The Napa Farmers Market is open, at the summer season’s height and complete with all your favorite Tuesday vendors. Come down and find all your favorite traditional Fourth of July favorites for your table in a one-stop, family-friendly shopping environment.
We are fortunate to live in the Napa Valley with peach orchards nearby. We can enjoy juicy, tree-ripened peaches from May to September.
I once was served for dessert, a plum, sliced and arranged beautifully on the plate with nothing else. This was shortly after moving to Napa. The restaurant was Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley. I was with my wife and a friend who was visiting us.
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Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 18. According to Wikipedia, Father’s Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society. The United States’ first Father’s Day was celebrated in the state of Washington in 1910. Today Fath…
Farmers are likely some of the most creative and resilient types of people. It’s a necessary characteristic in this line of work. Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I walk through the field and only see what needs to be done and what isn’t maturing on time. I have to figure out how t…
If you have seen the movie “Forrest Gump,” you probably remember the scene where Bubba tells Forrest about all the ways you can prepare and serve shrimp—shrimp creole, shrimp and grits, shrimp salad, shrimp gumbo and a host of others.
The winter and spring weather has been a challenge for many farmers in Northern California. After years of drought, many farms faced flooding, wet soil, unusual pests and diseases due to excess moisture, and delayed planting times.
When I was a kid growing up in rural Minnesota in the 1950s, mushrooms came in a can—except for the brief period in the summer when one could pick morels in wooded areas. As the self-proclaimed expert on which mushrooms were safe for human consumption, my dad always led these mushroom-gather…
To me, there is nothing worse than having to go the grocery store to shop for a meal. And now, with the Napa Farmers’ Market in full swing, I don’t have to. How lucky we are to have a great selection of locally grown and locally made goods right at our fingertips every Tuesday and Saturday m…
I relive a lifetime of memories during my Saturday morning visits to the Napa Farmers’ Market. I check my tires, attach my bags, hop on my bike, and pedal down the River Trail to the sights and sounds, the people, the colors, aromas, and flavors—and to my memories of vagabond visits to marke…
At the opening of the Napa Farmers Market on April 15, I was pleasantly surprised to find early-season strawberries. I bought a three-pack to take home for school lunches and snacks. Thank you, Kenwood Strawberry Patch!
As we approach Earth Day celebrations around the valley and the globe, I would like to share with you one of the greatest blessings you can give our planet: the gift of shopping local.
This year you can think of April 15 in one of two ways: as approaching tax day or as opening day of the Napa Farmers’ Market. Let’s go with the latter!
It’s always a sad time when the Napa Farmers’ Market ends for the season. Without the market, the availability of local, farm-fresh food is greatly diminished, although thanks to CSA (community-supported agriculture), you can still get produce from local growers at various drop points in Nap…
This year the Napa Farmers’ Market welcomed a number of new farmers. They all are local farms, a positive sign that people are still choosing to farm and feed us locals.
Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love when the leaves start to turn colors on the vines and trees. Makes me miss my home state of Pennsylvania just a little bit. There is nothing more beautiful than the leaves changing color in the East this time of year.
Indian summer has arrived along with the last month of the Napa Farmers Market. Early mornings are cool and dark now. For a farmers market vendor, this means scarves and vests during set-up time. The moon is often still visible as we get our stalls together. Recently, we have been fortunate …
The Napa Farmers Market season has been passing by quickly this year, and the transition time from summer’s bounty to the fall season is just about to start.
Yes, it is true. Thursday marks the autumn solstice, and with that we will see a clear transition of the produce at the Napa Farmers Market.
This is the time of year I start getting a little nervous. The days are shorter, the slant of the sun is a little different and Saturday, Oct. 29, seems just around the corner. That’s the last Napa Farmers Market of the year, which means all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables we’ve be…
Every year, I cannot wait for tomato season to begin. It makes me so happy to know that I will have a quick-fix dinner with no oven to turn on and just the slicing of a knife.
Some of my favorite pasta sauces are the ones you don’t have to cook, like pesto. Who doesn’t love that fragrant blend of basil, garlic and pine nuts?
Although I initially had my reservations about the new location of the Napa Farmers Market, I have come to celebrate it as much, if not more, than just about everyone else. I love the abundance of parking, the proximity to Napa’s middle-class neighborhoods and the easy accessibility for farm…