Menu update & last chance to register for the cookbook breakfast!

Given the rainy weather, there are two small changes to our menu. Rhubarb just isn't quite ready to make an appearance at the market, so instead of rhubarb scones, Della Fattoria's delicious cinnamon twist pastries will grace guests' plates. Cherries are late as well, but abundant strawberries and delicious citrus will satisfy sweet fruit cravings.

Online registration will close Thursday night for this delicious celebration of Peggy Knickerbocker & Christopher Hirsheimer's The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook. Reserve your seat now!

When: Saturday, April 29, from 8:30 to 11:30 am
Where: MarketBar Restaurant, San Francisco Ferry Building
Cost: $40 per person includes prix fixe breakfast and a signed copy of the cookbook ($22.95 retail value), $25 without the cookbook.

If you cannot make the breakfast, but would like to buy a signed copy of the cookbook, look for Peggy & Christopher in the rear plaza of the farmers' market (near the Gandhi statue) this Saturday. From 8:30 until 11:30 am, the authors will be signing books and sharing their favorite seasonal recipes. Proceeds from the book sales will benefit CUESA.

Exciting events kick off the Sunday farmers' market ~ May 7

From May through October, you’ll be able to get farm-fresh food, artisan coffee and pastries, and more every Sunday from 10 am to
2 pm. We are celebrating the reopening of our Sunday market with two exciting events:

11 am to Noon
MICHAEL POLLAN - Beyond the Barcode: The Value of a Local Food Chain
Join CUESA and Book Passage for a talk and book signing with Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire, whose latest book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, delves into the origins of four American meals.
Location: Port Commission Hearing Room, 2nd floor of the Ferry Building

11:30 am to 1:30 pm
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SOCIAL
Shortcakes will be will be piled high with delicious organic strawberries and cream at $5 each, and all proceeds benefit CUESA.
Location: Arcade south of the Ferry Building’s clock tower

Happy Earth Day!

There's no better way to celebrate Earth Day than by preparing an ecological feast made with fresh food from the farmers' market.

Thursday night market opening and Sangria Stroll ~ May 4

Come by after work on Thursday, May 4 for a pleasurable and musical stroll through the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market while sipping sangria. A glass of red or white sangria, garnished with fresh farmers' market fruit, is yours for a $5 donation to support CUESA's education programs. Every Thursday from May through October, the Ferry Plaza Farmers will set up market inside the Ferry Building from 4-8 pm. Ferry Building merchants will also stay open late, and live acoustic music will inspire your shopping experience.

Saturday, April 22 - Market to Table events

10:00 am - Meet the farmer
Sebastian Bariani of Bariani Olive Oil- The Bariani family is from the northern Italian region of Lombardy. They moved to the United States in 1990, bought a 100-year-old olive orchard, and in 1992 began producing olive oil. They use a traditional system of olive oil extraction, consisting mainly of a stone crusher and presses kept on the premises, so all of their olive oil is "estate-grown, produced and bottled."... more>

10:30 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Joyce Goldstein, Author of Antipasti: Fabulous Appetizers and Small Plates

Copies of Antipasti will be for sale courtesy of Book Passage.

Saturday, April 29 - Market to Table events

10:00 am - Demonstration ~ Knives and knife care basics
Bob Kattenburg of Critical Edge Knife Sharpening - Join Bob for a talk and demonstration about buying, caring for, storing and washing knives, using steel and selecting cutting boards.

10:30 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Marsha McBride and Rick DeBeaord of Café Rouge

Programs take place in the arcade north of the Ferry Building's clock tower in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen.

To the disappointment of salmon lovers and fisherpeople, the commercial salmon season will once again be severely restricted this year. Though the Secretary of Commerce hasn’t officially approved the federal and state recommendations, it’s likely that waters off the coast of northern California will be closed to commercial salmon fishing until July 26. There will probably be some salmon in the market in May since the Monterey area will be open to fishing during that month, but the catch (restricted to below Point Sur) will be scant in June and July.

Because salmon are anadromous (they migrate from the ocean to fresh water to spawn), human actions in both inland and offshore waters affect them. The primary reason for the catch restrictions is not over-fishing. The problem isn’t even that there are too few in the ocean. In fact, more of the fish swim off the coast this year than in the recent past. The reason for this year’s limitations, and last year’s, is the critically low numbers of Chinook (King) salmon returning to the Klamath River Basin to spawn. Most of the salmon that swim off the California coast come from either the Sacramento or Klamath River basins. Although Sacramento and Klamath salmon are two distinct populations, fisherpeople on ocean waters cannot distinguish the two, so the entire catch is restricted to ensure that enough Klamath salmon return to the waters to reproduce. A minimum of 35,000 Chinook must return to their natural spawning grounds in the Klamath to keep the population from eventual extinction; this “spawner floor” will likely not be reached this year.

The Klamath stock reached its current perilously low level partially because of a major die-off that happened in 2002. Crowded conditions and high water temperatures resulting from low water flows (due to damming and massive diversions for agriculture) led to the death of many juvenile Chinook. Those juveniles could have been this year’s spawners. Surviving salmon must contend with dams obstructing migratory routes, agricultural runoff and soil erosion.

There are measures that can be taken to increase the survival rate of juveniles and spawners. In fact, habitat restoration and increased water flows are responsible for the recovery of the Sacramento River salmon population, but they require government decisions and can take years to have a significant effect. In the mean time, small-scale fisherpeople are worried about the survival of their businesses. They have a vested interested in keeping fisheries healthy and viable and support conservation efforts, but they are frustrated at having to pay for a problem that they have no control over. Their alternatives are few. They can’t simply switch to a different type of fish, because their equipment is specialized to catch salmon. Larry Miyamura of Shogun Fish says his small boat would be dwarfed in a fleet of squid or sardine vessels. In addition, permits to catch many species are hard to obtain.

Demand for wild salmon has grown in recent years largely because campaigns directed at educating consumers about the environmental and health hazards of farmed salmon have been successful. Now, public consciousness is high, but there’s not enough local wild salmon to meet consumer demand. So what are the options for fish-lovers who want to make responsible seafood choices? Here are some fish you can feel good about eating:

Local wild salmon – Local wild salmon is troll-caught using barbless hooks – a sustainable method of harvest. We suggest you buy up what is available and savor every bite.
Other Pacific wild salmon – If you must have salmon and can’t find any that’s local and wild, Pacific Northwestern or Alaskan wild are far better alternatives than farmed.
Sanddabs – Ask your fishmonger which harvest method was used: this San Francisco favorite is harvested by some fisherpeople using sustainable hook and line and seine methods and by others using trawling on ocean floors - a less ecological alternative.
Farmed shellfish – Most local oysters, clams, abalone, and mussels are farmed ecologically.
Sardines - Sardines are being harvested locally right now and are a good choice.
Sole – The method of catch for these groundfish is sometimes disruptive to seafloor ecosystems, but the fishery is generally healthy, and they are listed as a good alternative by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Ask for locally-caught fish.
Pacific halibut – Harvested in Alaska and Canada, it’s an ecological, though not very local, option.
Pacific cod – Harvested in Alaska and Canada, it’s an ecological, though not very local, option.
Dungeness crab – Locally harvested, this crab is a sustainable choice.

Want more information? Pick up a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide at CUESA’s Information Booth on any market day.

This is the most up-to-date information as of Friday morning when the e-letter was sent. Please understand that there are always last minute changes -- it's the nature of farming!

 

Saturday (8am - 2pm) April 22	In: Bernard Ranches, Peach Farm, Andante Dairy, Orangewood Farm, Ella Bella Farm, Momiji Japanese Maples Out: Hoffman Game Birds, Achadinha Cheese Co., The Apple Farm
Tuesday (10am - 2pm) April 25	In: Yerena (hopefully), Sutton's Protea (first time!), Ella Bella Farm, Lucero Organic Farms Out: Lagier Ranches