Special events & announcements
Our annual Spring Breakfast
by the Bay ~ June 6
This is the last week to buy tickets for our delicious annual breakfast. The funds we raise will help keep our cooking programs free, our farm tours affordable and our e-letter chock full of information about the work that goes into building a sustainable food system in the Bay Area and beyond. Buy tickets >
Reduced July 4th hours
Planning your July 4th weekend and wondering where you might get last- minute corn, ground beef and watermelon? You might like to know that the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be open that Saturday from 8 am to noon.
Eatwell's Nigel Walker at Macy's ~ June 10
Few chefs bring fresh local ingredients to life like Delfina’s Craig Stoll. His preferred produce comes from Nigel Walker of Eatwell Farms, a farmer on the cutting edge of sustainable food production. Join Craig & Nigel as they take Eatwell’s veggies to new heights. A $10 donation to CUESA will get you a seat at the demonstration, a sample of the featured dish, and a glass of wine from Benziger Family Winery. Doors open at 5:30 pm and the presentation begins at 6:00.
Support the ban on nontherapeutic antibiotics
Want to get antibiotics out of your meat? SB 416 would ban the practice of feeding healthy animals low doses of antibiotics for growth promotion and to prevent illness in confined feed lots. According to our friends over at Food and Water Watch, this bill is a crucial step in stopping the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that sickens humans. Take action >
Picnic in the Orchard ~ May 31
For generations, Bay Area families have visited Brentwood during cherry season. Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust (BALT) invites you to celebrate this family tradition with a picnic lunch in the orchard. The proceeds will benefit BALT and 10% will be donated to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. $40.00 per person (children are free). Buy tickets >
Slow Food Berkeley pig roast and meatshare picnic ~ June 13
What could be better than a BBQ and potluck picnic party in the early summer sun? The picnic will feature organic beer brewed by Berkeley's Bison Brewery and locally raised pork roasted in a "Caja China." Local pork from Devil's Gulch Ranch will also be available in 10-pound shares on a first-come basis. Learn more >
Programs at the market
Saturday, May 30 ~ Market to Table
11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Ani Phyo, author of Ani's Raw Food Desserts
Tuesday, June 2 ~ Food Wise Booth
12:00 - 1:00 pm - Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef, will be giving out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients. She'll also be available to offer advice on all your seasonal meal planning.
Saturday, June 6 ~ Spring Breakfast
No cooking demos today. Buy a ticket for the breakfast here >
All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.
Thursday Market Sneak Peek: Pizza Politana
Editor's note: In case you haven't heard, we're starting a new market! Beginning July 2nd, CUESA will host a Thursday lunchtime market focused on street food and a few select farmers bringing the best of the season. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
Ever since they found a way to attach a Neapolitan wood-fired oven to a trailer two years ago, Joel Baecker and his wife Naomi Crawford, of Pizza Politana, have been on a quest for the perfect pizza.
Because they are made by hand, each rustic pie is a little different. Some pizzas spend a sliver more or less time in an oven that stays around 800 degrees but fluctuates every time a log is added to the fire; if it's too hot the crust will burn, if its too cold, it will dry out a little. For these reasons, Joel and Naomi have grown their operation slowly, taking ample opportunity to fine-tune their craft. “We don’t want it to be too precious," says Joel, "but we want it done well.”
The Petaluma-based couple had been running a catering business together when they decided to start selling made-to-order organic pizza in farmers' markets. They began in a small, seasonal market in Novato and now, with two ovens, travel to eight markets around the Bay Area.
“We’ve grown as it feels right,” says Joel, who makes pizza at five markets a week, alternating with Naomi, so they can both visit all their markets.
This personal touch means Pizza Politana’s pies are also far from typical. Joel makes his own sauce from fresh, raw San Marzano tomatoes because he says he prefers a bright, acidic flavor to the sweet, heavy sauce that comes from hours of cooking it down. They’re not covered with a thick blanket of mozzarella either, but many of them do rely on a smattering of high quality, flavorful cheese.
“At first shoppers will come up and they say, let me get a slice of pepperoni, and then I explain that we’re doing something a little different,” says Joel. In the summer, that might mean fresh Bellwether Farms ricotta, pesto and cherry tomatoes. Or shaved summer squash with lemon, fresh mint and feta cheese. Later in the summer, Joel likes to feature gypsy peppers with red onions, Pecorino and marjoram. On top of seasonal veggies and their own homemade pancetta, Joel often tops his pizzas with Prather Ranch bacon and sausage, to round out the options. And because Politana sources most of its toppings from the very markets they visit, the menu is wholly unpredictable.
“What’s been great about doing more markets is we can get produce from the farmers and then take it back, clean it and use it at the next market, so we kind of get in the rhythm. If we only went once a week, it’d be hard to stay in that cycle.”
While market shoppers are often as educated about the farms and their products as he is, Joel likes to think he’s helping expand market shoppers’ understanding of how to make the most of things like Star Route spinach and County Line radicchio at home.
“We’ve had people tell us they wouldn’t have thought to shave zucchini or to cook down the radicchio with balsamic vinegar to take the bitter edge off. So, yeah — they kind of get a sense of that simplicity — and without all that sauce and cheese they say, wow, I can really taste what that is and how good it is.”
If there’s no line, each pie takes around 2-3 minutes to bake. Of course, when it comes to the new Thursday market, we probably shouldn’t make any promises.
Market update
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This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!
Saturday, May 30
In/returning: Paoletti Farms, Apple Farm
Out: Mountain Ranch
Tuesday, June 2
In/returning: Frog Hollow Farm, Bella Viva Orchards
Seasonality synopsis for May
Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing):
Fresh shallots, summer squash, squash blossoms, Cipollini onions, cherries, blueberries, apricots, raspberries, basil, heirloom roses, sardines, English peas, snap peas, snow peas, strawberries, Stockton red onions, baby root vegetables, lettuces, celery, fresh herbs, fava beans, fennel, artichokes, rapini, pastured eggs, cardoons, spring onions, goat cheese
Winding down/limited supply:
Asparagus, potatoes, citrus, braising greens, nettles, Japanese maples, pastured chicken (will become plentiful in early June)
Value Added and Vendor items not to be missed:
Sauerkraut from Happy Girl Kitchen, smoked sweet onions from Tierra Vegetables, garlic quark from Spring Hill Cheese
Farms/Vendors that may be returning this month (weather willing):
Shogun Fish Co., Triple Delight Blueberries, Paoletti Farms, Kashiwase Farms
Featured Recipes for May:
Creamy Artichoke Soup from Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef (April 2009)
Fava Beans & Strawberry Salad with Pecorino from Chris Cosentino, Incanto Restaurant and Bar
Capellini with Julienned Zucchini & Yellow Squash from Ben deVries, Luella Restaurant
Cocktail ~ Blue Bonnet from Joel Baker, Bourbon and Branch (May 14, 2008)