Waste Wise Farm Tour ~ Friday, June 13

We'll visit the Jepson Prairie Organics facility, where the materials deposited in San Francisco's green bins are made into compost. Then, farmer Nigel Walker will take us on a guided tour of nearby Eatwell Farm, where he enriches the soil with loads and loads of compost from Jepson Prairie.
Click here to learn more and buy tickets >

Waste Wise volunteers needed this (and every) Saturday!

Help CUESA green the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market! As a Waste Wise volunteer, not only will you help divert waste from the landfill, you'll also teach thousands of shoppers to become wiser about waste. You'll receive a free market tote bag and plenty of market snacks to keep you refreshed during your four-hour shift. For more information, please contact Ashleigh Collier at ashleigh@cuesa.org.

Farewell to Niman Ranch

Niman Ranch began selling beef raised on their Marin ranch to Bay Area Restaurants in the early 1970s and have been part of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market since its beginning. Today, the company works with hundreds of family farms and ranches across the United States. Niman's primary distribution facility is being relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, so they have decided to end their tenure at the farmers' market. You can still find their meats at hundreds of stores and restaurants throughout the Bay Area and on their website, www.nimanranch.com. Thank you, Niman Ranch, for your many years with us!

The Spring Breakfast is sold out

Thanks to all who purchased tickets--we'll see you tomorrow!

Preserving cherries and apricots with Happy Girl Kitchen Co.

Happy Girl Kitchen Company is holding a cherry and apricot preservation class in on June 21 from 10 am to 3 pm in Oakland. Attendees will learn the basics of canning while preserving delicious Bing cherries and Royal Blenheim apricots in a variety of ways. Learn, eat a catered lunch, and walk away with an estimated $70 worth of canned goods. The class is $110 per person. Call 831.750.9579 to register or learn more.

Waste Wise tip of the week #3

Buy only what you can reasonably eat. Uneaten food can be composted, but it's a shame to let perfectly good food go bad in your refrigerator.

Saturday, June 7 ~ Spring Breakfast

There will be no Market to Table programming today due to our Spring Breakfast.

Saturday, June 14 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Farmhouse cooks
John Carlon of Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm will talk about his family farm and demonstrate his favorite blueberry recipes. John has always been interested in agriculture because of its daily interaction with nature. He studied agronomy in college and then worked overseas in the Middle East and in Sudan. When he and his wife Armen returned to California in 1986, they purchased their farm... MORE >

11:15 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Chef Rebecca Courchesne of Frog Hollow Farm will demonstrate recipes using the fruit grown by her husband, "Farmer Al."

Tuesday, June 17 ~ Easy Market Meals

12:00, 12:30 and 1:00 pm - Seasonal cooking demonstrations
Amy Andrews of Amy's Food Room

All programs take place in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

We've added some new features and updates to the CUESA website and discovered a few other neat places on web.

Waste Wise web game

Do you know where to put your discards if you live in San Francisco or are shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market? Our new waste wise web game lets you guess whether to put items in the green (compost), blue (recycle), or black (waste) bin. Mouse over items to see if you guessed correctly.
Click here to play the game >

Seasonal drinks

A new category in the recipe section of our website highlights seasonal drinks. Learn how to make a delicious apple cider or a refreshing basil gimlet. Many of the recipes were created for our San Francisco Cocktail Week event by some of the best bartenders in the area.
Click here to visit our drinks page >

Restaurant page updated

The Bay Area is full of restaurants that support local ecological farms, but which ones are they? We've updated the list of establishments we know are dedicated to regional agriculture because we see their chefs at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market almost every week, talking with growers and loading their carts with fresh, seasonal foods.
Click here to see the list of restaurants >

Features you may not know about

Our farm map lets you see satellite images of Ferry Plaza Farmers Market farms. Our fruit and vegetable charts help you know what's in season. Our recipe pages contain hundreds of seasonal recipes from Bay Area chefs.

Other neat places to visit on the web

Slow Food Nation, the three-day event aimed at inspiring and empowering Americans to build a food system that is good, clean, and fair, is just a few months away. This week, they launched a brand new website where you can see the schedule, buy your tickets and find out how to get involved. Stay tuned for information about the fundraising dinner that CUESA is holding in conjunction with the event, on August 28 at Perbacco.
Visit the site >

Epicurious recently launched a Farm-to-Table Eating and Cooking portion of their website that includes an interactive map with links to seasonal recipes!
Visit the site >

The Buy Fresh, Buy Local website hosted by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers lets you search for fresh foods near where you live.
Visit the site>

CAFF is also celebrating the launch of the second edition of their printed Bay Area Local Food guide on June 26 at Fort Mason. CUESA will be tabling at the event.
Learn more and buy tickets >

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will and won't be attending the market as of Friday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers regularly attend each market, click here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, June 7

In/returning: The Apple Farm, G&S Farms, Glashoff Farms, Knoll Farms
Out: Bernard Ranches

Tuesday, June 10

No news!

Returning this month (weather willing): Nectarines, donut peaches, cucumbers, tayberries, ollalieberries, boysenberries, figs, cherry tomatoes, peppers, shelling beans, okra, haricots verts, hydrangeas, corn, tomatillos, new potatoes, wax beans

Plentiful: Cherries, peaches, strawberries, summer squash, raspberries, lettuces, basil, herbs, radishes, peas, onions, carrots, nopales, garlic, rhubarb, fennel, leeks, lilies, sweet williams, pastured eggs, arugula, apricots (will be winding down by the end of the month), blueberries (may be winding down by the end of the month)

Winding down/limited supply: Hothouse tomatoes, sweet pea flowers, artichokes, sugar snap peas

Farms that may be coming in this month (weather willing): Candy Cot, Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm, Hunter Orchards, G & S Farms, Payne Family Farm, Glashoff Farms

Seasonal vendor items not to be missed: Brochettes and coiled sausages from Fatted Calf, apricot galettes from Downtown Bakery, rhubarb and blood orange conserve from June Taylor, arugula and parsley pesto from The Pasta Shop, prepared raw horseradish from Happy Girl Kitchen Co.

Recipes for June

Zucchini and Mint-Stuffed Squash Blossoms from Brian Streeter, Cakebread Cellars

Shaved Cucumber, Radish & Bottarga Salad with Zinfandel Vinaigrette from Chris Consentino, Incanto

Top Sirloin on Grilled Herb Slab with Almond Crème Fraîche, Greens and Spring Onion Jam from Stephen Gibbs, Hands On Gourmet

Rhubarb-Almond Bars from Aïda Mollenkamp, Food Editor, CHOW

Cocktail ~ Basil Gimlet from Greg Lindgren, Rye