Sunday Supper preview: reception ~ October 4

Is your fundraiser budget tighter than it was last year? A ticket to the Sunday Supper reception would allow you to graze, nibble and taste your way through the ground floor of the Ferry Building while enjoying cocktails and an array of locally produced beer and wine. Below are just a few of the 26 appetizers from local chefs we'll be serving:

• Cured Prather Ranch Pork Belly on Acme Bread Crostini with Mustard Gelée from Chad Newton, Fish & Farm
• Warm Olive Bread with Caramelized Early Girl Tomatoes and Fresh Chevre from Annie Somerville, Greens Restaurant
• Wild Nettle and Bellwether Ricotta Empanadas from Sharon Ardiana, Gialina
• Rabbit Mortadella with Cherry Tomato Romesco Sauce from Peter Rudolph, Madera Restaurant 
• Grilled House-made Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Seasonal Jam on Tartine Bakery Brioche from Chris Kronner, Bar Tartine 

Buy your tickets here >

The secrets of farmers' market shopping ~ September 3

CUESA's market chef, Sarah Henkin, will reveal the secrets of shopping at farmers' markets in a live online teleconference at 1 pm on Thursday, September 3, on the new website Where Foodies Go.
Learn more, register, and submit your questions here >

Eat Real Festival this weekend!

CUESA will be at the Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square on Saturday and Sunday. Stop by this free festival for street food, fresh produce, live music, cooking demos, beer, and more! Learn more >

Panel: The Fruits of Their Labor ~ September 10

Truly sustainable food is not only healthy, humane, and environmentally sound, but also socially just. In honor of Labor Day, CUESA is sponsoring a panel to highlight the workers who feed us. Four experts will tell success stories of advancing working conditions in the fields and discuss how concerned eaters can stand up for fair food. Panelists include: Sandy Brown, co-owner of Swanton Berry Farm; Alida Cantor of California Institute for Rural Studies; Alegría De La Cruz, staff attorney for Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment; and Maisie Greenawalt of Bon Appétit Management Company. The panel is free, open to the public, and will be followed by a short reception with farmers’ market snacks. Learn More >

Preservation classes

2009 has been the year for do-it-yourself (DIY) food projects. As fall approaches and Bay Area produce reaches its peak, food lovers are brushing up on the skills they need to make the bounty of local food last well into the long months of winter. CUESA is joining this DIY movement by offering a series of classes as part of our Preservation Celebration.

Sauerkraut Made Simple ~ September 9
Kathryn Lukas, founder and kraut maker at Farmhouse Culture, will lead a two hour hands-on kraut class that will include history, science, health benefits, and a jar of kraut to take home. This evening class runs from 5:30-7:30 pm and costs $30. Buy tickets >

Cheese, Please! Making Mozzarella and Ricotta ~ September 10
Travis Flood, chef at Piccolo Teatro, will lead a class in making mozzarella and ricotta using curd sourced from vendors at the Ferry Plaza. Participants will take home the cheese they make, as well as some curd to practice their new skills at home. This class, co-hosted by Urban Kitchen San Francisco, runs from 5:30-7:30 pm. Register >

Almonds and Olives Farm Tour ~ September 11

Take a tour with CUESA to learn about two distinctly Californian tree crops: almonds and olives. Our first stop will be G.L. Alfieri Farms in Ripon, where Gary Alfieri will show us around his almond orchard and diverse table grape vineyard and take us to the shelling plant that processes his almonds. Our next stop will be Sciabica and Sons in Modesto, where we'll meet with two generations dedicated to bringing extra virgin olive oil to market and visit the orchard where the olives are ripening on the trees. The bus tour goes from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm and costs $25, including lunch. Sign up here (only a few spots left!) >

Mas Masumoto at Book Passage ~ tomorrow

Hailed by the N.Y. Times as a "poet of farming," Slow Food activist Masumoto weaves together stories of family and farming, life and death to reveal age-old wisdom that is fast disappearing and urgently needed. Hear Masumoto read from his newest book, Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land, at 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 29, at Book Passage in the Ferry Building.

Slow Food Eat-In ~ September 7

Show your support for getting REAL FOOD into school lunches. Join Slow Food San Francisco at the Civic Center or host your own Eat-In! Learn about what you can do to support this local and national movement. Help feed our children real food and together we can grow a healthy nation.
PLEASE BRING a dish to share and your own plates, utensils, cups (eco/washable). 12:00-3:00 PM at San Francisco Civic Center Plaza
RSVP: www.slowfoodsanfrancisco.com

Get 10% off admission to the Bioneers Conference

Bioneers—a leading source of breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet—presents its 20th annual conference on October 16-18, 2009. This premiere environmental conference features social and scientific innovators who share new ideas and tools that enable people to catalyze positive change in their own communities. This year's conference will feature Michael Pollan, Permaculture expert Brock Dolman, and master farmer Bob Cannard, among others. To save 10% off of nonmember prices, just use coupon code AFFINITY10 while registering. (Offer is valid on theater tickets for one, two, or three days and expires August 31.)

Saturday, August 29 ~ Market to Table

10:15 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Jean Johnson, author of Cooking Beyond Measure: How to Eat Well Without Formal Recipes

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Daniel Clayton, Nibblers Eatery and Wine Bar

12:00 Hurricane Katrina anniversary gumbo demonstration
Poppy Tooker, author of the Crescent City Farmers' Market Cookbook

Unless noted, all programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

Tuesday, September 1 ~ Food Wise Booth

12:00 - 1:00 pm - CUESA's market chef Sarah Henkin will be giving out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients.

Below is a sampling of the inventive cocktail recipes served at CUESA's Summer Farmers' Market Cocktail Night. Thanks to everyone who participated and attended!

 

Blackberry Shrub

from Allison Evanow, Elixir

1 1/2 ounces Square One Botanical
1/2 ounces Rhum Clement Creole
1/2 ounces blackberry shrub syrup*
1/4 ounces fresh lemon juice
ginger beer
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 blackberries for garnish

In a mixing glass, add leaves of one-inch sprig of rosemary and all ingredients except ginger beer. Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with a rosemary sprig with two blackberries speared onto stem. Optional: use frozen blackberries left from making shrub to mix between the ice in the glass.

*Shrub syrup: In a saucepan, boil 2 cups of water, 1 cup of sugar and 1
1/2 cups of blackberries until reduced to 2 cups. Strain out the berries.
(Reserve whole berries and freeze them for garnish.) Put berry syrup
back into pan. Add 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and simmer on medium
low for 20 minutes. Cool and store in a squeeze bottle.

Golden Maharani

from Greg Lindgren, Rye & Rosewood

1 3/4 ounces Beefeater 24 gin
2 1/2 ounces Homemade yellow heirloom tomato juice*
3 ripe Sun Gold tomatoes
3 basil leaves
1 tsp Sukhi's Madras Curry Paste
Rim: 50/50 blend of Garam Masala and course sea salt
Garnish:
1 Slice of Sukhi's Spinach Paratha
1 teaspoon Sukhi's Jalapeno Chutney

Muddle Sun Gold tomatoes, basil, and curry paste in a mixing glass. Add Beefeater 24 and yellow tomato juice. Add ice; rock the shaker enough to mix ingredients. (don't overdo the shaking). Strain into glass rimmed with Garam Masala salt. Spear a pinwheel of Paratha** and Jalapeno chutney and place on edge of glass.

* Yellow heirloom tomato juice
10 pounds very ripe small yellow heirlooms (Flame, Sun Gold, etc).
2 tablespoons salt

Wash and stem tomatoes and cut in half. Core any hard whitish flesh
from near the stem base. Place all tomatoes in a large non-reactive
cooking pot and sprinkle with salt. Let tomatoes break down in the pot over a low flame (about 45 minutes). Stir occasionally. As liquid forms in the pot, ladle it into a container and save. Take the soft tomatoes off the fire and puree them in a food processor. Strain through a sieve. This should yield a thick tomato juice. Add the reserved tomato liquid and more salt to taste.

**Paratha garnish
Heat the flatbread in a large saute pan or griddle. When warm transfer paratha to a cutting board and spread a thin layer of jalapeno chutney on top. Slice the paratha into 1" wide strips, and slice those strips in half width-wise. Roll the strips into pinwheels and spear them with a toothpick.

Purple Rain

from Brooke Arthur, Range

5 plums
1/2 ounce Mathilde Peach Liqueur
1/2 ounce St Germain
Juice of 1 whole lime
1 1/2 ounces Junipero gin
1/4 ounce Campari

Muddle plums, add all other ingredients, shake 20 times, strain into glass, garnish with a lime wedge.

Eddystone's Watch

Brian Macgregor, Jardinière

2 ounces Plymouth Gin
1/2 ounces Lemon verbena syrup*
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/3 of a peach
dashes of Angostura bitters

Dice up one third of a peach, muddle in a mixing glass. Add the other ingredients, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

*Lemon verbena syrup
Take two parts water and one part sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add lemon verbena leaves (dried or fresh) and let sit 48 hours. Remove the leaves and store.

Monk Berry Fizz

Darren Crawford, Tony Nik's Café

1 ounce Green Chartreuse
3/4 ounce Bols Genever
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce blackberry puree*
1/2 ounce lemon basil and hyssop syrup*
1/2 ounce fresh rosemary leaves
1 ounce soda water

Begin by thoroughly muddling the rosemary in the citrus juices in a mixing glass or tin. Add remaining ingredients except the soda, add ice, and shake well for 7 seconds. Fine strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Fill with soda to taste. Garnish with very thinly sliced lemon and lime wheels on the inside of the glass, and finish by skewering three blackberries with a half-stripped rosemary sprig and place in the drink.

* Blackberry puree:
Makes about 1/2 cup (enough for about 8 cocktails)
Push 1 pound berries (you may sub another seasonal berry if desired) through a fine-mesh strainer or chinois.  Be sure to scrape the outside of the strainer. The puree will keep for 3 to 4 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

* Lemon basil and hyssop syrup:
(enough for about 24 cocktails)
Combine 1 1/2 cups of Turbinado sugar with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Stir well until completely dissolved.  Add one bunch of fresh lemon basil and one drop of essential oil of hyssop (extract, as well as dried hyssop, can also be used). Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 36 hours.  Use a fine-mesh strainer to remove all solids. 

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, August 29

In: Hare Hollow, Hog Island Oyster Co., Juniper Ridge, La Cocina

Tuesday, September 1

No changes

Thursday, September 3

In: Achadinha Cheese Co.

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing):
Grapes, tomatillos, cucumbers, apples, summer squash, Valencia oranges, nectarines, peaches, pluots, radishes, basil, sunflowers, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, Asian pears, grapes, zinnias, duck, pullet eggs, cucumbers, eggplant, mint, nopales, peppers, pears, squash blossoms, smoked fish, wheat, baby corn, onions, lettuces, okra, figs, grass-fed beef, plums, tomatoes, melons, dahlias, new potatoes, peanuts, wax beans, shelling beans and Romano beans

Winding down/limited supply:
Mulberries, fresh lavender, peas, fresh garbanzo beans

Value Added and Vendor items not to be missed:
Chicken stock from Mountain Ranch Organically Grown, fresh salsa from Happy Girl Kitchen, tayberry conserve from June Taylor, sauerkraut from Farmhouse Culture

Featured Recipes for August:

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

Fire Roasted Eggplant Soup from Sondra Bernstein, the girl and the fig

Stewed Okra, Corn & Tomatoes from Sharon L. Anderson, Purple Plum Restaurant

Summer Fruit Crostata from CUESA's Market Chef, Sarah Henkin

Cocktail ~ Midsummer Dream from Erick Castro