Sunday Supper: New second course!

For this year's Sunday Supper fundraiser, we've included a whole new second course! After the first course guests will be served a warm, family-style second course that will be paired with beer. Here's a taste of the offerings:

• Ceci soup with cockles and Calabrian chili oil from Lane Milburn and Craig Stoll of Delfina
• Marin Sun Farms pork sausage served with pretzels, house mustard and seasonal veggie slaw from Laurence Jossel of NOPA
• Duck Cotechino and breast served with market cabbage salad from Staffan Terje of Perbacco
• Line-caught halibut with harvest vegetables and a warm anchovy vinaigrette from Mark Sullivan of Spruce
  
  Join us for supper >

Central Coast Organic Farm Tour ~ September 27

Take in the abundance at two organic farms that sell at the new Thursday market on this visit to Thomas Farm and Dirty Girl Produce in Santa Cruz County. Jerry Thomas will show us around the farm he started in 1971, which remains one of the most diverse the county. We’ll see their flower field, orchard, and vegetables, and meet the family’s animals: a pig, chickens, and peacocks. At Dirty Girl in Watsonville, Joel Schirmer will take us to two locations where he grows beans, basil, strawberries, and more. He’ll also describe his methods for producing the dry-farmed tomatoes shoppers clamor for. The tour costs $25, including lunch made with farmers' market ingredients, and runs from 9 am to 6 pm. Buy tickets >

Kitchen Table Talk ~ The Mayor's Sustainable Food Directive ~ September 29

In July, Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a new Executive Directive for Healthy and Sustainable Food that articulated a vision of a food system with nutritious food for all San Franciscans, shorter distances between consumers and producers, protections for worker health and welfare, reduced environmental impacts, and strengthened connections between urban and rural communities. Hear Paula Jones, Director of Food Systems at the S.F. Department of Public Health, and Jason Mark, co-manager of Alemany Farm, discuss Newsom's directive and the progress being made in the larger effort to make San Francisco a hub for sustainable food. The event takes place at the Sagan-Piechota architecture firm and requires your RSVP. More information >

Container gardening class at Biofuel Oasis ~ September 27

Join Patrick Rodysill and Leslie Bennett of Garden Fare as they talk participants through the basics of using recycled vessels to make container gardens for edible plants. They’ll provide the soil, plants and seeds — you bring your own container, if you have one: an old cooking pot, salvaged filing cabinet drawer or old work boot. The class will focus on edibles for a fall and winter garden, as well as growing organically, working with city soil, pest control and irrigation. Learn more >

Garden film screening ~ September 19th

Join Garden for the Environment our their annual Fall Equinox Outdoor Film Screening with How-to Homestead. The event will include live music, a garden sing-along, garden tastings, and short films about home-brewing beer, fermenting dandelions, growing wheat, baking bread and installing a simple greywater system.  Learn more >

Saturday, September 19 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Sandra Keros, local chef

Tuesday, September 22 ~ 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.

Saturday, September 26 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Gerald Hirigoyen, chef at Piperade and author of Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Trina Hahnemann, author of The Scandinavian Cookbook

Last week, CUESA took a tour of two farms growing crops that are quintessentially California. First we visited G.L. Alfieri Farms, where Gary Alfieri grows grapes, almonds, pecans, walnuts and pistachios, among other things. We caught up with Gary just in time for almond harvest and got to watch as the almonds were literally shaken from the trees. It was a once-in-a-lifetime farm moment! We also had the opportunity to tour the shelling facility where Gary sends his almonds and watch a batch of nuts go through the whole process -- from a dusty pile in their hulls to a stream of beautiful shelled almonds. The next stop was Sciabica and Sons, where we got to hear about the Sciabica family history, taste several of their varietal olive oils and see a small orchard of olives growing behind the family home. All in all, we had a blast and learned a lot (even in the 100 degree heat). Take a virtual farm tour on Flickr > or sign up for the next tour here >

All farm tour photos by Barry Jan

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, September 19

In: G&S Corn
Out: Brokaw Nursery

Tuesday, September 22

No changes

Thursday, September 24

No changes

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing):
Asian pears, dates, apples, summer squash and early winter squash varieties, French prunes, artichokes, bok choy, pomegranates, carrots in many colors, frisee, brown rice, Valencia oranges, basil, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, eggplant, peppers, wheat, persimmons, corn, onions, lettuces, okra, grass-fed beef, tomatoes, melons, potatoes, wax beans, shelling beans, and Romano beans, jujubes, jicama, radicchio, sweet potatoes, greens, long beans, radishes

Winding down/limited supply:
Pawpaws, prickly pears, peas, nectarines, peaches, pluots, figs, Gravenstein apples, lemon cucumbers, dill

Farms/Vendors that may be returning this month (weather willing):
Flying Disc Ranch

Value Added and Vendor items not to be missed:
French herb salt from Allstar, Tres perros dried chili mix from Tierra, Southern style cornbread mix from Ridgecut Gristmill

Featured Recipes for September

Pear and Spinach Salad from Trish Tracey, Ramblas Tapas Bar

"Drowned" Broccoli Rabe with Tomatoes & Pancetta from cookbook author Joyce Goldstein

Sausages & Plums Braised in Red Wine from cookbook author Molly Stevens

Apple Baby Galette from Kathleen Stewart, Downtown Bakery & Creamery (September 27, 2008)

Cocktail ~ Apples to Oranges from Lou Bustamante, Hangar One Vodka (September 30, 2007)