Did you ever wish for a change of scene and scenery, get what you wished for, and then wished you’d just stayed home and enjoyed your own back 40? Well, if you are in the mood for a little change of pace without having to charge your pacemaker, then you might want to consider dropping by your neighborhood Farmer’s Market this week and make a plan to can.  

August Marks a high point in the season, as our local farmer’s fields come into a full lush flush of abundance, the peaches get even more perfect, the fruit hangs heavy on the vine. Most of the time I get all hung up on the instant and total gratification that is found in making pies right about now, but this year. I am regressing even further into my inner Betty, and getting out the canning jars.  

I suspect that my Pal Mr D. “the Voice of Reason” (from a south coast farm which shall go un-named) might be right, and that the effect of escalating fuel prices and the attendant rise in the cost of everything is going to have all of us talking like our grandparents did about the depression in about three more weeks, if we aren’t already doing something quite similar already.  So, in a effort to prepare for evermore expensive food, and to make my pantry look really pretty ( and to deserve to own the 40 or so vintage blue mason jars with ceramic lids I inherited) I am taking advantage of the abundance of tree fruit and cucumbers and putting up a whole mess of goodness right now.  

It’s midway through the summer and I have yet to get in any hammock time, although I do have a rather wonderful and dilapidated sofa on my front lawn to laze about in of an afternoon, which is as good a place as any to indulge in a summer reading spectacular. 

For my money, there is not a much better way to spend a temperate afternoon than to prop ones feet up, and dive into a new book about some arcane but historically relevant detail while sipping a seasonal Aqua Fresca, wouldn’t you agree?  What? You have yet to discover this simple delight? Well, lucky you.  Seems there are still minor miracles to discover.  Aqua Frescas are quite elegant and easy to prepare, or you can get really complicated should your explorations in the culinary tend to take you a bit further afield -

All you need is an excess of any kind of really ripe summer fruit, some seltzer water, an optional, easy to make, but quite intriguing herb syrup, a nice big goblet and a novel about a gal named Gertrude who drew the map of modern day Iraq. Seriously.  Head for your favorite neighborhood independent bookstore and pick up a copy of something by an author you know nothing about, about a person you have never heard of.  Then throw an old sofa on the lawn, an old t-shirt on your bod, and a sarong if you really feel like letting your freak flag fly, and settle in.

Rev. Christie Hardwick has identified Half Moon Bay as an ideal location to start a new business in staging same-sex weddings, now that it’s legal in California.

“I have heard from a couple of people making sure the (gay wedding) market knows that they’re there,” said Charise Hale McHugh, president and CEO of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce. “Businesses have been hurting. Anything that brings people to Half Moon Bay is advantageous for everyone. We are a tourism-based economy.”

Half Moon Bay farmer John Muller has already been approached about allowing his picturesque farm home, with its pumpkins and flowers, to be used as a site for future catered gay weddings.

“If things work out, we would be interested in doing it. It’s another aspect of the flexibility of staying in agriculture,” he shrugged.

Well, Marketeers,

I don’t know about you, but I for one am going to forgo any aspirations I may have had for hosting barbeques this summer.  Given the number of fires peppering the state and the amount of smoke in the air, I am thinking that adding to it is just plain a bad Idea. Which is OK, because I have a really good idea for you if summer entertaining is on your horizon.

Last week I found myself in the delightful and frightful position of hosting an intimate summer supper, and the guest list featured a dangerously handsome artist that has had his work installed in the White House.  What does one serve a person with a resume like that, I ask you?  Don’t ask me, go up to the harbor and ask a local fisherman.  If you are lucky, he’ll turn you on to halibut cheeks, and then my friend, you are golden.

Most of the rest of what you’ll need to produce a truly noteworthy supper you can find at the Market.  I discovered to my delight, and that of my guest, that when armed with few of the seasons first truly ripe tomatoes, a handful of spring onions and the tiniest bit of first, cold pressed olive oil, a bundle of rainbow chard that I could produce a glorious summer supper worthy of an engraved invitation, and without the benefit of a Webber.

Looks like the longest day of the year is going to be one big sunfest and the first day of summer is actually going to feel like summer! To celebrate this improbable event, I am having myself a serious solstice moment. 

As we speak I am sipping on a very swell decoction of seltzer water and slices of summer peaches swirling alongside Swanton’s strawberries.  Very refreshing as I contemplate my next move, which may very well be to head to the harbor, walk the pooch and cool my heels and pick up a nice chunk of albacore. A nice Coastal version of a Salad Nicoise , what with Eda’s arugula, Giusti’ baby artichokes, over a nest of Tunitas Creek Ranch greens seems like a nice way to round out an evening, doesn’t it?  I hope so, because this very warm afternoon following a series of beautiful days has sent my mind a’drift, and I can complete nothing more than a simple thought or two, like my goodness, it’s gorgeous, and dang, am I ever thirsty. 

I am putting all the ripe raspberries and the rest of the peaches ( sliced and peeled) in the freezer right now,  and going outside.  When I get back I am going to pile them, frozen, into the cuisinart, douse them with a quick blast of Lillet and spin up a lovely all-fruit sorbet and watch the moon rise refreshed.  

Doesn’t that sound like a great idea?

See you on the beach, and at the Market,

Erin Tormey
Coastside Farmers Markets

In Half Moon Bay @ Shoreline Station 
Saturdays, 9 am to 1 pm

In Pacifica @ Rockaway Beach 
Wednesdays, 2:30 -6:

We’ve all been eager for New Leaf to open, but no one than our teenage daughter Victoria.  A recently converted health nut, Victoria has struggled to find many healthy alternatives at the local stores.  Today, we had a hard time getting her to leave the store.

Victoria’s Top 10 things that make me happy at New Leaf

Salad Bar: I like the options at the salad bar, mainly because it gives a healthy alternative during our time off at lunch. They also have a hot entrée bar, olive bar, and well stocked deli. Yay options! One warning – the desserts are delicious and will call your name if you come anywhere near them.  Naturally, you have to go through the desserts to get to the salad.  Sigh.

Fresh organic fruits and vegetables: Between the millions of fruits and vegetables, I didn’t even know where to start. There was an intense amount of produce, and all of it was ripe, which is a nice change. Best of all?  Samples, samples, samples.  Who can say no to free fruits.  Not me.

Job opportunities: Working behind-the-scenes might not always be glamorous, but it gets the bills paid. New Leaf provides many job opportunities for teenagers, including some friends of mine.

Click below for more, including a surprise guest.

The Bush administration proposes to pay for mess it created in the Census Bureau by taking funds designed to help salmon fishermen hurt by its water policies, reports Truthout.

The Bush administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday, June 9, sent a proposal to Congress to amend the president’s budget and take back $70 million of the $180 million West Coast representatives had put into the farm bill for disaster assistance for fishermen devastated by fishing closures off California and Oregon and in Central Valley rivers.

West Coast Democrats reacted to the proposal by sending an angry letter to President Bush. They called “unconscionable” his proposal to deny the disaster funding to fishermen and use it to pay for a failed contract with the Harris Corporation. Harris, assigned to do the 2010 Census, was forced due to serious mismanagement to abandon its plans for using handheld computers to conduct the census and will have to conduct a costly paper census.

“This proposal is especially egregious when you consider that your administration’s water policies on all of the Pacific Northwest’s major salmon rivers are the reason this disaster funding is needed in the first place,” the letter said.

“So much at risk, so much to save”

Join the Committee for Green Foothills on Saturday, June 28, for a tour of Santa Clara Valley agriculture and learn more about the heritage and sustainability of local farming. We’ll meet local farmers, hear first-hand about the challenges they face, and enjoy fresh-from-the-field delights.

The day includes transportation through the beautiful hillsides, talks from various farming and land-use experts, a catered lunch, fruit and wine tasting. Our buses will leave San Jose at 9am and return at 5pm. Advance registration only - transportation details will be sent upon receipt of your registration.

Correction: Kevin Barron correctly pointed out in the comments that we should have adjusted produce prices so that we were comparing price per pound rather than total price. We've updated the comparison. This brings the numbers for New Leaf and Whole Foods much closer to Safeway, which feels like good news to us.

Ever since Albertson's closed last year, Coastsiders have been grumbling that the Half Moon Bay Safeway seems awfully expensive. Were they taking advantage of the lack of competition to raise prices? In two weeks in April, we shopped our local Safeway and four competitors, here's what we discovered.

You can't really compare the bottom-line prices at these stores fairly. We took pains to buy comparable items between stores, but it's more difficult than you might think. Also, even though we tried to buy lowest common denominator goods, no two people are going to buy the same basket of goods. For more information, you can download our shopping list and individual prices in an Excel spreadsheet.

Dairy and baked goods were roughly equally priced at all stores, including Whole Foods, which we threw into the mix out of curiosity. Although we were tempted by some of Whole Food's $20/pound cheddar when our shopping list called for Tillamook.

Household items, like Ziploc bags and foil, are cheaper at Safeway. But they're even cheaper at Costco.

Meat was much cheaper at Safeway. It looked and tasted like it. Also, the service in Cunha's and New Leaf's meat departments was outstanding. If you've ever tried to buy anything that wasn't already shrink-wrapped at Safeway, you know what we're talking about.

Packaged foods didn't vary much in price, but this is one area where you can be tempted by some pretty pricey merchandise with charming labels at the alternative markets. But if you're looking for wide selection of processed food, Safeway is an excellent choice.

Produce was significantly cheaper in San Mateo. However, Cunha's and New Leaf were highly competitive with Safeway in Half Moon Bay, and this is the other category where Safeway's quality left a lot to be desired. Also, if we'd shopped at Safeway's tiny organic section, the prices would have been a lot closer to one another.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line isn't the price.

This issue is all about beans, berries, bytes that have bit it, and Bicycles that have not.

The Coastside Farmer’s Market is a proud supporter of The HEAL Project - a home grown, hands on, award winning program that brings local agriculture into the classroom.  Farmers John ( both Muller and Giusti) are regular guest teachers in the classroom, and due in part to their wise council (and wise cracks) the HEAL Project garden is now a fully certified agricultural producer, and beginning this week, the kids from the HEAL Project will be offering their produce for sale at the Half Moon Bay location every other week through the summer.  Big News: This is the ONLY public School in the State ( that we know of) to become a Certified Agricultural Producer, and the only one qualified to sell their products at a Certified Farmer’s Market. It’s kind of a big deal.

The HEAL Project, like many worthy public benefit enterprises on the Coast is, as ever , under threat of extinction, due entirely to funding challenges.  You can help support the HEAL Project in a number of ways and buying some of their Fava beans and blanching them, grinding them up in a Cuisinart with lemon juice, olive oil and a dollop of tahini is a good start.  You can also attend a benefit concert with The Santa Cruz River Band we a co-producing this Friday night, May 30 at the Odd Fellows Hall - 526 Main Street, upstairs from Tokenz and M Coffee -

Or , you can clean out your garage, attic or office and bring your end-of-life electronics to the Coastside Farmer’s Market on June 7th for a FREE e-waste recycling event the Market is co-sponsoring with Reece Computer Systems and ASL, who guarantee that ALL the recycling is done here, in California, and not shipped overseas.