Temecula Farmer's Market

Every Saturday morning in old town Temecula there is a fantastic farmer's market. The real deal. Mostly produce and flowers, a few craftspeople, and a section of great food, from breads and pastries to fish tacos and falafel.  California is produce heaven. All of it incredibly fresh and much of it organic. Right now citrus is in abundance, but also fresh eggs, dates, lettuces, avocados, guavas, mangos, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, spinach, asparagus, brussel sprouts, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and much more. Three weeks in a row now I've bought the best blueberries and blackberries I've ever had. I suspect they may be from Chile. And look at this selection of mushrooms!

New spring asparagus.

My first job as a teenager, and one I held for a couple of years in Berkeley, CA were in produce stores, so I know a lot about produce. But here's a totally new one for me as the produce queen. Remember jujube candy from childhood? Well, did you know there is a fruit called a jujube? It's dried, with kind of a reddish brown skin, about the size and taste of a cross between a date and a dried apple. I tasted one, but was not inspired to bring any home. I'll try to get a picture next week.

The flowers are unbelievable. Every kind of hot house flower imaginable, plus the tropicals like you see in Hawaii. Double tuberose, with the most heavenly smell on earth.

(Stocks above). 

Here is one vender who makes arrangements right in the market, and a sample of what she makes. $15 for the one she's working on, and $40 for the one in the next picture.  These would cost more than twice as much in a florist.

Most of the prices in the market are not necessarily cheaper than the grocery store. Especially for the organic produce. But the whole place makes me so happy, I have to hold myself back from buying much more than we can possibly eat in a week.

 I just read back through this, and found I had used the word heaven twice to describe the produce and the flowers. For sure, my heaven would definitely include a farmer's market.