The Market Report

Amelia Saltsman, author of The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes and Stories from the Market and Farm, will do a cooking demonstration from 10am to 1pm Wednesday, July 23 at the Market tent on 3rd St and Arizona. She'll be grilling some seasonal fruit (peaches and figs) in a main dish salad with some delicious Italian sausage.

Laura Avery talks with Amelia about shelling beans, mature beans that are fresh, not dried. They come in multiple colors, flavors and shapes, and make great salads. Here's a summer twist she recommends on the classic Italian recipe of sausages and beans:

Summer Shelling Beans and Italian Sausages

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 lbs fresh shell beans in shell (yield 4 cups beans)

• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage links

• 1 large sweet onion

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

• Fresh bay leaf

• Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Laura also chats with farmer Greg Nauda, who brings in grass-fed and grass-finished, free-range pork and beef. He also owns Rocky Canyon Produce, famous for delicious melons. Amelia will be using his ham in her cooking demo next week! The ham is cured in a light salt, and smoked for 24 hours. The flavor is much more rich and distinct than what you'd find in a supermarket--once you've had it you'll never go back to regular bacon.

Music break: Fascinating Babies by Hirose Kenjiro