Good Food’s Weekly Farmers’ Market Digest

Every week Good Food visits the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers’ Market and brings the latest news from farmers and chefs.

This week market manager Laura Avery talks to Ari Taymor about passion fruit. The chef and co-owner of Alma uses the fruit in desserts and housemade sodas.

On Labor Day weekend Ari Taymor will be at Field to Fork, part of The LA Times TASTE event at the Paramount Studios backlot. Russ Parsons will moderate a discussion on root to stem cooking with Ari, Gary Menes of Le Comptoir and Bruce Kalman of Union.

Plus, Dates by DaVall are back with their Barhi dates, a seasonal specialty in the late fall.

What You Should Buy This Weekend At the Farmers’ Market:

– Passion fruit and pomegranates from Murray Family Farms. Don’t be fooled by the passion fruit’s unattractive wrinkled exterior, the inside is pure tropical delight. Try it as a crunchy, gooey, and flavorful ice cream topping.

– Barhi dates and Medjool dates from Dates by Davall. The barhi dates have a rich, almost butterscotch flavor. The season is very short, so enjoy them while they last. Listen to Annette Remter talk about her dates on this week’s market report.

– The Mirza melon is a cherished melon variety in Uzbekistan, a melon-centric Country. A football-sized one, which they all are, will set you back about $10. Worth it; they have a musky cantaloupe-like flavor with a clean finish. Look for them from Isabell’s Honey Farm.

– It’s early season for Honeycrisp and Fuji apples from Canyon Orchards, so the apples have had less time to sweeten. Grab them if you’re curious to try what these usually uniformly sweet apples taste like with a tart kick.

– Green and red okra from JF Organic Farms. The two colors have no taste difference, so just look for the smaller pods, as the bigger ones are tougher.

– Fresh ginger and raw peanuts from Her Produce in Fresno. Southerners boiling raw peanuts in saltwater is a time-honored tradition. Another beloved southern tradition is dropping the salty peanuts right into a bottle of Coke. The peanuts float on top, so you can get a few with every swig.

Recipes for your Market Haul:

Gus McShane’s Passion Fruit Cocktails

Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

Fresh Golden Bahri Date Salad

Spicy Sautéed Okra

Chicken and Okra Gumbo

Gluten-Free Apple Pie

Nectarine Ginger Pie

The Lee Brothers Famous Boiled Peanuts