The California State Fair

We are proud participants in this year's California State Fair from August 15th through Labor Day.

Come visit us in The Farm section.

We have plenty of healthful food to balance out whatever you might have just devoured on a stick.

Ready for Market

• In addition to watermelon, cantaloupe, ambrosia, and honeydew melons, several of the farmers' markets also have different varieties of Indian and Persian melons. Try an exotic kharboza melon, or a traditional yellow-skinned casaba melon.
• O' Henry peaches are an old favorite and taste just like a peach should. Most of the large stone fruit varieties have made their seasonal debuts. Although apricots have made an exit until next spring.
• After a bit of a late start, figs are ready. The brown turkey looks like a larger version of a mission fig. The janice fig is chartreuse green and satisfyingly sweet.
• Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are still for sale at many markets. Of these, strawberries have the longest season. Blackberries are reaching the end of their season in most areas.
• There are plenty of tomatoes to choose from at market. Try a mellow and meaty cherokee purple heirloom tomato for the perfect BLT sandwich. When shopping please keep in mind that most tomatoes are fragile to the touch. Too much handling is harmful and unnecessary, as tomatoes at the market are picked ready to eat.
• Red and yellow bartlett pears as well as a few varieties of asian pears are now ripe. A large asian pear can provide 9 grams of dietary fiber.
• If you like to stir-fry, there are carrots, onions, garlic, bok choy, and winter melon ready to go. Try adding fresh thai basil leaves and fragrant cilantro a moment before serving. If you like spicy, one or two thai peppers will do the trick, especially if you include the seeds.
• Summer squash including patty-pan, yellow crookneck, and the mildly sweet costa romanesco can be found at many markets. These are a good source of many vitamins and minerals including vitamin C and potassium.
• Fresh-picked gala apples are crunchy and sweet. If you enjoy morning coffee just before shopping, munching on an apple is a terrific way to freshen your breath.

Not just good, but grape!

Here are descriptions of a few of the grape varieties available at market this time of year.

Concord Grape: These grapes have the best flavor for grape juice and grape jelly which is why they are popularly used in commercial brands of those products. They have a thick skin, delicate juicy flesh and large seeds. Their distinctive flavor is unmatched, but they are sometimes hard to find because the seeds make them less popular with kids and mainstream shoppers. Farmers usually plant what sells best.

Black Emerald: This is a relatively new variety of seedless table grapes. Their fruits have very dark skin and crisp juicy flesh. The flavor is mellow and sweet.

Thompson Seedless: The green seedless grapes are sweet, seedless, and crunchy, which make them great in fruit cocktails. They have a high sugar content but are also a very good source of vitamin C.

Red Flame: These seedless grapes are very easy to find. They are quite possibly the most popular variety of grapes for sale. They are very sweet and mildly tart. Their skin is maroon and they have crunchy translucent flesh.

New Saturday Market

A new Certified Farmers' Market opened on June 21st. It is now open every Saturday morning at the

Laguna Gateway Shopping Center
Laguna Blvd. @ Big Horn
(Circuit City / PetSmart / Sports Authority center)

We intend on establishing this market as the first year-round farmers market in Elk Grove. We appreciate your support in making this happen.