Mercado Kitchen: Persimmon Pecan Bread

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Great Valley Poultry, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Twin Girls Farm, Winters Tree Fruit | Leave a comment

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We’re fully into the autumn season, with fall flavors abundant at the market. Persimmons – both the Hachiya and Fuyu varieties – are a fun fall fruit available now at Twin Girls Farm. Hachiya persimmons are best used for baking or preserving. When they aren’t fully ripe they have an unpleasant, tannic flavor. Set them out on the counter to ripen. You’ll know they’re ripe when they feel like a water balloon filled with soft, squishy flesh. Fuyu persimmons are the opposite – meant to be eaten when firm and raw, they are sweet and crunchy and make a delightful addition to salads.

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Be sure to buy Hachiya persimmons for this easy one-bowl quick bread recipe. At Twin Girls Farm they will help you pick out the most ripe and ready fruit. For the cup of persimmon puree called for in this recipe, you’ll need about 3-4 ripe Hachiya persimmons. Cut off the top of each persimmon and slice in half. Use a paring knife to remove the small membranes, then squeeze the flesh out and discard the skins. Depending how smooth the persimmon flesh is, it’s optional to puree in a food processor and strain through a mesh strainer.

This persimmon pecan bread is moist and sweet with a delicious crunch from toasty Winters Fruit Tree pecans and a subtle boozy flavor from the addition of whiskey, making it a perfect snack on a crisp fall day. And don’t forget to pick up organic, free-range eggs from Great Valley Poultry to use in the recipe.

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The full recipe is after the jump. Happy baking!

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Mercado Kitchen: Chiles Rellenos Casserole

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Achadinha Cheese Company, Blog, Blue House Farm, Great Valley Poultry, Happy Boy Farms, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes | Leave a comment

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The abundance of peppers at the market comes in many shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. Don’t miss out as pepper season winds down! Blue House Farm and Happy Boy Farms tell us there are only about two to three weeks of peppers left.

Wondering what to do with all these wonderful peppers? Chiles rellenos are a traditional Mexican dish that translates as “stuffed chiles” – typically a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, fried in egg batter, and served over tomato sauce. This casserole is an easier version that’s also healthier because it’s baked instead of fried.

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This casserole features a variety of peppers that can be found at the market – red shishito peppers from Happy Boy Farms and round of Hungary, poblano, and lipstick peppers from Blue House Farm. A layer of tomato sauce made with heirloom tomatoes from Happy Boy Farms and laced with red shishito and round of Hungary peppers is topped with poblano and lipstick peppers stuffed with cotija and monterey jack cheeses. The casserole is then topped with an egg-flour mixture featuring eggs from Great Valley Poultry and baked to perfection. The peppers can be stuffed with cheeses of your choice – for an extra kick try the Hot Hilda fresh cheese curds from Achadinha Cheese Company flavored with cayenne and red chili!

The full recipe is after the jump. ¡Buen provecho!  Read more

Mercado Kitchen: Rustic Plum Tart

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Twin Girls Farm | Leave a comment

Plums

When you visit the market, it’s hard to miss the crowd of customers tasting and buying a delicious variety of plums, pluots, and other stone fruit from Twin Girls Farm. Now’s a great time to get your plum fix while they are still in season through next month. Enjoy them now, or you’ll have to wait for their return next year in late spring!

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Plums work beautifully in a rustic tart, also known en Francais as a galette. Flaky tart dough wrapped around colorful plums makes a striking dessert sure to get oohs and ahhs from your family and friends. Oh, and it’s also tasty and surprisingly simple to make! While plums are highly recommended, you can substitute almost any fruit in this recipe and customize your galette according to what’s in season.

The full recipe is after the jump. Happy baking!

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The Dearborn Cajun Players and Bonnie Sun at MCM

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Live Music | Leave a comment

This Thursday October 10th, get ready for another fun-filled market at 22nd and Bartlett Streets in the Mission, 4-8 pm. Enjoy live music this week from the Dearborn Cajun Players at 4 pm and Bonnie Sun at 6 pm.

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Both of these musicians are new to Bartlett Street and we’re thrilled to welcome them both!

The Dearborn Cajun Players will entertain us with some Cajun/zydeco music. This working-class style of music with Louisiana and Acadian roots, represents 100 years of history.  The acoustic shrill of the accordion, the melodic twine of the fiddle, the rhythmic blend of the guitar/ukulele, often sung in french, brings you the human quality and warmth of old time music.

Bonnie Sun is a San Francisco-based musician from Long Beach, California. She has been singing, playing the guitar and piano since she was 12 and began writing songs in 2012. Bonnie’s music has an acoustic neo-soul feel, with hints of jazz and soul. She generally plays with her band around the city, consisting of Luke Dennis on upright bass and Aaron Kircher on lead guitar. She is currently recording a 5-song EP, Tools to Carve A Path, to be released in November 2013.

Steamed Frijoles de Vara

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Terra Savia, Yerena Farms | 1 Comment

These Heirloom Beans from Yerena Farms are called “Frijoles de Vara.” This recipe was suggested by Sylvia of Yerena Farms and comes highly recommended by our Executive Director Rosi! If you like edamame, this is a fun way to steam a new kind of bean that makes for a great appetizer or snack!

If you can’t find this specific type of bean, you can substituting other varieties like cranberry beans, but be sure to check with the farmer to find out how much longer you should cook them– you’d probably want to steam for an additional 20 minutes with other varieties.

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Ingredients:

    • Frijoles de Vara from Yerena Farms
    • 1-2 Lemons
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • Olive Oil from Terra Savia
    • Cayenne Pepper

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The instructions are very simple! Place the beans in a steamer with a few inches of water. Steam for 10-15 minutes. When finished, transfer beans to a bowl and drizzle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. It’s that easy!

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You can shell the beans once steamed, but I recommend just eating them out of the shells like edamame. Enjoy the spicy, salty, lemony flavor that accents the delicious natural flavor of these heirloom beans!