Mercado Kitchen

Mercado Kitchen: 3-Ingredient Pomegranate Pistachio Chocolate

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Twin Girls Farm, Winters Tree Fruit | 1 Comment

This recipe was inspired by the arrival of pomegranates from Twin Girls Farm! Now, if you’re like me you’ve always had a love/hate relationship with pomegranates. They taste amazing but there’s the special challenge of getting at those delicious seeds. The juice gets everywhere, not to mention those funky thin membranes. But I’ve always found that if I just throw on my oldest stains-are-ok shirt and go along with it it pays off, because they’re just so good.

In addition to being delicious, the juice from pomegranates is chock full of health benefits, including high antioxidant power, benefits to cardiovascular health, and there is even some evidence of anti-cancer properties.

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Know your Peppers with Happy Boy Farm

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Happy Boy Farms, Mercado Kitchen | Leave a comment

When I asked Ash of Happy Boy Farm to talk to me about the difference between Padrón and Shishito Peppers, she exclaimed, “Well, for starters, they come from two totally different parts of the world!”

To the naked (and uninformed) eye, baskets of these two small green peppers often found at MCM this time of year might appear indistinguishable. But guess what–they each have quite a story to tell, with properties that make them unique. I decided to delve into the history behind these two fraternal twin peppers a little more to find out what makes makes them special.

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Padrón Peppers

The most famous produce of the Spanish city Padrón are its peppers. Franciscan monks first brought pepper seeds to the area from Mexico in the 16th century, which then were adapted to the soil and climate of the area.

Most of the peppers taste sweet and mild–like tiny bell peppers–though some are particularly hot and spicy, which can give some special character to a dish prepared with these little guys. The popular Spanish saying,“Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non” meaning “Padrón peppers, some are hot and some are not” captures this sentiment perfectly. Although it’s not always the case, some have found that the peppers grown later in the season (towards August and September) tend to contain more capsaicin–and thus are spicier–than the grown in June and July. A couple sources I found said that about one in every 20 peppers will be hot, and the rest will be mild. However, sometimes you’ll get a basket with a slightly higher ratio. It really is a game of spicy roulette when you eat these peppers!

Shishitos on the other hand, come from Japan, halfway around the world, as Ash told me.

shishitos at market

Shishito Peppers

 The Shishito pepper is small and finger-sized, slender, and thin-walled. The name refers to the fact that the tip of the chili pepper looks like the head of a lion (“shisho”) and in Japanese it is often abbreviated as Shishitō.

Though apparently some varieties of Shishitos do form capsaicin and become spicy, Ash assured me that I wouldn’t find a spicy pepper in my basket–and I didn’t. The peppers generally become spicy in hot, dry conditions, and we won’t often get such weather here. According to Ash, Shishitos are also more “buttery” than their Padrón counterparts.

The easiest way to tell them apart is the fact that the Shishitos are usually more slender and wrinkly, while Padróns tend to be fatter, and have an appearance more similar to Jalapeños.

Lucky for us, both varieties of peppers cook up easily and with much the same simple preparation–toss them in a glass baking dish with some olive oil, coarse salt, and black pepper, and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350 ° F until slightly browned in parts. It doesn’t get much easier than that! I like to sprinkle them with some goat cheese or feta if I have it on hand.

Enjoy the rest of our San Francisco summer, and happy pepper picking!

Jarred Spring Garlic Dressing w/ Roasted Potatoes & Peppers

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Blue House Farm, Happy Boy Farms, Jarred SF Brine, La Cocina, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes | 1 Comment

Photos taken by Daniel Sullivan Jr. Instagram: @dsulliphoto

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Emiliana Puyana from Jarred SF Brine aims to positively impact the world through tasty, crunchy pickles. After growing up in Venezuela, Emiliana pursued her love of food by attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Now she has created Jarred SF Brine, a pickle business that operates out of La Cocina using local and sustainable fruits and vegetables picked at the peak of their seasons.

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Before talking with Emiliana, we didn’t know much about cooking with pickles. Pickles are usually eaten straight out of the jar, right? Thankfully Emiliana has a wealth of knowledge about easy ways to pep up everything from salads to cocktails using her delicious creations. She offered the inspiration for this recipe and has many more ideas to give. Check out the recipe page of her website, or better yet, stop by her stand at MCM this thursday to taste her pickles and ask for some inspiration on how to cook with them.

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This Pickled Spring Garlic Dressing recipe can be used in endless ways–try it as a seafood marinade or for dipping artichokes. We decided to roast Fingerling Potatoes from Happy Boy Farms thanks to their buttery texture and thin skin which doesn’t need to be peeled. For a little smokey spice, we added Padron Peppers from Blue House Farm. You can find the full recipe after the jump.  Read more

Mercado Kitchen: Cinnamon Raisin Apple Muffins

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Great Valley Poultry, Hale Apple Farm, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Terra Savia | 2 Comments

Photos taken by Daniel Sullivan Jr. Instagram: @dsulliphoto

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Following the advice of farmer Dave from Hale’s Apple Farm, I used these beautiful pink pearls for this recipe as they not only offered a vibrant pop of color but also a unique flavor difference. As pink pearl season has sadly ended, we’re confident that this recipe would be equally delicious with any of his apples – ask Dave what’s good this week and perhaps even use a mix of two or three of his varieties! Recipe found after the jump.

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Some notes before you start: Depending on the size of your muffin tin, this batch should produce about 12-15 muffins. I opted for using coconut oil to grease my muffin tin instead of paper liners but you can use the method that best serves you. The batter won’t expand too much when baking, so don’t be afraid to add a little extra to each cup if you want a nice shapely muffin top. Lastly, we kept nuts out of this batch but if you want to add a little meaty crunch, go ahead and throw in a half cup of chopped walnuts when adding the apple chunks and raisins.

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Purple Potato, Zucchini and Thyme Frittata

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

Frittatas are one of the easiest and most diverse dishes to make. Not only can you eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can throw just about any vegetables, cheeses, meats or even leftovers you have on hand to make an excellent flavor combination.

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With this recipe I combined Purple and Yukon Gold potatoes from Blue House Farm, zucchini from Yerena Farms, fresh thyme from Happy Boy Farms, eggs from Great Valley Poultry, and olive oil from Terra Savia to create a savory and hearty weekend breakfast.  Purple Potatoes look like precious gems, and when sliced add vibrant color to this dish.  I was able to save the extra frittata in the fridge to make delicious cold egg sandwiches the next day.

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To make this recipe you will need:

1 tsp. Olive oil
8 large eggs
Dash of heavy cream
1 small zucchini
2 small potatoes
1/2 tbls. Fresh thyme (Stems removed and chopped)
Big pinches of salt and pepper Read more