Farmer's Market Finds

There’s a big push these days to “buy local” and “shop at the local farmer’s market.”  I thoroughly love roaming aimlessly through the stalls without an agenda or a grocery list.  I only buy what looks good.  Some days it could be radishes, another day sweet pluots.

Some of my favorite ones are:

Mission-West District in South Pasadena:  They are open every Thursday evening from 4-8 pm, so it’s a great place to go after work.  I have a route that I walk from central Pasadena into South Pasadena and it takes me right by there in the evenings.  I bought some great hummus and pita bread (and when I wasn’t vegan, a great tasting kebob stick.)

Victory Park in Pasadena:  According to the website, they are open every Saturday from 8:30-12:30, but my friend and I have gone close to noon and the farmers/vendors are nowhere near shutting down.  If I’m not mistaken, they are actually there until 2 pm.  They have many, many farmers there, almost 15-20 vendors, so there’s no shortage of produce.  They come as far as Nipomo sometimes, up near Santa Maria.  My favorites this summer included mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, peaches, and nectarines.

Broxton Ave. in Westwood:  This is a small operation, located on one of the side streets near UCLA.  It’s great because it’s near work and they changed their hours so my friend "Stripes" and I can go on our lunch break.  The fruit & vegetable vendors had some great produce- so fresh and vibrant looking!  And even though peak season is over, there are some farms still harvesting strawberries and they looked perfectly red, juicy, and oh so sweet!  $6 for a tray of 3 baskets was a great deal!  Our next great find was Bolani: East & West Gourmet Food.  Their specialty is a vegan and all-natural Afghan food called bolani: flatbread stuffed and baked with different fillings.  They had spinach, pumpkin, potato and lentil.  All of them have less than 150 calories (the pumpkin bolani has only 84 calories!) a serving and are packed with fiber and protein.  They also have some great spreads & dips like cilantro pesto, eggplant pesto and sweet jalapeno jelly.  One word: AMAZING!