pepe's koala shack

For some reason we've been getting a lot of wrong numbers here at the apartment, and B's been making up some great business ideas. Personally I like the koala shack, and I definitely think we should stay with the Pepe theme.

Good news! We found a farmers market in Davis, which is only a few minutes west of here. It's pretty darn amazing. It's the middle of winter and the market was still thriving. Greens, potatoes, citrus, strawberries... Fresh, local strawberries in February! Crazy shit. Local fresh pressed olive oil, artisan breads, local pork, farm-fresh eggs, even a pedal-powered carousel. In the summer it looks like quite the city event, with dinner and music and all sorts of good fun. We can't wait!

B: Holy brialliant orb in my hand!

Mandy, L and I decided to get out of the house on Saturday to round up some of the wonderful local citrus. Decmber and January are prime Satsuma months!! Thanks to Edible Sacramento we found the Miller Citrus Orchard, but unfortunately we didn't find anybody to sell us fruit. It was a sad sad moment. I mean we went to Penryn and everything!

As luck would have it, we decided to take our alegorical bitter citrus and make a tasty beverage by going on up to Auburn to play at the park. As we drove into town, we all but stumbled upon the Auburn Farmers Market. The market wasn't anything special, but oddly enough there was a certain farmer Miller there selling mandarines of several varieties out of the back of a 1970's era Chevy pick-up.


















All I can say is DAMN!!!! They are good. I think I prefer the Satsuma to the Clementine, but both are good. Either would make a killer screw driver or mimosa. That is of couse if we could avoid eating them long enough to juice them.

B: length of superfluous text in speaking or writing aka rhubarb

A just recently made our collective 1st (and 2nd and 3rd) strawberry rhubarb pies. I can't believe I have never had this before, except at Lyon's. I thought it was gross when I had it at Lyon's, but homemade it is the shit! Tart strawberry deliciousness!

According to the Che Panisse fruit cookbook (I know it's a vegetable, but go tell that to the foodies)some of the best rhubarb in the nation comes from our own Skagit valley. There are two major crops, the first is in April and May and the second is later in the summer in July. Stalks should be finger thick and deep red for best flavor and texture. Larger stalks will be fibrous and require peeling but still work just fine. Rhubarb is slightly fruity, but mostly as the JoC puts it "the embodiment of tart".

Pie season is on and I strongly reccomend getting down to your local farmers market and buy some rhubarb when it is again available locally. While you are there, some early cherries are already available and more and more local produce is showing up every weekend.

This weeks favorite Redmond Farmers Market vender: Magana Farms.
Last summer Magana Farms had the best jalapenos along with a lot of other great fruits and vegetables. They are usually very helpful and conversational, and always offer you a taste, even if it is a hotter than hell late summer jalepeno. Check them out!