September at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market

September 9, 2013
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September has been sunny and hot, the ocean has warmed up (if you can call 63 degrees warm!) and the Farmers Market is bursting with radiant, colorful produce and flowers. Fall fare is sneaking in on quiet feet — bartlett pears and varieties of winter squash — but summer provisions continue to steal the show. […]

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Dimply Dapple Dandy Pluot Cake from Dorie Greenspan

September 3, 2013
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I got carried away and bought too many plums and pluots at the Farmers Market last weekend. I had every intention of baking them into a juicy, crunchy-topped crisp, but an unexpected heat wave got the best of me. As the temperatures climbed, and turning on the oven no longer was viable, I had to […]

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Heirloom Tomato and Stone Fruit Salad with Chevre

August 26, 2013
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If there’s one thing I’ve made consistently all summer long, it’s a salad that features stone fruit. Here in Santa Barbara, the season opened in May with apricots. Since then, the volume and variety of plums, pluots, peaches and nectarines has increased week after week. Mixed with greens and a few well-chosen vegetables, stone fruit […]

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Summertime Cooking with The Bug

August 19, 2013
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Since she was a baby, The Bug has been my companion most Saturday mornings. One of the first phrases she uttered as a toddler was, “Cuppa Errands.” That’s what I used to tell her we were off to do when I strapped her into her car seat. As we drove around town, she’d repeat that […]

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Tender Roasted Figs with Orange and Thyme from David Lebovitz

August 12, 2013
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Figs. Plump, succulent, luscious. Our Farmers Market is bursting with several varieties right now. We’ve enjoyed them sliced into salads and as the star attraction on open-faced sandwiches, but I’ve been curious about how they’d taste after a roast in the oven. Paris-based chef, cookbook author and writer of a must-read cooking and travel blog, […]

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Stuffed Bell Peppers from Deb Ryan of East of Eden Cooking

August 5, 2013
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Deb Ryan writes the East of Eden Cooking blog, which celebrates food and farming in her part of the world — the Salinas Valley. A quote from John Steinbeck’s classic novel, East of Eden, accompanies every post and sets the stage for her lush writing and equally lush food. I can’t remember when I first […]

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Summery Plum Pie Two Ways — Both from Melissa Clark

July 29, 2013
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It’s the height of plum season at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market right now. Heavy with juice, heady perfume filling the air, their flavor is perfectly balanced between sweet and tart. I snack on them, toss them in salads with their stone fruit cousins, and I’ve been baking with them, too. Early this month, when […]

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Toasted Grains with Cherry Tomatoes, Corn and Avocado

July 22, 2013
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I love a hearty grain dish. Whether it’s good for me or not, I’m in it for the flavor. While the grains are the featured player in Toasted Grains with Cherry Tomatoes, Corn and Avocado, the supporting cast — ripe, colorful summer vegetables — almost outshines the star without trying. My go-to grain is quinoa, […]

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Seafood on My Mind: Candied Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

July 17, 2013
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It seemed fitting that upon our arrival in Nantucket for vacation, just a few days before July 4th, that flags were snapping in the wind everywhere we looked. We spent as much time on, in or next to the water as we could. The sound of the waves was calming — even on the days […]

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Corn, Pea and Cherry Tomato Saute with Fresh Basil

July 1, 2013
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Summer is in full swing, July 4th is nearly upon us and sweet corn has arrived at the Farmers Market. Fresh corn typically is so sweet it hardly needs more than a smear of butter and a sprinkle of sea salt. When I want to mix things up — but let that natural flavor shine […]

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