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The bounty of summer is overflowing at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. This time of the year we love to shop for the best of the amazing produce that’s being grown by our local farmers and then bring that to you in as many wonderfully simple forms as possible. It’s pretty easy when Brentwood Corn (the Northern California Brentwood) shows up in boxes of sweet and crunchy wonderfulness, when the only challenge with Tutti Frutti’s gorgeous heirloom tomatoes is how to get them back to the restaurant without having all the beautiful juices squeezed out, and when Munak Ranch’s melons challenge us to decide choose between a salty or spicy accompaniment to complement their sublime sweetness. With so much Farmers Market goodness to talk about, let’s hop right in.
After two and half years at the helm of Rustic Canyon’s kitchen Executive Chef Evan Funke is really hitting his stride. Evan has always been immensely talented and passionate about his work, but as of late it’s as if he’s crossed over into a new realm of creativity and mastery of the fantastic ingredients and Farmers Market produce around him. Many of you have walked the market with Evan and seen how meticulously he picks through the season’s produce, realizing, as he often points out, that much of his work is done by the farmers themselves, and that it’s his job to make this beautifully grown bounty transform into delicious and soul satisfying food. This month’s menu speaks to his capacity to do just that. Wonderful Brentwood Corn can be found in a Sweet Corn Soup with Chanterelle Mushrooms, as well as in the Sweet Corn Agnolotti. Campari Tomatoes, left on the vine in the classic Italian tradition, are roasted to accentuate their sweetness and paired with Creamy Burrata and served with Grilled Bread. Munak Melons, the perfect warm weather food, are adorned with Fresh Mint, Pickled Fresno Chilis and Basil. Whole Chickpeas are fried in their shell, and dusted with Lime and Sea Salt. Prawns are pan roasted and served with a slightly spicy Romesco Sauce. For large plates, a thick Niman Ranch Pork Chop is served with Tenerelli Orchard Peaches, Caramelized Corn and Basil. For fish lovers, Branzino is a perfect Summer time dish, served with Roasted Baby Artichokes, Eggplant, Fennel, Tomatoes, Black Olives and Salsa Verde. Remember the menu changes nightly, so some of these dishes might not be on every night, but we promise there will be plenty of Farmers Market goodness for you to choose from each night of the week.
At Huckleberry we recently had our ‘Chez Panisse’ moment when Tehachapi area farmer David Partovi showed up on a Saturday with his truck full of Sour Cherries. While getting produce from the market is a must, nothing is more fun than having a farmer pull up with his special stash, especially when it’s something like sour cherries, which are incredibly rare in California. What makes these difficult to grow and even more of a pain to pit cherries so special, is that unlike more familiar varietals, these have enough acid in them to retain their balance and not just turn into sweet mush when they are cooked. We bought a lot of these rare gems, so sour cherries will be turning up for the next few weeks in Galettes and Pies. Apricots are also wonderful right now and a bit easier to come by. Find the last of the season’s delicious apricots in Fresh Fruit Tarts with Pastry Cream and Slivered Almonds. Plums can be found in Crisps, and Peaches are everywhere--in Pie, Pound Cake, Bread Pudding and more. Summer is also infiltrating the savory side of the Huckleberry menu. A new Summer Salad showcases many of the season’s wonderful veggies--Zucchini, Peppers, Corn and Onions with Feta Cheese. Also new on the breakfast menu is a wonderful Corn, Potato and Cherry Tomato Hash served with Fried Eggs. Finally, to join Wednesday Pizza Day, Thursday Tacos, and Friday Fried Chicken we’ve added Tuesday Grilled Cheese Day. Every Tuesday we feature a new special Grilled Cheese. Recent selections have included Roasted Market Vegetables with Mozzarella, and another with Niman Ranch Bacon, Blue Cheese, Heirloom Tomato and Arugula. Come visit us for one of these special treats soon.
We’re beginning our 4th month at Sweet Rose Creamery and thanks to seeing many of your faces so regularly we feel like we’ve been around forever. It’s rewarding to know that so many of you love good artisan ice cream as much as we do! The summer is a wonderful time at Sweet Rose as Chef Shiho Yoshikawa’s Organic Ice Cream and Sorbets are vehicles for all of the market goodies. Joining our staple of regular flavors like Salted Caramel, Caffe Luxxe Coffee and Fresh Mint with Homemade Chocolate Chips are August specials like Peaches and Cream made with Mas Masumoto’s famous peaches, White Nectarine Frozen Yogurt made with fruit from See Canyon, and Plum Sorbet made with beautiful purple plums from Honey Crisp Farms. Remember Sweet Rose always offers a Non-Dairy ice cream flavor of the day such as Horchata made with Rice Milk, Black Sesame made with Soy Milk and Toasted Almond made with Almond Milk. Plus, when you come in make sure you check our rotating display case to see such treats as Fresh Watermelon and Blueberry Pops, Valrhona Fudge Pops, Chocolate Dipped Bananas, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Bon Bons and more. Also, think of Sweet Rose next time you’re planning a birthday party or special event. We have our catering menu online (insert link) which features Large Ice Cream Pies, Quarts of Ice Cream with Sauces and Toppings to make your own sundaes, and lots of other goodies, in addition to special gift baskets to give to your friends or office mates. If you want Sweet Rose to come to you, you can book our mobile Ice Cream Cart to come to your next party and serve you and your friends a special personalized Sundae Bar. Call us at 310.260.2663 for more details.
Many of you may have recently seen an upswing of lemonade stands surfacing in your neighborhood. This isn’t the result of increased temperatures, much of this has been sparked by young and ambitious local kids, who upon hearing that the State’s Budget cuts are forcing the local school districts to lay off teachers, have decided to take matters into their own hands and raise money to bring some of those teachers back. Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry and Sweet Rose have decided to get involved by hosting a sold out dinner to raise money for the educational fund and by helping coordinate an online auction to showcase artisan foods. The auction will be hosted by Project Lemon-Aid at the following online site http://benefitevents.com/auctions/lemonaid/ between Friday August 6th and August 13th. Among the items being auctioned are a Private Baking Class for 6 with Zoe, A Market Tour and Special Tasting Menu at Rustic Canyon with Evan Funke, a Sweet Rose Ice Cream Party at your home, a Beer Class with local Beer Sommelier Christina Perozzi, Cheese Class with Andrew Steiner of Andrew’s Cheese Shop, Tasting Menu Dinner with Akasha and a special piece of Jesse Nathan’s art that adorns the walls at Huckleberry and Sweet Rose. Please visit the online auction and help raise money by bidding on these auction items or if you’d like to find out more about Project Lemon-Aid click here.
Enjoy your summer eating and we look forward to seeing you soon!
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