Tableau Vivante

Attention Santa Monica City Employees – fresh produce from the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market can now be delivered to you at City Hall.

Laura Avery, market mistress and produce purveyor extraordinaire, sent out a March newsletter to city employees detailing how Santa Monica city employees now have uber-convenient access to some of the region’s finest fresh produce. If you missed the info, well, here you go. From the newsletter:

Simply select your basket type:

The Classic Market Basket - $40 Monthly ($20 per bag)

The Classic Market Basket offers all the basic fruits and vegetables for an individual to meet the USDA minimum daily requirements or 31.5 cups of fruits and vegetables. The market basket will contain 8-10 of the freshest items available such as lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, apples, potatoes, citrus, herbs, onions grapes, and leafy greens.

The Specialty Basket – $60 Monthly ($30 per bag)

The Specialty Market Basket offers all of the items in the Classic Market Basket plus a few additional seasonal and specialty items like eggs, honey, nuts, specialty fruits and berries.

The Market Basket for Two - $76 Monthly ($38 per bag)

The Market Basket for Two offers a selection of items in the Classic Market Basket suitable for couples or small families to receive all the basic fruits and vegetables they need for a week.

Included in every basket will be cooking suggestions, nutritional information, and recipe ideas so that you can better use and enjoy that week’s produce and keep tabs on the happenings at the farmers’ market.

Again, this is for city employees only. To enroll or just get more details, contact the Southland Market Basket Coordinator, Katie, at 310-740-7544 or Katie at sfma dot net.

Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, Fresh From the Farmers’ Market, they city’s public access cooking show, has some interesting seasonal recipes up. Mmmmm.

Well, it’s tomato time if you’re a gardener. March is the southland’s prime planting season for summer tomatoes. The Arboretum in Arcadia is once again hosting tomato guru Steve Goto for his annual talk about what’s hot in the tomato world along with his growing tips for a good harvest. After you fill up on home-grown tomato knowledge, head to the back patio for the big tomato plant sale.

Wednesday, March 26 at 10am
Palm Room & and Gift Shop Patio
Free to Members / Free to Non-Members with Arboretum Admission

For more info, contact Jill Berry at the Arb.

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, CA 91007-2697

Just a quick bite from France. The Louvre was a must-see on this trip, but it’s one of those must-sees that can’t been seen in just one day. So I spent as much time there as I could in one day, wandering around the maze of halls and galleries and being in awe of the grandeur and detail that surrounded me at every turn. By the time I finally got around to The Wedding at Canna (which is directly across from the Mona Lisa), I was famished. I think it was looking at all the exquisitely detailed food and wine.

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One of the real draws for me in establishing myself as a regular market goer are the relationships I make with vendors and other regulars. I walked into today’s Pasadena market and was touched by the repeated inquiries into my health and well being (I haven’t been to the market in over a month), and then the sincere interest and even joy when I told them about my visit to France. Thanks to everyone who said hello and paused amidst the mist and wet to chat it up this morning. Made for a very pleasant market day.

And mist it did. A right solid marine layer swooped in around 6AM and covered the valley with heavy misty drizzle. Not enough for an umbrella. But too much to not be covered at all, which I wasn’t. I walked out with damp hair, but a bag full of spring goodness. Shall we commence with the imagery? Yes, let’s.

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