Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
I have been regularly enjoying sweet potatoes since their arrival a few weeks ago, and I plan to continue to cook them up through the fall season. A nutrient-packed food source, sweet potatoes are excellent when baked, stir-fried, roasted, fried or steamed.
They can be mashed, turned into chips or used to make a flavorful sweet potato pie. They make for a great substitute for potatoes in most recipes. This week I prepared quick-fried sweet potato rounds as the Fix of the Week (elsewhere on this page).
You can find orange-fleshed sweet potatoes from Her Family Farm and Moua Family Farm at the Saturday Santa Barbara and Sunday Camino Real farmers’ markets. Price averages $3 per pound.
Autumn spice grapes
These small crisp late-season grapes deliver a very sweet flavor and are quite juicy. They have thin skins and a lychee fruit-like flavor, setting them apart from other varieties you may encounter.
They are an ideal general eating grape, but also a nice addition to a fruit salad. Grapes are a good source of antioxidants and deliver a good amount of both vitamin C and dietary fiber per serving.
I enjoy this variety in a chicken salad recipe with walnuts, celery, red onion, cilantro, and a little Greek yogurt as the binder. Available from Burkdoll Farms for a limited time, they can be found at the weekly Santa Barbara Certified farmers’ markets.
Price is $4 per pound with discounts on bulk purchases.
Carpinteria gala apples
Rodney Chow of Bright Spring Ranch in Carpinteria is offering some delicious freshly harvested gala apples, which are harvested late in the season due to the growing region.
These specimens, which have a splash of red across the skin, taste like true home-grown backyard apples that are full of flavor.
Gala apples tend to have a softer texture than a crispier fuji, but they are very juicy. Excellent to enjoy as they come, they are also excellent for homemade pies, apple sauce, cobblers, crisps and crumbles. They pair very well with poultry and pork preparation.
Available at the Saturday Santa Barbara farmers’ market, these naturally grown gala apples are $4 per pound.
