
Romanesco
Lime green in color, this Italian member of the Brassica vegetable family delivers a nice nutty flavor when enjoyed raw and cooked.
With a unique spiraling pattern, Romanesco has one of the most intriguing and intricate physiques of any vegetable you will encounter.
This week I prepared chili crusted roasted Romanesco as the Fix of the Week, below. Romanesco can be used as you would cauliflower in most cases. And it’s a good source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as dietary fiber and phosphorus.
You can find Romanesco at most weekly Santa Barbara certified farmers’ markets from several local growers. Price averages $5 each.

Bacon avocado
With local Hass avocados difficult to find this time of year, some of the winter varieties are starting to fill in. One of them is this shiny-skinned Bacon avocado.
While they have a lower oil content and not as much of that rich nutty flavor as the Hass, Bacon avocados still make for a suitable substitute in making guacamole, adding slices to a sandwich or being diced into a mixed green salad.
This variety was created in 1954 by James Bacon as a hybrid from two Mexican avocado varieties.
You can expect to find Bacon avocados from several local growers at the weekly Santa Barbara, Sunday Camino Real, Tuesday Santa Barbara, Wednesday Solvang and Thursday Carpinteria farmers’ markets.

Pomelos
Likely the largest variety of citrus fruit you will encounter throughout the year, pomelos take on a rounded physique, have a green to yellow skin when ripe and feature pink flesh inside. I have also seen pomelos with both red and yellow flesh.
Very aromatic with floral notes, pomelos have a flavor that is grapefruit-like — with a tangy to very sweet finish depending on the individual fruit. Nice in both cooked and fresh preparations, the fruit can be peeled and enjoyed out of hand, or the flesh can be sliced and added to mixed green or fruit-based salads.
Pomelos are an excellent source of vitamin C to help keep the immune system strong. You can find freshly harvested pomelos from Buckhorn Canyon Ranch at the weekly Saturday Santa Barbara, Sunday Camino Real, Tuesday Santa Barbara, Wednesday Solvang, and Thursday Carpinteria farmers’ markets.
Price averages $5 each, depending on the size.