Passion Fruit is a subtropical fruit native to Brazil, and is named after the flowers’ resemblance to the crown of thrones worn during Christ’s crucifixion. The fruit is an oval shape that grows from the size of a large egg to a small lemon. The skin is a leathery, dark purple color and is perfectly…
Rhubarb is an herbaceous perennial with long, fleshy stems supporting large, toxic leaves. Although usually considered a vegetable, in 1947 a New York court decided that since it is used as fruit, it should be counted as a fruit for tax purposes. The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook recommends we cut Rhubarb into 3- to 4-inch…
Also known as Tree Tomato and Arbol de Tomate, the Tamarillo is a subtropical fruit generally believed to be native to the Andes of Peru and probably also Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia. It is cultivated and naturalized in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela, and is widely grown in New Zealand as a commercial crop. Each…
Savor the fruits of the Mexican Hawthorne tree at their best. These tiny, bittersweet fruits are often mistaken for the crabapple, but have a flavor all their own. Tejocotes range in color from scarlet-orange to golden yellow. They have become an integral part of Mexican celebrations, particularly those that begin in October with the Day…
Long favored in Rome and Umbria, Agretti is a mild Italian green. A couple of our local growers have planted seeds imported from Italy, and the resulting harvest is showing up on menus all over Los Angeles. Sauteed Skate Wing with Fingerling Potatoes, Manilla Clams and Agretti. Seared Spot Prawns with Agretti, Ginger and Lobster…
Though the green color is far from typical, Apple Green Eggplant has an outstanding, creamy, soufflé -like texture and great flavor. This is our very most favorite Eggplant!
The flavorful bite of arugula is becoming very familar to white tablecloth diners. Arugula (also known as rocket, roquette, and rucola) has broken through the level of accent green into being the feature item in salads. ARUGULA FLOWERS have the same wonderfully expressive flavor packed into their juicy stems and lovely white flowers. ARUGULA FLOWERS…
Grown on a small, family farm in Ventura County, California, Baby Arrowhead Spinach is our favorite Spinach for salads. Why? It’ s all about the flavor. Baby Arrowhead Spinach flavor starts out typically green and spinachy but its finish is quite rich with distinct notes of toasted nut. The lovely, unusual shape of the leaves…
These baby beets are unique thanks to their gorgeous tops! Unlike regular Baby Red Beets, these little gems have tops with rich, dark red color. Beautiful braised or sauté ed. Grown in Los Angeles County.
Forono Beets are an heirloom variety with rich, dark red flesh and the lowest fiber content of all the beet varieties. Their smooth, creamy flesh is very sweet, and their unique shape screams ‘ Slice me into lovely, shiny medallions’ . May we quote Tom Robbins: ‘The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The…
One of our growers is harvesting Baby Gai Lan. The stems and leaves are sturdy yet tender, rich and flavorful. If them stems of regular Gai Lan are too big and daunting for you, try our Baby Gai Lan!
We love these little chokes! The offshoots of an Artichoke variety developed here in Southern California, Baby Purple Artichokes have a more intense, nuttier flavor than their Green Globe cousins. They also cook faster. Our farmer developed this variety, Fiesole, in 2004 from traditional European varieties such as French ‘ Violet de Provence’ and Italian…
Red Russian Kale is a very distinctive heirloom kale variety. Lauded for its color, Red Russian Kale is the most tender of all the kales. Our grower is harvesting his crop while the leaves are still quite small. The resulting Red Russian Kale is perfect for salads and garnish, where its lovely shape and beautiful…
The original eggplant, descended from the wild form, was similar in shape and color to a hen’s egg (hence, the name). In Italy, eggplants were already being cultivated in about 1550, and today, throughout the Mediterranean, eggplant is as much a part of the daily meals as potatoes, onion and garlic. Incredibly adaptable, eggplant’s white,…
In Roman times, Carrots were either purple or white. It was the Dutch who selected for and popularized the orange Carrot. So while purple Carrots are new to us, they represent the Carrot’ s earliest incarnations. We were only mildly interested in these Black Knight Carrots when we first saw them. Yes, their very dark…
Black Radishes can be almost as pungent as horseradish, and are firm and rather dry in short, nothing like the little red radishes that have graced salads and crudite platters for time immemorial. These sturdy, somewhat daunting, characters are roughly the shape and size of a Turnip, sooty black or matte black-brown on the outside…
Black-eyed Peas (Cowpeas, Crowder Peas, Black-eyed Beans) have long been popular in the South, thanks to their sweet and mild, rather earthy, flavor. They are small and greenish-beige (beige when dried) with a brown circular ‘ eye’ at their inner curve. Black-eyed Peas are traditionally partnered with rice and with greens and are the featured…
European growers love to blanch produce. Dandelion growers in France are no exception. These Blanched Dandelion have the flavor of traditional dandelions with the color of the very best baby frisee. Blanched dandelions are perfect when you want to lighten up the color in salads. They can be served raw or cooked.
The Sweet Corn grown in the Brentwood area of California’s Sacramento River Delta is the best tasting, sweetest Corn we’ ve found. Known as Brentwood Corn, this product has the well-deserved reputation across the country as the benchmark against which all other Corn is measured. The Sacramento River Delta boasts some of this country’ s…
A cross between Gai Lan and Broccoli, baby broccoli or broccolini has a sweet, delicate flavor with a subtle peppery ‘edge’. Although it looks somewhat like asparagus, with slender stems and buds on top, these two vegetables are not related in any way. The texture of the stem is less fibrous than broccoli or asparagus…
