Give Peas a Chance

In California’s perpetual summer, it’s easy to forget that we too have seasonal produce grown by farmers only a few hours away. Luckily, in Pasadena, local produce isn’t too hard to come by. For over 30 years, the Victory Park Certified Farmer’s Market has been bringing local flavor and color from nearby farms and building a community around fresh food.

“I think people need to be more open with to new vegetables,” said Gretchen Sterling, current manager of the Victory Park farmer’s market. She is on a mission to bring more produce to more people. Sterling describes colorful cauliflower in purple, green, gold, yellow and white and lists a litany of heirloom tomato varieties. Store bought, perfectly -shaped produce wilt in comparison to the market’s zebra tomatoes, irregular peaches and ghostly carrots.

“[Jujubes] are one of my favorite things to get people to try,” said Sterling. These Chinese dates look like misshapen ping pong balls and have more potassium than a banana. Farmers and shoppers are more than willing to share their tips for experimenting with new foods or simply using produce in a different way. “No one talks in the grocery store,” said Sterling but that’s certainly not the case at the farmer’s markets where customers greet farmers like old friends and people chatter about what’s for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, Sterling shared a refreshing recipe to make the most of the ending watermelon season, “I’ve been doing [farmer’s markets] for a long time, so I’m not impressed by much but this salad changed flavors dramatically,” said Sterling. She recommends tossing diced watermelon and cucumber with a quarter cup of olive and a quarter cup of red wine vinegar.

Seasons rule the farmer’s market and farmers give down and dirty tips on how to cook their offbeat veggies. In summer there is a new variety of peach every two weeks and in winter there is an explosion of pomegranates and jujubes. This fall, look out for artichokes, butternut squash, Kabocha squash, apples, persimmons and many other fresh favorites. Catch up with neighbors, smell deliciously ripe fruit, see a rainbow of colors and savor samples.

“It’s great for people to have that relationship with farmers…it’s about community and the little things that you don’t find it the grocery store,” said Sterling. The Victory Park Farmers Market is more than just a staple of Pasadena’s diet, it’s a key ingredient in the community.

Victory Park Farmer’s Market takes place every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the 2900 block of North Sierra Madre Boulevard. Call (626) 449-0179 or visit www.pasadenafarmersmarket.org for more information.