Del Mar Farmers Market

On Saturdays from 1:00pm to 4:00pm there is a farmers market in Del Mar. I have seen signs for it for a long time, but I hadn't checked it out until yesterday! It was pretty small, in fact the one in Little Italy was much bigger. It could be the time of year, too. I found some good things there, and it was a nice shopping environment. The most exciting thing at this, and probably most farmers markets, were the tomatoes. They were unbelievably big, and there were so many varieties to choose from. Since I am the only tomato eater in my house, I probably went overboard. It's hard to resist when you can feel the warm weight of a fresh and fully ripe tomato in your hand and know that you won't find the same thing elsewhere. I have had good luck with Costco's Roma tomatoes, and at $3.99 for a large 2 lb. package, they are totally a steal. I was amazed at how juicy the ones from the farmers market were, I had one for a salad last night and it was fantastic. I can only imagine what kind of tomato sauce it would make, I am guessing mine won't make it long enough to end up in sauce.
This was a peppery arugula that I made into a pesto last night as well. It was much stronger than the stuff I usually get, and I am not sure it would be great as a salad green, it might be too aggressive.

Finally, I guess this is evidence that my heart is perennially in Summer, no matter what the calendar says. These hot-red/pink gerber daisies just begged not to be left there, and I couldn't resist. I think it summed up to a successful Saturday afternoon at the farmer's market.