Shopping for Deliciousness

I have always been a fan of grocery shopping, big, little, alternative, international, co-op or health no matter what their specialty may be I am always up for a trip to the market. Whenever I visit a new place my favorite things to do is scope out their local food purveyors to see what types of scrumptious goods are prevalent in the area. Exploring new markets is always an exciting adventure, perusing the produce, searching the isles for new gluten free goodies and discovering new tastes and flavors. One of my most favorite types of market is an outdoor street market or farmers market. Not only are they the perfect way to see what is fresh and most flavorful in a particular place but it’s a great way to learn more about food straight from the people that grow, pick, bake, package and prepare it. By shopping at markets like this you are supporting all the lovely hard working local food producers, which is really a splendid and delicious thing to do! San Diego has a plethora of farmers markets to choose from, at least one for everyday of the week. My most recent farmers market outing was a few Sunday ago when I went to spend the day with my brother and Julia at Chris’s newish place in La Jolla.

This lovely view is just a hop skip and a jump away from his front door (lucky boy!).

The open aire market at La Jolla Elementary School is only about a mile walk from his apartment at Wind & Sea. The market boasts a wide array of different vendors selling goods ranging from baked treats, cheeses, arts and crafts, flowers, herbs and of course fresh fruits and veggies.

There is also a huge food vendor area with almost every type of food imaginable. Julia had a delicious looking crepe with lemon and sugar while Chris hit up Jackson & Sons for some slow roasted meat.

At Jackson & Sons they rub their Australian meat with a secret spiced rub and then slow cook it for hours in a special portable slow cooker until it’s so tender that it melts in your mouth. As their tag line states, “you don’t need teeth to eat our meat!”. I tried a bite before it was sauced up and sandwiched between two slices of bread and it was indeed some tender and flavorful meat.

We went and sat down at some tables to enjoy our delicious market finds and just as we were settling in we started to smell something scrumptious cooking at the stand behind us.

Once I realized that they were making corn tortillas from scratch right there I knew I had to have some! Fresh corn tortillas with homemade refried beans and spicy salsa, I was in heaven!

I also got a fruit cup of mango and papaya spears sprinkled with chili powder and lime that was perfect for the warm morning.

After a delicious meal we continued on with our shopping. I picked up some Greek olives from my favorite olive purveyor (who also makes a top notch olive oil!)

I also picked up some organic hot peppers and heirloom tomatoes from Sage Mountain Farm.

Next to Hillcrest and Ocean Beach the La Jolla market is now one of my favorites. The only thing they are all missing is a gluten free baked goods booth, perhaps I will have to look into filling that void myself someday soon :-)