CALIFORNIA GROWN PRODUCTS: Collard greens and chards continue to top our local bounty list. These greens love the cold weather at night with crisp sunshine in the mornings. Additionally, local anise is looking and tasting great. Large bulbs and fresh fronds- this is the best time of year for this item. Green Garlic is officially here from Knoll Farms in Brentwood. The fresh yet subtle garlic flavor is great for a spring salad or in place of regular garlic for a slightly milder flavor profile.
TOP QUALITY HIGHLIGHTS: Root vegetables are also soaking up the cold nights and sunshine filled mornings. Sunchokes, parsnips, rutabagas, and carrots are all tasting fantastic. We also have been stocking more varieties of baby radishes. Our current varieties include – Easter egg, French breakfast, watermelon and purple ninja. All bring a distinct presence and color to a dish. Washington grown rhubarb is fully underway. Color and flavor is great for this time of year. Soon, the harvest areas will trickle south. In a few weeks we will see the Oregon field grown rhubarb being harvested, followed shortly by the short California season. The majority of our supply will come from the growing regions of Washington and Oregon, but we will make sure to highlight when we received our lovely locally grown rhubarb from San Juan Baptista.
NEW IN STOCK: Get ready for the exquisite organically grown California asparagus from Durst Farms! We will have a fresh shipment coming in Wednesday, and it will be ready for delivery by the end of the week!
ITEMS TO WATCH: Artichokes. Sizing has been hit and miss this season. Best supply so far has been with the small loose size. We will continue to wait and search for some good consistent sizing and quality before making a push with this item.
DEAL ALERTS: Mexican grown asparagus is flushing inventories with the new California crop coming. This is always a great price per pound option with decent quality. We will have this option throughout this upcoming local season as well. We were sent an excess amount of edible pansy flowers. Our supplier over-shipped yesterday, and wants to do buy one and get one for no charge. We have 8 containers available for this sale price- order them soon!
ARTISANAL CHEESE HIGHLIGHTS: Blue cheese from Point Reyes is definitely this week’s highlight. We currently have both the Bay Blue and Original Blue options in 6# wheels. The Bay Blue, “inspired by the sheer natural beauty of our coastal climate and locale, is a rustic style blue cheese with a natural rind. It is known for its mellow flavor and sweet, salted caramel finish.” The original blue, produced since 2000, is “California’s classic style blue cheese is rindless, all natural and gluten free. The addictive flavor is bold with hints of sweet milk and peppery finish.”
WILD FORAGED MUSHROOMS– This might be the last week for wild foraged mushrooms for a while. Then, we begin the waiting game for morels to become available, which could be about six weeks away.
Orders or wild mushrooms due Tuesday for Friday morning delivery. Please direct orders to orderdesk@clproduce.com or call the office (510) 893-9010.
Hedge Hog- $16.25 / LB
