Why I Love the Santa Monica Farmer's Market

I was housesitting last week - but my employer asked me to get ingredients for some recipes for the 4th of July BBQ she was hosting upon her return.

I also needed to get stuff for my Spicy Guacamole that I took to the BBQ I attended.

Destination: Santa Monica Farmer's Market - Wednesday.

Parking is hell though - yes - I drove... there were too many things to carry.

The tomatoes are looking so good now... and this was the absolute last week of Boysenberries (from a different grower than my usual guy at the Hollywood market).

While I love the Hollywood market (it's close, and it's on a sunday) - the Santa Monica CFM has a lot more growers/vendors. And it's all about the fresh food rather than prepared meals and vendors.

Heaven for serious foodies.

Guacamole & Salsa Verde

I don't measure out the ingredients really - I just gather these items, start chopping - mix them all together, and adjust from there:

Avocados for the Guacamole/ Tomatillos for the Salsa Verde
Tomatoes
Red Onion (or white - but I liked the look of the red)
Scallions (white & green parts)
Cilantro
Jalapeño or Serrano pepper
Lime juice - freshly squeezed
Kosher Salt

I used about 5 or 6 avocados and 1 pound of Tomatillos (blanch for 3 minutes to reduce bitterness).

I chopped up the 2 tomatoes (one red, one orange), half a red onion (small dice), Scallions, Tomatillos, and since i couldn't find Jalapenos, I used Serrano instead - finely diced.

For the Guac, I cubed the Avocados, dropped them in a bowl, tossed in some of the tomatoes, the red onion, the cilantro, about 1/3 of the Serrano pepper, and mashed it all together. I promptly added the juice of one Lime so the Avocado wouldn't turn brown, and then added several pinches of Kosher Salt... Until the balance was right. Note: many people insist on never adding garlic to the guac. I've enjoyed it both ways - but I chose not to add it here... and don't over-mash the Guacamole - It's best when it's chunky. I hate the overly processed ones.

For the Salsa Verde, I chopped the tomatillos into small dice, and to it I added the rest of the tomatoes, red onion, scallions, the balance of the Serrano pepper (since tomatillo mellows the heat a bit, I could go heavier on the Serrano), lots of cilantro, and the juice of another lime. oh - and 2 cloves of garlic finely minced.

Basically - the 2 salsas use the same ingredients so i make them in conjunction.

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Yesterday I was invited to a pool party - and since I didn't go to the Farmer's market in the morning, I was stuck with very little on hand... but what I did have: 2 avocados and some leftover Salsa Verde... So I cubed up the avocado, and added about a cup worth of the Salsa Verde - and it worked!