Summer Lovin’ at the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market

Just came back from a massive fruit and veggie run at the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, just a hop skip away from home. Though it was super crowded due to the holiday weekend, there was still plenty of beautiful produce when the Mister and I rolled in around noon.

Now, I never remember the names of the different farms selling at the farmer’s market (oops) but I do have my favorites– as long as their booth is in the right place, I know where to go! I saw some new(er) additions this time around- one of the standouts was Spring Hill Cheese Co., all the way from Petaluma. They put out tons of samples, and the goat cheddar and jersey garlic jack were delish. I held off on buying since I’ll be heading to the land of cheese pretty darn soon (I swear, I’ll get to telling you!), but I hope Spring Hill sticks around the farmer’s market for a while.

I think, though, I was most excited for this booth..

After dining at The Linkery on Friday night, where they were featuring stone fruits throughout the menu, I just needed more of these beautiful Rainier cherries. I also found some beautiful white peaches and snagged those up too. Seriously, having access to stone fruit like this in the spring and summer is one of my favorite things about living in California.

Just so you know how buck wild I got at the market today, here’s a list of the haul the Mister and I brought home:
- 3 Philippine mangoes ($1 each)– best kind of mangoes ever, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise
- bag of squash blossoms - another SoCal favorite
- 1 basket of garlic ($2/6 heads)
- six (beefsteak?) tomatoes
- bunch carrots ($2)
- bunch green onions ($1.50)
- red and green peppers
- 1/2 lb cherries ($2.50)
- 2 white peaches
- bananas ($3)
- 4 hass avocados ($5)
- small bouquet of wildflowers ($2.50)
- 2 10oz. flatiron steaks from Brandt Beef ($10 each)- also ridiculously amazing
-plus iced coffee from the Joe’s on the Nose coffee truck and the best fresh tamales in SD for a quick lunch.

Whew!

What’s your favorite farmer’s market, and what have been your best finds there?

Update: for farmer’s market newbies, a helpful video with tips for shopping your local farmer’s market is here!