SEASONAL PRODUCE ALERT🚨: Early Girls are officially here

plus an brief farmer's market report

Okay guys. The other day I got a hot tip from Hayley, one of my agents on the ground:

(side note go follow Hayley’s substack Another One, Thank You for fresh cultural commentary and hot dog musings)

I had to run over to both locations to confirm, and I am pleased to report that I have an amendment to my last post: Early Girls ARE at bbowl now!

Oregon St. Okay yeah they are not the best color yet, but they will be better soon (trust)

The ones at West are marginally better

So the Bowl has finally caught up and you can finally live your best summer life. Early Girls have tremendous flavor and texture and are so delicious raw. Not sure how to use them? No problem. You don’t have to do ANYTHING to them. Just eat them raw over the sink. Slice them and put them on sourdough with a bit of flaky salt. They will be good no matter what.

But they are great with some extra attention as well. They are very good in cold noodles. I’m a shameless Eric Kim fan and his Cold Noodles With Tomatoes is one of my most essential recipes for summer. He calls for cherry tomatoes, but of course, you can riff on it all you want. Early Girls are really tasty prepped this way and then you can also enjoy all that the delicious juice….. I’m also a big fan of Hiyashi Chuka, which is always better with a bit of fresh tomato.

One of the recipes I desperately crave in summer is Queens’ Tomato Kimchi - it’s quick and easy and good. I will be the first to admit that I often will just drink the juices that come off it…. but I can get slutty like that.

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So Early Girls will tide us over for a bit, but there’s always something around the corner. The clock is ticking for the ultimate summer treat….

JIMMY NARDELLOS

Based on the fact that they made their first farmer’s market appearance this Tuesday, they should be hitting the scene within a few weeks.

I LOVE Lucero Farms for their purple okra, pineapple tomatillos, and wide variety of summer squash, but these Nardellos are not giving me the bright red color that I so deeply lust after

The ones at Full Belly Farm were looking so much better and I can personally confirm…. they are so tasty

If you’ve never cooked with Jimmys, my only tip is to char them. Grill them, throw them in the oven at 450 for a quick moment, or fry them. They are sweet and juicy and 1000% worth seeking out.

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Well that is all for now! Love you!

Mari