Santa Cruz Foodie

As I mentioned last month, I truly appreciate living in a place that has several farmers’ markets to choose from. With rare exceptions, I shop at the Live Oak farmers’ market—only a mile away from my home—every week. It’s open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all year round. The location is the parking lot of the East Cliff Village Shopping Center (the one with a Dollar Tree).

Santa Cruz Community Farmers Markets (SCCFM) runs the Live Oak market, in addition to the Tuesday Felton, Wednesday downtown, and Saturday Scotts Valley and westside locations. They operate an information table where you can use your credit card to purchase tokens if you didn’t bring cash (there’s a small fee for this). This table is also where you can redeem EBT/SNAP funds for tokens.

During a recent visit, I got quite a bounty of fresh food. I stopped at Happy Boy Farms and bought a delicious lettuce mix (it comes in pre-bagged bunches) and zucchini. By the way, this farm accepts Venmo for payment in addition to cash or tokens.

Next, I stopped at Dirty Girl Produce for some fresh, tasty carrots. I enjoyed these all week long—sometimes raw (either on their own or with hummus) and sometimes cooked (in a stir-fry with other vegetables, garlic and ginger, and chicken).

After that, I bought some sweet strawberries. I decided to buy one basket from Windmill Farms and one from JCG. I like supporting as many farms as I can, and these both have tasty berries! Plus, Windmill is only going to be there for the rest of this season; owner Ronald and his partner Cate are retiring and moving to Spain. JCG is run by Jose and Berenice Garcia; they also run a food business, Tia Beré, right next to their berry booth. Tia Beré offers ready-to-eat Mexican food. I’ve heard great things about the food but haven’t sampled it yet. The Garcias are unique in that they are the only ones in the entire SCCFM organization that offer products from both their farm and food business at one market.

I stopped at New Natives for some of their wonderful pea shoots—I use these on sandwiches and as a salad topping. They have so many great micro greens to choose from, including sunflower greens, wheatgrass, and micro kale.

After that, I visited the Blossom’s Farm booth which has lots of herbal health and skincare products (tinctures, salves, etc.) plus teas, salts, and fermented products like kvass and sauerkraut. Carin Fortin, who owns and runs the farm with Delmar McComb, is a wealth of knowledge and always very friendly. This time, I bought “Gobolicious” sauerkraut which I have been thoroughly enjoying. With green and red cabbage, burdock root and sesame seeds among its ingredients, it’s got a great taste and I love the purple color. I know eating fermented foods is good for me (and my gut health) and Blossom’s makes it easy.

I sometimes buy ready-to-eat hot food or drinks; during this visit I did not buy food, but I did purchase Kombucha from Living Swell, who is at the market each week. It was my first time; after sampling a few flavors I selected Mojito which includes lime, mint, ginger, and more. It’s refreshing with a very nice kick.

Food-wise, I can heartily recommend Dos Hermanos Pupuseria (they appear occasionally at the market—they also rotate in and out of the westside and downtown markets). The pupusas are delectable; I’ve had ones with spinach and cheese, and beans & cheese. Other vendors I’ve tried, and love, are The Midway (chef Katherine Stern, formerly of La Posta and Bad Animal, does wonders with seasonal farmers market produce and other local products: think chanterelle-potato-cheese sandwich like the one I had earlier this year, pictured above, or Green Gage plum crumble with almond, blackberries & maple yogurt) and Adorable French Bakery (run by a France native, and you’ll love whatever you choose—my family’s favorites include chocolate eclairs and vegetable-quinoa tarts). The Midway and AFB are at the market every Sunday.

I’ve been told that Pleasure Point Bakery makes a unique variety of gluten-free breads that are “high quality and seed heavy” but I haven’t had the chance to try them yet. Looking forward to doing that soon!

Every time I go to the market, my final stop is usually Hakouya (I included this great business when I wrote about the Sunday market at Cabrillo College, so I won’t go into details this time; their specialties include handmade miso and fermented rice drinks).

Note, there is live music at the market starting at 10 a.m. every Sunday. And be assured, even though it’s not a large market, you can find every type of food there—including meat, pasta, eggs, fish, bread, pie, and produce – plus flowers, plants (including Cavanaugh Color, a nursery run by two generations of the same family), rotating vendors with products such as handmade soap, and more. Happy shopping!

Details

Location — East Cliff Village Shopping Center (East Cliff at 15^th)

Vendors: there is a list here of all the SCCFM vendors; you can click a particular farm/vendor to see which locations they appear at each week