Michael McCarty, chef/owner of Michael's restaurant, at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market.

A shopping and eating adventure with a world-renowned chef and restaurateur: Michael’s Market Meet-Ups — where friends, food and flavor come together.

Chef Michael McCarty is hailed as a pioneer of the California Cuisine movement that began in the early 1980s.  He and a group of California chefs started sourcing and cooking local ingredients only; those solely grown or raised in California.  And a movement was born.  Chef McCarty is the owner of Michael’s Santa Monica, a restaurant that has been at the same location on 3rd Street for thirty-two years.  Chef McCarty prides himself in only serving the best seasonal ingredients and is known for his personal connections to local growers.

Michael’s is two city blocks away from the world-famous Santa Monica Farmers’ Market.  He and his chefs make weekly visits to the market to see what is in season, to decide on menus, and to buy produce for the restaurant.  Considering his knowledge of ingredients and his familiarity with the purveyors it comes as no surprise that he can easily lead a tour of the market, and that he knows virtually every vendor.

Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms.

Michael’s Market Meet-Ups are monthly tours of the market led by Chef McCarty followed by a lunch prepared from items purchased at the market.  On the most recent meet-up seven of us met Chef McCarty at Michael’s at 8:30 in the morning for coffee and house-made cinnamon buns.  Shortly thereafter we set out for the market where he introduced us to his favorite vendors while also grabbing items for that day’s lunch.  Since it’s spring in California it was all about spring ingredients: English peas, fava beans, ramps and morel mushrooms.  As we toured the market Chef McCarty offered lessons on produce of the season, as well as tips for navigating the market and selecting the best ingredients.  We met Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms, a McCarty favorite.  We stopped by Pudwill Berry Farms, another McCarty recommendation, where his executive chef bought berries for the restaurant.

Buying berries at the Pudwill Berry Farms stand.

When we returned to Michael’s for lunch we were served Morel Mushroom Wonton Soup (English peas, fava bean wontons, ramps, tempura morel in a morel mushroom broth), followed by Warm Spring Salad (ramps, pickled English peas, morel lardons, and a poached egg in a mustard and fava bean dressing).

Morel Mushroom Wonton Soup

Warm Spring Salad

The final hurrah was receiving a copy of McCarty’s cookbook Welcome to Michael’s and having him personally autograph it.  A fun, educational culinary outing with one of California’s best-loved chefs and food personalities.  Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday morning.

For more information on Michael’s Market Meet-Ups, and to find out when the next one is scheduled, check the Michael’s Santa Monica website ~ http://www.michaelssantamonica.com/

*A version of this post was previously posted on Honest Cooking.

This recipe is meant as a template.  Please alter, add, remove, adapt as you see fit based on your own tastes and ingredients at hand.  The ingredients, quantities, and methods are also loose suggestions.  (You may substitute homemade sauce in lieu of canned.)  Be as spontaneous as possible!

Serves

2 – 4

Preparation Time

1 hour

Ingredients

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2- 4 Tbs olive oil

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork

*2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

*1 – 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 tsp herbes de Provence, or your herb(s) of choice

Salt & pepper, to taste

*or equivalent in homemade sauce

Method

Sauté the onions and garlic in 2 Tbs olive oil in a medium sized sauté, or frying pan.  When the onions and garlic are cooked, opaque in color, about 4 minutes of cooking time, add the mushrooms.  Add more olive oil if necessary.   Sauté the mushrooms until well-cooked, about 5- 7 minutes.  In a separate medium sized sauté, or frying pan start cooking the beef and the sausage together.  You can add a small amount of olive oil at the start of cooking.  Once the meat is cooked, add the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, the herbs, and the onion and mushroom mixture and stir together well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let the sauce cook over low heat for 15 – 20 minutes.  Serve over your choice of pasta, or refrigerate or freeze to use later.

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Felicia Friesema

There’s a reason Felicia Friesema writes the farmers’ markets report for the L.A. Weekly.  There’s also a reason she leads tours of area farmers’ markets.  She really knows her vegetables and fruits — intimately, passionately.  She is a fount of produce information, and loves sharing her knowledge.  I recently had the pleasure of joining a tour she gave of the Hollywood Farmers’ Market; one of the largest farmers’ markets in the Los Angeles-area.  I learned so much.

Felicia leading our group at the Hollywood Farmers' Market

I’m not big on crowds.  I used to go to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market every Sunday until it got too popular, and too crowded.  It was certainly hard to stop as it is on par with the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market when it comes to quality and variety of produce, and the vendors who sell there.  Felicia’s tour helped me see the market in a brand new light.  We started early, around 8:30 a.m. after we had coffee, breakfast pastries, and an informal coffee chat with Robert Mozejewki, Operations Manager, at groundwork coffee company (retail shop on the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga).  Groundwork is a Los Angeles-based coffee roaster with retail stores; a certified organic roaster, it sources sustainable coffee beans from around the world.  Starting a bit earlier at the market really helped, it was a lot less crowded.  Felicia who goes to the market often knows many of the vendors personally.  She introduced us to several.  We ate oysters at the Carlsbad Aqua Farm, learned about herbs from Lily Baltazar at ABC Rhubarb Farms, and marveled at the mushrooms at LA Funghi.

Oysters at Carlsbad Aqua Farm Stand

Patrick, our oyster expert, and shucker at Carlsbad Aqua Farm

Shucking our fresh oysters

Herbs from ABC Rhubarb Farms

ABC Rhubard Farms herb stand

Lily Baltazar, ABC Rhubarb Farms

Mushrooms from LA Funghi

More mushrooms from LA Funghi

Along the way we sampled and ate, looked and drooled, and bought to take home for later.  Felicia showed us many of her favorite in season fruits and vegetables, and some of her favorite vendors.  One of Felicia’s recommendations is a new favorite of mine: Kyoho grapes.  Luscious, juicy, inky and full of grape flavor.  The grapes came from a vendor that is in a section of the market for those farmers non-certified California grown.  I was unaware that there was a section for produce not grown in California.  The market must keep them separate from the certified California vendors to maintain its ‘certified’ status.  I also learned that not every vendor is necessarily certified organic, and that one must ask before buying.  When someone asked the grape vendor if the grapes were organic the answer was no, they were spray free but not certified organic.  We learned to ask the vendors questions, to develop a relationship with them, and not to assume that any farmers’ market is fully certified organic.  I watched as Felicia interacted with various vendors — all were more than willing to answer questions, and talk about their products.

Nectaplums? So many new hybrid fruits all the time. This one was new to the group. We all quite liked it.

Red Flame Grapes

As we moved through the market and as Felicia stopped, picked up produce to show us, or to ask a vendor a question I was reminded of shopping this way when I lived in France.  At the green grocer I asked questions, they offered samples, there was a give and take.  Unfortunately, I fell back into the very American grocery store habit of one stop shopping, of filling up an over-sized cart.  Felicia’s tour showed me how to manage the crowds, what to look for, how to talk to vendors, and what questions to ask.  I may have to weave the Hollywood Farmers’ Market back into my shopping routine.  At least get over to it occasionally when I need a change of pace from my neighborhood farmers’ market in Atwater Village.

"Take one large artichoke..."

To find out when Felicia’s leading her next farmers’ market tour, follow her on Twitter: @feliciafriesema, or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/feliciafood

My Status: Still enjoying the coolest summer we’ve seen in Los Angeles in years (apologies to all readers living east of the Rockies).  Eating, cooking, restaurant-ing, blogging and writing.  A food-filled trip to San Francisco to join my friend, Chef Jeremiah Tower, coming up this weekend.  The IFBC at the end of August (see below), and a trip to Sonoma County in September: returning to Zazu & Bovolo…

Coming Up: International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC), August 27 – 29, 2010, Seattle Washington.  So much fun last year that I’ll be attending again this year.  Are you?

Upcoming Posts: Cookbook Reviews ~ Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller; Mary Mac’s Tea Room: 65 Years of Recipes from Atlanta’s Favorite Dining Room by John Ferrell.

Provided by Martine Marcus

Polenta Toast

Serves

4 – 6

Preparation Time

1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

½ cup polenta, coarse ground

2 cups water

1 tsp salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 Tb olive oil

3 ounces hard cheese (Aged Gouda, Reggiano, etc.)

¼ cup fresh herbs (parsley, chives, etc.)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring water to a boil with bay leaf, salt, pepper and olive oil. Gently stir in polenta, reduce to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Grate the cheese.  Chop the herbs.  Stir the cheese and herbs into polenta mixture. Pour into a small, oiled loaf pan. Pack tightly. Chill for a minimum of one hour (overnight is okay!) Turn out of pan, slice polenta into ½-inch thick slices. Toast slices in oven for 7 minutes on each side.

Mushroom Mélange

Serves

4 – 6

Preparation Time

30 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups assorted mushrooms – like white, Oyster, and Portobellos

2 Tbs olive oil

1 clove garlic

½ cup hard cheese (Aged Gouda, Reggiano, etc.)

1/8 cup lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Chives

Method

To clean the mushrooms use a dry towel and lightly brush them.  Rough chop the mushrooms.  Put olive oil in hot heavy pan (I swear by my ‘Lodge’ cast iron skillet). Chop the garlic.  Add garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Add salt and pepper, shake pan while lightly browning mushrooms, cook until medium soft. Spoon mushrooms onto toasted polenta. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Spread a small handful of shredded cheese over the mushrooms and sprinkle lightly with finely chopped  chives.

Serves 4 to 6

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