Fresh and Friendly

One of the chief pleasures of the Glendale farmers markets is meeting backyard growers such as Joe and Sonoye Yasuda, a gracious retired couple from nearby Glassell Park. Last Thursday they set out an attractive display of Swiss chard, arugula, sorrel, Eureka lemons and bunches of pristine fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, sage, savory, epazote and Mexican tarragon (milder than the regular sort, they say). They also had superb Fuerte avocados--now in prime season and the favorite variety of many growers--including a few cute little unpollinated, seedless ones, the size and shape of cocktail franks.

Down the street, Shirley Spencer offered Fuerte and Zutano avocados, sprightly satsuma mandarins and ripe yellow Bearss and Mexican limes, grown in Pauma Valley. Commercial growers pick their limes green (checking. kg) for maximum shelf life, but the fully ripe fruits have the best aroma and flavor.

Fallbrook’s Cary Harris had a rarity, avocado honey (the bees don’t like to make it, he says). About as dark and strong as honey can be, it tastes like molasses.

Underwood Farms of Moorpark sold broccoli, cauliflower and broccoflower--a sweet, pale green form of cauliflower, not a cross--along with leeks, fennel and kohlrabi; red, gold and Candystripe beets; and two intriguing kinds of radishes: multicolored Easter Eggs and slender white Icicles.

At the Walker stand, Joe Avitura had pink-fleshed Cara Cara navel oranges, with a tutti-frutti flavor, as well as Wichita and Pawnee Pecans and Hartley walnuts. For apples, nothing beat David Ha’s crisp sweet mountain-grown Fujis from Tehachapi. They’re also great dried and make a handy snack for the drive home.

Glendale farmers market, Brand Boulevard between Broadway and Wilson Avenue, Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.