Rain brings bounty of lettuce to farmers market

“I’ve never seen happier lettuce,” said Paula Downing, market manager. And she was so right. Lettuce is best in cool weather and likes plenty of water. Orchard Farms, Triple T Ranch and Farm, Smiling Sun Farms, Armstrong Valley Farm and Laguna Farm all had beautiful crisp yet tender heads of several varieties.

Although a few vendors were missing, the market in rain is vibrant and diverse. Alma Rosa of Sebastopol Berry Farm had the first red and gold raspberries of the year, along with some roses and hydrangeas. If you love the delicate golden raspberries, buy them when you see them. Don’t wait.

Dave Legros of Bumble Bee Seafood beamed behind his spread of fish and shellfish, which included the year’s first California wild king salmon. It was pricey at $22.95 a pound, but succulent and worth every penny. If you’re planning a luau, he has impeccable ahi, along with scallops, Gulf shrimp, halibut, smoked salmon and his own smoked salmon spread and salmon cakes.

Next to his stall, Franco Dunn offered a big selection of sausages, including Moroccan chicken, maremma (with pork, potato, wine and garlic), French country, tasso (perfect for gumbo), pepperoni and, my favorite, fresh chorizo. Franco will make a batch of aged chorizo sometime soon.

Owen Family Farm had goat, lamb, veal and beef. There’s a wonderful selection of eggs from Triple T Ranch (with quail, chicken and duck), Rainbow’s End Farm, Hector’s Honey, Armstrong Valley Farm and Smiling Sun Farm.

Garlic season is here, with fresh spring garlic and garlic scapes overlapping with the first of the year’s dried garlic. Nancy Skall’s exceptional products are a garlic aficionado’s treasure, with subtle variations in flavor and an appealing juiciness. For anyone who goes through several bulbs a week, consider Armstrong Valley Farm’s dried garlic, $4 for 8 or 9 heads.

Hector Alvarez of Hector’s Honey recently acquired a new farm on River Rd. that grows Asian chives, which he has been bringing to several farmers markets. We don’t see a lot of Asian chives locally, and people don’t really know what to do with them. They are quite common in Korean dishes, including pancakes and kimchi.

Nancy Skall’s strawberries are among the most sought-after and praised items of this market. Small, fragrant, juicy and delicious, these berries rarely make it home. Many don’t even make it out of the market, since people munch their way through a basket as they stroll the stalls and linger to chat with friends.

Rainbow’s End Farm also has small strawberries, a French variety, along with eggs, popular herb spreads, fruit chutneys and an array of flowers and other items that evolve weekly. Two vendors, Earthworker Farm and First Light Farm, have sprouts and shoots, including wheat grass, pea shoots cut to order and sunflower sprouts.

There are lots of greens — kales, chards, collards, herbs, spinach and more — from several vendors; plenty of beets, zucchini and summer squash and those little garden space ships, kohlrabi, which delight some customers and confuse others. What to do with them? Grate them into salads and slaws; cut them in quarters and grill them; slice them very thin and toss them with thinly sliced radishes, lemon juice or rice wine vinegar and olive oil.

Ranier cherries and Bing cherries look good now, but there could be trouble ahead, as rains have split a lot of the cherries still on the tree. On the other hand, rain has been good for mushrooms, and there were beautiful shiitakes at Sunday’s market.

There’s still time to plant your own garden. Several vendors offered starts for everything from nasturtiums to lettuce, herbs and tomatoes. Cliff Silva of Ma & Pa’s Farm in Sebastopol will have his tomato starts, praised as some of the most reliable around, for another week or so.

Robin Burton’s pepper starts look healthy and eager to grow, and if you love red beets, you may want to try Triple T’s “Bulls Blood” variety; even the leaves are red.

When it comes to prepared foods, there’s plenty in Sebastopol, with fresh hearth breads from Full Circle Bakery, croissants, tarts, cookies and little cakes from Patisserie Angelica; “chips,” “crackers,” “breads,” and more from Raw Food Central; gluten-free cookies from The Cosmic Cookie Jar, and a big selection from The Hummus Guy.

Mateo’s Yucatan Tamales, Lata’s Indian Cuisine and Mammy’s Yammies all offered selections to eat on the spot or take home.The rain did not seem to deter anyone from enjoying a hot meal.

I almost always leave with at least one bouquet. Options in Sebastopol include roses from Cliff Silva, fragrant sweet peas from Nancy Skall and pretty little bouquets from Smiling Sun Farms.

The Sebastopol Farmers Market takes place on Sundays in the town plaza at the corner of McKinley St. and Petaluma Ave. from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., rain or shine.

Michele’s blog, “Eat This Now,” is at pantry.blogs. pressdemocrat.com