Saturday morning at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market was classically representative of the way I shop the market. My plan was to get in and out in about an hour and go home to start my day. But all the vendors had stories, and I ran into friends and two and a half hours later, I was trudging home, my arms laden with lots of delicious goodies for the week.

This time of year is special at the market, as I think that the market changes drastically from week to week.

A couple days before the market, CUESA mentioned on their twitter feed that Lagier Ranches would be selling the elusive sour cherry this week. That was enough to motivate me to get to the market right when it opened, and it was a good thing that I did. The scene around the small yield of sour cherries was intense. "That woman just bought $50 worth of cherries!" my friend Jenn mentioned to me. I know that sour cherries are pretty rare here, and that they have a nearly cult following among some communities. The cherries were completely gone within about 45 minutes, and I brought home my precious two pounds to brandy for cocktails.

Fruit crops burst on to the scene for just a moment and are gone. My favorite Bing cherries are here, but only for about a month. I tasted Bings from many vendors this week before deciding that I would purchase my weekly ration from Johann at Hidden Star Orchards. Sierra Cascade Blueberries will be around for the next few weeks. I love Sierra Cascade's blueberries because they are small, full of flavor, and slightly tart. You can find them in the back of the building, right below the Gandhi statue. This morning, Sam mentioned CandyCot apricots which are only around for a couple of weeks a year as well. These apricots are extremely high on the Brix Scale for sweetness, and I see people carry them around the market like treasures.

If you know Nigel Walker, the proprietor of Eatwell Farm, you know that he is always working on new, fun projects and products. Word has it that he is working toward a grain CSA which would provide customers with a variety of grains and dried beans throughout the year -- much like his vegetable CSA does now. When I saw that he was selling large bunches of triticale (a wheat-like grain) this week, I knew that soon he would be providing us with fantastic local and organic grain.

This week, Fatted Calf debuted a new all-beef hot dog made with lamb casings. The beef is sourced from Marin Sun Farms, and I am really looking forward to tasting them. By the time I arrived at the Fatted Calf booth around 8:15 am, they were gone so I will be sure to pre-order by email next time.

The photo at the top of the post is of the lovely strawberries that Lucero Organic grows. Many of us are still missing our beloved Ella Bella Farm -- a great farm that closed up shop in California last year. But I've found that Lucero's strawberries almost make me forget how much I loved Ella Bella's. They are a great replacement from a farm that brings impeccably beautiful produce to the market.

Several Mediterranean fruit flies, known as one of the most dangerous and destructive pests to fruit crops, have been found in Solano county which is approximately 70 miles from San Francisco.

In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, Solano County Agricultural Commissioner Jerry Howard called the fruit fly "The single biggest threat to agriculture there is."

The main way that fruit flies come into an area is through fruit carried across state lines, and a USDA spokesperson has said that this infestation of fruit flies most likely came from mangoes carried from Hawaii.

When fruit flies are found, the reaction by agricultural agencies is swift and intense. Within days of the announcement, millions of sterile fruit flies had been dropped by plane into the affected area. When female fruit flies mate, they die and sterile fruit flies produce no offspring.

I noticed the fruit fly story last week, but have to admit that the effect of it on our agriculture did not hit home until I read the Eatwell Farm Blog this morning. Eatwell is a polycultural, organic farm in Yolo county. The farm's location is approximately 3 miles from the fruit fly affected area in Solano County.

In order to cease the movement of the fruit fly from the affected area, agriculture officials have placed a quarantine on certain produce within a 4.5 mile radius. This places Eatwell Farm within the quarantine, and they are not allowed to move any tree fruit, eggplant, tomatoes, or peppers off the farm.

Anyone who knows Eatwell from the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market is aware of the fact that they are smack in the middle of their "Tomato Wonderland" and are one of the main providers of heirloom tomatoes at the market. With this quarantine, it sounds like the tomato season for Eatwell is over.

There are a couple of things that you can do to help this plight. I hope that you will consider doing one of the following:

• If you are an Eatwell CSA member, don't drop your membership. Knowing the farmer, Nigel Walker, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you have a good box each week. This is part of the "through thick and thin" agreement of a traditional CSA. A CSA member prospers when the farm prospers, and takes a hit when the farm takes a hit.
• If you are a Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market shopper, stop by the Eatwell booth this week and buy an item or two that they bring to the market.
• Read the news. I pray that this doesn't affect more farms that it already has, but if it does, it will affect our San Francisco produce supply.
• Adhere to all fruit and vegetable restrictions. The laws set by the state of California are for the protection of our tremendous agricultural economy.

Photo: Eatwell Farm, Jason Meagher, 2006.

Whenever I am out of town or away from Bloglines for an extended period of time, as has been the case over the past couple of weeks, I go through a bit of triage reading in order to make sure I check in on my favorite people in the most efficient way. As I am doing this, a lot of the reading involves clicking and skimming to get the general gist of what's happening in the blog world. But every once in a while, a post stops me in my tracks and I read it carefully, savoring every word. This was the case this week when I read Tea's post entitled "Panforte, with Memories". You can be sure that I will be lining up to buy some panforte from Della Fattoria Bakery this week.

I'm not in San Francisco much these days, so unless I want to make panforte on my own I'll be bringing it to Seattle with me. While I'm curious to try my hand, I fear I would never come up with anything as perfect as the Della Fattoria version (and why bother, when they've done all the hard work for me?). If the knights of the crusade were able to carry panforte with them on horseback to the holy lands, mine should have no problem surviving the trip to Seattle. And carry it with me I will, for one taste of this sweet and spicy confection brings back so many memories.

We have a couple of notable new blogs in the Bay Area blogosphere these days. It's already been established that Todd at Bourbon and Branch is mixing up some of the most delicious cocktails around. And now he has started a blog called Straight Up to keep us apprised of happenings at the bar: "I hope to cover a variety of subjects including; what's happening at Bourbon & Branch and other bars around town, new cocktails & spirits and what's coming in the future at Bourbon & Branch." (via Tablehopper.

Another blog that started up last month is a blog by Nigel Walker, the farmer of Eatwell Farm. Keep an eye on his new site for news about the farm and general input about what it's like to run a small organic farm in California.

Since the moment I received Heidi Swanson's new book Super Natural Cooking in the mail, I have been consuming it at every opportunity. It's already been discussed here, so I won't go too much into it. It's a fantastic book, and you should check it out as soon as possible. But if you'd like a preview, check out one of my favorite recipes by Heidi that is also in her new book: Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies.

This week marks the season beginning of three reality TV shows that focus on food. Top Chef starts this Wednesday, Hell's Kitchen started last night, and The Next Food Network Star started on Sunday. My money is on Top Chef for being the most entertaining. As luck would have it, Bay Area Bites' own Stephanie is recapping Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef for Television without Pity and I look forward to reading a season's worth of her insights about these shows. Even if you don't watch the shows, it's worth reading Stephanie's recaps for hiliarious insights like this from last night's episode of Hell's Kitchen:

Ramsay wildly clutches his head when he discovers that that Vinnie is using water instead of stock in the risotto. Vinnie tries to argues that they ran out of stock, but Ramsay, who samples the risotto water, announces that it tastes like "gnat's piss." Awesome. I mean, I didn't know gnats peed in large enough volumes to allow anyone to sample the flavor, but I defer to Ramsay. Because of the gnat's piss risotto, Vinnie is sent to wash dishes while Brad takes over his station.