for some reason i always thought that oranges were a summer fruit, but much to my surprise they are at the peak of their season right now! i haven’t gone this bonkers over a harvest since july when the juicy white donut peaches were like nothing i had ever tasted. like the peaches, i have been toting home upwards of ten pounds of these seedless mandarin oranges every week. mostly i enjoy squeezing them into a tall glass of the best orange juice i’ve ever had in my life. but they’re also super easy to peal and pop in your mouth. i even made a pot of orange spice and red wine marmalade for christmas presents.
enjoy oranges now, while they taste the best. in fact keep your eye on all citrus, because lemons and grapefruits are amazing right now too.
related recipes:
farmers’ market find: flowering tea!
the market isn’t all about fruits and veggies. i’ve been talked into buying my weight in hummus, found really great imported olive oil and fair-trade maca, people even give massages at some farmers’ markets. there are all sorts of artisan vendors, it varies so much from market to market.
i worked at the new sunday los feliz farmer’s market a few weeks back, and my stand was set up next to a classmate of mine with a tea cart. she runs a small business that specializes in incorporating chinese herbs into accessible and delicious drink products. she offered these flowering teas to me, which i had seen but never tried myself.
they are made up of bits of tea – green i think – tightly packed around a dried flower – chrysanthemum i think – secured with a small bit of string to hold it all together. when hot water is added, the tea brews and unfurls into what looks like a bloomed flower. for each bulb add about 16 oz (2 cups) of boiling water and let steep 3-4 minutes, enjoy!