Cooking San Francisco

Strawberry Season

You may have noticed recently that the grocery stores are filled with strawberries. Due to the freeze in Florida this winter, the Florida crops are coming on the market at the same time as the California crops, so the market is awash in strawberries

This great news for strawberry lovers because not only are the berries fragrant and juicy, but they are also inexpensive. (We just found organic strawberries at $3.00 for a pound.) While this situation is not ideal for the farmers, it is a good opportunity for us fragariaphiles - who are anxiously waiting for any sign of Spring to emerge - to fill our re-usable shopping bags with these delicious treasures. 

By the way, strawberries are one of the fruits listed on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list. The following produce items are the most likely to absorb pesticides, so if you prioritize your organic shopping list definitely start here:

The Dirty Dozen

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce/Spinach
Grapes
Pears
Potatoes
Carrots

Created by the Environmental Working Group.

For a complete list and health ranking, visit www.foodnews.org

  

Join us at the Share our Strength Bake Sale on Saturday!

This Saturday, Cooking SF is participating in a nationwide bake sale to benefit Share Our Strength, a national organization founded in 1989 that fights childhood hunger. According the SOS website, the organization's strategic plan is to:

Increase access to public and private programs that provide food to children and their families.

Strengthen community resources that connect children to healthy food.

Improve families’ knowledge about available programs and how to get the most from limited resources.

All admirable goals, which is why Kerrie and Daphne will be loading up the car with folding tables and baked goods and hoofing it over to Noe Valley on Saturday morning when we would normally be at the Farmers Market (Kerrie) or in bed with a book (Daphne).

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, April 17th 2010

Where: Omnivore Books, 3885 Cesar Chavez Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

Time: 12 pm to 3 pm

What: We're donating spicy gingersnaps and lemony madeleines all homemade by the Cooking SF duo, and there will be many more wonderful baked treats made by local food bloggers.

For more information, head over to Anita Chu's lovely blog DessertFirst. If you can't make the bake sale, but are interested in donating directly to Share Our Strength, click here. We hope to see you on Saturday!