Holiday pie party ~ November 22

CUESA will be hosting a pie extravaganza tomorrow with pie-making demos, mini pies for sale; a pie-making display with handy how-to direction and pie recipes from the farmers in our market. See below for a complete scedule.

Get your gifts (and get them wrapped for free!) at the market

Every gift-giving season, we encourage our customers to do their holiday shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Starting on December 6, we're providing an extra motivation―we'll wrap farmers' market gifts for you at no cost! Our gift-wrapping station will be set up at the information booth on December 6, 13 and 20 from 8 am to 12:30 pm. Volunteers will wrap your farmers' market purchases in reusable brown paper bags or craft paper, and we will provide gift tags as well as colorful ribbon to complete the festive look.

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market tote bags and gift certificate coins will also be for sale. Check out the Holiday Gifts section of our website for farm fresh present ideas >

Holiday farmer dinner benefitting Marin Organic ~ December 13

Enjoy dinner at MarketBar in the Ferry Building and support local, organic producers. MarketBar wil donate 50% of the evening’s proceeds to Marin Organic programs, which help to create a sustainable food system. The menu will include ingredients from Marin-based producers such as Star Route Farms, County Line Harvest, Allstar Organics, and Cowgirl Creamery. Learn more >

Waste Wise volunteers are needed every Tuesday and Saturday at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. E-mail ashleigh@cuesa.org for details.

Saturday, November 22 ~ Holiday Pie Party

10 am - 1 pm - Mini apple/pear, pecan, and pumpkin pies and slices for sale (while they last) and pie-making display.

10:30 am - Meet the farmer (and the man behind the popular pies)
John Lagier, Lagier Ranches

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Laura Werlin, author of Laura Werlin's Cheese Esssentials will make a mimolette cheese, apple and cranberry galette.

11:45 pm - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Marc Vogel, chef and author of The Perfect Holiday Meals, will make a pumpkin custard pie and offer some general Thanksgiving tips.

Saturday, November 29 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Meet the producer

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Scott Peterson, Bocadillos

All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side, except as noted.

In the summer and early fall, Diane Joy Goodman could be seen climbing into the back of the Knoll Farms truck, hand-picking figs for her daughter and son-in-law's restaurant, NOPA. It was a ritual farmer Kristie Knoll came to enjoy. “She was nuts about figs,” says Kristie. “She’d place an order and I knew that if I had someone pack it up beforehand it wouldn’t be good enough. So I’d let her climb in back and choose her own.”

Rain or shine, Diane was at the farmers’ market. Every Saturday at Ferry Plaza, Tuesday in Berkeley and Thursday in Marin, Diane foraged produce for NOPA. But Diane, who passed away from acute liver failure last week at the age of 61, was much more than a spirited and devoted farmers’ market shopper. In fact, for the last several decades she was a key figure in the sustainable food movement, a committed advocate for organic farmers and a friend to many local chefs.

Most recently, Diane ran a consulting business that helped clients (everyone from rice to vegetable growers) understand organic standards and regulatory compliance, navigate the certification process, and communicate organic practices through their marketing. She was also the two-time chair of the California Organic Foods Advisory Board, a member of the National Organic Standards Board (where she helped craft and pass the current standards), and an active member of many committees and task forces for organizations such as the Organic Trade Association (OTA).  

“My mom had involvement on so many different levels―all the way from the field to the table,” says her daughter and NOPA co-owner, Allyson Woodman. “She was so passionate about this movement; it was her life.” Katherine DiMatteo, the former executive director of the OTA, and a dear friend and long-time colleague of Diane’s, echoes this sentiment. “She brought a real passion and commitment to helping convert large and small farms to organic practices. Through her own deep engagement she became well-versed in everything organic. She brought all of that into her work and life and the line between the two was quite blurred.”

It only makes sense then that many of Diane’s friends remember dining with her and discussing the cutting edge of the food landscape. Helge Hellberg, the executive director of Marin Organic, says he found himself engaged in many discussions with Diane over the years that were both heated and heartening.

“She never held back her opinion. Diane was really able to challenge people and we would often end up in the kind of long discussion that we would both come out of with much more knowledge and understanding,” says Hellberg. “That’s what we need to do more as a movement, to be successful―to get better not just at pushing what we believe in but understanding the other side.”

Diane had deep, long-lasting bonds with many of the sellers at the market. John Lagier of Lagier Ranches knew Diane for 13 years, and worked with her on several projects including an early CSA called the Farm Box. “Whatever project she did, she went at it and gave it her 100 percent. She wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult issues,” he says. “I think she did make a difference in our community and we’re a lot better for it. There’s a saying: it’s hard to believe a star so bright can burn out so fast. That was Diane.”

Dexter Carmichael, CUESA’s director of operations, met Goodman while working at GreenLeaf Produce in the early 90s and considers her among a short list of people who opened his eyes to the importance of high-quality local food. Diane was in a lot of different places at the right time over the years, says Dexter. And not by accident―she put herself there. “She wasn’t a food celebrity like some of her peers,” he adds. “Instead she was really down in the trenches working to make change.”

A memorial service will be held for Diane Joy Goodman at NOPA on December 7th from 11:00 am - 2 pm.

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, November 22

In/returning: Bernard Ranches, Glashoff Farms
Out: Bariani Olive Oil, Hunter Orchards

Tuesday, November 25

In: Lagier Ranches, Lucero Organic Farms

Note: Hog Island Oyster Company will not be selling holiday oysters this Tuesday, but will have them available for pre-order and pick up at their oyster bar in the Ferry Building.

Returning, Plentiful and/or at their peak this month (weather willing): raw olives, chestnuts, rutabagas, dates, apples, turnips, winter squash, artichokes, pomegranates, carrots, Meyer lemons, grapefruit, oranges, radishes, Brussels sprouts, grapes, broccoli, rapini, persimmons, limes, lettuces, potatoes, cardoons, puntarella, radicchio, sweet potatoes, leeks, fennel, cabbage, kiwi, chicories, Christmas trees, salsify, mushrooms, walnuts, clementines

Winding down/limited supply: basil, berries, tomatoes, plums, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, dahlias, pastured eggs (production will be slowing down), pears and apples (many varieties of both these fruits will still be available from cold storage throughout the winter)

Farms/Vendors that may be returning this month (weather willing): Olsen Organic Farms, Double K Christmas Tree Farms

Vendor and value-added farm products not to be missed: Smoked cider-brined pork chops from Fatted Calf; French plum, mustard seed and onion chutney from The Apple Farm; organic almond butter from Massa Organics

Featured recipes for November:

Potato Cress Soup from Sarah Henkin, CUESA’s Market Chef

Roasted Leg of Lamb With Garlic, Anchovies and Rosemary from Fabrice Marcon, Mistral Rotisserie

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Recipes from Bon Appetit-Too Busy to Cook, Volume Two (Knapp, 1981)

Featured cocktail recipe:
Kentucky Pilgrim, H. Joseph Ehrmann, Square One Vodka