I hate to report that they used to be 10 times better than they are now.
Yeah, I remember that the ones in the clear bags that were sold from their old Ferry Building farmers’ market stall were better than the current ones (going off hazy memory). A bit lighter and crispier. Maybe not 10x better though. Perhaps it has something to do with freshness and mass production.
I know they go to the Sunnyvale Farmers’ Market. But since I don’t shop at that market any longer I usually pick them up when I am at Half Moon Bay. The farm has a store and is a block from the beach.
You may want to give them a call to see where they sell. From their website: 'In 1926 our grandparents, Dino Andreotti and Julia Benedetti started the farm, producing primarily artichokes, beans, and broccoli. We were among the first farms to join in the Farmer’s Market movement in 1943, selling at the Alemany Market in San Francisco. ’
So, maybe Alemany Market too.
Make sure you get their smallest artichoke. About 2 inch across and 3 inch long. I like those the best.
Hodo’s Spicy Yuba Noodles…>>
Good to know, thanks! I just bought a pkg to try but haven’t opened it yet, nice to hear you like it.
Also, for crumpet lovers, we find these at Piedmont Grocery/Oakland:
- Oakrun Farms crumpets. The best are the ones sold by mail from some company in Florida, but occasionally The Junket/El Cerrito gets a shipment of true British crumpets in the freezer case. However, as an “everyday” crumpet, Oakrun (Canadian, I believe) is better than most with good flavor, albeit not as tall as it should be (a higher crumpet holds more butter, LOL).
- Ms. Earle’s Sweet Sensations - Meyer Lemon Curd. We grow Meyers and thus are big fans of their distinctive, aromatic, more floral flavor. I will occasionally make lemon curd, but then we found this brand. It’s the only one that tastes like the curd I make myself - not oversweetened, good balance and that wonderful Meyer taste and aroma.
It’s probably dangerous to start discussing chocolates, since all of us could end up in a discussion going that would require an entire separate thread(!) just for that…but I will say recently we were crushed to discover that local chocolatier Tcho has discontinued a product we loved:
- Tcho Organic Mokaccino Milk Chocolate Bites. Sadly, the mini-coin size bites didn’t sell well, so they are dropping them. Now only available in bar form.
We don’t normally enjoy milk chocolate but the Tcho Mokaccino has a perfect balance between smooth, not too sweet milk chocolate and Blue Bottle coffee flavors. If you enjoy a good mocha, try a bar and let us know what you think.
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I love El Mexicano ( San Jose) jarred sour and table creams. The sour cream is much closer to creme fraiche than ordinary sour creams.
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Aw, that’s too bad! I really like the Mokaccino, and the bites were just the right size.
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Can you help me understand the difference? I’m guessing table isn’t “sour”, but when would you use them? I’ve bought them both, but don’t know why.
@shrinkrap The sour cream is less sour than our commercial brands. The table cream I keep on hand for cooking or over fruit, cereal, etc. You an use them interchangeably with your local dairy case cartoned creams.
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We started doing some canned product “stocking up” during/after the wildfires last year. Found a new brand of jarred soup that Spouse is impressed with - it’s so spicy it’s actually too hot for me (I love chiles but anything over our personal rating of 6 out of 10 chile peppers upsets my stomach).
Simply West Coast makes a Spicy Thai Seafood Soup that is thick with coconut cream, complex spicing, and big chunks of fish. There’s also potato cubes but the amount is in balance. The fish is somewhat overcooked - inevitable, I guess, in a jarred soup. Lucky carries the brand, as does Berkeley Bowl.
We discovered this from Imperfect Produce, so have not yet tried the stores to see which soups are on the shelves. SWC also makes pizzas, vegetarian soups, seafood snacks and ready-to-eat. The website has a store locator:
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Thank you! Sounds like I should be able to find it at one of my regular grocery stores.
Hope you like the soup! If nothing else it’s good to have on hand in the pantry these days. One thing we liked very much was it was salted just right, without the excessive sodium of the bigger commercial brand soups like Campbell’s et. al., yet was still flavorful.
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We’ve definitely been on the lookout for more pantry staples over the past few months. Here are a few more that we’ve enjoyed as of late during shelter in place.
- Volcano Kimchi Jicama Kimchi. Love the crunch, lighter than daikon. I’ve ordered at least half a dozen jars so far from Good Eggs. I think local markets carry it too.
- Ramen Shop Lacto-Fermented Sansho Cabbage. From their pickle plate. Now, enjoyed at home! They carry the kimchi and pickled turmeric daikon too.
- Charter Oak Soy Dip. Our friends dropped off a tub on their way back to the Peninsula. Goes well with all sorts of veggies, we’ve been pairing it with sugar snap peas, carrots, and Japanese cucumbers.
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