Rain, Morels and Seasonal Finds at the Hollywood Farmers Market

Every Sunday, the weather continues to play games at the market with farmers and shoppers. Once again there were major storms and cold temperatures in the farm growing regions of California. It even snowed up in the mountains.

“This time of year is the season for fresh-picked morel mushrooms,” said Gray Hermann, the owner of LA FungHi, one of the market’s prime stops for wild mushrooms. “These morels are from Northern California where it’s still raining, cool and damp. Mushrooms like this.”

Morel mushrooms have an intense nutty, earthy flavor and because of their honey-comb texture, they're perfect to absorb sauces and spices. In gourmet kitchens, the morel harvest is a celebrated occasion. Check out the LA FungHi website where Hermann shares a recipe for a morel cream sauce.

“Several of my customers tell me they like to serve the morels with fish,” Hermann said. “Morels can be served with everything such as pasta, eggs, chicken or meat.”

Although mushrooms may enjoy this sporadic winter-like weather, what happened to spring?

“It’s supposed to be our dry season,” said Felipe Gonzales, the operator of the Murray Family Farms stand, a grower of several cherry varieties.

It was supposed to be a stellar crop this year for the cherry growers. All of the winter moisture produced trees bursting with fruit, but once the fruit ripens, it’s possible for a strong rain to damage the crop before it can be harvested.

“A rainstorm will split, or crack open the cherries,” Gonzales said. “If that happens, we can’t sell the cherries at the market.”

As I strolled through the market, I saw the cherry supply dwindle down to just a few pints left at different farm stands.

“This is the last week for our cherries, but because of the rain we have early peaches and nectarines,” said Jeff Clark, who operates the Regier Family Farms stand, an organic orchard near Fresno.

Regier Family Farms had a beautiful selection of large, plump and juicy white and yellow peaches. Barnett Farms was another vendor that was overflowing with fresh stone fruits such as apricots, apriums and plums. Yet, Ha’s Apple Farm, which grows stone fruits during the summer months, has yet to harvest its first picking of peaches, nectarines and apricots.

“It depends where the farm is located,” said David Ha, the owner of Ha’s Apple Farm. “We’re in Oxnard, near the ocean so we’re having cooler temperatures. Other guys are already bringing in stone fruits from the desert farms because it’s warmer at night there.”

Another item that’s dependent on the weather is the boysenberries from T & D Farms.

“It all depends on the night temperatures and rain levels,” said Doug Williams, the owner of T & D Farms. “I could always predict the future, but not this year.”

I’m ready to ditch this uneventful spring and move right into the warmth of summer. True, summer is just a few weeks away, but there are signs it’s coming early such as the sweet corn at Grey River Farms, a San Diego farm. When corn is this fresh I like to grill it. I peel and clean the ears, but then re-wrap the corn with damp husks. The corn steams inside of the leaves and takes on a unique flavor from the wet husks. Is it too early to talk about summer barbecues?

Please feel free to share stories and recipes of the items you find interesting at the market.

If you see me strolling about, please say hello.

See you next week at the market!

The Hollywood Farmers Market is located at the intersection of Ivar and Selma avenues, between Sunset and Hollywood boulevards. Rain or shine, it is open every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is a certified open-air street market with approximately 100 farmers, 30 local artisans and 40 baked-goods and prepared-food vendors who sell their products every Sunday. It is a direct-to-consumer marketplace with all produce and products from local, California vendors and growers.

Parking: Cinerama Dome: $2 for first two hours with validation available at the information booth at Ivar and DeLongpre avenues. Metered parking: Check parking enforcement signs. Some meters free until 11 a.m. on Sundays.

Dog Sitting: Only tagged assistance dogs are allowed at the market, but this shouldn’t stop others from walking their dogs to the public event. There’s a dog sitting service provided at the corner of Ivar and Vine streets. Your prized pooch will get to socialize with other dogs while you do your shopping at the market. It charges a small fee of $5 per 20 minutes.