Fifty Two Foods

One of California’s quality-of-life advantages is the abundance and variety of the state’s agricultural output. Here in Davis, we have a very large farmers’ market that runs year round and features many tables laden with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as some terrific meats. We also have a great grocery store and a top-notch co-op. While Davis lacks Portland’s brilliant chefs and incredible food scene, it has a key foundational element—great raw ingredients—in spades.

In honor of our abundance of good food, and because I’ve been meaning to do some kind of food series for a while, this year I’m going to choose one food each week and try to make something interesting with it. My rules are going to be pretty simple:

• Foods must be grown in California.
• They must be minimally processed. Cheeses and sausages will be okay, usually, while canned chili would not be.
• They must undergo some transformation in the preparation process. It won’t be enough to simply toss some nuts on a salad.

I’ll try to get the where, what, why, how on each food and share that along with an account of what I made. I’ll post new entries once a week, and I hope you enjoy them. The complete series will be listed on this page.