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Bacardi has a new(ish) product on the market. They call it Bacardi Dragon Berry. It is rum with the flavorings of strawberry and dragon fruit. I do not usually go in for “flavored” spirits unless I do the flavoring myself. So when I saw it in the market, I noted it, but passed on the purchase.

But I have to admit part of my reason for passing was I had never tasted dragon fruit. Though I do recall reading about it a few years ago when I was researching tropical fruit trees. We were considering the purchase of some property in Fiji. I had (have) a fantasy about packing up my big city life and living in an orchard filled with unusual fruit trees somewhere off the grid and in the middle of paradise. Who doesn’t, right? There still time though. I am still a young(ish) man, right?

Anyway, in my research I came across an article written by David Karp. He is known as the fruit detective here in So. Cal (and beyond). I have quoted him in these pages before. David is sort of credited with bringing the dragon fruit into the consciousness of Southern Californians. His influence on this fruit’s popularity may have even brought it to a Farmers Market near you.

Hopefully I am not stepping on "you know which Spuds" toes. But today I am talking tater.

I got a handful of new potatoes from a gardener friend recently. It’s tempting to think that new potatoes are a specific variety of potato. But that is inaccurate.

New potatoes are actually immature potatoes dug shortly after the plant begins to flower. They can come in almost any variety. In other words you could have Yukon Gold new potatoes AND Red-Skinned new potatoes. Popular varieties of potatoes that are often harvested early and referred to as new potatoes are Maris Bard, Premiere and Rocket.

I have often heard people say fingerling potatoes are new potatoes because they are the immature version of some particular type of potato. This is not exactly accurate. Fingerlings are indeed a named potato variety and there are several types: Australian Crescent, French Fingerling, Rose Finn Apple, etc. Which is not to say you can’t get new potatoes that are indeed fingerlings. But they would be fingerling new potatoes, just as an immature Yukon Gold would be a Yukon Gold new potato.

I finally got back to the Hollywood Farmers Market after a forced two week hiatus. I had been out of town the past 2 Sundays and couldn't go.

When I got down there I was very surprised to see a transition in the market from spring produce to summer crops. The “stone fruits” are starting to come in. Stone fruits are those with pits, like peaches, plums, and apricots.

We get them a bit earlier than most of the country, and there was definitely a party-like atmosphere in celebration of their arrival at the market.

But I picked a vegetable that also makes an early appearance in Southern California for this week's Market Matters post.

I chose Italian yellow wax beans.

The variety I chose is an heirloom. It is flatter than the more common yellow wax bean that looks exactly like a green bean, but is, well, yellow. The window of availability for the flatter Italian variety is very brief. So I moved it to the front of the line.

Guess what?

I have a lunch date with The Daily Spud. Spud has won prestigious blogger awards. Sup has not. Spud blogs potatoes. So far, Sup has not. Spud will be in San Francisco next week. Sup will too!

We may be doing Vietnamese food. I wonder if Spud knows there are not a lot of potatoes in Bahn Mi! Come to think of it there are not a lot of potatoes in any Vietnamese cooking. Well maybe sweet potatoes (I think…)? But (gasp!) I just thought about something else. What will we talk about?

I don’t know a lot about potatoes. Why do you think I read The Daily Spud in the first place?

Spud is Irish so there is always ale. I can talk about ale, and lager and beer…

But really I should bone up on potatoes, don’t you think. I mean Spud is visiting this country from a land far, far away. Diplomatic proto-call requires I make the alien (err I mean, visitor) feel welcome.

So I am honoring the Irish Spud with a mashed potato recipe! Not just any mashed potatoes either. Green Mashed Potatoes!  Minted Mashed Potatoes & Peas.

Cuz I am still stuck on mint!