New and improved Del Mar Farmers' Market! + Viva Pops and Sicilian Thing again...

ST and I were heading to the Flower Hill Farmers Market this morning....when we realized there was no FHFM this morning! A web check at home confirmed that that market is RIP as of two weeks ago. Well, we only went once, so we weren't keeping it in business. We decided we'd either hit Del Mar this afternoon or Fairbanks tomorrow.

Whoa!!! Who took the Del Mar market and put it on steroids? Today's market was much bigger than I remember. Plus they had a scavenger hunt for kids, which included a prize of a free fruit drink from Gina's (ST, ever the gourmand, selected watermelon lemonade). There are some new vendors, so we had some wonderful choices. We came home with a lot of fruit and veggie loot. Oh - and Randy Gruber of Americana was on hand cooking up fresh food with market goodies. I have been to Americana 2x and never got overly excited about it....but my oh my, he did a fabulous job with black cod and the market vegetables (green beans, corn, tomatoes). Loved it! We saw Mr. Manvite and his family there - he said he is a happy customer of Americana. We should probably try it again!

We also visited Sicilian Thing recently, where I was reminded how delicious its pizza is (I think it's better than Bongiorno's consistently, but CH says when Mike Bongiorno himself is on hand, Bongiorno's still wins). Loved my nino espinosa + barack-oli ricotta. ST tries Sicilian for the first time, and declared that he preferred it over thin-crust. That's my adventurous eater!

And at viva pops later, ST selected strawberry (he's allowed to choose the familiar now and then). At the next table, a mom had mango-chili and was raving about it. I think I have yet to try that one.

Healthy vegetarian food at the SD County Fair (Del Mar)

I know, I know....the post title seems ridiculous. After all, isn't the fair for Chicken Charlie's Fried Twinkies and Fried Koolaid?

But Foodie Mom is trying to shed some of her foodie pounds, so it's not fried season for me. Plus I've gone to the fair 5 times already (2x with Super Toddler and 3x for concerts). Here are some of my favorite foods at the fair that just happen to be healthy and delicious.

--Roxy: Baked Falafel Burger: My perennial fair favorite. Really tasty (ask for it baked instead of fried).

--Baked sweet potato next to the corn shack. They try to get you to buy toppings, but it doesn't need any. Tastes yummy like jasmine just baked. A real treat!

--Palapa Taco's Healthy Veg Burrito: Herbal tortilla, veg beans, lots of veggies and soy cheese. Sounds crazy to eat at the fair and kind of questionable, but was super yummy, high fiber, low fat, etc. They also have a spinach wrap.

--Grilled corn next to the sweet potatos (near O'Brien Gate). Always good.

--I did sneak some kettle corn before one of the shows too.

The cheese pizza that the boys have been getting is gross wherever they get it from, and my friend's BBQ today was so bad (soggy fries, etc.) that she returned it. The chili fries she got from Fresh Friez afterward were much better.

There is healthy yummy food to be had at the fair if you look!

ST loves him some rides, so we'll probably hit the fair one more time before it closes.

Suzie's Farm visit!! (Imperial Beach)

On Sat. June 11, Super Toddler and I piled into the car with another fabulous mom and her boy, and we headed down to Imperial Beach to take a tour of Suzie's Farm. Yes, that Suzie's Farm -the one featured on menus all over town, from Alchemy to Mistral. $10 donation pp includes as many veggies as you can pick in your reusable bag - oops, I'm the non-eco one who forgot her reusable bag, so let's make that cram into the backpack you had brought for snacks for ST.

The boys were super troopers, esp. considering that the bathroom is super far in the fields (Suzie's is huge!!).

Some of the loot we picked and took home:
--delicious carrots (ST is super strong and wrestled those babies out of the ground)

--a couple of clandestine radishes (we weren't supposed to pick them, but what did ST know)

--fresh dill, parsley, cilantro

--kale of various colors

--a beautiful, vast head of red-leaf lettuce which we are slowly making our way through

--two enormous summer squash (which ST's babysitter sauteed last night for me after bedtime - super yummy!!)

--one humongous ridged zucchini, which inspired me to cook tonight (!!), even if I wasn't sure my boys would eat the kind of food I like to make.

I made zucchini latkes + a zucchini-red pepper frittata. ST was pickier than normal, but at least he add tons of salad and applesauce. CH, who doesn't like "veg food," gamely ate some latkes (he hid the zucchini under mounds of applesauce). Luckily, CH's Mom came to dinner and so was a more appreciative audience for my gourmet veggie cuisine.

Haven't cooked the kale yet - will probably saute it tomorrow and see if ST likes it.

It was a super-fun activity - definitely worth hauling a toddler along! We left a little early (they had had it), but that was fine.

From now on, "Suzie's Farm" on menus will mean something to me - though I'll be thinking also of dirt, flies and manure smell rather than only something gourmet and glamorous (ah....food marketing!).

Escondido Children's Museum

Not a food post (we ate at home :)) - just a note that the Escondido Children's Museum is awesome! Never had been before, and ST happily spent 2 hrs. there.

A toddler outing: Kidding Around + Cafe 56 (Carmel Mountain/Rancho Penasquitas)

I don't usually review play areas, but we visited the new Kidding Around today. Kind of austere/boring for Mom & Dad (they need music, they're working on it), but Super-Toddler absolutely loved all the tunnel slides and cars. We'll undoubtedly return. He's also digging Way Beyond (UTC) but I haven't been there with him yet so can't vouch for the mom part of the experience.

Being over in that area was an excuse to try a place I'm always getting ads for: Cafe 56 on Black Mountain Road. Good to know about. Not gourmet by any stretch, and I won't claim it's super-yummy. But it's a diner-style American food restaurant that was quite mellow and pleasant. They had good music on (Joni Mitchell, Woodstock, came on during the meal - they had XM 27 the Bridge on), and all of our food was decent. (Mickey Mouse-shaped pancake for ST; french toast, ham and eggs for CH; and mahi-mahi tacos for me). Not gourmet but relaxing enough - ST stayed in his seat and got a blueberry muffin at the end as a reward.