A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. How about a whole bunch of pictures of beautiful produce? The Garden Of… is a top certified organic producer and one of my Hollywood Farmers’ Market favorites. The very northernmost stand (i.e. by Hollywood Boulevard) on the east side of Ivar Avenue, they are one of my first destinations every Sunday morning. The farm itself is located in Los Olivos (near Santa Barbara), and they are legendary for their lettuces, though they also grow a variety of other vegetables. Here’s a look at some of their beautiful bounty.

Japanese turnips (left) and radishes…

Multi-colored carrots…and their golden beets (below).

Fennel bulbs (above). Try using what’s left of the fronds like dill. And now for something completely different: it’s puntarelle, in the chicory family, which can be eaten raw or cooked. Cut it like you see on their sample board below.

Puntarelle was a new vegetable to me, though I’m told that it goes particularly well in a Caesar salad. All of the vegetables pictured above, in fact, are excellent salad components (see my earlier blog about roasting beets), though of course their preparations can vary from wraps to stews to roasting to pairings with pasta (see my blog about beet greens). But more on that in weeks and months to come.

In addition to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market (Ivar and Selma Avenues), run by SEE-LA on Sundays from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, The Garden Of… also has a stand (though it’s a bit smaller–primarily their lettuces) at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers Market.