California Central Coast Wine and Food Guide.

This time of year, things start really popping out in ripeness about now. Now we're getting somewhere with some of the best fruits and vegetables that Mother Nature provides. We saw lots of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, basil, gorgeous greens of several types and some early varieties of tomatoes.

We had a "mission" this week! We wanted some of Bautista Farm delicious arugula and spinach for a big salad for tonight's dinner that will be served with Oysters on Horseback Having summer fun with July's recipes. So we wanted to buy some of Neal Maloney's Morro Bay Oyster Company's large oysters. And then of course for dessert, we wanted to buy some of Cody Farms best-tasting white peaches and white nectarines. (He lets them ripen on the tree to perfection!)

We were lucky and found a convenient parking place near the Oyster booth but decided to first head straight across the Park to the Bautista Farm booth. As usual, they didn't disappoint us with their produce.

Just down from there a little ways, See Canyon Apricots had some delicious-tasting apricots. I knew that they are good because the booth and apricots were reviewed by the the Los Angeles Times last Sunday and in the review, they mentioned that their apricots (especially the Blehiem variety) are the best they've tasted. The See Canyon booth had samples available to taste as well, and we weren't disappointed. Selling for two dollars a pound, you can get a nice fruit bowl full for a reasonable price.

Walking back toward the other aisle, we stopped at the Paso Almond booth for a pound of their delicious almond bark. Buying the sweet here, is a smart choice. First of all, it's fresher than it is in stores, but also it's two dollars cheaper!

Down we walked, stopping at the Cody Farms booth and picked out our peaches and nectarines. They're wonderful! I'll have to be careful how i handle these! Because of their ripeness, the fruit is can be easily damaged.

Then finally, ending up at the Morro Bay Oyster Company booth. They had three different sizes to choose from. We had manager Tony chose the large variety for us (which are VERY large --perhaps our "eyes were bigger than our stomachs!) and purchased a dozen. We can't wait to make our dinner tonight! It's going to be good!

It was a fast-paced shopping trip. We accomplished a lot while having fun at the same time, and it was only a quarter to ten and we still had plenty of time to make it to the start of the Lavender Festival in the downtown Paso Robles City Park. We are so lucky to live here! There's so much to do, see and taste!

Hope to see you next time!