WTF?: Cool Stuff We Found at the Market

Go easy

Wiry, curly pea tendrils come from the same plants peas are plucked from, says Christine Farren, events manager at CUESA, the nonprofit that runs the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. If you're lucky, the shoots will have edible flowers still clinging to them, a sweet (and sweet-smelling) bonus. But act fast, since pea season is withering.

Treat 'em like other greens, only use a lighter touch. These days at Bix, exec chef Bruce Hill serves them under roasted pork roulade: pork shoulder marinated and wrapped in pork belly, then slow-roasted for 10 hours. The meat's sliced and served over stone-ground polenta and the tendrils, sautéed not with extra-virgin, but with a mild olive oil. "The taste is so delicate, a heavier oil can easily overpower them," Hill said.