Exploring Santa Barbara’s locally-grown food

MARKET FORAYS WITH LAURENCE HAUBEN

Saturday market shopping and cooking expeditions that began in spring 2007; the cost is $125 per person and includes a multi-course meal, local wines and recipe booklet so you can create the dishes at home. The forays are a good choice for a single traveler, couple or small group of friends. No previous cooking experience is required. Hauben also hosts weekday market feasts in conjunction with a local restaurant; in spring and summer she does fruit-picking and canning forays. “What I want to stress is that you don’t need a $500,000 kitchen, you don’t need to go to culinary school for four years, and you don’t need to wear a tall hat to cook good food for your family,” she says.

Info: (805) 259-7229, www.marketforays.com.

FISHERMAN’S MARKET

A small dockside market at the Santa Barbara Harbor at Harbor Way. The market opens at 7:30 a.m. Saturdays, and its size depends on ocean conditions; offerings vary and may include live crab, a variety of rockfish, halibut; and spiny lobster during fall and winter months. The market closes when the the seafood is sold.

SANTA BARBARA CERTIFIED FARMERS MARKET

Open 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays at Santa Barbara and Cota streets downtown. The city also hosts smaller farmers markets during the week, including a Tuesday market in the 500 and 600 blocks of State Street (summer hours: 4 to 7:30 p.m.; winter hours: 3 to 6:30 p.m.). Along with fresh foods and flowers, visitors will find locally harvested lavender, olives, olive oil, pistachios, walnuts and honey. Info: (805) 962-5354, www.sbfarmersmarket.org.

C’EST CHEESE

Small, gourmet shop downtown with an excellent selection of cheeses.

Info: 825 Santa Barbara St; (805) 965-0318, www.cestcheese.com.

SLOW FOOD SANTA BARBARA

A group of cooks, farmers, restaurant owners, environmentalists and others that promotes locally produced food that reflects the region and hosts farm visits, school gardens and cooking demonstrations. Info: www.slowfoodsantabarbara.org.

GREEN SANTA BARBARA

Take a walk on the city’s eco-friendly side; www.greensantabarbara.com.