Ceceilia’s Gardens Fruit Stand

My husband and I saw this farm Stan while taking a impromptu trip to Muir beach. Initially, we were so focused on our hike and planned to return on the way back. We were so lucky our Sunday return brought us by this hidden gem before it closed at 5 pm. Not only did it have the delicious pickles it had advertised on a large cardboard sign, but a variety of fruits, vegetables, and kimchi. Beyond the pickles the kimchi was the most enticing to us at the time as we had never tried persimmon kimchi before. The flavor of the kimchi and the persimmon paired well together an combined for the perfect amount of spice and sweet. While we loved the flavor so much that we ate most as a snack, we plan to us the rest as a delicious dinner side dish.
The farmer was incredibly friendly and allowed us to try a couple samples to find the right dish for our own personal taste palate. He also informed us that they participate in a farmers market in SF on Sunday mornings. A location I’m sure my husband and I will visit in the near future.

After reading about it online, I had high expectations of Ceceilia’s Fruit Stand. So take note: it’s not a farmer’s market! It’s a fruit stand, and a lovely little one at that. Ceceilia’s is open on weekends and you can find it on on the side of the Tennessee Valley Road in Mill Valley (photos attached). It’s a great location — at a busy intersection right by some major trail heads. They sell seasonal fruit and vegetables, pickled things, honey, dried fruits and nuts. We found: Fuji apples, a few tomatoes, rhubarb, pickles, dried persimmons (the group favorite), red walnuts, raspberries, two types of honey (for $ 14/​jar), strawberry-​pluot jam (awesome… and they have other rad flavors too), and fig bars. Great place to stop if you’re heading out on a hike and didn’t pack a picnic, or find yourself famished after wandering trails all day.

I LOOOOOOVE my weekly rummage, sniff, taste, and chat visits with Josh, the second generation farmer who runs Ceceilia’s Gardens stand. Go. Don’t just go, but ask Josh for what’s especially tasty, and you’ll go home with delight in a bag. The fruit and veggies. The pickles. The desserts. The preserves. Please shop here because I want them to thrive for another 30 years. Shop here because it’s both ungodly good and totally affordable. No fancy Whole Foods prices, here.

Wish that I was here in cherry season. Did manage to get the best blackberries that we’ve ever tried. What there was an abundance of was pickled items and fruit jams and jellies. According to the guy at the stand, he makes all the jarred items himself, and the cranberrry-​pomegranate sauce speaks of a high skill level indeed. They also sold trail mix which we almost bought since this stand is conveniently located near the Tennessee Valley Trailhead. It is worth stopping at to check out what they have. There were still a few cherries and strawberries from the Central Valley and plenty of great looking vegetables. A winner!

We got 16 (yes, we LOVE their jams) jars of jams today! As I am typing, I am enjoying their Maple Bourbon Peach jam on a toast. I am glad we got 3 jars of those — yum! We also love their Lemon Curd, got 3 jars of those as well. They are doing something great in their kitchen. Jam Artists!

NIce little stand on the side of the road off Tennessee (Church parking lot?). Two sided truck with fruit and snacks on one side, veggies et al on the other. Some random pickled veggies, fern fiddles, beets also line the front of the cart and make for a nice little detour. The cherries we picked up here were delicious, well priced, and the guy working there stated all the fruits and veggies were organic.
Tip: On your way to Muir Woods /​Stinson Beach, pick some of these up and refuel before hitting the mountain traffic.

On a trip to Muir Woods and Mount Tam, Andy F, his main squeeze Russ and I drove by a sign stating, no sorry… with a sign that was screaming Fresh Cherries. Now I had just managed to pile in my stomach a large omelet, hash browns and an entire portion of pancakes, food was the last thing on my mind… for the next hour and a half. Andy mentioned about how if they have fresh fruit it would be perfect for some concoction he was making that night. I was sticking to beer. I wanted to last the night. On our way back down the road, low and behold, the stand was still there. We were in a little hurry to head back and quickly stopped by to see the goods. Some great fresh fruit, some amazing prices, but what was on my mind, since I wasn’t going to be able to take any fresh fruit home, was the dried fruits and nuts on the side Oh my… were there some selections. Nuts, from walnuts, to pecans, to almonds to raw to ones coated in chocolate and candy shells. And the dried fruit? Bananas, strawberries, apricots were just a few that were there. Prices? Rock bottom. Andy got his fresh fruits, I had my nuts and dried fruits, we left happy men… who had some drinking to do.