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Farmers Market Challenge: Best Laid Plans

September 1, 2016 By newwestfarmers

Week 9 of our continuing series. 

Pierogies, pierogies, where for art thou my pierogies?

This week we had a definite plan. This week we wanted pierogies. But, this week the pierogies didn’t want us. After weeks and weeks of walking by the Old Country Pierogy table, hemming and hawing about whether to buy or not, we definitively decided to dive in to Pierogyville this week.

But this week, they weren’t there!!!

Sad face: no pierogies this week
Sad face: no pierogies this week

We did NOT have a plan B. Dear market goers, take it from me, always have a plan b. Because if you don’t, your will of health may falter to your husband’s bedazzled Rocky Point Ice Cream eyes.

Happy face: Rocky Point Ice Cream handcrafted “with love.”
Happy face: Rocky Point Ice Cream handcrafted “with love.”

Then again, it was 31 degrees out. It was Rocky Point ice cream. It was a market vendor. It was nearly perfect with our remaining budget. Surely the clouds were aligning. And really, how could I possibly say no to blackberry sage ice cream?

Couldn’t do it.

This week’s loot:

Zaklan Heritage Farm:

  • 1 head red-leaf lettuce: $3
  • Mustard greens: 2 for $5
  • radishes: $2.50
  •  purslane: $2
  • leaks: $1.20
  • 4 roma tomatoes: $2
  • basil: $0.80

Outwest Ranch:

  • 6 pears: $4

Rai Produce:

  • 5 gala apples: $5

Fresh Quality Produce:

  • 4 husked corn: $2
  • 1 zucchini: $1

Ossome Acres:

  • Rainbow chard: $3

Ripple Creek Organics:

  • 1 cucumber: $1.25

Rocky Point Ice Cream:

  • 1 pint blackberry sage ice cream: $8

Total spent was $40.75. Before the ice cream we had $7.25 remaining. With last week being under budget by 75 cents, we are now back to even. Like I said, the clouds were totally aligning.

Apple season is here my friends and the galas keep calling my name!
Apple season is here my friends and the galas keep calling my name!

With pierogies off the menu, we needed to adjust our meal plan somewhat to incorporate a proper good market meal. We opted for one of our recently discovered go-to market meals of Shrimp and Chard stir fry, which used up the rainbow chard, roma tomatoes, and onion from two weeks ago.

We also picked up leeks, which neither my husband or I have ever cooked with. As soon as I saw them, I remembered the leek-filled quiche my cousin made for us when we were visiting her in Belgium, and thought, maybe I could do the same.

I separated the stem from the dark green leaves at the top (which I froze for a later soup date) and cut them lengthwise, then chopped just as you would an onion. Exactly like an onion, tears and all.

The leeks gave me leaky, or should I say, leeky eyes!
The leeks gave me leaky, or should I say, leeky eyes!
Art of leek… kind of looks like a pineapple.
Art of leek… kind of looks like a pineapple.

I sautéed the chopped leaks and then threw them into a cheesy, tomato and basil filled quiche.

Quiche: Market ingredients: leeks and basil
Quiche: Market ingredients: leeks and basil

For the quiche I used my base Cook’s Country recipe (link: https://princessofpavement.com/cooking-challenge-2/impossible-ham-and-cheese-pie/), but altered it slightly due to missing ingredients and ingredient mishaps. I used spelt flour instead of all-purpose flour, and omitted the ham due to it going bad, and instead added a half cup of basil and several slices of tomatoes, along with the entire leek stalk.

Pretty sure it was the best quiche I’ve made to date!

What new market-fresh ingredient did you discover this week?

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: best laid plans, farmers market challenge, leeks, week 9

Farmers Market Challenge: Road Trip!

August 24, 2016 By newwestfarmers

My, oh my, how planning for road trips has changed over the years.

Back in the day—the, ahem, less healthier, less grown-up day—road trip snacks were all about the salts and the sweets: chips, chocolate, what more did I need, really… besides a bathroom, that is. Inevitably, a good portion of those trips were spent with a belly ache, not to mention blood sugar readings that had my diabetic specialist cringing.

But now, a prospective dietitian, and a mom of an impressionable youngin’, I am more conscientious of nutritional goodness. The salty, sugar-laden road trip snacks of years past are just that: a thing of the past.

This week’s $40 challenge was all about planning for the road trip.

I was off to Shuswap with my four-year-old son, and his five-year-old cousins the day after the market. Just the three of us in one car for six hours with one meal stop in between. Two of us in the car have type-1 diabetes.

I don’t know about you, but I am always extra hungry on road trips. Maybe eating is my way of passing the time, giving me something to do other than asking that age-old question: “Are we there yet?” Regardless, my mouth is in constant need of chewing when on the road.

The healthier, the better.

The market did not disappoint.

With my cooler in hand, I searched out all snacking possibilities the market had to offer.

IMG_0612

This week’s “road-trip” loot:

  • 5 mini cucumbers: $3 (Greendale Herb and Vine)
  • Carrot bunch: $1.50 (Bose & Sons Family Farm)
  • 5 Okanagan gala apples: $5 (Rai Produce)
  • 5 pears: $4 (Outwest Ranch)
  • 12 eggs: $6 (Outwest Ranch)
  • Tatsoi and Pizzo mustard greens: 2 for $5 (Zaklan Heritage Farm)
  • 2 salmon burgers: $8 (Wheelhouse Seafoods)
  • 2 zucchini: $1.50 (Fresh Quality Produce Ltd.)
  • 6 corn: $3 (Fresh Quality Produce Ltd.)
  • 1 Russian garlic $2.25 (Rancho Los Andes)

Total spent was $39.25. We were 75 cents under budget, but last week we were $1.20 over budget.

FullSizeRender

The cucumbers and carrots were fantastic for the ride up. As were the apples and pears. The apples were so juicy good, my son, who normally takes a few bites of the apple before discarding it ate the entire thing right to the core, and asked for a second one right after exclaiming it was the best apple he’s ever eaten!

Sure it was a bit messier than other snacking options, but when you’ve got a toddler in the car, chances are you’ve also got wipes handy and a garbage for the waste.

And I felt a whole lot less guilty, and my belly felt a whole lot less turmoil eating subsequent mini cukes over subsequent chips and chocolate bars.

A five-day trip also required some foods at the cabin, which is where the eggs, corn, greens and zucchini came to play. The eggs were great for the mornings, and the corn and greens served us well for lunch and dinner sides.

The salmon burgers were for my husband who did not join us for the trip.

We weren’t perfectly healthy on this trip. My nephews introduced me to the world of s’mores, there were ice cream cones, and the grandma of the cabin did a whole lot of tasty fine baking. But, by balancing that all with the nutritional goodness of the market fruits and veggies had me feeling not only balanced, but happily satiated.

The complete series of the farmers market challenge is here. 

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: eating healthy, farmers market challenge, frugal living

Farmers Market Challenge: The Greens are Greener at the Market

August 10, 2016 By newwestfarmers

The start of the series is here if you have missed it so far.

Let’s talk about salads.

I eat a LOT of salads. And not because it’s the trendy thing to do, or because it’s the healthy thing to do, I genuinely like the taste of greens and raw veggies. I eat salads for lunch, I eat salads for dinner, and sometimes I even have salads for breakfast.

This isn’t new. I’ve been loving on salads for years. But what is new is the level of super tasty greatness that market greens have added.

Seriously, the salads I’m creating these days are so crazy rich with flavour, I’ve stopped adding dressing. Salads before the market always had balsamic vinegar or oil and vinegar. Market salads get a squirt of fresh lemon, or parmesan shavings, or nothing at all.

They are that good.

What’s the difference?

Before the market, my greens were either solely spinach, or a mixed container variety. I have no idea when they were picked, how they were picked, where they were picked. I have no idea how long they were in transport, how long they were in a cooler or freezer, or how long they were on the floor before I grabbed them.

At the market, my greens have either been picked that morning, or at the latest, the day prior. It is the ultimate freshness.

On top of that, I’m getting varieties I’ve never had before. I’m mixing my straight up lettuce greens, with kale, and spicy mustard greens, and red spiky lettuces, and microgreens, and purslane, and rainbow chard. On average, I’ve got four or five different greens in my salads at once – plus all the fresh veggies and herbs, and pretty much anything else I can find in my fridge too!

It’s like a Whole Foods salad at a fraction of the cost!

Market salads: so rich in flavour, they don’t need dressing!
Market salads: so rich in flavour, they don’t need dressing!

This week’s loot:

  • 1 bag of ruby streaks mustard greens: $3 (Zaklan Heritage Farms)
  • 1 head of green leaf lettuce: $1 (Bose & Sons Family Farm)
  • 1 green pepper: $1 (Fresh Quality Produce Ltd.)
  • 1 bunch rainbow chard: $3 (Ossome Acres)
  • 2 cucumbers: $2.50 (Yarrow Ecovillage)
  • 6 eggs: $3.25 (Rockweld Farm)
  • 1 block of smoked cheddar cheese: $8 (Golden Ears Cheesecrafters)
  • 1 bottle of 2014 pinot gris: $20 (Blind Tiger Vineyards)

In total we spent $41.75, but had $1 leftover from the previous week, leaving us over budget by 75 cents.

This week’s market meal was centred on the celebration of me completing a chemistry course I had dreaded/avoided for 1.5 years. It was a hard slog this summer, and pass or fail, I deserved a reward. As such, the brunt of our expenditure went to the bottle of pinot gris from Blind Tiger Vineyards, an organic-certified vintner located in the Okanagan.

To compliment the wine, my husband cooked up a peasant-style French meal of simple omelettes with basil, green onion stems, and sharp cheddar, and a side of boiled nugget potatoes drizzled in browned butter.

Market Meal: a French-inspired peasant’s meal of omelettes and boiled potatoes.
Market Meal: a French-inspired peasant’s meal of omelettes and boiled potatoes.

The only thing missing from the meal was we should have been eating it on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean in the south of France.

Ahhh, dreams…

The great thing about eggs, they’re a surefire win with the toddler age.
The great thing about eggs, they’re a surefire win with the toddler age.

The week in meals:

  • 3 breakfast smoothies – with rainbow chard
  • 1 breakfast portobello and egg “sandwich” – with ruby streaks, purslane, smoked cheddar
  • 1 breakfast frittata – with rainbow chard, Italian onion, smoked cheddar
  • 4 full-plate lunch salads – with green lettuce, rainbow chard, kale (from last week), pizzo mustard greens (from last week), purslane (from last week), cilantro (from last week), ruby streaks, cucumber, onion stems (from last week), and Italian onions (from last week).
  • 1 full-plate dinner salad
  • 6 half-plate dinner salads
  • 2 1/4-plate dinner salads
  • 2 servings grilled green pepper
  • 2.5 servings shrimp quinoa – with rainbow chard stems and leaves
  • 3 servings omelette – with 6 eggs, basil (from last week), green onion stems (from last week), smoked cheddar
  • 2.5 servings boiled potatoes (from last week)

The lesson learned this week: get to the market early.

In week’s past, my husband and I have arrived at the market around 3:30, shortly after it opens. Parking is ample, atmosphere is relaxed, and booths are stocked full. This week, however, we arrived closer to 5. Several vendors had sold out of items we wanted.

Farmers’ markets aren’t supermarkets; they don’t have an endless supply of product in storage; they’re going to run out. If you snooze, well, you lose.

Duly noted.

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: eating well, farmers market challenge, healthy food, salads

Farmers Market Challenge: The Value In Knowing Your Farmer

July 28, 2016 By newwestfarmers

This post is part of a series. Check it out!

With protein back on the definites list, my husband and I marched straight to the albacore tuna at the Wild West Coast Seafoods truck the second we got to the market.

After a week of veggies only, we were itching to try out some new meaty options. In our house, fish is tops. Not only do my husband and I love it, it’s one of the few protein options we don’t have to fight our three-year-old on, whether it be salmon, shrimp, cod, or halibut, the boy loves it all. But tuna, I’ve always associated it as being more expensive. I think in the seven years of our marriage, we’ve cooked it maybe once. Beyond a can, the only tuna eating we do is take-out sashimi. Shame.

Yet, in my research of Wild West Coast Seafood’s pricing, a pound of tuna for $14 was the second least expensive option on the menu.

Hmm… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: eating well, farmers market challenge, healthy living, Summer, tuna

Farmers Market Challenge: Go Veggie or Go Home

July 21, 2016 By newwestfarmers

This post is part of a series – take a look at the last one. 

This week was ground zero.

Since starting the $40 market-spending challenge, we had already had a selection of vegetables in our crisper before getting to the market. I didn’t yet have a true gauge as to how far $40 in veggies would get my family. But last Thursday, the crisper was barrren, the salad spinner empty, and the fridge screaming “Feed me! Feed me!”

This week’s theme: Go veggie or go home!

On average, we typically go to the mom-and-pop vegetable stand twice a week, spending around $70 per week to feed our family of three. That includes vegetables and fruit.

How did the market compare?

This week’s loot:

  • Rainbow chard: 2 for $5
  • kale and tatsoi mustard greens: 2 for $5
  • Head of green spiky lettuce: $3
  • Italian onions: $3
  • Radishes: $1.50
  • Microgreens: $5
  • 5 peaches: $5
  • 300 grams cherry tomatoes: $4.25
  • 2 red peppers: $3.25
  • 1 cucumber: $1.50
  • Green beans: $3
  • Fresh fennel and sage: FREE at the information booth

market-tomatoes

We spent $39.50, which was under budget by 20 cents if you factor in that we were over budget last week by 30 cents.

The best deals, hands down, were the Italian onions and rainbow chard.

Onions!
Onions!

When I saw the onions, 3 medium-sized purple bulbs with crazy long stems, I asked the Yarrow Eco Village vendor if the stems were edible. A huge smile spread across her face: “Oh yes, yes, yes,” she said. Stir-fry, salad, tuna sandwiches; just like scallions, but with a prominent eye-watering punch.

I kid you not, the sliced stems alone filled two tupperware containers. These suckers were like getting two completely different items for the price of one.

The rainbow chard was the same.

market-rhubarb

So many people throw the fibrous stalks away, either assuming them not to be edible or having no idea what to do with them. A quick Google search brought forth a ton of recipes: They can be pickled, used in salads, made into hummus, etc..

Ours went into a grilled rainbow chard salad, boiling and blanching the stems, along with the fava beans we acquired last week, and a roasted garlic bulb from two weeks ago, topped with fresh oregano.

The leaves were sautéed with red cabbage one night; added to a shrimp stir fry another night; and threw fresh into a multitude of salads and smoothies throughout the week.

All it took was a little more thinking/cooking outside our norm to obtain greater value from our market purchases.

Sautéed red cabbage and rainbow chard
Sautéed red cabbage and rainbow chard

The disappointment of the week was the yellow zucchini acquired last week. Unfortunately we didn’t do as much grilling as we had thought, and still had two zucchinis leftover by Monday. Given how long our greens from the market have lasted, I started to believe all market veggies were bionic.

They are not.

The zucchinis grew soft and were starting to lose their colour. I had hoped their insides would still be edible; that a little time on the grill would fix all. It did not. They were unbearably bitter.

Lesson learned.

Tally for the week:

  • 4 breakfast smoothies with greens
  • 5 breakfast/snack peaches
  • 1 breakfast with 2 eggs (from last week’s loot), microgreens and cherry tomatoes
  • 4 full plate salads
  • 4 side salads
  • 6 veggie-filled snacks
  • 1 serving sautéed chard red cabbage (from last week)
  • 2 large servings fava bean salad with chard stems and garlic
  • 4 servings chicken sauté with green beans, and onion
  • 4 servings shrimp stir fry with rainbow chard stems and leaves, onion and stems
  • 1 serving grilled green beans and onion
  • 1 sandwich with microgreens and aged havarti (from last week)
  • 4 servings tuna salad with microgreens and onion
market-breakfast
Everything market grown except the added slice of toast and spicy mustard

For the most part, the only salad supplementation we required for the week were carrots, avocado and mushrooms. We ran out of cucumber on Monday, radishes on Tuesday, and tomatoes and red pepper on Wednesday. We required a $22 fruit store run by Sunday (5 peaches was not going to get us far), which included the purchasing of 2 red peppers and an English cucumber.

Salad: 100% market fresh
Salad: 100% market fresh

In total, we spent $62 this week, which is less than our average, and our fridge is still loaded with greens, chard stems and leaves, red cabbage, green beans, 2 onion bulbs, and 1.5 containers of onion stems.

That means, next market, protein is back on the shopping list.

Happy shopping!

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: eating well, farmers market challenge, frugal meals, healthy living

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Our market is grateful to operate on the unceded land of the Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, and other Halkomelem speaking Peoples. We acknowledge that colonialism has made invisible their histories and connections to the land. We acknowledge the incredible gift this land is to our market and BC Agriculture. We commit to the ongoing work of decolonization and allyship.

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