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Farmers Market Challenge – Plan! Plan! Plan!

July 11, 2016 By newwestfarmers

Going into the first week of our $40 market-spending challenge, I knew my husband and I were going to have to rework the way we did things with regards to meal planning and formulating shopping lists. Previously, we’d sit down at the end of the week to figure out the meals for the coming week, and then set a plan for acquiring groceries based on those meals. But with the Royal City Farmers’ Market on Thursdays, meal planning needed to be pushed back to at least Wednesday, if not Tuesday.

Instead of just coming up with meals off the tip of our tongues, we researched online what vendors were at the market for the coming week. We knew, given the amount of salads and vegetables we eat, we wanted the majority of our stock to be produce. We wanted something unique, something you wouldn’t necessarily see at the grocery store, or even the vegetable-specific shops. We also wanted a protein, which we recognized would eat up a good chunk of our budget. As such, fruit was not a priority; my family eats fruit nearly every meal and snack of the day, and unfortunately a small basket just wouldn’t go a long way.

The week’s loot:

A bag of red-leaf lettuce: $1
A bag of green beans: $3
A pound of nugget potatoes: $2
A bag of ruby streaks mustard greens: $3
A bunch of radishes: $2.50
2 heads of garlic: $1.50
1 crown of broccoli: $5
1 yellow zucchini: $1
1 pint of peaches: $5
4 salmon burgers: $16

160701marketfare

Ruby streaks was of the unique realm. I’ve purchased pizzo mustard greens from Zaklan Farms previously, and LOVED them. They lasted a crazy long time in the fridge (TWO weeks!!!) without turning soggy or brown. I can’t say the same for the 300 gram plastic tubs of mixed greens we’ve recently been getting; within days, they’ve got soggy bits throughout, and often turn brown at the edges before finishing the tub. So this time I opted for the ruby streaks… pretty much because I thought it had the prettiest name of all greens!

The protein we settled on was salmon burgers from Wheelhouse Seafoods. At $4 for 1, we got 4, which served us 1 full dinner, plus an extra patty that I put on a lunch salad later in the week. Because they contained smoked salmon mixed with fresh salmon, they were super filling; I probably could have got by with a half serving, extending the meal even further. We paired the salmon burgers with grilled nugget potatoes and roasted garlic, along with a tossed salad with red-leaf lettuce, ruby streaks, radishes, and broccoli. The only components of the meal that weren’t market fare was the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and dressing.

The plates were practically licked clean – even the three-year-old’s!

160701marketmeal

The indulgence was the peaches. I know I said fruit wasn’t a priority, but it was the first time we’d seen peaches this season, and we LOVE peaches. There was no way we were leaving without a basket in hand.

There were 5 peaches in total, 4 of which we dusted with brown sugar and olive oil and grilled on the barbecue for dessert one night – yum!

160701peaches

Most expensive item: the broccoli. Most places had set prices for produce, but the one vendor we acquired the broccoli from used a scale. I thought it would be around $3 to $4, not $5. Comparably, that’s a bit more than we would have spent elsewhere (usually around $3). I know I saw other vendors with cheaper broccoli, so the lesson learned: shop around for the best deals.

Tally for the week:

• 3 full-plate lunch salads
• 2 lunch side salads
• 3 breakfast smoothies (with the greens)
• 7 dinner 1/2 plate salads
• 5 dinners with grilled vegetables (broccoli, green beans, zucchini, potatoes, garlic)
• 1 dinner (for 3) salmon burgers
• 1 lunch salmon burger
• 1 dessert (for 3) grilled peaches
• 1 breakfast peach split between the three of us
• several snacks of radishes and brocolli

We ran out of zucchini by day 4 (I’m the only one who eats zucchini); radishes by day 5; and potatoes pretty much after the first meal. However, we’ve still got a garlic head, that we may target for pizza, a quarter crown of broccoli, a hefty bag of green beans, and, despite the amount of salads we eat, those greens (both the red-leaf and the ruby streaks) are still going strong. (Note: we did already have spinach and other mixed greens in our fridge before this shopping excursion, so that offset the amount of market greens we used.)

This week, we’ve got our eyes on the grass-fed lamb from Vale Farms and a hearty bunch of fresh-picked, local carrots.

What are you buying?

Filed Under: Blog, Buying local, Featured, NWFM News, Uncategorized Tagged With: budget, Katie Bartel, market challenge, meal planning, New Westminster

Cinco-de-Tacos

May 16, 2016 By newwestfarmers

Written by RCFM contributor, Katie Bartel.

Here’s what NOT to do with spicy Mexican-style chutney:

Do NOT store it next to your preserved jams in the fridge.

Do NOT mistake it for cherry jam first thing in the morning.

Do NOT spread it over your morning toast.

Do NOT take that bite. Do NOT. Do NOT. Do NOT.

(Sorry about that dear husband).

A few weeks ago I picked up a jar of Muy Rico’s smoked Mexican chutney at the Royal City Farmers’ Market. It was between the chutney and the molé sauce, both samples of which happily tantalized my taste buds. But it was the chutney that intrigued me more. Molé, I knew what I could do with molé, but chutney, that one was a bit of an unknown.

Owner Nick Diaz, who immigrated from Mexico 14 years ago, started the business as a way of sharing his native culture with his new country. He wanted to provide authentic Mexican staples like salsa verdé, molé and chutneys with the freshest ingredients possible. Muy Rico’s products are “back to basics” featuring whole foods, fresh ingredients  – chipotle smoked peppers, red and green tomatillos, jalapeños, etc. – no preservatives.

“I want people to really taste a part of our culture,” Diaz said.

SalsaGuy2
Nick Diaz, owner of Muy Rico, sells an assortment of traditional Mexican condiments.

However, while the mystery of the Muy Rico chutney intrigued me, it may have been a little TOO much of an unknown.

This ingredient nearly stumped me. Every time I sought out a recipe online, the only thing that came up was recipes FOR chutney. I already had the chutney, but I needed a recipe to star it in. I didn’t want to use it just as a rub; that seemed too easy, almost like a cop out. And so, in a last ditch effort, I went to the Facebook:

Cooking friends, HELP!!!

Facebook didn’t let me down. Within minutes I had a selection of recipes to choose, but it was the one from my cousin suggesting fish tacos that screamed Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Hmm, I thought, May 5 was coming up, Cinco de Mayo, how so totally appropriate!!!

The next challenge, finding a recipe that was somewhat healthy and one I liked. That, in its entirety I did not find, and so, becoming ever more brave in my cooking abilities (Ha!) I winged it – took elements from a few different recipes, omitted things, added things, didn’t rely on measuring cups/spoons, but rather judgement. My chef of a pops would be so proud!

Dear readers, oh my goodness, fish tacos is most definitely the recipe for Mexican-style chutney! And made all the more perfect with pico de gallo, balsamic red cabbage slaw, and blackened white cod.

I’ll admit I was a bit concerned blackening the cod, as I knew the chutney already had a spicy kick to it, and I worried the blackening would be overkill. It wasn’t. Yes, the chutney is on the hotter side of the scale, and opens up the pores quite nicely, but its underlying smoky tones melded perfectly with the cajun, cumin, and Mexican chilli powder rub.

Let me just say, oh my belly love!!! I am sure to be dreaming about this flavour until we meet again!

If I had my way, Cinco de Mayo fish tacos would be every day!

cinco-de-tacos

BLACKENED FISH TACOS:

(Makes 8 small soft-shelled tacos)

Pico de Gallo:

~ 1/4 red onion – chopped

~ 1/4 c. cilantro – chopped

~ 1/2 container of large grape tomatoes (2 ripe plum tomatoes work too) – chopped

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

Red Cabbage Slaw:

~ 1.5c red cabbage – shredded

~ 1/2 c. cilantro

~ 2T balsamic vinegar

~ 1tsp raw honey

~ juice from 1 lime

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside

Blackened Fish:

~ 2T olive oil

~ 1 pound white fish (I used cod)

~ 1T cajun seasoning

~ 2 tsp Mexican chilli powder

~ 1/4 tsp ground cumin

Season each side of the fish fillets and toss them on to the barbecue. Allow each side to blacken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the fish is cooked through, remove from heat and flake it up with a fork.

Other ingredients:

~ soft-shelled tacos

~ Muy Rico chutney

Assembly:

Fish –> cabbage –> pico de gallo –> chutney drizzled on top

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Uncategorized, Vendors Tagged With: buy local, farmers market, Katie Bartel, Muy Rico, New Westminster, recipe

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