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Farmers’ Market Follow-Up

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Farmers' Market Haul

Farmer's Market Haul

If there’s one thing I retained from 3 years as a Brownie it’s “Be Prepared.” In fact, I might be a smidgen compulsive on the research front, wanting to know as much as possible about a situation before heading into it. So it was that I asked for helpful hints in advance of my first trip to the local farmers’ market this past weekend.

Armed with my new-found knowledge I approached Saturday’s blustery market with my own shopping bag, plenty of 5s and 1s and a fresh dose of optimism. I started with a circuit around the pavilion to get an idea what all was available then went back to where I started and began to buy. Unlike the accidental reconnaissance of last month most tables featured well-identified price lists or tags, sparing me having to ask about more than a couple of prices.

Cash-wise I erred on the side of caution and brought double what I ended up spending (just as well–now I won’t) have to go back to the bank in 2 weeks when it’s my turn to make the menu again. If farmers’ markets gave receipts, here’s what mine would have looked like:

$9 for 4 petite acorn squash (1.50 each) and 2# of red potatoes ($3)
$2.50 for a basket of 6 sweet potatoes
$3 for Vidalia onions ($1 each)
$1.20 for a small rhizome of fresh turmeric
$10 for butter crunch lettuce, Swiss chard and arugula
$1.25 for a small rosemary plant

Since local shops take up most of the slots in the shopping center that hosts the farmers’ market, I also stopped into the seafood shop for some tilapia fillets and shucked oysters and into the patisserie for a round loaf of fresh-baked bread and a couple of pain au chocolats for Todd and I. (Future trips may start in Au Peche Mignon rather than than end there, especially if it stays this chilly–they serve coffee, too!)

Now, what to do with this bounty?

The oysters will be made into oyster stew served with the hearty bread from the bakery for a nice, light but warming supper. The acorn squash are the perfect size to steam, hollow, fill and bake with chicken, zucchini and hominy–a deconstructed take on my favorite Spanish Fork Chicken Stew). An onion tart seems very likely with the vidalias and Swiss chard with a salad of butter crunch and arugula on the side and the tilapia will be simply pan-fried and served with the roasted red potatoes. That just leaves the sweet potatoes to be scalloped alongside some chicken-fried steak.

To be honest, I’ve got no idea (yet) what I’ll do with the turmeric, I was just so stoked to see it in it’s natural state (to hear that it grows so well down here and actually likes partial shade was a bonus–I may try planting a part of mine just to see what happens!) that I had to buy some just to play with. The same stand sold ginger and baby lettuces and was one of the few seen using a scale as opposed to pricing per piece or bunch.

My knitted bag (made before every grocery store and it’s cousin started selling their own reusable shopping bags and based on the Itsybitsy bag at Knitty.com) was soon stretched to it’s limits and I felt positively giddy at buying fresh and local ingredients so near my home for, in many cases, less than I was used to seeing in the store. With that and the purchases from the other locally owned shops, my list for the supermarket is fairly short.

I can hardly wait until spring when the rest of the market is full and the new produce starts appearing!

Farmer’s Market Etiquette

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Now that the dust has settled from the holidays, it’s time to get back to routines–both old and a few new.

We moved just before Christmas and, among other things, our new location puts us within 5 minutes of a local Farmer’s Market–possibly the best in town–so one of my new habits, this year, is to start shopping there for produce before heading to the grocery store for the rest.

Starting next weekend.

But as I think about it more, some questions come to mind. Being a researcher by habit and knowing that some of the best sources may be just outside the blog’s door, I thought I’d muse here and get what feedback I could before my first foray.

Bags: Bring your own, sure, but what kind?

I’ve been out to the farmer’s market location later in the day as folks were packing up and I’ve noticed some leaving with plastic bags, but most seem to favor canvas or some other reusable type. What I wonder, though, is if sellers get perturbed (think less of you or even charge more) if you’re reusable shopping bag screams the name of a grocery chain?

Q1: Have you ever been up-sold or treated differently based on the bag you carried?

Cash: How much and what denominations?

Obviously, cash is the norm for a farmer’s market. Thing is, I almost never carry cash (this is yet another reason why I’ve not made any serious in-roads into this sort of shopping), so I’ve got to really plan ahead. In addition to knowing what amount of cash to carry, is having a set of twenties crisp from the ATM going to cause issues for the vendor’s making change? If so, I’ll need to plan a trip to the bank counter to get some smaller bills.

Q2: How much cash (and in what form) do you usually take to the Farmer’s Market for a week’s worth of veggie shopping?

Vendors: Do you shop around or pick a stall and stick to it?

At this farmer’s market (again, I’ve done a little visual reconnaissance on the odd weekend) there seem to be fewer single-produce stalls and more multi-product farms represented. In that case, when a lot of the sellers carry a similar variety, is it best to shop a single seller for the bulk of your buying or spread around your dollars? To that end, will buying a variety of items froma single source help your bottom line?

Q3: What’s your buying strategy, facing a lot of the same just at different tables?

Price: If it’s not listed, is it cool to ask?

Growing up strapped for cash (in a pocket or the bank), we joked a lot that ‘if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.’ While that may not necessarily apply at the farmer’s market (or most of my current shopping), I’m not used to having to ask the price and, yes, might be a little uncomfortable doing so. As what I’ve seen, so far, leans away from sellers putting up signs or tags, what’s the best way to inquire about price–especially if you’re shopping for the best value as well as the best produce?

Q4: How do you compare prices without being a heel?

Farmer’s market veterans, help a newbie out and save me the embarrassment of a blunder this coming weekend!

Eat, Drink & Be Merry…

Nibbles

For tomorrow? We Diet*.

At least, that seems to be the motto of many, this time of year. Over the next month there will be open houses and company dinners, family feasts and friendly parties, bountiful tables, gift baskets and bar carts.

So it’s no surprise that one of the most common resolutions, come January 1st, is to Diet in one form or another.

The problem is, or can be, that Diets are notoriously unreliable. Many just plain don’t work. And why is that?

I think it boils down to 3 main concepts:

  1. Diets are negative.
  2. Diets are restrictive.
  3. Diets are temporary.

Negative because many focus on the can’t-haves and the must-nots. Restrictive when large categories of food are eliminated from the diet–no carbs, no fats, no this, no that. And temporary because they are used to reach a specific goal and then abandoned (if not abandoned earlier when the dieter becomes discouraged). Only the weight loss, if achieved at all, cannot be maintained when old habits are returned to and, thus, the cycle begins again. There’s little to no lifestyle changes that stick outside of the Diet period.

Not to mention the fact that a month spent feasting at the holiday table takes several months of effort to undo.

This year, though, my friends and I decided to Diet early.

Yes, you heard right:

I’m currently on a Diet.

Despite the fact that I don’t believe in Diets at all, I agreed to try this one with some friends for a few reasons:

  1. It’s based on positive reinforcement and rewards.
  2. It’s permissive, allowing for days off when life interferes with our best intentions.
  3. It’s focused on more than just weight loss.

It’s called The Game On! Diet and it’s co-authored by a television writer and a bodybuilder, so take from that what you will–I didn’t read the book (reading Diet books is a special kind of hell I don’t choose to put myself through, though I hear–from our ring-leader–that it’s a good read). Instead of counting calories and scale-watching (though you do weigh yourself at least weekly), you earn points for eating balanced meals (5 a day), getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, daily exercise and even starting good habits and working to stop bad ones. It’s fun to compete against friends and have teammates to celebrate and commiserate with.

That said, it’s not perfect and I’d be lying if I said I was 100% drinking the kool-aid. While it does not suggest blocking carbohydrates or fats from your daily diet, it does lump all fruits together with the carbs as well as protein-rich beans and legumes. In fact, if you’re a vegan who prefers not to get your protein solely from soy products, you would not be able to follow the dietary guidelines as set forth by the book and website’s guidelines. Also, calories are not counted but portion sizes are–even though a fist-sized portion of whole grain is not necessarily the same calorie or nutrient-wise as an equal volume of fresh fruit. But that’s not the end of the world–Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and other meal programs can be followed in place of the Game On! guidelines.

And my bladder has yet to be convinced that 3 Liters (approximately 12 8-ounce glasses) of water is a good idea.

What I Hope to Gain (or Lose)

Do I expect to lose weight doing this? Not really. If I do, that’s a wonderful side-benefit. My primary motivation was to finally get a daily exercise regime started. Game On! only requires 20 minutes a day, 6 days a week in order to earn 140 points for the week (expecting you to take a day off from that, too). That, it turns out, is quite doable even for someone like me who hates exercise with a passion–I’ve been getting up early and spending my 20 minutes with the WiiFit before work and it’s not that bad! I’m also improving my posture by ditching the slouching habit (mindfulness in all forms) and practicing my baritone near-daily as my newly started habit.

There’s as much chance that I’ll be paying for an opposing teammates pedicure, next month, as enjoying one of my own (the agreed-upon prize at the end of the 4 weeks), but I’m going to do my best to not let me team down.

*For the purposes of this discussion, capital-D Diet refers to the departure from your nutritional norms in the effort to “better” yourself. Little-d diet refers to the general concept of food and nutrition.

“Todd’s” Turkey

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There is some concern in my family about the fact that I only purchased a 17.22 lb turkey for Thursday.

Now, we’re 6 people. Even discounting bones that’s a LOT of turkey per person. Last year’s bird was just over 21 pounds and we had turkey coming out of our ears. Even after my brother took some home. And we froze some for gumbo, later. Not to mention that it barely fit in our large roasting pan.

So 17.22 lbs seemed quite adequate to me.

“But Jason’s already salivating over Todd’s turkey,” Mom informs me.

This same Jason who already went to 3 other Thanksgiving dinners before mine but who still ate a plate full and was moaning in misery on my living room floor afterward. This same Jason who has to go to FOUR dinners before mine this year.

I’m not exactly worried.

But let’s get to the heart of the matter, here.

Todd’s turkey.

Last year was the first year we hosted Thanksgiving and, therefore, roasted the bird. Usually Mom’s job, it just didn’t make sense for her to have to cart a turkey across town (or, even, around the corner of town as it actually is from her place to ours). She brought a couple of sides and we handled the rest.

This was also the first holiday Todd & I were living together for, so some collaboration was in order. Thrilled to be getting a crack at the turkey but knowing I couldn’t go too far astray from the usual without shocking my family’s palate, I planned to supplement the usual turkey seasoning (quartered onions & apples in the cavity plus a few garlic cloves) with some herbed-butter coins placed under the skin.

Right about the time I voiced that idea, Todd suggested we brine the turkey. Having never done that before it seemed as good an idea as any.

The turkey was amazing.

But it was a joint effort, as I continue (as does Todd) to point out to my mother. Nonetheless, because of a bit of salt and water, the turkey of note is known as Todd’s turkey.

Harrumph.

To Brine a Turkey

There are several ways to do this but this is ours and, hey, it’s won Todd fame with my family so it must work okay.

  1. Clean out a good-sized cooler that will hold the turkey with space around it for liquid and ice.
  2. Line the cooler with a fresh (unscented) tall kitchen bag.
  3. Divest the turkey of it’s neck and giblets, give it a good rinse and place inside the bag inside the cooler.
  4. Combine kosher salt and water (1 cup per gallon) as needed and add to the bag inside the cooler, making sure to completely cover the turkey.
  5. Tie up the kitchen bag, fill the space around the bird with ice.
  6. Let sit in this brine (topping off the ice as needed and, if it’s a really big bird, turning it once) for 24 hours or so.
  7. Rinse the turkey and season at will prior to roasting.

Last year our turkey was a little icy on the inside, still, but this actually worked in our favor as it helped keep the temperature of the turkey-and-brine below 40 degrees. If you’ve got room in your fridge (and if so, I envy you), you can brine it in a bag (or 2–no spills allowed!) or large container in the fridge. I’ve even seen where it’s suggested to use a crisper bin if the bird will fit.

You can also add other seasonings to your brine, but we went with simple last year and had excellent results.

The Rest of the Table

What will appear alongside Todd’s turkey, this year? Here’s our menu:

Baked Brie en Croute with Figs and Honey
Spinach Dip and Crackers

Buttered and Brined Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Turkey Gravy
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli and Cheese
Eggplant & Zucchini Gratin
Rice and Pigeon Peas
Garlic Green Beans
Parker House Rolls
Cranberry Sauce (jellied and whole berry)

Ambrosia Salad
Pecan Pie
Amaretto Pumpkin Pie w/Gingered Pepitas
Caramel Apple Cake

Yes, I know, we’re only 6 people. And 2 will have eaten several times before they make it to our evening supper. And 1 still isn’t 100% sure he’ll make it if work intervenes.

But the leftovers will be glorious.

Feed Your Ears

Make sure to check out the November episode of Random Acts Radio: Grab a Spoon. There’s over an hour of food-related tunes to keep you company in the kitchen or on the road. Sage (and safe–that was a typo too good to pass up) Thanksgiving wishes  to all, and may all your waistbands be elastic.

Grazing Through the Greek Food Festival

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As the weather turns cooler (at least in theory) it seems like Tallahassee cranks up the social calendar to full force. On the docket this weekend was the Greek Food Festival at the Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church.

This is an event we look forward to each year for the delicious food and little else. It’s generally crowded and noisy, and we’ve often gone long enough to pick up one of the plated dinners ($15 a piece) and a tray of desserts and fled to the car (which has been parked a block away, at least). I know, that doesn’t sound incredibly festive, does it?

Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church

Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church

Well, this year we tried things a little differently. We slowed down, enjoyed the evening and admired the church by the light of the full moon.

Gyro

Gyro... pardon the half-eaten quality, I kept forgetting to take the photos until after a few bites

Because of Todd’s current job and it’s habit of having him work a bit late, we didn’t make it to the Festival until after dark, around 7:30. It was no less crowded or noisy (thanks to the band, but to call it noise probably isn’t acurate–the music was great but there was an added din from the crowd) but we decided to take our time.

First up, a gyro. Even though there’s a Greek restaurant across the street from my office I often forget about it. Thus, it’s probably been a year or my since my last gyro. Why I’ve gone so long without it’s delectable goodness is beyond me, but the one we got was well worth the wait in line and the $6 a piece they cost.

Foregoing the dinner plates meant that in order to enjoy a full meal we’d be waiting in a few more lines before the night was done. It turns out that this is a perfect way to graze through an evening meal. You get your first course and eat it while deciding which line to stand in next.

In our case we went for the A La Carte booth that carried various and sundry side dishes: moussaka, kota riganati, patates, Greek-style cole slaw and, our selections of the evening, spanikopita and tiropita ($3 each). We each has a spinach pastry of our own but split the cheese one. That turned out to be a very good idea as the tiropita was incredibly rich, half of one was more than plenty.

Spanikopita and Tiropita

The crowds around the three jewelry and souvenir booths were still pretty thick and it was getting late so we went ahead and got in line for the pastry room. Oh, my, this is what dreams are made of. Yes, I’m perfectly capable of making my own baklava and sundry other pastries but it’s just not the same. The line is long to get in but moves fairly quickly and, once inside, the pastries are all laid out with plenty of help to serve you whatever you like.

Greek Pastries

We start with the Express Box ($15 for finikia, kataife, kourambiedes, walnut swirl, pecan swirl, almond cookie and a baklava triangle) and then add a few favorites to our tray on the way to checking out ($2-$3 a piece). The kataife look like shredded wheat biscuits but are soaked in honey and filled with nuts, they are my absolute favorites. Second runner-up is the galatoboureko (glazed filo rolls filled with custard) and Todd loves the almond cookies and kourambiedes (wedding cookies covered in powdered sugar).

A new find, this year, was rice pudding ($4) that was not overly sweet with grains of rice that still held their texture–it was divine and we almost missed it because they were only on the right-hand side of the room and we’d taken the left side. Thankfully I spied it between groups passing by and snagged a cup.

Greek Fries

Greek Fries

Those were for later, though. First we headed over to the Taverna for a glass of sweet Greek wine($4 a glass) then browsed the vendor booths, the crowds around which were thinning out, and had a baby raccoon run right behind us. I figure he was either looking for leftovers or trying to tell us to pack it in for the night.

But we had one more stop to make. The wine was nearly gone and we needed something salty to balance the sweet so over to the Souvlaki tent where the Greek Fries ($3) were hiding. At this point in the evening (9 pm) the lines were practically non-existent and the crowds had thinned enough where you didn’t have to hurt your neck trying to see the band and the dancers on stage.

The fries are awesome. To duplicate them at home season your favorite fries with oregano, garlic powder, salt, paprika and parmesan cheese. You know the only thing that would have made them better? Some garlic aioli to dip them in.

We figured, at the end of the night, we’d spent pretty much the same amount on food as we did in previous years when it was glorified take-out and had a lot more fun in the process. We grabbed a couple of our refillable water bottles out of the fridge before leaving the house so, even with the wine, we spent $32 dollars on dinner and $34 in the pastry hall (but those will last us for several days, still), which is a great deal considering our usual night outs are at least another $30 and don’t provide us excellent desserts for the following week.

Have you checked out your local food festivals, lately?