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Some home ec on getting even more value at farmers markets
More Bang for Your Farmers Market Bucks
The idea that fresh, local, sustainably produced food at the farmers market is soooo expensive was always an exaggeration. Now, after a few years of grocery store inflation, whatever gap exists between farmers markets and supermarkets has closed considerably.
And there are some ways that you can stretch your farmers market dollars even farther, as illustrated in my haul from The Lincoln Park Farmers Market Saturday morning.
First, If the product you want is priced by piece, get the big one.
For instance, take a look at that giant head of lettuce. I wasn’t even after that today. I just needed lettuce, and the Salanova lettuce at the stand of Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois) looked beautiful.
So I reached into the container to grab one and it kept coming… and coming… and coming. The vendor and I had to team up to squeeze this thing into a little bag.
First of all, getting super-sized produce cuts down on the price per ounce. Second, one of the advantages of farmers market shopping that doesn’t get talked about enough is that the veggies and fruit are so fresh — usually picked just a day or two before you buy it — that they have more (sometimes way more) shelf life than most grocery produce. So I’m confident that this head will last quite a while… though to be sure, the Benensons are going to be eating a lot of salad.
I actually wasn’t familiar with the variety Salanova, so I looked it up. Here’s how the Speciality Produce site describes it:
Salanova® lettuce, botanically classified as Lactuca sativa, is a full-sized variety developed for the baby lettuce market. Also known as Eazyleaf and Multileaf lettuce, Salanova® lettuce was developed to become a one-cut and ready variety, increasing production for farmers and reducing prep time for chefs. The lettuce has a unique core that can be removed with one cut, and the entire head is separated and ready for use. Salanova® lettuce originated in Europe and can be grown hydroponically, in fields, or greenhouses. It is favored by chefs and home cooks for its full flavor and texture, small size, dense head, and long storage life. Salanova® lettuce comes in red and green butterleaf, sweet crisp or frill, and oak leaf varieties.
And the nutritional value?
Salanova® lettuce contains calcium to build strong bones and teeth, fiber to regulate the digestive tract, and lower levels of iron to develop the protein hemoglobin for oxygen transport through the bloodstream. Red-leafed varieties also offer antioxidant benefits in the form of anthocyanins, phytonutrients that give the lettuce its dark burgundy hue and protect the cells against free radical damage.
Second, observe the hard plastic containers of strawberries (one open and one closed for illustration purposes) from Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan). If you are spending your hard-earned money on local produce, don’t you want to make sure you get the fragile stuff, like berries, home unscathed? Then you are looking at the solution: Bring hard-sided containers with you and ask the vendor to pour your purchase into the container instead of a bag.
Sure, some people may look at you like you’re weird, but you’re the one who will have the perfect, undamaged fruit when you get home.
Finally, the asparagus, also from Los Rodriguez Farm, was a dirt-cheap two bunches for $5, which underscores another way to save money. Vendors will often provide a discount for multiple purchases of certain items.
The rest of the relatively small market haul? Potatoes from Jacobson, and oyster mushrooms grown by River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin) and sold by The Urban Canopy (Chicago). I am going to use the mushrooms to make the Creamy Mushroom Toast recipe that Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe contributed to the Chicago Chefs Cookbook, which is on sale at all Mariano’s stores and raises funds for the Chi-Care non-profit that provides homeless individuals with basic needs.
Read all about the Chicago Chefs Cookbook in the article linked below.
Wait, isn’t that the same Sarah Stegner who co-hosts the Local Food Forum “Better” Dialogues webinars? Read on for the answer.
Co-host Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe and I invite you to join our conversation with leading experts at our next Local Food Forum “Better” Dialogues webinar, Can Sustainable Seafood Catch Up?
Millions of consumers and advocates for a better food system are demanding greater availability of sustainably caught fish and other aquatic life. It is common today to find ocean fish, freshwater fish and shellfish bearing sustainability certifications and descriptors such as "wild caught" and "line caught."
But the efforts to greatly expand sustainable practices aren’t quite going swimmingly. Most fish that people eat is not produced sustainably, and mass fishing practices create risks to ecologic balance and even the survival of species. What can we, as concerned individuals, advocates, chefs and consumers do to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices?
Our webinar on the topic will be presented on Zoom on Monday, June 3 at 7 p.m. central time.
We will engage in conversation with two leaders who preach and practice sustainability in our world's waterways. Both of the guest experts have been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, which will hold its annual awards ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
CHEF HAJIME SATO's Sozai restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Clawson is a little off the beaten path, but his reputation as a founder of the sustainable sushi category has led the James Beard Foundation to his door. A nominee for the nation's Outstanding Chef in 2023, he is up this year for Best Chef: Great Lakes.
Hajime’s sense of adventure led him to leave Japan for a year as an exchange student in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He later relocated to Seattle, Washington where he opened his award-winning restaurant Mashiko in 1994. In 2009, Hajime became one of the first sushi chefs to commit to using only sustainable seafood. When Hajime decided in 2019 to move to Michigan, where he opened Sozai, several of his former employees took over the Seattle restaurant. He is excited to share his experience and passion for sustainable seafood at Sozai.
NIAZ DORRY has devoted the past 30 years of her life to elevating public consciousness about the need to protect the world's environmentally challenged fisheries. The coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance since 2008, Niaz previous served with the Greenpeace organization's Fisheries and Oceans Campaign. In addition, Niaz is executive director of the National Family Farm Coalition.
Niaz will be recognized for this work when she receives the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for Policy Advocacy in June. According to the Foundation, Niaz "has played a pivotal role in steering federal legislation towards recognizing and supporting small-scale, traditional, and Indigenous fishing communities." It adds, "Her efforts to raise awareness about the critical role of small-scale, values-based fisheries in mitigating climate change and advancing gender and racial equity have inspired more sustainable practices within the restaurant industry."
Please join us for what is sure to be an engaging and enlightening discussion on this important topic. There will be a Q&A section, so bring your questions!
The co-hosts thank their supporters from Mariano's, Chicago Chefs Cook, Chicago Market —A Community Co-op, Community Food Navigator, Landmark Pest Management and Prairie Grass Cafe.
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