Wednesday, July 29, 2009

It cost too much!

It's hump day, that means it's time to head to the Main Street Farmers Market! (Or think about going to your local market wherever you live. For you Pittsburgher's, there's one on the Northside every Friday)

Today, I'm going to to tackle one of the biggest excuses people make for not going to a farmers market. Though, before I do that I'd like to show you what happened to my purchases from last weeks Main Street Market.



The photo above shows the tastiest pork chop I've ever tasted, compliments of Sequatchie Cove Farm and the excellent grilling skills of my roommate, Joseph Shipp. The pork chops were marinated in olive oil, fresh rosemary from the garden, and garlic from River Ridge Farm. (Marinate over the duration of one tennis match.)
Along with the amazing chops we roasted potatoes, beets, onions, and celeriac together with olive oil and garlic. (350 for about an hour) To top it all off we sauteed the stems and greens from the beets. And I couldn't possibly forget to mention our local beverage of choice, George Dickle Tennessee whiskey. This local meal, derived completely from the market, was nothing short of amazing. This was not due to our skills, but because of the labor of the farmers and animals. Add fellowship between good friends, and you've got a meal.

Now for this weeks topic: It costs too much to buy food from a farmers market!

I'll be very clear and transparent about my budget and spending, with the hope that it may inspire. Disclaimer: I'm a single 24 year old dude. I have no idea what shopping for a family would be like. For the sake of reality and to avoid my inherent idealism, I'm going to direct this thought toward my fellow twenty-somethings without kids.

I make $12 dollars an hour before tax. After paying taxes, rent, cell phone, car insurance, tithe, etc... I have about $400.00 to spend during a two-week period. I must mention that I have $15,000 left to pay in college debt. I want to send as much of that $400.00 to debt, rather than extraneous spending. I say this only to show you that I have to pinch my wallet as much as the next guy/girl. I maintain an active lifestyle and manage to eat lots of local food on a tight budget.

A long time ago people used to give most of the money in their budget to fresh food. Not so much anymore. This old tradition has inspired my budget. Here is what my two week budget looks like...

Grocery (or market) - $120
Fuel - $24
Restaurant - $20
Entertainment - $15
(you don't need to spend money to enjoy life)
*

If I need anything else (tooth brush, shirt, deodorant, planned trip, etc...), I add it too my budget at the beginning of my two week pay period or I save up for it.

* Most of the time I exceed my budget. I just started keeping one about 4 months ago. You've got to forgive yourself if you go over. Just make sure you have the money to spend! Budgets are as much organic as they are logical. Give yourself time to build a discipline.

I spend $40 - $50 over a two week budget period at the farmers market. I started at $20 bucks each week. Note to self: You must stop at the ATM before you go to a farmers market! Most farmers don't accept plastic.

You don't have to replace your local grocery store with your local farmers market. Think of it like a bike. Yes, a bike is an effective way to save the environment. However, it's not possible to use a bike for everything. Or, we're not ready to use a bike for everything. The same goes for the market. Start small. Go to your banks ATM and take out the minimal withdrawal amount. (Mine's twenty bucks) Take that amount and spend it on your local market.

Here are some other short tips that have worked for me:

- Eat with other people. Yes, it cost more when you're doing the cooking. Eventually, you'll have people cooking for you as well.

- Don't buy too much meat. You really don't need that much and it's expensive.

- Eat simple, local meals. (And pack a lunch) All of my meals don't look like the one above. I usually eat the same breakfast and lunch everyday. For breakfast I cook local eggs and enjoy a side of Niedlov's bread or oatmeal from bi-lo. For lunch I make myself a peanut butter sandwich with Niedlov's bread. With my sandwich I'll have carrots, cucumber or tomato from the market. Sometimes, I'll take celery and put peanut butter on it. You should know that I do shop at grocery stores, I love apples, among other things, and my market doesn't carry them.

- Pick out simple recipes for dinners and cook for the week. I cook a lentil soup. Aside from the lentils, all of the ingredients come from the market. I store the soup for dinners that I don't have time to cook for.

- Start a budget.

- Take a risk. You may be like me, I never knew how to cook. If I couldn't microwave it, I wasn't buying it. Take a risk and challenge yourself to buy something you never heard of. Ask someone at the market what they do with it.

Lastly, I will state, farmers markets can be more expensive than the grocery store. And if you're not acquainted, the market can take time to adjust to. I think you have to ask yourself, "what do I value?" I've decided that eating good food is important to me and I've manage with eat my values on a small budget. That's not to say that my values are better than yours.

My goal is that You, Me and Everyone In Between realizes the importance of and partake in eating good, healthy, local food!

Cheers!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

It's actually not that painful

I've been to the poorest country in the world and I live in the richest. In each place the people eat. Let's face it, we all have to eat. Even if we weren't required to, I think we'd still eat. I mean, who doesn't enjoy eating?

That is why I have selected food as the theme of You, Me & Everyone in between. (If you haven't noticed)

Each Wednesday I'll post a little note related to food.

Why Wednesday? The farmers market is on Wednesday. My goal is to encourage readers/eaters to taste something local. Again, if I can, you can.

Today, I'll write briefly about my first experiences with farmers markets.

If I were to think way back to my first experience at a farmers market, it would definitely be on the North Side of Pittsburgh, PA. (There are actually farms in and near the steel town) I remember walking with my sister and mother through a parking lot full of farmers selling their food. I don't remember what we bought, or if we even bought anything. Later in life, my dad and I would park near the market's space before Pirate or Steeler games. For some reason, each time I'd pass the spot, I'd remember the first experience with my mom and sister. Oddly enough, an image of husks of corn and tents with farmers sporting beards wearing overalls vividly pops into my mind. I also remember looking up to everyone, I was quite young.

As far as I know, my second experience was at a farmers market last year in Falls Church, VA. I experimented with vegetarianism for a few months. The market seemed like a logical place to go. I remember thinking the food was priced higher than a grocery store. At the time I was living in community with some friends and I wasn't sure I could convince them that we needed to buy food from the market. (I mean, Sam's was way cheaper) Another set back was my lack of comfort in the kitchen. I had no clue how to cook what the farmers we're selling. End of story, I never bought anything and I never went back.

Fast forward to a month or two ago. Inspired by foodies in Chattanooga and reading The Omnivores Dilemma, I went back to a farmers market, the Main Street Market in Chattanooga, TN. As I entered the market I felt a rising anxiety. What was I going to buy? More importantly, how was I going to cook it? I was either too embarrassed or too proud to ask one of the farmers. (especially in front of other people) Eventually, in my anxiety I ended up picking out $20+ dollars worth of produce. I couldn't pronounce most of it, let alone cook it. I was facing buyers remorse! How do I cook Kohl Rabi!?

Luckily, Bill Keener of SCF stopped by the design studio the next day. In private, I asked, "How do I cook this stuff"? His reply was simple, almost too simple for me. He said, "just saute or steam them"! In my mind I imagined some complicated recipe, which was scary with my limited cooking experience. It took me a few cooking experiences to stop over thinking the process and just saute or steam (or bake). I wrote about and photographed my first experience cooking food from the farmers market. Here's a link...

I just returned from the Main Street Market and here's what I have to show. Now I just buys what's different or new and figure out what to do with it later, of just ask a farmer.



Two tomatos that I've never tried before... Green Zebra and the big ole' yellow one thanks to Signal Mountain Farm.
Eggs from SCF. Produced by chickens that spend their days roaming pastures near the cattle. (A morning necessity).
Zuchini compliments of River Ridge Farm.
Celeriac (which I'm told is great roasted with beets) from Crab Tree
Garlic from Crabtree
Pork Chops from SCF
Beets (which were a first last week) from River Ridge Farm
Onions from SCF

Quick note: For each purchase I engaged the farmer/seller in a discussion about the food I was buying and how to cook it. They had no trouble answering my questions. Not once did I feel as if I was annoying them. I didn't lose my pride either. In fact, I left the market quite rejuvenated from my conversations with the high spirited folks at the market selling food. Now it's time to nourish my body with great local food from Chattanooga!

It's also time that You, Me & Everyone In Between try a local farmers market.

May you eat extremely well this week!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Never cooked beets before


















Baked Eggplant Sandwich
egg plant - signal mountain farm
four seed bread - niedlov's
onion - river ridge farm
tomato - crabtree

Sides
beets - river ridge farm (the greens and stem of a beet are amazing sauteed)
kale - williams Island
zucchini - river ridge
garlic: river ridge
shiitake mushrooms: sequatchie cove farm (so easy! saute with butter)


















Omelet:
eggs - sequatchie cove farm (pasture raised, free roaming chickens)
kale - williams island farm
tomato - crabtree farms
shiitake - sequatchie cove farm
onion - river ridge
zucchini - river ridge
egg plant - signal mountain farm
garlic - river ridge

If I can create these two meals, (which were amazingly tasty!) then you certainly can! I used to be intimidated by the market. I thought the food required "mysterious" recipes. I mean, I'm only learning how to cook, I had no clue what to do with the stuff I was buying. I remember being very anxious as I walked the market for the first time. Eventually, I started asking the farmers for their advice. I was shocked by the simplicity. Saute, Steam, or Boil. How could it be so easy? I thought I had to follow some strange recipe on epicurious?

Once you manage to saute, steam or boil your food, you can try to make other easy recipes like omelets and baked egg plant sandwiches. For my omelet I pulled whatever I could find from the fridge. First I sauteed it all, then I put it into the omelet. A friend of mine always says, "good ingredients make for good food". I'm definitely a believer in that statement, after these two meals. You'll also come to the light, once you try out the Main St. Market (or any market around the country).

You, Me & Everyone In Between has to eat. Why not eat good?!

Main Street Farmers Market
In between Market and Broad St.
Wednesdays, 4:30 - 6:00 pm. (Get there early)
See you there!