To Market to Food Market

Desert citrus

Tonight – Feb. 8 – your view of food sustainability in Tucson ’s future may change forever.  The Sustainable Tucson Working Group on Food & Agriculture will engage your mind and your tastebuds in thinking about the sources of food in Tucson, Pima County, and Southern Arizona.

The February General Meeting of Sustainable Tucson will feature presentations and activities designed to help us understand our food resources by looking at food facts and information that define our food supply, population, farmers and ranchers, farmers markets, traditional food sources and eating trends for local and natural foods in the desert.

Join in.  Be prepared to participate. The event is free and open to the public. Donations are suggested at the door.

For more information, call 395-0663

Sustainable Tucson General Meeting
Monday, February 8, 2010
5:45 pm to 8 pm;  doors open at 5:30 pm
Joel D Valdez Library (Stone and Alameda )
Lower Level Meeting Room
(Parking available in underground garage; enter on Alameda .)

holy guacamole Super Bowl

One of the biggest grocery spending day which is only second to Thanksgiving happens this Sunday, Feb 7. Yep, there’s something magical about the Super Bowl, food, and football.

Avocado Wars

Sunflower Market has Hass avocados for 39 cents/each. Limes are 4 for $1 and roma tomatoes costs 39 cents a pound. What a deal! Stock up.

Safeway serves up avocados at 3 for 99 cents. You can also get 8 pieces of fried chicken or all natural roasted chicken (trans fat free) for $3.99. The Football Meal Deal is $9.99 for 16-inch take & bake pizza, 25 bone-in or boneless chicken wings, and 2 liter of Coke. Club Cards required for the deals.

Food City has avocados 2 for $1 and Herdez salsa 2 for $3. Food City also has mini sandwich trays and mini chimi trays.

Fry’s avocados cost $1/each, roma tomatoes are $1/pound and cilantro 2 for $1. You can get $5 off any party tray of $25 or more; 24 hours notice recommended. Lots of cakes are decorated to look like footballs or football fields including a Carvel Snickers football ice cream cake for $6.99. Today is the first Wednesday of the month and 55+ year olds get 10% off their total purchases. VIP cards required.

Albertsons has avocados for 99 cents/each and roma tomatoes for 99 cents/pound and cilantro 3 for $1. They have the same chicken deal as Safeway but fried only and buy 1, get 2 free of pork baby back ribs (in store coupon required).

Holy Guacamole
I once heard a rumor that the sale of avocados was over the top on Super Bowl Day. It’s only a rumor according to snopes.com. Sales do rise by 5 percent not 67 percent. The biggest selling holiday for avocados is Cinco de Mayo (May 5).
However, guacamole is a popular dip to serve for Super Bowl parties. It’s a perfect match for tortilla chips, chips of all kind, and crudites or raw vegetables. Avocados are usually on sale the week before the Super Bowl. Don’t wait until the last minute to buy the avocados because they will most likely need to ripen.
Avocado is a nutritious “fruit” filled with monosaturated oils otherwise known as good fats or healthy fats.

Big Black Radish

I’m still mulling through my Tucson CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Jan. 15.  I try my best not to let food go to waste.

Tonight I decided to try  the black Spanish radish (see photo).

I don’t know what it is but black food is not my first color of choice. I like black beans and some forbidden rice but should food be black? Food shouldn’t be black just like it shouldn’t be gray.

According to Tucson CSA newsletter, the black Spanish radish is nearly a forgotten vegetable. Its skin is dark and its flesh is white, pungent, and dry, with a pure, luminescent quality. The black Spanish radish can be eaten grated or sliced, eaten raw or cooked.

The black Spanish radish has been around since the time of the pharoahs. The French call it Gros Noir d’Hiver or the Big Black of Winter. In ancient times it was used as a cough remedy. This radish has a tonic effect on the respiratory system, activates liver cells, maintains a healthy gallbladder, aids digestion, is antibacterial and has a diuretic effect.

I’m not that fond of red radishes but I will have to give the black Spanish radish a try. After all, how could I not want my liver cells activated?

I did grate some on my salad tonight which added pungent white puffs of crunch. I may just dice and throw in soup.

Here are some intriguing recipes using black Spanish radish.

Seasonable root vegetables

Earlier this month, a new farmers market opened at the Park Place Mall and now, starting Friday Jan. 22, another farmers market begins from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  UPDATE: THE STARTING DATE HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JAN. 29 BECAUSE OF RAIN-OUT. (For a week, we have been hearing about this big storm. Everyone must be glued to KOLD-TV’s Chuck George.)

According to the press release — The Friday Farmers’ Market at Udall Park is an answer to the increasing demand for local produce serving Tucson’s eastside. With strong support from Ward II Councilmember Rodney Glassman’s office, Tucson Parks & Recreation, and Tucson Originals, the Udall Park Farmers’ Market promises to grow into a vital gathering spot for the surrounding community.

Udall Park Farmers’ Market will celebrate Tucson’s unique culinary traditions featuring Tucson’s chefs creating dishes with local seasonal foods.  The Market will be located towards the back of the Park and is best accessed from Sabino Canyon Road and East Tanque Verde Roads.  The inaugural market will run as a pilot through May 14, 2010.

This Udall Park farmers market is put on by the Tucson farmers market which is held at Oro Valley on Saturdays and St. Philip’s Plaza on Sundays.

Who goes to what farmers market and why?

What is your favorite farmers market?

Garlic is the desert rose

Farmers market kids club
At the Santa Cruz River Farmers Market on Thursday January 21, kids will have a story hour from 4 to 5 p.m. I hope they don’t get rained out. I love how the community comes together like this. Story hour is in conjunction with the Pima County Library.

For the shoppers, lots of fresh reasonably priced locally-grown seasonal produce to choose from such as mustard greens, kale, chard, beets, pink lady apples, cilantro, hydroponic tomatoes, garden seedlings and much more.

The time is from 3 to 6 p.m. at Speedway & Riverview between El Rio Center and Arizona School of Deaf and Blind.

Tucson grocery store deals

99 cents or less
Safeway has been advertising new lower prices on TV. This week they are having a 99 cents (or less sale) with such items as 6-oz package of fresh blueberries, 8 to 12-oz packages of Fresh Express salad greens, 12 to 16-oz packages of frozen vegetables, artisan breads, and more. You must have a Club Card to get the deal. (valid Jan 20-26)

smart tags
Sunflower Market is trying to make it simpler for the consumer to eat healthy. Look for colorful tags around the store to designate smart celiac/gluten free (orange tag), smart heart (red tag), smart carb (blue tag), and smart weight (purple tag). Deals include royal mandarin oranges for 77 cents/pound and russet potatoes for 17 cents/pound. (valid Jan 20-27)

99 cents is a popular number
Food City is also promoting 99 cents deals: 2 avocados for $1, 2 for 99 cents 20-oz bag of shoestring fries, 2 pounds of bananas for 99 cents, bone-in split chicken breasts for 99 cents/pound, big roll of paper towels, etc. (valid 1/18-1/24)

carnivores
Fry’s is once again offering a buy one, get one free of USDA choice boneless beef bottom round roast (the ad doesn’t show the price per pound with the VIP card). Although it looks  if meat is your choice of protein, much of it is on sale. Here avocados are also 2 for $1, minneolas are 88 cents/pound, fresh baked baguettes are 10 for $10, hot house cucumbers are $1. (valid 1/20-26)

no cards here
Albertsons doesn’t have a special card but some deals require their in-store coupons. They also double and triple discounts on manufacturer coupons. Buy one, get one free of USDA choice beef petite sirloin at $6.99/pound. Packaged 10-oz Earthbound organic greens cost $1.99/bag; that sounds like a good deal to me. (valid 1/20-26)

Facebook
Fry’s is on Facebook with 8 fans; get in on the ground floor. Safeway has over 61,000 fans.

Please send your food market and farmers market and related food news to eat.tucson@yahoo.com

Bashas, Food City, and AJ’s Fine Foods stores have teamed up with the Arizona Red Cross to help Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

You can now donate to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief & Development Fund at any Bashas, Food City, and AJ’s Fine Foods stores in So. Arizona as well as the entire state. One hundred percent of all monetary donations made at these grocery store checkouts will be given directly to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts.

Unfortunately, some credit card users were being charged (over charged!) with 3 percent fees to make these same donations online (not related to Bashas) but after public pressure, the fees will be waived. Haven’t the credit card companies ripped us off enough already?

If you don’t know where to give and you don’t know what to give, Bashas stores make it easy.

I have lived in So. Calif for 30 years and have experienced more than enough earthquakes, perhaps the most powerful was 6.5 or 6.6 or 6.7, the seismologists kept changing the number and then that was decades ago, so I cannot remember the exact number, but clearly remember the fear.

I cannot imagine what a 7.0 earthquake feels like.

I cannot imagine what the people of Haiti are dealing with or how they are coping with the mass loss of loved ones and getting basic services to simply survive.

Please consider giving what you can.

Again, Bashas’ owned grocery stores make the giving convenient.

Salute the fresh asparagus

Starting tomorrow – Tuesday, January 12, the eastside will get their own farmers market at Park Place Mall. Special events on this first day include:

·         1 to 4 p.m.  -  Performance by Singer Joe Bourne

·         2 to 4 p.m.  -  Art with Nina  where kids can décor a cloth market bag in the kids play area

·         4 to 6 p.m. –   92.9 The Mountain personalities will be onsite with music and giveaways

The Farmers Market will continue each Tuesday from 1 to 6 p.m., year-round at Park Place Mall, at the South Courtyard (near Bamboo Club Restaurant), 5870 E. Broadway Blvd.

The Farmer’s Market offers Park Place Mall customers locally grown fresh food and unique items conveniently available to area families. The Farmer’s Market also introduces local farmers to new customers, strengthening neighborhood ties, and contributing to the economic growth of the community. Park Place Mall shoppers can expect to find fresh seasonal produce, one-of-a-kind handmade products, gourmet specialty foods, and unique artwork for sale.

The Farmer’s Market is sponsored in part by Lipton Iced Tea and Rainforest Alliance, an independent organization that works with individuals, communities and companies whose livelihoods depend on the land.

I think 5 hours is a long time for a farmers market or for vendor participation. Some of these farmer vendors come from long distances and are one man or women shops. What do you think? Is Tucson becoming oversaturated with farmers markets? If you go to this farmers market, please come back and share your experiences.

Organic farming for youth

Marana: The Youth Farm Project housed at the Community Food Bank’s Marana Heritage Farm is now taking applications for the Spring 2010 Youth Apprentice Program. Young people ages 15 to 20 will be paid a stipend to work and learn at the farm on Saturdays for 15 weeks beginning February 6 thru May 15, 2010, with a Saturday off every 5 weeks (a total of 2 Saturdays off).

Successful applicants will be young people who express interest in learning about farming and food systems, are able to work well with others, and demonstrate strong motivation and work ethic.

Apprentices and the crew leaders work 6 to 8 hours each Saturday.  Work will begin at 8 a.m. each Saturday; as outside temperatures increase, work will begin earlier.  Apprentices and crew leaders are responsible for their own transportation and will be paid a stipend on the completion of the program.

The Marana Heritage Farm is located at 12375 Heritage Park Drive in Marana, Arizona.  It is a 10-acre organically managed vegetable farm and is a program of the Community Food Bank’s Community Food Resource Center (CFRC).  The Farm is in its third growing season and is dedicated to producing fresh, organically grown food, while fulfilling the CFRC’s vision of “improving community food security for the people of Pima County by promoting, demonstrating, advocating for and collaboratively building an equitable and regional food system, which supports food production and strengthens communities.”

For information on the Youth Farm Project Apprentice Program or to request an application contact Shanti Sellz, Youth Garden Coordinator at (520) 873-7401 or or visit the web page.

What a wonderful opportunity for young people interested in farming especially organic farming.

I finally drove across town to Lee Lee Market

Eat globally at Lee Lee Market

on New Years Day.

There is no steam table with prepared foods to go. There will be two restaurants within the market — one a BBQ and the other a Vietnamese restaurant but they are not open yet.

My friend Kate came with me and we walked up and down the aisles in awe pointing at this and that, reading the labels. Aisles were labeled Thai, Korean, West African, Middle East, Japanese, Caribbean…I didn’t walk the whole store because I became hungry about an hour into it then hit sensory overload.

I’ll be back says me and the Governator.

The place is light, bright, huge, and sparkling with neon signs. Seventies music blared in the background. Green onions were only 29 cents/bunch.

I wish I had a tour guide. One thing I am going to be looking for soon is a Chinese or Korean or Thai cooking class as I’m jazzed to learn some new and healthy food techniques. If you know of a class, please let me know.

One thing I remember is — I never knew there were so many different varieties of coconut milk!

The photo above is what I purchased. Look at Karyn’s eclectic tastes. Let’s start from the upper left:

• Noni tea bags from Vietnam. I chose this tea because I have a friend named Noni and will give her the tea.
• The Noni tea is resting on a large tub of Springfield old fashioned oatmeal; it was such a low price I could not resist as I eat much oatmeal.
• Next the Taiwan raisin custard bun which was mostly bun but still yummy. It would probably be good with the Noni tea.
• I bought a big can of Middle East six beans. Beans are a dominant protein in my life and I eat them frequently.
• Some like it hot and I sure do — mango/chile/garlic paste from Thailand. A little dab will do you.
• Baby bananas from Ecuador called my name as they were like the puppy of bananas. I’m waiting for them to ripen a bit.
• Trans-fat free tropical cassava/yucca chips
• Ube cake, purple cake from the Philippines. This is a cake roll, should be pretty when sliced. I’m taking it to a potluck; I love the purple color. I hope everyone else will too (they did!).
• Fried soy bean cake or that’s tofu to you which was enhanced with black fungus and leeks. It tasted delicious heated with a smear of the mango/chile/garlic paste.
• Low-sodium soy sauce
• Two bottles of aloe vera drink with honey were refreshing and more delicious after we squeezed lime into it. The texture was a bit odd because of the slimy aloe vera pulp floating in the glass but we liked it.

I bought a virtual United Nations of food.

By the way, my kitchen counter is bright red laminate and the walls are painted green. It feels like cooking inside a surreal apple.

pears & goat cheese, a sophisticated snack

Looking Back
2009 was not a good year for Bashas because many stores in Arizona went out of business yet Sunflower Market expanded from two to four stores locally. El Super continues to draw crowds in South Tucson and Lee Lee Oriental Super Mart slid in under the wire with much anticipation.

Eat Healthy Initiative
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon unveil “Healthy Initiatives,” a $20 million pilot program that will offer cash incentives to urge lower-income shoppers to choose healthy foods. Hmmm. More details will be released in January.

I Have a Dream
This Saturday at all Sunflower Markets, you can sign up enter the weight loss makeover program. Sign up lasts from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can read more about the contest here.

Deals this Week 12/30/09 – 1/3/10

Free Menudo
At select stores, Food City is giving away a pint of free menudo from 9 to 11 a.m.

Natural
Sunflower Market has ground turkey for $1.99/pound and assorted “natural” porkchops for $1.27/pound. I put the word “natural” in quotes because I don’t know what it means and it’s always overused. Regardless, a grilled pork chop sound good to me.

$5 Pizza
At Safeway in the Signature Cafe splurge on a 16-inch pizza with five-cheese blend or pepperoni for only $5. Now that’s a deal.

Healthy Snack
Pears are still for sale and in season. Quarter some pears, use a variety, sprinkle with soft goat cheese and dried cranberries. It’s festive and pairs well with sparkling apple cider or sparkling wine.

Happy 2010. Nice round numbers, I like that.