To Market to Food Market

While it’s fun to write about food and think about what we’ll be eating on Thanksgiving, remember the homeless and people in need and in transition.

Here’s what Primavera Foundation needs:

They still need mashed potatoes for 25 people, two roasted turkeys (20 lbs each), gravy for 30 people, stuffing for 30 people, as well as drinks and desserts for 30 people. 

At the men’s shelter where 110 men will be served, they still need of drinks apple juice and coffee, as well as stuffing for 25 people, green salad for 30 people, a variety of salad dressings, and 4 gallons of gravy for the turkey/potatoes. 

They need several hot food drop offs at one of their transitional apartments on the day AFTER Thanksgiving at noon.

If you don’t feel like cooking, supermarket gift cards will be put to good use.

Please email Jenny Cowen ASAP and tell her what you can bring or pick up the phone.

email: volunteers@primavera.org
phone: 623-5111 x 102

Due to the El Tour de Tucson, the Oro Valley Farmers’ Market will hold a special afternoon market from 2 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. This is in lieu of their regular hours.

Thanksgiving FEASTable will be celebrated following the tour this weekend in Oro Valley where market goers can get farm fresh ingredients for their Thanksgiving table.   Join Chef Ramiro Scavo from Harvest Restaurant for a Chef at the Market demo at 2 p.m.  Watch Chef Ramiro create small dishes featuring local and seasonal items, taste samples at the market, and then prepare at home. 

Apples, pomegranates, winter squash, pumpkins as well as winter greens, watercress, arugula, chard, lettuces and spinach are in season. Pick up your smoked turkey from Rod’s KC BBQ or grab some holiday pies, fresh breads, tortillas, and baked goods.     

The Oro Valley Farmers’ Market is located at the corner of Naranja & La Canada in the Town Hall complex and is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday 21 only.  Complete details regarding this schedule change can be obtained by visiting the website.

farmers market at Broadway Village

On Friday – November 20, Broadway Village will host an all day farmers market that celebrates the farmer, Tucson’s culture, and support for the Community Food Bank

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., along with the regular bounty of the farmers market…check out these additional happenings:

–Local chefs will present their favorite recipes
–Native Americans will demostrate artisan crafts
–Native Seeds/SEARCH will provide info about preserving crops
–Redhouse Dancers will perform native songs and dances at 1 p.m. 

Plus the usual (but never boring) produce and products from more than 40 vendors

When the kids get home from school, bring them along for free activities for kids of all ages from 4 to 6 p.m.

–Redhouse Dancers will perform native songs and dances at 4 p.m.
–Storytelling
–KidzArt project 

All the events are free.

Please bring canned goods to help feed Tucson’s hungry through the Community Food Bank.

For more information, visit the Broadway Village website.  Broadway Village is located on the SW corner of Broadway & Country Club.

Thursday, November 19 – 3 to 6 p.m.

It’s the 5th Annual mesquite milling. Bring your mesquite pods to be ground into mesquite flour and sample mesquite  recipes. Please view the Desert Harvesters website for mesquite pod tips and recipes.

Produce and products on hand include tat soi, red and sweet potatoes, organic watermelon (who knew that was still in season?), kale, spicy mustard greens, beets, eggplant, winter squash, apples and apple cider, and more. Scroll down and there’s a recipe for roasted beet salad.

This is the last day of the Santa Cruz River Farmers Market until January 7, 2010 from 3 to 6 p.m. The market takes a holiday break.

I have driven past this market for years and years. Today my foodie friend Anne from Oracle, Ariz. was in town running errands and suggested we go since she is starting to make more Japanese food a la bento box style from the Just Bento website.

Sandyi is compact but neat. We walked up and down the aisles marveling at the packages written in another language. It was fascinating.

Anne bought a yam that looked nothing like the yams in regular grocery stores. She also bought various Japanese seasonings.

I was just sight seeing because I spent all my money on lunch and didn’t want to use plastic but I will be back.

I didn’t take notes so this is all from memory: There were bags of multiple kinds of rice — green rice, brown rice, instant brown rice, sweet brown rice, black rice, and many kinds of white rice. There was several varieties of barley and malt, even roasted barley tea and panko crumbs.

Who knew there were so many different kinds of sesame oils and soy sauces? 

In the refrigerated section, there was a rainbow of pickled items, tubs of miso paste, and Calpico soft drinks.

In the freezer section, we pondered over many of products but did notice two kinds of gyoza, green tea ice cream, and assorted fish. 

Produce was limited to unusual greens, not-the-usual mushrooms, oddly-shaped root vegetables, and very ripe persimmons.

There was a lot of ohhing and ahhing going on.

Is anyone reading this who is knowledgeable about these products and is willing to give me a guided tour? I’d love to know more about some of the products and how to use them.

Sandyi Oriental Market is located at 4270 E. Pima St. (at Columbus); 320-0389.

What’s your favorite Asian market?

It’s possible that Kroger’s Fry’s and Safeway will go on strike. Both chains have advertised for temporary workers to cross the picket lines and pick up the slack.

How do you feel about these two big box food stores striking in such a down economy when unemployment is double digit?

Is anyone who is reading this going to strike?

Is anyone who is reading this going to cross the picket line to shop if there is a strike?

I remember last year or the year before when Ralph’s Market (another Kroger market) in So. Cal. went on strike. It lasted months and in the end, I think the workers lost more then they gained.

The dissent lies with wages and healthcare costs. So what else is new?

good deals at Tucson super markets

Food City
–Good deals on Thursday in the produce aisle: 5 cukes for $1, 4 persimmons for $1, 3 pounds of Mexican grey squash for 99cents, and 3 pounds Mexican papaya for 99 cents (I love Mexican papaya.)

Fry’s
–Fry’s wants to save you money this week; you will need a VIP card which is always free to obtain. For you carnivores, buy one USDA roast and get the second one free, must be equal or less value. That sounds like a really good deal to actually get a roast free.
–To further get you into the store, Fry’s is accepting every kind of coupon from all its competitors. Who can resist that? Even from Wal-Mart grocery stores, Sunflower, Whole Foods.
–If that isn’t enough, all your coupons will be $1 off even if your coupon is for 10 cents or 25 cents. Geez!

Safeway
–Here you also get the $1 off coupon for any coupon up to $1.
Sunflower Farmers Market
–This week they have Haas avocados 2 for $1 (last week I paid 88cents/each). This week they also have 5 Rio Red Texas grapefruit for $1 (last week I paid 2 for $1 which at the time I thought was a good deal). –A bottle of Tejava unsweetened premium black tea is on sale for 99cents/litre. The glass bottle probably costs more than the tea. Trader Joe’s* sells the same bottle for $1.19. 
–It’s not too early to order your Thanksgiving dinner if you don’t want to cook. Here it starts at $24.99 for a half boneless turkey breast (serves 2) + the trimmings or the family meal day costs $49.99 and includes a 10-12 pound turkey with all the sides + an 8-inch pumpkin pie. You can taste before you buy at the Thanksgiving Tasting Fair on November 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All the markets have other deals of course, but I just mention the ones that don’t seem too complicated or are especially enticing.

Speaking of Trader Joe’s they now have free wine tasting in all their stores. You (must be 21+) can taste up to three wines.

• So where do you do your grocery shopping?
• Do you use coupons?
• What persuades you to shop where?

Eurofresh Inc., DBA Eurofresh Farms, one of Southern Arizona’s largest employers and the leading year-round producer and marketer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States, announced on October 28, 2009 that U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Charles G. Case II confirmed its reorganization plan. The court in Phoenix originally confirmed the document on Oct. 16, 2009.

The confirmation indicates Eurofresh and its subsidiary, Eurofresh Produce Ltd., will exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of November.

As part of its recapitalization process, the company had entered into a settlement with the majority of its existing debt holders to convert more than $200 million of debt into equity. The agreement states that Eurofresh will receive $35 million in new capital to repay debt and ensure financial stability to continue investing in strategic capital expenditures.

In addition, Eurofresh reached a consensual resolution with its secured lenders and the U.S. Department of Labor, which settled all claims against the company.

Dwight Ferguson, chief executive officer of Eurofresh, said the capital investment is a vote of confidence in their employees and mission to grow high-end, pesticide-free produce for customers.

“Our senior management is pleased that the end of our reorganization is now in clear sight,” he said. “We expect to complete our refinancing and be out of bankruptcy very soon.”

According to Ferguson, the reorganization has helped the company dramatically improve its capital structure. Financially stronger, Eurofresh can continue supporting and investing its long-term business objectives in Arizona.

“I’m proud that we retained virtually all of our employees and maintained all key vendor and customer contracts throughout this process, thereby strengthening the company’s relationships with our partners,” he said. “Our ability to complete the restructuring this quickly and stay on plan with our customer service, sales and production operations is good news for all stakeholders.”
Eurofresh’s growing and packaging operations in Willcox and Snowflake, Ariz., continued normal operations during the reorganization. The company’s customers, including restaurateurs, grocers and the public, saw no change in the quality of the company’s produce and services, Ferguson said.
 

Mesquite pancakes here we come

On Saturday, November 7, the Desert Harvesters present a mesquite pancake breakfast, raffle, live entertainment, and milling of mesquite pods at Dunbar Springs Community Garden.

Mesquite Pancakes: The breakfast features homemade mesquite/whole-wheat pancakes made with organic, local ingredients. The mesquite flour is made from native Velvet mesquite pods hand picked by Desert Harvesters around Tucson. The organic wheat is from Crooked Sky Farm in Glendale, AZ, and is ground just a week before the event.

The pancakes ($1 each) are served with prickly-pear syrup, mesquite syrup, agave nectar, local backyard honey, and homemade jams. A variety of locally made teas and organic coffee will also be sold. Please bring your own plate, fork, and cup to help make this a zero waste event. Pancakes are served 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
 
Mesquite Milling: In addition to serving pancakes, three hammer mills will be on site to grind pods into flour for the public. Community members can bring pods they’ve harvested. Pods must be clean, dry and free of stones, leaves, and other debris. The milling of pods costs $3 for three gallons or less of whole pods, then $1 for each gallon of whole pods over that.

Five gallons of pods yields about 1 gallon of fine, edible flour in just five minutes! 

Or you can also drop off pods for later milling and pick up as long as your pods have been inspected by the Desert Harvesters staff and you have prepayed. Please pack your pods in sealable, food-grade containers and label them clearly with your name and phone numbers. For information on how to collect, store, and prepare beans visit  Desert Harvesters . Milling occurs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
The event will also feature live music, roving entertainers, and local foods, crafts, teas, and gift certificates as raffle prizes. Informational tables from other local food efforts including Iskashita Refugee Gleaners and the Community Food Bank. In case of rain, the event will move to the Dunbar Auditorium, just north of the garden.
 
Desert Harvesters Mesquite Milling Fiesta and Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Dunbar/Spring Community Garden, Northwest corner of University Blvd. and 11th Avenue

Desert Harvesters is a non-profit, volunteer-run grassroots group that promotes, celebrates, and enhance local food security and production. Desert Harvesters provides the public with information on how to harvest and prepare native desert foods such as prickly pear fruit and pads, cholla buds, ironwood seeds, and more. The organization’s flagship activity is the harvesting and milling of whole mesquite pods into flour, valued for its natural sweetness and high nutritional value.

Feed the hungry at the Empty Bowl Luncheon

The Kino Sports Complex Community Center will hold this year’s Empty Bowl Luncheon on Thursday, November 5 to benefit the Community Food Bank.

Drop by any time between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2805 East Ajo Way.

You will receive a beautifully handcrafted ceramic bowl donated by members of the Southern Arizona Clay Artists.

Lunches cost $10 each and include a variety of soups to sample, bread, and a ceramic bowl of your choice to take home as a reminder of hunger in our Tucson community.

Net proceeds from the Empty Bowl Luncheon will go to feed hungry people in Southern Arizona.