To Market to Food Market

Santa Cruz Farmers Market
The hours are from 3 to 6 p.m. As usual the market brims with garden fresh produce such as green beans, melons, chilies, tat soi, mustard greens, winter squash, (I’m getting hungry), spinach, bok choy, beets, pomegranates, apples, locally roasted coffee, honey, red and sweet potatoes, hot peppers, and more. Fresh eggs are available for $3/dozen. Mark your calendars because next week – November 19, Desert Harvesters will be here grinding dried mesquite pods into flour.

What’s Tat Soi?
Tat soi or tatsoi is an Asian green that is also called flat cabbage, rosette bok choy, and spoon cabbage. It’s a member of the brassica family which includes broccoli, brussels sprouts, collards, and kale. Tatsoi can be used in salads or sautéed, steamed or braised and mixed with sauces, chicken, tofu, and pasta. Tatsoi is low in calories and high in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Mesquite Pancakes
Last week I reported about Desert Harvesters mesquite pancake breakfast on November 7. This was their most successful breakfast ever selling over 2,000 pancakes, and milling over 960 pounds of mesquite pods with three mills on the pancake fiesta day and two mills the next day.

Sprouts Goes Green
Sprouts Farmers Market has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership and voluntarily committed to decreasing refrigerant emissions through innovative HVAC, refrigeration design and leak-tight practices. Sprouts wants to be your  environmentally conscious neighbor and grocer. Sprouts is located at 7665 N. Oracle Road.

Please send your Tucson farmers market and grocery news to eat.tucson@yahoo.com

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?

Orange you glad you're getting a deal?

Senior Discount
Aging doesn’t have to be so bad. If you’re 55+, oldies-but-goodies can save 10% on their grocery bill on the first Wednesday of the month at Fry’s  Food Stores. Sign up in customer service for the discount.

Flu Shots
Flu shot availability seems early this year. When you get a flu shot at Safeway, you also get 10% off your next grocery purchase.

Hatch Chile Roasting
I can almost smell the air permeated with roasted green chiles this Saturday, September 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sunflower Markets at 4645 E. Speedway @ Swan and 7877 E. Broadway @ Pantano. Hatch, New Mexico is the the chile growing capital of the world.

Military Discount
Albertsons honors active, reserve or retired military personnel with ID with a 10 percent discount from Sept. 2 through September 8.

T.G.I.F.
The Food Conspiracy Co-op hosts the last of their summer Anti-Depression Fridays Sale on September 4. Get 10 percent off all day on any purchase for anybody (members and non-members) plus live music and free food from 6 to 8 p.m.

Please send your Tucson food market and farmers market news to eat.tucson AT yahoo.com.

Fabulous seasonal figs

Last week my friend Ditte Lokon invited some friends for a tapas party. At first she was going to do the entire dinner herself but decided that her guests should be able to contribute.

The tapas party was not held to a strict must-be-Spanish theme. Instead it was a melding of cultures that prevailed.

Ditte’s five guests helped the local economy by shopping at Trader Joe’s, Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, Caravan, India Dukaan, Roma Imports, 17th Street Market, and Sunflower Market.

Some recipes came from a used Greek cookbook (bought at Bookmans), Bon Appetit, and Fine Cooking as well as Claudine cooking with her Lebanese mother and grandmother. Other recipes were improvised or memorized, origins unknown. 

Wine was purchased from Callaghan Vineyards in Sonoita, Plaza Liquor, and Total Wine & More. The white wines were from the Mendoza region of Argentina, a lush Torrontes. I believe four bottles of wine were consumed plus red dessert port also from Callaghan.

We supped lavishly on:
–Heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar
–Muhummara – red dip made from pomegranate syrup, pomegranate seeds, red pepper, walnuts, cayenne and toasted pita bread
–Asian pears wrapped with prosciutto 
–Zucchini fritters
–Shrimp fritters
–Brie wrapped in phyllo, drizzled with truffle oil
–Salad of organic greens, mint, basil, fresh figs and apricots, topped with Manchego cheese and vinaigrette
–Custard cups filled with Coquille St. Jacques (scallops with Parmesan/cream/butter)
–Burek – phyllo dough squares stuffed with cheese, parsley, and dill

It was an amazing meal where every bite held fascination and even being full, the food was just too good to not taste. Then there was the conversation, the laughter, and the connection that brings people together — a feast of exploration. Pot luck in the truest sense of the word.

When everyone felt they couldn’t eat one more thing, dessert appeared…phyllo dough cups dotted with homemade lemon curd and fresh berries finalized by that powerful red port.

But back to Tucson food markets which beholds less common ingredients like pomegranate syrup (17th Street Market), truffle oil (Roma Imports), brown rice flakes for the zucchini fritters (Indian Dukaan), fabulous hard to find fresh figs in season (17th Street Market).

Go Tucson  food shopping!

–17th Street Market, 840 E 17th St, 792-2588
–Caravan, 2817 N Country Club Rd, 323-6808
–India Dukaan, 2754 N Campbell Ave, 321-0408
–Roma Imports, 627 S Vine Ave, 792-3173

Gannett News Service/Citizen File Photo

Campari tomatoes

Tomato, tomahto

Eurofresh Farms located in Willcox is the leading producer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States. They  redesigned tomato and cucumber package labels in order  to educate consumers about growing practices, care, and handling tips. The “Fresh Idea” labels help retailers to inform consumers about the best uses for each variety. Research conducted by the Perishables Group, a fresh food industry consulting firm, showed that 66 percent of shoppers do not know which type of tomato is best used for sandwiches, recipes, or snacking. Pictures of pasta sauces, salads and sandwiches featured on the labels will identify the produce as ingredients in homemade meals.

Pet Day
Take advantage of pet vaccinations at the Rincon Valley Farmers & Artisans Market this Saturday August 15 from 9 a.m. to noon. (Market opens from 8 a.m. to 1 pm.) Krazy Critters Pet Grooming will be there too plus Adorable Fur-tography (handmade fashionable dog harness vests for small to medium breed dogs. Sizes range from 12 to 24-inch chest.), Adventure Coffee Roasters, knife sharpening, fresh produce and herbs, and lots of goods produced by local artisans is for sale to keep the economy humming. The market is located at 12500 E. Spanish Trail about 8 miles from Golf Links & 22nd St. or about 4 miles from the main entrance to Saguaro National Park East off of Old Spanish Trail.

Tucson Farmers Markets and Corn
The Saturday market at Oro Valley would like to introduce: Elizabeth’s Garden,  Weaver’s Farm,  Larry’s Garden,  Rancho Chico Eggs, Desert Alchemist Botanicals and Foote’s Hold Dairy to their line-up at Oro Valley Town Hall, 11000 North La Canada, La Canada & Naranja
 
The Sunday market at St. Philip’s Plaza would like to introduce: Foote’s Hold Dairy,  Larry’s Garden,  Chiva Risa Goat Cheese Desert Alchemist Botanicals and Mountain Sunshine Eggs to their line-up at River/Campbell.

This weekend August 15 and 16, enjoy the 4th Annual Corn Festival. Meet Chef Ramiro Scavo, Tucson’s Iron Chef winner as he prepares fresh corn specialties at the Oro Valley Market at 10 a.m. on
Saturday. Both markets are open 8 a.m. to noon.

Bashas Update
Two more stores are closing — on the eastside at Broadway & Houghton and in Marana at Dove Mountain & Tangerine. A Bashas in Green Valley closed last month.

Food Stories
Share your food glorious food stories on Penelope Starr’s blog. Food is the great connector.

Please send your food and farmers market news and food events to eat.tucson AT yahoo.com