Nice chicken

There are bad pick up lines and there are worse ones.

I was shopping at a local Latino grocery market where the prices for fresh produce and meat are particularly low because Latinos, statistically compared to many other cultures, cook among the most at home and for large families. In other words, they buy so much produce that those kind of grocery stores are able to buy food at lower prices and pass the savings on to customers.

Anyway, with a grocery cart of potatoes, leeks, carrots, onions, lemons and limes, kale, avocados bananas and plantain I was perusing the meat isle.

I was looking over a stack of “young chickens” wrapped in plastic on yellow Styrofoam plates when I noticed a man had approached and was not looking at the chickens but facing and looking directly at me. I continued to peruse.

“Nice chicken,” he mumbled.

 Unsure if I heard him correctly I said, “excuse me,” and looked up.

He had black rimmed rectangular glasses he was wearing a light blue dress shirt unbuttoned at the top and his skin was smooth and the color of mahogany (I know this sounds cliche but that really is the best way to describe his complexion). He had beautiful dark eyes and on a quick glance I saw his hands were ring less. He smiled.

“These are nice chickens,” he said, a little louder this time, and nodded toward the pile of poultry carcases.

“Yes they are,” I replied, unsure what else I could say and I turned back to face the stack of naked chickens.

I was pretty sure he was trying to say something to start a conversation with me but I was completely thrown off by his pick up line.

 By the time all this had registered and I had decided to try to talk some more I turned my head back in his direction and he had gone back to a grocery cart, never having taken a chicken, and he was turning down the cereal isle.

He glanced my way before turning down the isle and he disappeared.

Unsure what else to do, I also turned and went down the spice and baking supplies isle, also without a chicken in my cart.

 

Garlic worth crying over, and other things to buy when shopping on a budget

I love my weekend shopping trips to the area farmers’ markets.

But with the economy headed down a steep hill, I’ve been forced to find ways to cut back on my spending.

I’ve found some ways to still support the local farming community while still having money left over to get to the office each day.

Here are my ideas for shopping at a farmers market on a budget.

1. Asses your options when you get there.
Prices, freshness and quality will vary slightly between booths so first take a walk around the market to see what everyone is offering.

Look at prices, variety, all the while think about what you can buy to pair together or to put that fresh touch to a standard dish.

2. One idea is to get things that you can’t easily replace from a grocery store.

For example, NOTHING tastes as good as a yellow or beefstake tomato plucked from the vine a few hours before you slice it up and serve it with some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper with a touch of olive oil.

Or how about buying fresh herbs, homemade cheese and garlic and using them in your next pasta dish.

3. Look for discount bins. Sometime farmers will have some food set aside to sell at a discount price because it’s about to turn overripe or it has slight imperfections.

My grandma once taught me to look for discount bins for apples to slice up and bake in a pie. I follow the same idea today.

If you are going to boil, chop, bake or otherwise alter the look of the produce, it won’t make lick of difference in the flavor of your food.

4. Timing is everything. If you come 10 minutes before the market closes, farmers will probably have already started marking down the prices of produce.
Pick a place that has a few things you want and only a few things left of each. Next…say something like: “If I buy two pounds of these peaches at full price would you be willing to throw in that pint-sized carton of green beans?

Don’t make ridiculous offers and always be respectful about it. Chances are they will accept your bid or they will offer a similar compromise.

4. The most important thing along with taking these cost-cutting actions is to conquer your fear of asking stupid questions. The best trick to coming home with what you want is to ask the farmer about the produce.

For example, garlics at farmers markets are very different in heat and flavors. I love adding hot (the spicier) garlic to give my food a bite.

On Sunday I came home happy with a large head of garlic that the farmer told me was of a variety so spicy that it made him cry. He wasn’t kidding.

This morning I cooked up my lunch of sliced and sauteed garden yellow squash (farmers market) with onions, thyme and garlic. After dicing up half a garlic clove I ran my finger along the side of the cutting knife and licked the garlic residue off my finger.

Imagine my surprise when my eyes started watering.