Sprouts Has Sprouted!

Well hello friends! Long time no blog, eh? I've been desperately clinging to the last bits of summer, trying to soak it all in. But alas, the first days of September mean kids are back in school, fall sports are in full swing and summer is officially over. Here comes the homework, school projects, fund raising, volunteering and the nights of shuttling to practices, classes and games, (and many haphazard dinners thrown together in between). The good news is, I have ample time to myself during the day to recharge for such a hectic schedule...

And ample time to head out to the "Grand Opening" of our new, local grocery store called Sprouts Farmers Market. Based in Arizona, I was told that Sprouts is "sort of like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods had a baby." So with that in mind, I braved the crowds to see what the fuss was all about. And what a fuss it was! Eager shoppers made their way through the aisles like so many bumper cars at a carnival.

Excuse me! Can I get by? Doubtful.

Oh! Did I just run over your foot? Um...that would be yes!

But crowded stores are a great problem in this sluggish economy. And to be sure, money was on the minds and in the conversations of many of the shoppers I passed by. One lady was marveling that her entire shopping cart of groceries cost $46...and that included 2 giant watermelons! Other shoppers were pleased at the great variety of items on sale (including Mahi Mahi for $2 a pound...brought in from Peru) and were busy comparing and contrasting items found here and at their regular market.

Unlike the Bristol Farm's Grand Opening, people were loading up their shopping carts with produce, meat, prepared foods, bulk items and dry goods. Shoppers here seemed to care more about cost, than if the produce was conventional or organic (mostly conventional), or whether the meat was free-range (almost exclusively not). Their Sprouts brand dairy products are made without rBST, which is good, and they also offer raw whole milk, which is becoming increasingly more difficulty to find.

Their wines all cost between $2-$15, which is good or bad, depending on what kind of wine drinker you are, and they also had a modest selection of craft beers. Their dry goods and groceries have a similar selection to Whole Foods but seemed to be better priced, especially with all the sale items available during their Grand Opening. They have a decent variety of breads, cheeses, and prepared foods (lots of Mexican choices), but I could not locate a deli where they slice your meat and cheese to order.

Sprouts' meat department cuts and packages on site, makes their own sausages, and grinds beef, lamb and pork fresh every day. Most choices are packaged and displayed as at a larger supermarket, in refrigerated shelving. At the butcher counter, however, you can only buy fish (mostly farmed and imported from great distances) and marinated/kebab/stuffed chicken and beef.

They seem to offer a huge variety of nutritional and vitamin supplements, as well as soaps, lotions and other beauty products, and they featured many different brands of natural cleaning supplies as well.

I will have to go back once the dust settles to get a better feel, but my overall impression is a positive one. And it's always good to have more choices in the SCV, especially those who offer many of the products I have come to appreciate at health food stores. (And if you're interested I filled up my cart for $75!)

'Tis Not the Season...

They're not in season!?

No, not right now. Out of season.

Out of season?

Yes.

Well, when will they be back in season?

Hmmm.....maybe by June.

June!??!!

The produce in question? Green beans. Yes, this incredulous shopper has fallen victim to our seasonless society, as many of us do. Watermelon in June? No problem...Corn in February? Can do...Green beans in December? Yes! But just not at the farmers market. You see, despite what the glorious variety in our supermarkets tells us, there really is a season to produce. And even though the vast majority of all things vegetal is available at your local grocer, it doesn't come without a cost; nutrition, the environment, and taste are all compromised by not eating locally and seasonally. Now that being said, I realize that the vast majority of the world does not live in California where many, many fresh vegetables and fruits are available year round. And one cannot live on root vegetables alone, although even, dare I say especially in the North East, the local food movement is quite popular.

But the key to eating local green beans in late December is thinking ahead, buying in bulk when they are readily available (which was all the way until last month), then preserving them for another day...a cold winter's day, when you really, really must have green beans. I couldn't help but feel a wee bit smug that I had several bags of local green beans waiting in my freezer, just for that very purpose, or that I have jars of apricot preserves tucked in my pantry for days when I crave a taste of summer, all the while apricot trees still sit naked and cold in the orchard. Although these things aren't much help when you are new at the local food or farmers market thing, finding yourself in a similar situation may help inspire you to try some home preservation (canning, pickling, or freezing) when the season rolls around again!

Today at the farmers market I bought a wonderful variety of things, even though the little white tents have been steadily shrinking in number since the first frost (which for most areas was late November). I bought a pommelo, limes, avocados, eggs, lettuce, brussel sprouts, strawberries, potatoes, onions, garlic and beautiful late autumn purple grapes. There was also broccoli, cabbage, apples, honey, meyer lemons, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, cauliflower, butternut squash, and tomatoes....yes, tomatoes. There is a grower near the coast of Ventura, who grows tomatoes year round, blanketed in plastic during the winter, but they come at a price. About $3 a pound.

So with all that, I think that it wouldn't be too hard to not have green beans for dinner. Just keep an open mind, and be inspired by what is available at the farmers market that week. And most of all, don't be afraid to try something new while it is available, and preserve that which is not always available, so that if you want to eat green beans in late December, all you have to do is shop in your very own freezer.

'Twas the Sunday Before Thanksgiving....

'Twas the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and I went to the market

I drove the car into the lot, but there was nowhere to park it.
The produce was stacked on the tables with care
In hopes that the shoppers soon would be there.


The apples and onions all snug in their crates
I knew that this Thanksgiving sure would be great.
And me in my flip-flops and carrying my bag
I wandered over to the stalls to see what they had.


When over at one vendor their arose such a clatter
I ran over there to see what was the matter.
The produce was running out, and quickly
The pit of my stomach began to feel sickly.


Oh the carrots, persimmons, eggs and leeks
Oh the garlic, potatoes, avocados and beets!
Where have they gone, were they bought up already?
I had to sit down, I was not walking steady.


While I was glad that so many folks had arrived
I was sad that my Thanksgiving would be deprived.
I would have to settle for grocery store fare
Because of all the early birds who showed up there.


As I headed back to my car, I gave out a whistle
And away I drove, like the down of a thistle.
And I heard myself exclaim, ere I drove 'round the bend
Where were you last Sunday, your fair weather friends?!?!

New Kid on the Block

Our not-so-little suburb has finally come of age as we just got a beautiful, upscale market of our very own. Bristol Farms finally opened it's doors this morning at 7 a.m. after much anticipation, and much to our surprise (we had heard it would be opening in January). When we arrived at 11:30, it was jam-packed full of eager shoppers and lookie-loos checking out the scene. Shopping carts bumped together like gridlock on so many Southern California freeways, jostling for a spot near the sample tables. Cheerful employees dressed in red-checked shirts, handed out delicious treats for all to try, a perfect lunch, we thought. We sampled Rocky Whole Rotisserie Chickens, many different kinds of cheeses, fresh sushi and potstickers, pizza (on a French pastry crust), Aidell's Sausage, pumpkin cream cheese piped onto graham crackers, orange juice, cocktail mixers and more.

Their fresh fish and meat counters were beautifully stocked and the meat all came from California ranches, including their lamb, which in other markets is almost exclusively imported from New Zealand. There are real butchers in employ who can do really crazy things (like grind meat or butterfly chickens) that those other guys at the regular market can't do, ma'am. I ordered a fresh, local, free-range turkey for Thanksgiving today to be picked up two days before Thanksgiving so that I can salt-cure it (an alternative to brining).

Their produce looked good, and was labeled with point of origin so that those of us who are concerned about buying our produce from local growers can do so. Their cheese counter was plentifully stocked (the cheese guy even promised to order my very favorite Leyden Cheese, which is a Dutch cheese spiked with cumin seeds) and the wine selection was amazing for our valley, which has always been quite limited. But the buyers' demand will dictate what they carry in the future; I'm sure that not many will be able to afford the $850 bottles of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, for example.

We waddled out into the warm sunshine with only a one pound loaf of caramel apple bread, seaweed salad, and spicy tuna rolls for additional lunch fare. I had marketed earlier in the week so I didn't need much. But I will be back, and soon, I am quite sure.