Lean Into Local Food

This is a crazy world we live in and we’re seeing unprecedented changes in the world political arena and how that effects the economy for everyone.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the stellar selection and value at your local farmer’s market. The Coquitlam Farmers’ Market was brand new back in ’99 and has been running ever since. The growth and stability of the market speaks to our need as consumers to be able to access fresh, local and sustainable food.

I don’t know about you but grocery shopping right now is killing my budget. I ran out of things that I normally buy in season at market and choked on the cost of purchasing them out of season at the store — $6 a pound for cauliflower, $4 a head for romaine. It’s making me think twice about what I find in the grocery store and what I can source locally at my farmers’ market.

In the winter that means my cooking has lots of root vegetables and hardy greens such as kale and brussels sprouts. Much to my surprise, brussels sprouts are really good raw. I have been eating a salad made with kale, cabbage and shaved Brussels sprouts. Harvesting after the frost makes them sweet and eating them raw or lightly sautéed retains that sweetness.

I am so glad the winter squashes are still available. They have so many uses. Forstbauer Farms has lovely spaghetti squash that I brought home last week. I am going to use it straight up like spaghetti and top it with my homemade sauce. How cool is that? One meal made with every single ingredient sourced from the market and costing me pennies a serving.

It’s time to take shopping locally seriously and to dive into the abundance of your local farmers’ market. If you have some basic pantry staples and supplement those staples with a trip to market you’ll be able to have a delicious, sourced from BC meal.

This blog post was originally published by The Tri-City News.