Ugly Produce

This is just a small portion of my ugly produce bounty from today's trip to the market.

I read an article a few months back that talked about why tomatoes don't taste like tomatoes should.  The author of the article explained that the folks who produce tomatoes for grocery stores and club stores genetically alter the fruit in order to create tomatoes that are more uniform in color, shape, and size and to create a fruit that doesn't spoil as fast.  Wow!  Modern science has come a long way because we now have food that looks pretty and will last forever, but tastes like plastic.  Mmmmmm!  I don't know about you, but I really don't want to eat, nor feed my family, food that has been genetically altered in order to look pretty.  Seriously? It's Frankenproduce!

That being said, I have tried to buy all my produce from local growers and primarily at Farmers Markets.  The difference is absolutely amazing!  The only drawback is that it can get a little expensive and most Farmers Markets are only open on the weekends, which is fine, but we are family that does the bulk of our shopping mid week.

I recently found a small produce market that carries mostly local growers, is open all week, and has the best prices ever!!!!!  Not to mention they have ugly produce.  The tomatoes are lumpy and bumpy and discolored, but taste like tomatoes should.  The apples actually vary in size and are dull because they don't have a coating of wax.  I could go on and on, but I think you understand.  I am thrilled to say that I have found a place to buy ugly produce where I don't have to take out a second mortgage to do so.  Yay!

Follow Up to The Pantry

Well, I made the soup with the substitutions that I wrote about and the results are in.  My 19 month old daughter couldn't get it in her mouth fast enough and my husband said it was very good and had excellent flavor.  So, there you have it.  This improvisational cook was able to create a successful meal with the paltry offerings of her pantry and spice cabinet.  To see what that soup was and what the substitutions were you will have to go back and read the previous post.

The Pantry

Recently, my family moved.  As anyone who has moved knows, you work on dwindling down the things that you are taking with you, so as to lighten the moving load.  This means going through what you own and determining what is needed and what can be taken to Goodwill.  This also means eating as much of the food you have in your current home without having to make purchases that will end up just having to get packed and unpacked especially heavy, bulky cans.  This is purging is really quite beneficial, but it also has its drawbacks, especially as it comes to the pantry.

As any home chef knows, the key to improvisational cooking is having a well stocked pantry and spice cabinet.  Being an improvisational cook means that you are improvising with what you have on hand and if you don't have much on hand then you better hope that you have A LOT of creativity and even then that doesn't mean success.  Being an improvisational cook does not mean you can run out to the store for last minute ingredients.

I definitely consider myself to be an improvisational cook.  I personally think cooking is more fun that way.  However, right now I have a bit of a challenge.  My pantry is not back to its previous, before the move, state and I'm trying to come up with something for dinner.  I'm attempting a Vegetable Beef Barley soup without the beef, the broth and without the canned tomatoes and sauce.  I've got chicken, cream of chicken soup, and Ro-Tel to substitute for the missing ingredients.

I know that this can end up a major disaster, but I also know this could end up being one my family's favorites.  Here goes. Wish me luck.   I'll let you know what they thought.

My pantry actually has a little more than this in it.

This isn't my actual pantry.  I just wish that my was a full as this one.