I’ve been feeling really inspired by food lately. Between going to the market and seeing the amazing fruits and vegetables, to reading articles and books about why what you eat and where it’s from matters, I started to feel like it was time I took a next step. Ideally I’d like to start growing some of my own food, but in the meantime, we do have pretty amazing greenmarkets where we can get everything from fresh dairy to grass-fed meats and beautiful fruits and vegetables, all from farmers and vendors within 100 miles of New York City.
So I set a goal for myself: make a weeks worth of dinners (for two) using only market goods, with the exception of flour, sugar, spices and oil. I wanted to keep this in line with our daily lives and budget, so we went to our normal greenmarket and spent around the same amount of money we spend on food each week (including market, grocery and 1 meal out).
Here’s how my trip to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket broke down:
Meat, $39:
- 1 whole free-range chicken (1.5 lb)
- 1 lb grass-fed beef
- 1.5 lbs grass fed hot turkey sausage
Dairy, $25
- 1 half gallon fresh 1% milk
- 1 pint fresh cream
- 8 oz salted sweet butter
- 1/3 lb cheese
- 1/4 lb cheese
- 12 eggs
Vegetables, $20
- 1 head garlic
- 2 hot peppers
- 1 green pepper
- 2 handfuls green beans
- 1 handfuls sugarsnap peas
- 2 summer squash
- 3 cucumbers
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 11 new potatoes
- 4 red onions
- 2 tomatoes
Fruit, $9
- 1 pint sour cherries
- 1/2 pint raspberries
Bread, $4.75
- 1 loaf whole wheat sourdough
Herbs, $3
- 1 bunch rosemary
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 bunch cilantro
Total: $100.75
I have a rough meal plan scheduled, but I think it will be interesting to see how I use the products and if they last longer than I expect. For instance, will I be able to use the leftovers for another dinner or to take in to lunch and will we be able to restrain myself from gobbling up too much cheese? I sure hope so.
So please join me on my week of market meals. Each day I will post the previous night’s dinner with a recipe and some thoughts. At the end of the week, I’ll let you know what’s leftover, what worked and what didn’t and if I think it’s something I can keep up. Woohoo! I think it’s going to be fun!
market week: honey roasted chicken with potatoes & green beans
I made my first meal for market week last night and oh boy, was it delicious. I decided to make roast chicken for a few reasons…. it’s hard to go wrong and there’s always leftovers for another meal during the week. I usually follow Jamie Oliver’s recipe which never disappoints, but since there aren’t any lemon trees in my area, I did a little improvising. I gave the chicken a nice slather of butter and stuffed it with thyme and garlic before I popped it in the oven; then half way through, I started coating it with a mixture of honey (locally harvested) and butter. That, my friends, was a good decision.
The bird came out all golden and crispy with juices bubbling around it and injecting the potatoes with goodness. I carved it up, gave it a taste and it was perfect. The honey gave it a nice undertone of sweetness without overpowering the fresh herbs that I’d sprinkled in and on it. Mmmmm… And the potatoes, oh the potatoes. They also got a little hint of honey but it also helped crisp them up so they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I had to get some green in the meal so I boiled some green beans and they were just right all on their own.
So the first meal was a super success, with plenty of leftovers to use later in the week. If you want to jazz up your roasted chicken, definitely try adding honey into the mix. So good!
Honey Roasted Chicken with Potatoes
1 whole chicken
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon honey
a few sprigs fresh thyme
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
6 red potatoes
preheat oven to 375°
1
bring water to boil in large saucepan. add potatoes and garlic and boil for 12 min.
2
drain potatoes and rough them up in the strainer.
3
take garlic from strainer, along with the thyme and stuff into cavity of chicken.
4
slather the chicken with 1 Tablespoon of the butter and pop it the oven for 45 minutes.
5
melt remaining Tablespoon of butter and add honey to it.
6
lift the chicken up and toss the potatoes around in the pan, coating them with the juices. make room for the chicken and set it back in the pan.
7
brush honey butter over chicken and put it back in the oven. repeat every 15 minutes twice, for a total of 45 more minutes in the oven.
8
Let it sit for a few minutes before carving into. Enjoy!