Saturday, June 20, 2009

Aquidneck Farmer's Market

Another long day done, at least we got some sunshine in. We were on a mission first thing this morning, another stop on the farmer's market tour. This time we hit a really nice market in Middletown RI, just outside of Newport. There were 2 vendors selling meat, another with a raw bar and lobsters, 2 cheese vendors, 2 bakeries and a handful of produce vendors along with some other specialities vendors such as imported olive oils and vinegars, jellies, etc. This is a market you could do almost all of your shopping at for the week.

Market bounty:

  • Divine Providence cheese, $9.00
  • Salty Sea Feta, $5.50
  • Bayley Haze Raw Cows Milk Blue Cheese, $4.62 ($22/lb)
  • Shelburne Farm 1 yr Farmhouse Raw Cows Milk Cheddar, $4.48 ($14/lb)
  • Olgas's Pizza Crust- 9 crusts total, $11.25
  • Baguette, $3.00
  • Free Range Chicken (whole, 5lb), $20.00
  • 1 1/2 lb breakfast sausage links, $13.33
  • bag of organic mixed greens & organic bulk strawberries @ $5.50/lb, $10.25 total
  • rhubarb, $2.50
  • 2 bunches asparagus & bag of garlic scapes ($1), $9.00 total
  • (1)pint red, (1) pint yellow new potatoes, $6.00

Grand Total: $98.93. I was a little shocked by the prices, particularly on the meat and cheese. I actually double checked to confirm my meat total for 4 links of sausage and a chicken, coming in at over $33.00. As much as I would like to eat this type of meat all of the time it is just not an option. I think I will continue to purchase local beef in bulk, but stick to big store "natural" chicken and chicken sausage.

We had Grilled BBQ chicken pizza for lunch using Olga's crusts (awesome!), leftover chicken shredded w/Q sauce, garlic scapes, and the Divine Providence cheese which has a gouda-cheddar like flavor. BBQ chicken pizza shows up on the menu quite frequently at my house, but this version was a bit lighter and a welcome change from the smoked gouda, mozzarella and caramelized onions I typically use. Oh, and home made strawberry ice-cream for dessert tonight, it was rather effortless considering how good it tastes. Erin- you must take the ice cream plunge!

3 comments:

Erin said...

That's good to know about the ice cream! I haven't told my kids that I am thinking of doing that at home, they will be excited! I know what you mean about the meat prices - I paid 20.00 for a pheasant a few months ago...since then I haven't taken the pasture raised chicken plunge yet, the poultry prices shocked me the most! I have been really happy with my pastured pork and beef, though. Those seem to be the ones with the most flavor difference for the price. If you are wondering about the humane, pastured beef, I did a post a couple of months back and took pictures on what was included in a beef share. That pizza looks delicious! My husband does the grill pizzas when he is home, can't wait to use some of our tomatoes and eggplant on them!

Kelly said...

Thanks Erin, I will go back and try to find your beef/pork posts. I did buy 40 lbs of local beef from a farm this winter and am on a waiting list for 1/4 of a cow, the beef would be organic.....the farm I get my milk from does whole pigs, but that is a lot of pork! What type of cuts come when you buy an entire pig? Did you have much say in how it was butchered? Sorry for all the questions, I am just on the fence with the pig.....

The ice cream was more smooth and creamy when it first came out. Last night it had more ice crystals in it, less smooth. I did use reduced fat milk products which decreases the 'creamy' factor, and used the quick method (no eggs, no heating), which also makes it less rich. The kids and inhaled it and it was super easy to make. We are going to try frozen yogurt next, it will be interesting to see if it is more or less creamy than the ice cream.

Erin said...

I haven't done the pork share yet, my deep freeze is a little one. I do buy single cuts when I go out there, the bacon and sausage is incredible with pastured meat. Our farm here uses a local abbatoir that does the butchering and packaging so their stress is cut down since they have a short ride and no wait times for the slaughter, and they are done quickly! You might like the book "The Compassionate Carnivore" by Catherine Friend. She also has a book "Hit by a Farm" that is a funny read about starting a humanely raised lambing operation (she is from the city!). The Compassionate Carnivore will tell you all you need without being all "PETA" about it, lol...it's funny, and has really good things to look for when shopping for sources of meat. OK, I have put off my chores long enough...gotta go outside in the heat... I can't wait until my little boys are old enough to mow the lawn for me when Dad's gone! And it's my birthday today, what a fun way to spend it, lol! Although as I get older, this is less of an event every year! I hope to budget some time this evening to finally post on my blog since we went berry picking yesterday and took some pictures of the goodies we made.