Unlike most farmer’s markets and CSA’s in the area, the MIT Produce stand will continue to operate through the winter.  It’s a great, inexpensive alternative to local chain supermarkets.

“Beginning Tuesday, October 27th, the MIT Produce Market will move to its winter location in the TSMC Lobby of the Stata Center. The market will continue on Tuesdays from 12pm – 6pm through March 30, 2010. The market will be closed on December 22 and December 29. The MIT Produce Market is operated by Russo’s, a family-run company that has been serving the Boston area for over 75 years. Russo’s won top honors in Boston® Magazine’s 2007 Best of Boston® contest for Best Produce.”

I started off this series by mapping all the farmer’s markets near me to see if it would be feasible to buy the majority of my food from local suppliers.  The next logical step was to actually head to one of the markets and see what the selection was like.  Here are my pictures to the Central Square Farmer’s Market, at the corner of Norfolk and Bishop Allen drive, in Cambridge.

Click to see the Flickr Album – it shows selection, prices, and the general atmosphere.

I got my chinese chef’s knife sharper than it has ever been and my friend brought four of his knives, including an 8″ Shun that came back wickedly sharp.  Every knife cost only $2.50 and they can usually finish them while you wait, though we had to come back the next day.

The shop also carries a wide range of restaurant gear and all manner of knives, both new and used.  I think I saw a guy sharpening what looked to be a pretty hefty sword in the back too.  These are probably guys you don’t want to piss off…

DA Bucci & Sons
260 Main St, Stoneham, MA
(781) 438-5055‎

Hours: Mon-Fri 7AM-4PM; Closed Weekends/Holidays.
I highly recommend you call before heading there to make sure they’re open and to check how busy they are.

My favorite passage (so far) from this issue:

[On why experiments with making Britain's school food system healthier have had mixed results:]  What’s really happening is about more than old habits dying hard or the love of frying. The reason the world is still waiting for the Messiah is that most people don’t actually want one, no matter how many fresh fruits and vegetables he’s carrying. Oliver expects some of the same pushback in Huntington, whether it comes from recalcitrant teenagers, petty bureaucrats or parents who don’t like being told they’ve failed.

See the original article, or go directly to the Magazine’s Food Issue.

In this TED Talk, Architect Carolyn Steel makes a more-convincing-than-average argument for developing government policy and architecture cities to encourage sustainable eating.  She argues that people need to be more intouch with where their food comes from, so that they will value it more and pay more attention to eating sustainability and nutritiously.  Beyond the individual level, her ideas have impacts on how cities should be planned to encourage such habits.

Ms. Steel makes as compelling an argument for responsible eating as I’ve yet heard, but it still doesn’t seem like her “sitopia” is an attainable solution. Yes, increasing awareness of where food comes from would help everything from nutrition to family bonding, but can our energies be spent better elsewhere?

I think we should be specifically targeting the 1 billion starving and 1 billion obese that she mentions in her talk. Obese people contribute to unsustainable healthcare costs and promote irresponsible eating and marketing habits. Helping the starving would allow hungry children to pay attention in school and hungry parents to look for work.

Neither of these two groups would benefit greatly simply from eating local or getting in touch with food culture. The obese have plenty of food and the starving don’t care where theirs comes from.

How about this for an idea: Sallie James of CATO says Walmart can provide cheaper access to fresh fruit to the poor.  Activists might be repulsed at the thought of Walmart being mentioned in the same breath as good food or nutrition, but the fact remains that the mega-chain has the most efficient distribution system in the world and an enormous percent of market share, particularly in the working class demographic.  Why not let Walmart get better food to people and make money too?

Fresh Vegetables, every Tuesday from Noon to 6 at MIT!  The produce is supplied by Russo’s, a food store located in Watertown, MA, so I guess this doesn’t technically count as a farmer’s market.  Still, the MIT Produce Stand is a great, nearby alternative to chain supermarkets and another option in addition to all the other farmer’s markets nearby.

So I decided to find out how lazy I’m really being: how easy is it to go to do all of your shopping at farmer’s markets in Cambridge, MA?

First, the schedule:

This a chart of all the farmer’s markets that are within 2 miles of 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, and their operating times.

LIGHTER COLORS = closer

DARKER COLORS = farther away

All distances were calculated using the “walking distance” option on google maps.

**Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see all the details of each market.

So Many Choices!

Wow – I truly had no idea that there were so many nearby options for shopping at farmer’s markets.  I figured that Cambridge, MA would have a decent selection since the population around here tend to be pretty liberal and open to doing things differently, but a different market each day within 2 miles walking distance?  That’s ridiculous!

More ridiculous is the fact that Massachusetts has over 200 registered farmers markets to choose from.

Unfortunately, this still doesn’t answer my central question: is it practical to do all of my shopping at farmer’s markets?  Hopefully in the coming weeks in months I can get myself to some of these places and review the types and quality of food they offer.  Until next time…

And here are the chart details:

Data was collected from the Federation of MassFarmers Markets.

Monday

Cambridge/ Central Square Farmers Market
Parking Lot #5, Bishop Allen Dr. & Norfolk Street
11:30AM-6:00PM | 0.6 mi.

Boston City Hall Farmers Market
19 Cambridge Street, Boston
11:00AM-6:00PM | 2.0 mi. (very short walk from Government Center Station, blue & green T lines)

Tuesday

Update: You might also consider the MIT Produce Market, which isn’t technically a Farmer’s Market, but is pretty darned close.

Cambridge/ Harvard University Farmers Market
Oxford and Kirkland Streets in Cambridge
12:30PM-6:00PM | 1.9 mi. (0.5 mi from Harvard Station red T line, many buses available)

Wednesday

Boston City Hall Farmers Market
19 Cambridge Street, Boston
11:00AM-6:00PM | 2.0 mi. (very short walk from Government Center Station, blue & green T lines)

Thursday

Cambridge/ Kendall Square Farmers Market
500 Kendall St, Cambridge
11:00AM-2:00PM | 1.0 mi.

Friday

Allston Farmers Market
N Harvard St & Western Ave
3:00PM-7:00PM | 2.0 mi.

Saturday

Somerville/Union Square Farmers Market
Union Square Plaza, Somerville
9:00AM-1:00PM | 1.6 mi.

Sunday

Cambridge/ Charles Square Farmers Market
Charles Hotel Courtyard, 1 Bennett St. Harvard Square
11:00AM-3:00PM | 1.8 mi.

What do you do when you get home on a Thursday evening, you have no plans, there’s nothing good on TV, and you’ve already had dinner?

If you’re like me… you cook some more! I’m still in school, so I work on a limited budget, which meas I try to pack as many home-made lunches as I can to avoid eating out.

The simple trick to preparing a lunch that will taste great even after being reheated in the mircowave is to use a recipe that calls for low, slow cooking in liquid, since that’s the type of cooking a microwave recreates best.

I adore my trusty crock pot. It’s simple, easy to use, easy to clean, and pretty attractive as far as kitchen appliances go.

Alright, enough of my babbling about cookware. Here’s the recipe:

***The quick and dirty version – takes < 10 minutes

Meat: 3 pork chops

Fruit&Veg: 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 sweet potato, a can of canned carrots, some olives

Flavor: 3 tbsp brown sugar, big spoon of thyme, small spoon of sage, itty bitty spoon of hot sauce of some sort (to taste)

Salt: yes, please.

Directions: chop everything up into bite size pieces. Chuck it all into the slow cooker. Add about a small coffee cup worth of water, but not enough to cover.

A bit of gourmet flare (add 10 minutes of cook time)

This recipe combines sweet, sour, salty, and spicy hopefully into a balanced mixture pleasing to the pallet. However, if you want to get a little more oomph, like the type bitters add to a good cocktail, then I would strongly recommend browning the pork chops before adding them to pot. In fact, I went so far as to brown everything in a cast iron skillet and then deglazed (sorta) the pan with water (i know, lame). Then I dumped the water into the pot.

Obligatory glamour shot of the cast iron skillet:

I <3 you, cast iron goddess.

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