Mercado Kitchen: Fava Bean Dip

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Blue House Farm, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes | Leave a comment

Sick and tired of making the same ol’ salsas and dips for summer BBQ parties? Try Mission Community Market’s fun version of a bean dip! Stop by Blue House Farm this Thursday from 4-8pm to grab your bundle of fava beans and impress your friends with this week’s healthy recipe!

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Fava Bean Dip

Fava beans are similar to other beans and contain what many call “perfect proteins.” They are loaded with amino acids and are also rich in fiber and vitamins A, B, C, K, E, PP, and mineral salts. More information on fava beans can be found here.

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Ingredients:
12 larger Fava Bean stalks from Blue House Farm
3/4 Can of black beans
2-3 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole Avocado
Salt, Pepper
2 tbs Olive oil

Directions:
Fava beans require a two step de-shelling process. First, remove the large beans from their pods. Once all the beans have been removed, add to boiling water for roughly a minute, then place directly in ice cold water. The second layer of skin should peel off easily. Little green beans about half the size of their skin should pop out.

In a saucepan, add roughly 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the minced garlic and sauté for just a moment. Add the fava beans, black beans, and spices. Stir for roughly 3-4 minutes. Grab a potato masher, add the avocado, and smash all ingredients until a soft bean dip remains.

Serve warm with organic blue corn tortilla chips.

Celebrate CalFresh Month at MCM on May 8th!

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Health promotion | Leave a comment

DSC_0353Many people don’t know that CalFresh is the new name for California’s electronic food stamp benefit program. Federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), CalFresh can help low-income Mission families put healthy and nutritious food on the table. We’re celebrating CalFresh customers this month at MCM, and on May 8th we’ll have a special CalFresh Awareness Day!

Mission Community Market has accepted food stamp benefits since its inception, and we partnered with The Bi-Rite Family of Businesses in late 2013 to offer a dollar-for-dollar match (up to $10) for patrons who shop at the market with their CalFresh card. This benefit was previously offered in 2012 and we were thrilled to bring it back this season with Bi-Rite’s support.  CalFresh users can swipe their card every week at the market for up to $10 in free produce!

Join us on May 8th as we feature:

A Presentation from Bi-Rite! Join us at 6:00 pm when Sam Mogannam will say a few words.

Giveaways – The first 50 CalFresh customers get a free item ($3-6 value) donated by MCM vendors! Choose from fruit and veggies, salsa, mini jams, baguettes, and more!

Benefits Pre-Screenings From SF-Marin Food Bank – You may qualify for CalFresh benefits – Talk to a specialist!

An Urban Sprouts Healthy Cooking Demo  – Learn to cook with what you can get at the market!

Community Outreach Tables – Chat with folks from The Women’s Building and The Shanti Project

Live Music from Benjamin Brown at 4 pm and Dean Harlem at 6 pm

Join us for a great day at MCM and celebrate healthy eating with us!

Spotlight on Lifefood Gardens

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, LifeFood Gardens, Vendor of the Week, Vendors | Leave a comment

Microgreens: A shot of vitamins

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As you approach the market from Valencia and down 22nd street, you may see what appears to be a stall full of lush grass and a happy smiling man. This is one of Mission Community Markets newest vendors, Lifefood Gardens, and the smiling man you see there each Thursday is Loren. He represents his girlfriend Katy’s business of growing and selling a variety of microgreens. They began growing microgreens in a sprout machine, and eventually moved to growing these baby plants in their bathroom, kitchen, and various other places in their small SF apartment for personal consumption. Katy, who has been a raw foodist for 13 years, developed an innate passion for growing microgreens within her home. When Katie got fed up with working in the software world, she decided to begin a garden. After success with their small personal microgreen operation, they purchased land up north in Lake County and built a large greenhouse to begin their dream garden. They originally planned to grow off-season tomatoes, but found that microgreens provided them with a financially viable and consistent harvest, as well as nutritious and delicious food. One and a half years later, they’ve grown their business to reach across the entire Bay Area, serving ten different farmer’s markets (six here in SF alone).

SF Markets
Thursdays: Crocker Galleria, Mission Community Market (!!)
Sundays: Fort Mason, Divisadero, Clement, and Sunset markets

Outside SF
Saturdays: Oakland Grand Lake, Berkeley, College of San Mateo, and the Saratoga markets

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Microgreens are just what they sound like –baby versions of many of the greens you know and love. Many studies show that microgreens may house more nutrients and vitamins than their adult forms, making microgreens an affordable option to get your daily dose of vitamin C, E, and beta carotene to name a few.

Stop by MCM each week on Thursday from 4-8pm to pick up a tray of microgreens to improve your health, boost your immunities, support a local business, and make a friend. Some of the different varieties include sunflower, garlic, onion, broccoli, mixed greens, radish, wheatgrass, and more. Not sure what to do with these fresh greens? Check out this week’s recipe highlighting sunflower microgreens in a healthy salad!

Mercado Kitchen: Mediterranean Microgreen Salad

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Achadinha Cheese Company, Blog, LifeFood Gardens, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Twin Girls Farm, Vendors | 1 Comment

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Mediterranean Microgreen Salad

Microgreens are a new way to get your daily dose of vitamins, whether they are juiced, added atop salads, or upon a toasted baguette. This week, we’ve highlighted the microgreens in their very own salad. The greens are accompanied with some of our favorite vegetables and fruits, drenched in healthy Omegas, and topped with fresh feta cheese if you like! This salad is best enjoyed outside under the thick sunlight we San Franciscan’s have been enjoying this year! The subtle flavor of the tomatoes and cucumber help add a bit of moisture to the salad, while allowing the full flavor of the microgreens and sprouted beans from Lifefood Gardens to come alive in your mouth. Stop by the market this week from 4-8pm to pick up your own tray of microgreens and jump on the healthy bandwagon.

Ingredients:
Tray of Sunflower microgreens from Lifefood Gardens
1/2 bag of Sprouted beans from Lifefood Gardens
1 Tomato, chopped
1/2 Cucumber, chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon from Twin Girls Farm
Salt, Peppper
Healthy pour of olive oil
Crumbled feta from Achadinha Cheese Co. (Optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:
Acquire either a whole tray or a handful of sunflower microgreens from Lifefood Gardens. Lightly wash the greens and place in a large salad bowl.
Add chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, half a bag of any sprouted beans from Lifefood Gardens, the juice of one lemon, generous amounts of salt and pepper, and a healthy pour of olive oil (we used an olive oil that has been infused with garlic and fresh chilli for a light kick).

We chose to highlight the microgreens in a vegan salad for this recipe, but we think that adding a handful or two of fresh crumbled feta from Achadinha Cheese Co. would be a GREAT addition, helping balance the sweet and tangy flavors of the veggies with a salty, creamy bite of cheese.
Serve immediately or after a few hours when the flavors have infused (even after being coated with olive oil the microgreens hold their firmness for a day or two!).

Spotlight on Jerk ‘N Pickle

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Jerk N Pickle, Vendor of the Week | Leave a comment

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We’ve got so many great new vendors at the market this season! One of our newest vendors at the market is Jerk ‘N Pickle, offering an array of pickles and beef jerky, from spicy to sweet to savory! Currently this vendor is at the market bi-weekly, so every other week you will find their stall in line with some of our liveliest new vendors: Grandma’s Homemade Jam and Papi Chulo Salsa. If you’re lucky enough to pass by Achadinha Cheese Co. when there are not five others sampling their delicious products, you may be given a bit of cheese to try with a sweet pickle! That’ll be sure to get your taste buds dancing (if Papi Chulo’s music and salsa hasn’t already!).

Jerk’N Pickle is a small family-owned business, founded in 2011 and located in Belmont, CA. The jerky is carefully handcrafted from All-Natural Choice Angus Beef, marinated in a secret mixture of ingredients, while their pickles focus on using only local, sustainable, and organic ingredients.

no nitrates, no hormones,

no antibiotics, no preservatives

A few of the products that you will find at their stall at Mission Community Market range from spicy green beans, half sour pickles, barrel fermented (their only pickle with probiotics!), pickled beets, jalapeño rings–the list goes on! Some of the jerky varieties you can find at the stall are black pepper, teriyaki, hot pepper, jalapeño, and more! In the near future, Jerk ‘N Pickle hopes to be at the market every week, filling our market bags with their delicious products weekly. Their products come with several added health benefits, including fiber, iron, and small amounts of potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin K! Stop by the market this week from 4-8pm and grab some tasty pickles and jerky for your weekend picnic!

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