4505 Meats

La Cocina Entrepreneurs Hit the Streets

Posted on by Mission Community Market in 4505 Meats, Blog, Chaac Mool, HellaVegan Eats, La Cocina, Sugarfoot Grits | Leave a comment

Over the past six years, La Cocina’s Street Food Festival has become a San Francisco staple. The festival features innovative food, education and discussion, and a chance for the SF community to share experience and taste with each other.

At the center of all the flags, festivity, and great-eating are passionate woman. That’s right––along with filling your stomach, the festival is a radical way to support local female entrepreneurs.

La Cocina started in 2005 and is based in the Mission District of San Francisco. The organization provides training, practice-spaces, and support to local food entrepreneurs, focusing on low-income women who want to break into the food industry. Traditionally, working in food can be difficult for those from under-privileged areas, because running a successful food business requires a large overhead cost. And, like so many other industries, being a woman–particularly a woman of color–presents challenges of its own: lower pay and fewer opportunities. Even though San Francisco is the home to many non-male powerhouses creatively running and owning their own business, the public image of a chef is still male.

That’s why La Cocina’s innovative program is so important––it creates space for and amplifies the voices of women who are passionate about food, San Francisco, and their families. La Cocina describes this process, and the content of their program on their website. You can also watch their 6-minute film called “Tameles & Piroshkis: A Journey Stuffed with Love” (but be warned: you might cry). Featured in the video are two of La Cocina’s incubator businesses. Other incubators might be familiar faces to you from MCM––Chaac Mool, Sugarfoot Grits, and HellaVegan Eats are all connected to the La Cocina program.

“[La Cocina] is about the general day to day support,” said Stephanie Fields, owner of Sugarfoot Grits. “During my first outdoor festival they came and stood with me for my health inspection. Health inspections are scary––it’s like Mary Poppins checking the dust under everything. It sounds boring, but that support means a lot.”

What is the festival?

La Cocina’s Street Food Festival is a multi-day celebration of local food vendors and top chefs. This year, the festival will be kicked off on Friday, August 15th, with the new Friday Night Family Meal, which will feature unlimited varieties of fried chicken from 11 different chefs hailing from Seattle, Oakland, Austin, Alabama, and San Francisco.

The main event––a street food festival boasting over 80 vendors––will be hosted on Saturday, August 16th in the Mission District. On Folsom St. between 20th and 26th, the city will be transformed into an urban food paradise. Expect big crowds, big portions, and even bigger smiles.

La Cocina notes on the event page that the most important part of the street fest are the women who “drive and inspire the festival every year and serve food any street, neighborhood, and the whole Bay Area should be proud of. By serving food, they serve the community, and continue to make the Bay Area’s foodscape one of the most vibrant and diverse communities out there.”

Lastly, the La Cocina community is providing a platform to talk about food with the La Cocina Food & Entrepreneurship Conference on Sunday, Autust 17th. The conference includes conversations about fair prices for ethnic food, food manufacturing, how to use food to bring communities together, and interactive workshops! To be part of the conversation, buy a ticket online. Don’t worry––if you want to go but don’t think you can afford it, La Cocina is funding scholarships.

What should I eat?

As much as you possibly can! Make sure to visit MCM’s own HellaVegan Eats, who will be serving potsticker burritos–a sweet and sticky meal packed with rice, vegetables, potsticker skin and wrapped in a tortilla–”chicken” and waffle mini bites, and their incredible strawberry-watermelon-basil aqua fresca (seriously, how does such complex flavor come from water?!). HellaVegan describes their food as a “multi-cultural explosion of flavor,” and their dishes always deliver color and taste. You’ve seen them every Thursday this summer, handing out their hellafornia burritos, crunchy salads topped with tofu or tempeh, and vegan cupcakes to hungry crowds at our mercado.

And don’t miss 4505 Meats, another MCM favorite, who will be serving the festival with “Frankaroni” and cheeseburgers. Last year, their macaroni rendition caused swarms of hungry cheese-lovers to crowd their tent, so be sure to visit early!

If you’re still hungry, finish the day with something sweet––try one of the eight treats from this list by 7X7SF.

At Mission Community Market, we appreciate all of the hard work that our vendors put in. As an event celebrating local talent and dedication, La Cocina’s Street Food Festival is a remarkable opportunity to engage with the SF food community and share light and love with the streets of San Francisco.

Mercado Kitchen: Chard Sausage Stuffing

Posted on by Mission Community Market in 4505 Meats, Arizmendi Bakery, Blog, Blue House Farm, Far West Fungi, Happy Boy Farms, Mercado Kitchen, Recipes, Winters Tree Fruit | Leave a comment

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This flavorful chard sausage stuffing makes a hearty side dish at your Thanksgiving table. And it’s chock full of amazing ingredients from the market! Like tasty bread from Arizmendi Bakery, sweet and savory chicken apple calvados sausage from 4505 Meats, robust pioppini mushrooms from Far West Fungi, and toasty walnuts from Winters Fruit Tree. Plus look for fresh produce for this dish – swiss chard, leeks, garlic, and herbs – at Blue House Farm and Happy Boy Farms.

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This recipe comes together easily and can even be assembled up to a day in advance to save you prep time on Turkey day. It would also work great to bring to a potluck Thanksgiving. So shop at the market this week (your last chance before Thanksgiving!) and try making a new side dish this year.

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Chard Sausage Stuffing

Adapted from a Sunset Magazine recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 lb crusty bread (we used a sourdough baguette from Arizmendi Bakery)

1 c milk

1 lb sausage (we used 1 package of chicken apple calvados from 4505 Meats)

2 small leeks, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c fresh parsley, chopped

2 c mushrooms (we used pioppini from Far West Fungi)

1 bunch Swiss chard, stems trimmed, coarsely chopped

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

1 t dried basil (or one handful fresh basil, roughly chopped)

1/4 t dried sage (or approximately 10 fresh sage leaves, chopped)

1/2 c walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut bread into 1/2-in. slices and place in a large bowl with the milk. Mix gently to saturate with milk and let stand about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Slice the sausages into disks and sauté over medium high heat in a large pot, until lightly browned. Add leeks and sauté until slightly wilted. Add garlic, parsley, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chard and 1/3 cup water and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Squeeze the soaked bread with your hands and break into tiny pieces. Add the cooked meat mixture, parmesan, basil, sage, and walnuts. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to an 8×8 inch casserole dish. For moist stuffing, cover with foil. For crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150 degrees in center) or lightly browned, at least 30 minutes.

Tips for making in advance: you can make the stuffing, put in the casserole dish and chill up to 1 day in advance. Allow about 1 hour to bake.

Stuffing photos by Carletta Wong

People of MCM: Kevin, Raffle Winner!

Posted on by Mission Community Market in 4505 Meats, Blog, Blue House Farm, Bok Ssam, Chaac Mool, Marla Bakery, People of MCM, Twin Girls Farm, Vendors, Yerena Farms | Leave a comment

Meet Kevin, who was the lucky winner of $50 towards shopping at MCM in our neighbor appreciation raffle! Neighbors who received an MCM flier on their door were eligible to enter, and Kevin took home the prize!

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Where do you live?  21st and Shotwell

How often do you come to the MCM?  This is my third time!

What are you buying?  I bought dinner for us– pulled pork from 4505 Meats, a Korean Fried Chicken & Waffle Sandwich from Bok Ssam, and nachos from Chaac-Mool.  I also got beets and spring onions from Blue House, nectarines from Twin Girls, raspberries from Yerena Farms, and a lamb tart from Marla Bakery.  I even have $4 left for next week!

What’s your favorite part of the market?  I like that it’s so close.  We don’t have a car, so it’s super easy and very straightforward.  Also, we just met some neighbors here, and there’s a sense of community.

What’s the best kept secret at MCM, or something you would like people to know about? There are not the same throngs of people here like other markets, it’s more mellow.

Mercado Kitchen: Berry-Spinach Salad

Posted on by Mission Community Market in 4505 Meats, Achadinha Cheese Company, Blog, Blue House Farm, Jablow's Meats, Mercado Kitchen, Nyia Yi Farm, Recipes, Terra Savia, Vendors, Winters Tree Fruit, Yerena Farms | Leave a comment

Sliced Strawberries

O, glorious strawberry season!  How long have we waited for it to arrive?!  It seems like years. Well, at least one. We are so excited to be getting delicious, plump, juicy strawberries now in season from Yerena Farms at MCM.  This week, Tomatero Farms joins the mix and they’ll have berries as well!

If you have any will power at all, and you actually have some uneaten strawberries in your basket by the time you get home, make this delicious strawberry-spinach salad filled with candied walnuts and optional bacon vinaigrette!

Salad Ingredients Read more

People of MCM: Ane & Luke

Posted on by Mission Community Market in 4505 Meats, Achadinha Cheese Company, Blog, Blue House Farm, Home Made Ravioli, K&J Orchards, People of MCM, Twin Girls Farm | Leave a comment

Meet Ane and Luke, who are newcomers to the area, but are excited to have the MCM in their backyard!

 

Where do you live?  In the Mission, we moved here about a month ago.

How often do you come to the MCM?  We have tried to come to the market every week since we’ve been here.  I [Ane] get excited about Thursdays!

What are you buying?  Today, we’ve bought pasta from Home Maid, oranges from Twin Girls, apples from K & J Orchards, kale from Blue House, and Broncha cheese from Achadinha Cheese Company.

What’s your favorite part of the market? It depends! I think it’s exciting to be able to get something to eat here, like a 4505 Meats burger, there’s something to crave.  But, everything here is special in it’s own way, so I can’t just choose one!

What’s the best-kept secret at MCM, or something you would like people to know about? We want people to know about it!  When Luke walked past and realized that the market was here, we both came back the same day to shop.  People should come check it out because it’s good…. and try everything!  Every week, we pick something different and get it.  This week, we’re going to eat the apples and cheese together.