We are now into our 4th week of challenging our market goers to Feed-4-under-$50.
It’s certainly been enlightening, as well as fun! Time to let you in on it…
Chef Troy of @Lexvegasbistro is sharing this process with his pre-teen son, who has been chef-in-training for some time now, helping his private-chef-dad on his food trailer and at vineyard events for a few years. We love being part of their teamwork!
Menu from recent weeks has been:
Week 1.
Appetizer:
A Terrine of Ground Beef & Blue Cheese Mousse, dressed with a ramp gremolata and a green olive tapenade, both items from Chef’s own pantry.
Entree & Sides:
Char Grilled, Spatchcocked ½ Chicken serve atop a sweet corn puree, with a tomato confit, and a side of herb-buttered Romanesco, a very fun looking fractal vegetable that looks to be a marriage of broccoli, cauliflower and algebra!
Salad:
Golden Beet & Shaved Fennel Carpaccio, dressed with Spicy Carrot Slaw & fresh Chives.
This 3-Course Menu from Week 1 was a pairing of ingredients from multiple local producers at the Lexington Farmer’s Market, and Chef Troy is available as your private or special event chef, too: @ulmermountainviewfarms, @littlehatcreek, @razumovabakery, @hearthstonefarms @TwistaJLLC, @Singingearthproduce, @SensoriumHerbals and rang in at $47.
Week 2.
Top Sirloin Roast, with broad assortment of seasonal fresh veggies, potatoes & herbs all cooked together in the pressure cooker, for an easy one pot meal. Chef Troy added in some golden beets that were remaining from last week’s haul, making sure that his family gets a diversity of nutrients, eating colorful, seasonal produce all across the rainbow. It was served with a chimichurri condiment, inspired by Farmer Adolfo Calixto of @Singing Earth Produce sharing how he likes to use some lesser known ingredients at his booth. Our experienced farmers are full of meal ideas!!
Adolfo proposed his tomatillos, jalapeno, scallions and purslane for this version of an endlessly adaptable Chimichurri. Choosing a one-pot-meal gave Chef Troy back some valuable hours of prep & cooking time to enjoy with his family, instead!
Menu from Week 2 not only fed 4pp, but even produced enough leftovers for lunch!
This week’s menu was a pairing of ingredients from the following market farmers & vendors: @ulmermountainviewfarms, @hearthstonefarms @TwistaJLLC, @Singingearthproduce, and rang in at $37.50.
Week 3. We had a customer request for a meatless meal! So we had THREE meals to offer the market customer, a regular, so that she could have her pick.
This time of year, and in this heat, we all want to eat seasonally, and spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.
So, with all the tomatoes, and assorted veggies now in their prime, both Chef Troy & I both came up with the same brainstorm – a Ratatouille meal.
Another one-pot-wonder of stewed vegetables that all play stunningly well together. I’m including a recipe for you to try your own hand at it, and know that it is very adaptable, so feel free to customize it as you wish, adding or omitting any ingredient you’d like, adding parmesan cheese maybe, like Chef Troy’s daughter requested, or perhaps some local goat or sheep’s cheese, or if vegan, something special by @Miyoko’s perhaps. OR recognizing this dish needs no cheese either, so it’s a naturally/accidentally vegan/vegetarian meal anyway! To make this an even more fiber-rich, or protein filled meal, add a can of cooked chickpeas, or serve it under a poached or fried egg, alongside stewed greens, dressing an omelet, or in a hoagie roll, as a veggie sub.
As you see, you can make a ratatouille your signature summertime seasonal dish adding in fennel, or shisito peppers, changing eggplant styles, stewing it, or baking it , serving with a quinoa pilaf, over egg noodles, orzo, or rice, or maybe with a hunk of sourdough bread instead, and customizing any which way you wish. Bonus, this dish freezes and reheats exceedingly well, and has a near-cousin of a dish called a caponata, which also tastes like sunshine. You expert home canners could can either of these for winter enjoyment, too.
Go on, you have my permission (and total encouragement) to play with your food!
Chef Troy added in some fresh peaches from @Dickie Brothers Orchard, to make a fresh peach pastry, his version of a homemade “pop-tart”, though not pictured here..
Congratulations to our recent prize winners for voting with their best guessed price of our $50Budget Meals!! SJ & CP so far are winners and the next two winners will win weekly bragging rights, hearing their names broadcast on the air over at @RockbridgeRadio.com at the 11:50am station break with Val Davis . You can listen in, streaming from anywhere with use of their free app.
This month, our weekly winners win their choice of what our customers have all called “Elegant & Exquisite” . Her confections, often termed (almost) “too pretty to eat” are cupcakes that are full on EXPERIENCES from @6Bittersweets !! Hint, if you don’t think a cupcake can travel, request one of her cupcake jars instead.
Remember to VOTE on any of our social channels to win your chance at your well-deserved bragging rights. If you know someone who doesn’t believe that you can eat very well, richly and seasonally feeding a family of 4 all for less than $50, PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH THEM!
You can follow Chef Troy’s channel at YouTube (@chefshellers) to watch him cooking these meals, as well as learn some tips, tricks and new words and their meanings… such as “concassé”. He’ll tell you why you want it!