Brussels Sprouts Displayed on Stalk

There is something new with Brussel Sprouts. Most of us have choked them down at some time in our lives but lately the seem to be making a come back. Shoppers are realizing that freshly picked brussel sprouts actually have a pleasant flavour. And when BS is in season, the nutrition content makes it worthy to include them in your diet . It used to be you could just buy them bulk but my recent travels show that that Brussel Tree seems to be the latest farmers market, independent and main stream grocery store favourity display trick.

The hottest trend right now - re-usable grocery bags

The hottest thing right now are the resuable grocery bags (which ideally will get used at the liquor store, at the drug store and at any place that bags are frequently used). Loblaws has the 99 cent black bag that is pretty basic - a little on the small side; Sobeys has an oversized heavy duty bag with fabulous side slots to hold bottles, a baguette or some flowers (and I like the visual of kiwifruit they use); Longos (an upscale family owned business in Ontario) has a series of bags with different sayings; Dominion and A&P have just come out with a holiday themed bag; and Trader Joe has a funky multi-coloured theme bag that I had to buy just for the design alone.

It is a good trend and one I hope continues - after all plastic bags are made of oil - and the price of that isn't going down. I wish the grcoery stores would actually charge 25 cents or 50 cents for a bag. Frankly the 3 cent charge certain stores give you doesn't make one heck of a difference with me. A couple of dollars will make me remember to bring my bag with me!

Ontario Fresh 2008 Calendar

When I was at Fortinos, a local grocer chain (part of the Loblaw group) in Ontario recently I picked up my free copy of the Foodland Ontario calendar. It starts Jan 2008 but I thought I would flip to see what was being featured in November - Ontario apples. The handling tip given: to optimize crispness and flavour, store in refrigerator cripser separately from other fruits and vegetables. Availability: All months except July. 

Hmmm, my tip: to optimize crispness eat Ontario apples when they are in season from August until around Jan/Feb - apples start to lose their crunch after 6 to 8 months unless they are kept in Controlled atmosphere (CA) rooms or if they are treated with chemicals or gases. Frankly, with all the environmental hazzards that are out there, I want my apples ideally unwaxed and as near to natural as possible.  

So eat lots of Ontario and other domestic apples (i.e. if you are living in BC, eat the locally grown BC apples as much as possible or those from the States closest to you ie. Washington).  That way you get fresh crispness and natural crunch all the time. Come March/April - start looking for the imports that will be trickling in.

Bananas by the piece AND by the pound

It is always interesting to see what you might spot at Trader Joe's. In this case it was bananas - and it wasn't the way I normally see them priced for both organic and conventional. It was priced by the piece but they also told you the estimated price per pound.