Written By: Ellie Wilson, MS, RD Senior Nutritionist, Price Chopper Supermarkets
There are many voices highlighting different diet strategies, but none of them is as time tested, delicious and now highly proven to offer the best any diet can offer – exciting, appetizing fare that results in substantially better health for most people. Enter the Mediterranean diet, a food heritage and cuisine that emphasizes extra virgin olive oil, fruits and vegetables, seafood and nuts, along with red wine, as mainstays. Pasta, crusty breads and beans round out the Mediterranean foundation.
We carry a great variety of imported Italian foods, including Price Chopper and international brands, and many of them are highlighted during our Italian celebration starting on October 11th. They offer an authentic link to the flavors and foods of the Mediterranean.
Extra virgin olive oil is darker green in color, and can vary in flavor from sweet to peppery. The darker color means there
are more polyphenols and antioxidants, which contribute to the flavor elements and healthfulness of the oil. Great for cooking at lower temperatures, and for adding cold to salads and bread dips, extra virgin olive oil should be a staple in your pantry. The best study showed that up to 4 tablespoons of olive oil per day helped protect from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stroke.
San Marzano tomatoes are a particular heirloom variety of tomatoes originating from the small Italian town of San Marzano sul Sarno, and have been grown since the 1700’s, when they were brought back from Peru. They have a strong, sweet taste and lower acidity than Roma’s, and make a wonderful sauce. They are so unique, they are certified by the Italian government. Lycopene, an antioxidant that also lends its red color to tomatoes, is more easily absorbed from cooked tomatoes, so these items are rich sources. Check out the Price Chopper and Cento brand canned tomatoes, great for sauces and salsa’s.
DeLallo brand began offering authentic Italian foods door to door in the 1940’s. Their pepperoncini and giardinera are wonderful – spice up cole slaw with thin slices of pepperoncini, or add it to a sandwich mixed with shredded lettuce. Giardinera is a jarred vegetable salad with cauliflower and carrots in a spicy vinegar, comes in mild and hot varieties, and is a savory, convenient vegetable side salad for lunch or dinner. Cento brand has brought over 1,000 authentic, premium Italian foods to the United States for over 40 years, and flavor makers like anchovy, clam juice and marinated artichokes are all highlighted this week.
Put it all together with fresh seafood (October is National Seafood Month) and you will enjoy the best the Mediterranean diet has to offer! An easy, delicious dinner can include your choice of fresh white fish (1 pound) like cod or haddock, broiled. Combine Price Chopper canned San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz.), in a sauce pan with two tablespoons each of dried basil and oregano, two cloves of minced garlic, and one anchovy filet, brought to a boil, then simmer and reduce until slightly thickened (about 15 minutes). Be sure the filet has dissolved into the sauce. Serve over the white fish, with a side of al dente pasta and a green salad with olives. Serves 3-4. You can also try our Create, Take and Bake fresh seafood meals at the seafood counter. Welcome to the Mediterranean!
Written by Molly Zingler, New York Apple Association
With so many great-tasting apple varieties available this time of year, it is possible to snack on a different flavor every day for weeks – if not months! New York growers produce more apple varieties than any other state, so when you’ve had your fill of fresh fruit then start baking with them.
You turned off your oven for the summer, so now that fall is here let’s ease back into baking gently. First, here are our tips to lay the foundation – crust, if you will – for the best baking experience:
- Make the right choice: All apple varieties are not created equally. Choose varieties that are recommended for baking. Which means never choosing Red Delicious.
- Make the hard choice: Select apples that are firm to the touch and aren’t bruised. Handle them gently to prevent blemishes.
- Just say no to the fruit bowl: Refrigerated apples last much longer than room-temperature ones.
- Pucker up to prevent browning: To keep apple slices and dices from browning before baking, bathe them in a mixture of half lemon juice, half water – or 100 percent apple juice fortified with vitamin C. (Lemon juice = citric acid = vitamin C.)
- Get mixed up: When making a pie, crisp, slump, betty, crumble, or any other baked goodie that calls for sliced or diced apples, use a blend of sweet and tart apple varieties for balanced flavor.
- Dress for success: Most of the apple’s health benefits are in the peel, so leave it on.
Now let’s bake something!
The pinnacle of baking with apples is the two-crust apple pie, but that can also be daunting for many bakers. If you don’t feel ready to tackle a two-cruster, start with a crostada. This rustic, free-form pastry tastes just as good as its more formal cousin. We’ve made it even easier by calling for a ready-made crust.
When you’re ready to move up to a two-crust pie, find that recipe (and many others) at www.nyapplecountry.com/recipes.
For our advice on which varieties are best for baking, visit www.nyapplecountry.com/apple-country-useage-chart.
Apple Walnut Crostada
- 1 refrigerated/ready−made piecrust
- cooking spray
- 6 or 7 baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup all−purpose flour
- dash of vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Place apple slices, sugar, walnuts, flour and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and toss well.
Transfer piecrust to baking sheet. Spoon apple mixture into center of piecrust and fold up sides of pastry to capture apples and juices. Dot with butter. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serves 8.
Nutrition Info: Each serving contains 320 calories, 51 g carbohydrate, (4 g fiber), 2 g protein, 14 g fat, (5 g saturated fat), 10 mg cholesterol, and 125 mg sodium.
Photo credit: U.S. Apple Association, www.usapple.org.
About Molly Zingler
Molly comes by her apple props honestly. In addition to being marketing director for New York Apple Association, she grew up in New York Apple Country and recently married a New York state apple grower.
About New York Apple Association, Inc.
A nonprofit agricultural trade association based in Fishers, N.Y., NYAA represents the state’s commercial apple growers. The association supports profitable growing and marketing of New York apples through increasing demand for apples and apple products, representing the industry at state and federal levels, and serving as the primary information source on New York apple-related matters. For more information, visit www.nyapplecountry.com.
Written by Tyler Blance, Marketing Program Coordinator – Local
It’s fall harvest season in the northeast, and we’re celebrating homegrown at our
Clifton Park Shoppers World Market 32! Saturday, October 24
th starting at 10am, we’ll be hosting Homegrown Harvest Day, a day-long sampling event featuring products and appearances from local producers in the area.
Harvest Day comes at a time when many of our Northeast farmers are preparing for a well-deserved rest from the hectic growing season, but it also comes at a time when folks are starting to prepare for the holiday season and spending time with family. Our local producers are part of our Pric
e Chopper – Market 32 family, so we’re holding Homegrown Harvest Day in part to celebrate their partnership with us as we help people feed and care for themselves and their families.
On the 24
th, we’ll be featuring a variety of local producers, beginning first with our friends at Death Wish Coffee. These guys are from Round Lake, NY and brew “the world’s strongest coffee”. They’re in the running to win a commercial during football’s big game this year; visit their website
here to vote for them!
We’ll also have other producers from the area in-house at Shoppers World Market 32, including David Pede from Pede Bros pasta, Dave Shaul from Shaul Farms and Phyllis Underwood from Shushan Valley Hydro Farm. Come meet your Northeast producers, chat with them and sample the products they make and grow for you!
Supporting local is something we’ve always held a lot of importance to as a brand, whether it be supporting local community events and charities, supporting a local cider mill, Christmas tree farm, maple syrup producer or bakery. We’ll be hosting homegrown-focused sampling events in other stores in the future—stay tuned as we round up the local crowd in other parts of the Northeast!