Chad’s Produce, Market on State, Caputo’s

Thanks to Tara at Local Food Bee, I discovered Chad’s Produce and bought a bunch of stuff this past weekend.

• Rainbow Carrots (1 bag)
• Cucumbers (3)
• Arugula (gallon-sized ziploc)
• Cilantro (he gave me his last 2 quart-sized bags for the price of 1 because it looked “wilty”)
• Eggs (dozen)
• Strawberries (1 pint basket)
• Black walnuts (6)
• Ginger (“handful”)

I was a little disappointed that one and a half of the carrots, one of the walnuts, and a few of the strawberries were no good, but at least the taste was great! The cucumbers, arugula, cilantro, and ginger were especially good! We ate the walnuts as soon as my husband got home from work Saturday night. They were good, but I couldn’t tell the difference between “normal” walnuts I buy. Is there supposed to be one? I bought them because they looked cool and I wanted to try them. Mission accomplished.

I baked Valentine’s treats most of the day Sunday, and to keep me hydrated, I made cucumber-ginger water with the cucumbers and ginger I got from Chad. Yum!

For Sunday dinner, I used the cilantro to make a sauce for a Peruvian dish called “seco de res”, and served it with sauteed beet greens and the rainbow carrots (also sauteed). The beef was “stew meat” from Canyon Meadows Ranch that I bought on Saturday at Market on State. We also had salad made out of the arugula and other mixed greens.

For dessert, I made “whipped cream” out of walnuts (not Chad’s) and served that with the strawberries. That was my first time making walnut cream, and it was pretty tasty! I made cashew cream at Thanksgiving and used it as a frosting for cupcakes, but this walnut cream was “fluffier” and more like actual whipped cream. And the honey used to sweeten it was from Canyon Meadows Ranch – also picked up at Market on State on Saturday. Before bed, I made a tea with some of the ginger and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

So Chad’s Produce and Market on State were good to me… what about Caputo’s Locavore Market, which I’d read about in Edible Wasatch? It was a total let-down for me. There were only 3 or 4 vendors and they weren’t selling anything I could eat. They also weren’t very friendly. I think only one person even acknowledged me and that was after I said hello first. The guy in the corner (selling sausage or something?) was sitting back in his chair kind of snarling at me. I didn’t even bother to get close enough to see exactly what he was selling. I was very sad that it was so disappointing because I wanted to love it.

I also realized I hadn’t been in Caputo’s in a couple /few? years – since they remodeled and put a dining area where the store used to be. I don’t like it at all. I’m not sure if I just got a bad “feng shui” vibe or it was too loud or I was already disappointed by the lackluster Locavore Market or what, but the store no longer felt inviting. I didn’t want to browse, there was no real “flow” to the store, and I left hoping I would never have to go back.