The Hunt for Asparagus

I am not a fan of asparagus, but M. loves it. It's his favorite vegetable. I am not sure why I am not a fan of it but it seems to sneak up in most of my meals over the summer and I tell myself that it is good for me so that I eat it. Unfortunately, lately, it's been a very expensive vegetable. Asparagus has been available for awhile, but not local asparagus ie those tree trunks found at Costco.  To me, it's not worth buying it as their is not much flavour and it has a woody texture. We did stop by the Crampton's market (more on this later) a week ago to buy some local honey and we found some local asparagus but it was $3.79 a pound... that's expensive! Poor M. he said a silent goodbye and we walked out deciding that he should be patient until the price becomes more reasonable. Fortunately, this weekend we noticed in the Superstore flyer that asparagus was now at $1.99 a pound. M. was extremely happy.

Today, he and I were at Gateway for most of the day, therefore, I volunteered to go to Superstore to pick him up some asparagus along with our groceries but I first wanted to go to a garden centre north of the perimeter called Schreimers where Vic's Market (more on that later) opened their second location. I live in the south of the end of the city so I am family with all of the green houses south of the perimeter on St. Mary's but M. is from Transcona and told me that he heard it was a neat place to visit and since Vic's opened their second location there (they always have the most beautiful produce), I should check it out.

I found a new planter for my orchid and some beautiful strawberry tomatoes, local kale and peaches and cream corn! I, of course, found some asparagus but it was $3.99 a pound. With M.'s okay, I walked away and took my goodies home. This trip was really a splurge because the tomatoes were $5 a pint! Aren't they pretty though? How could you resist? They look like little jewels and you can pop them in your mouth like they are candy since they are so sweet.

I finally made it to Superstore at 12:30pm, but guess what, asparagus sold out. (sad face)

Sometimes, for food especially (healthy food, not junk food) what is $3.99 for a pound of asparagus? I had no problem earlier today spending $5.49 for a grande java chip frappuccino from Starbucks and I bet that thing was 550 calories! That being said, I also spent $5 on a pint of tomatoes. I think, for M. and I, we are trying to shop for food in a 'smarter' fashion and sometimes we end up missing out in the end. That doesn't happen to often, but it's something to be aware of.

It's interesting how we accept the prices of junk food which can be expensive without question but when we see produce slightly less or equal in price, we second guess the purchase. Why is that? It's the same when we purchase foods from local farmers markets and we do complain that the prices can be on the higher side... but don't we want to support our local economy? Something to ponder... In the end, I think I need to work on finding a happy medium.

I thought I would share this little story to see if you experience the same predicaments as we do. I also wanted to share with you about my visit to the Schreimers Garden Centre and to suggest for you to check it out. It's only a 5 minute drive North of the perimeter on Lagimodiere and now with Vic's Market that is also located there, it will expose you to some really fantastic local produce. I was so proud of myself for only purchasing three items this time around because everything looked delectable!

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend :)

(A post about smaller produce markets such as Crampton's and Vic's Market where you find local foods will follow shortly)