Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that we have and an opportunity to share a meal with those we cherish. This holiday, serve up dishes that are fresh with ingredients produced or made right here in Arizona. Stock up on all your meal prep needs during our Thanksgiving Market.

Thanksgiving Recipes

Brass Bubbles Cocktail

Ingredients:
4oz. Sonoita Vineyards Sparkling Brut
1.5oz Iconic Cascara Vanilla
.5oz Shrubwell Plum Date Rosemary Shrub

Combine all in a wine glass with ice
Stir gently
Garnish with rosemary and plum

Jewel Roasted Vegetables

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing (Recipe by Danica @stuffedandchuffed)

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. cornbread mix, enough to fill an 8″ square pan
1 loaf of sturdy bread, such as ciabatta
1lb. The Proper Beast™ Mexican chorizo
2 celery sticks, diced
1 onion, diced
2 c. chicken broth
2 large eggs
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare cornbread as directed.
Once cooled slice cornbread and loaf bread into 1/2″ cubes. Place cubes in a bag and leave the bag open to dry out the bread for at least a day.
Brown the Mexican chorizo in a pan over medium-high heat. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in pan. Set aside.
Saute onion and celery in sausage fat until soft and slightly browned.
Combine dried bread, sausage, onion, and celery in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together chicken broth, eggs, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Slowly pour broth mixture into bread mixture, mixing often to ensure even distribution and prevent sogginess.
Once ingredients are combined, pour into a buttered baking dish and cook at 350°F for 30–40 minutes.

Other Meal Essentials

Olive Oil (Hatun Olive Oils)
Bread (Arizona Bread Co, Noble Bread, Proof Bread)
Seasonings (The Fig & The Knife, AZ Gardens A-Z)
Pies (One More Bite Bakery)

All month we are celebrating reducing our waste. We have created a list of things for you to keep in mind going into the holiday season. However you choose to be spending the next few months, the festive spirit is in the air. With holiday gatherings and celebrations coming into focus there are many opportunities to reduce your environmental footprint. Here are 10 tips to help you do the holidays greener. 

1. Shopping local: 

Thoughtful gifts bought locally have true value and decrease your carbon footprint. Eating local produce not only reduces your footprint but it gives you a better sense of community and knowing who and where your food is coming from. https://www.localfirstaz.com/10-reasons-to-buy-local

2. Preserving produce so it doesn’t spoil: 

Plan out your grocery list for what you need, use ice on your way home from the store to ensure lettuce and perishables don’t go to waste. Eat your leftovers, or freeze them along with many produce items that you can’t eat fast enough. On November 9th come down and learn how to preserve produce at the market with, “Fermenting with Garden Goddess”

Read the full story »

Note: Watch out for any small hair-like spines on the fruit. Most fruit purchased at a market have already rid the fruit of any spines but always good to watch out for. To protect your hands and fingers, it’s best to use a fork, a towel, or even a gardener’s glove to steady the fruit while you work with it.

5 Fun Facts About Prickly Pears

1. The color of prickly pears varies each with their own flavor. They are often red in color, although other varieties include yellow-orange and green.
2. The fruit of prickly pears are said to taste like a combination of bubblegum and watermelon, and can be made into candy, jam or beverages, or eaten raw, although some people do not like to eat the hard edible seeds.
3. The red fruit of the Prickly Pear is called many things such as ‘cactus fruit’, ‘cactus fig’, ‘Indian fig’ and ‘tuna’.
4. Prickly pear pulp makes excellent jam, jellies and preserves, sweets and refreshing or digestive beverages.
5. The fruit is high in amino acids, fiber, vitamin B, magnesium, and iron.

When opening up a melon, what do you normally do with the seeds? Throw them out is probably the most common response. Yet, there is so much more you can do with the seeds of a melon. Roast them like you would pumpkin seeds or use them for planting your own melon garden. Below are tips on how to properly save and store melon seeds to get you started. Then on best times to plant melons or an easy recipe to roast seeds for the best taste.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

We are honored to receive Phoenix New Time’s Reader’s Choice Best Farmers Market!

Last month, inspired by Jack Johnson’s change-making generosity with All At Once Org, we organized a humble neighborhood clean-up with Local First Arizona that exceeded expectations. Read the full story »