Out And About: Friday 24 September 2014
Friday 24 September 2014 wrap up of where I have been out and about.
Last week Sunday Dave and I were out and about at the Lourensford Harvest Market. The market is open from 10am until 3pm and I would suggest you get there early. Other than the usual places where you can buy ready to eat meals, I was really pleased to see a stand with fresh vegetables. I bought a bag of courgettes which I sliced on my mandolin and pan fried with a little bit of olive oil and some lemon juice. From funki fungi I got two huge portabella mushrooms. I grilled these with a topping made from the stems, some button mushrooms and feta cheese, topped with a locally made grana that I also purchased from the market. As there were loads of mushrooms available I will be heading back, with more cash or an app on my phone to make payments. Dave bought half a trout from Lourensford Trout which he is curing using my homemade liqueur and tarragon. Aside from the food, there are other stands with knives, clothing and one selling soap. I purchased a bar of hope soap which is a business that was started to empower unemployed women in a local community.
On Tuesday night Dave and I went to The Cooks Playground to cook with Fry’s. Fry’s is a South African product range created by vegetarians for vegetarians. The invitation was extended to us by Carla from Have You Heard and we were there with a lot of home cooks. Amy from Fry’s told me that at least half of their client base is looking for a product that has the same texture as meat, and that is a motivating factor behind the range that is available. The meat substitute uses grains and legumes which makes them high in protein, an essential part of a good diet, and something most new to being vegetarian people don’t consume enough of. The food is also egg and dairy free which makes it suitable for vegans. We made warm sesame toasted strips with the ‘chicken’ style strips, and zesty c-food coconut curry with the crispy ‘prawns’. Being confirmed meat eaters both Dave and I do not feel that the products have the same texture and / or taste as meat but, if you are thinking about meat free options then I would go with Fry’s.
Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Fry’s Family Food evening and my invitation was not based on my writing a blog post. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Nonya Pot Braised Chicken
- two years ago – Simple and Delicious, Alida Ryder
- three years ago – Marco Simoncelli
So many fun market purchases!
I could have come home with all the mushrooms!
Hi Tandy, sounds like a wonderful market. Would love to hear how the trout turns out, happy week-end to you!
The trout was amazing, Dave is now an expert at making gravalax 🙂
I recently discovered vegan shrimp and before digging in, was wondering how/why they looked so strange. Who knew?
They don’t look anything like shrimp 🙂
Oh, that market looks like fun. It is always a mystery to me why some vegetarians want products that look, taste and have the texture of meat! But that’s just me!
I understand exactly where you are coming from Rachel 🙂
I don’t mind eating vegetarian or vegan now and then, but meat substitutes make me shiver. I’d rather do without them and just enjoy the veg until I get back to my meat. 🙂
I agree with you there Krista 🙂
Your description of those mushrooms really made my mouth water, Tandy. Aren’t farmer’s markets just the best?
I love farmers markets and we should have more of them where I live as it is farming country all around us 🙂
Looks like they have a wide range of vegetarian alternatives for meat. Happy to hear about it. Thanks for sharing, Tandy!
Gourmet Getaways
My pleasure Julie 🙂
You’re living a good live Tandy, you should be gratefull for that….
oh, I am indeed grateful 🙂
We’ve tried some of the Fry’s items and feel the same way. They’re not really like meat for us.
The family have recently moved to Australia Lorraine to get the product into the market there.