IT’S TIME FOR VEGGIE DEALS
Get those faves while you can
It’s prime time for low-priced Quebec vegetables, but some favourites are on the wane and should be tracked down and enjoyed now.
It’s the last week for corn on the cob, and you should also shop right away for the best field tomatoes. People who make big batches of tomato sauce and ketchup are buying boxes of tomatoes at the public markets. Zucchini is on the wane after a banner year. If your zucchinis have grown huge, they probably lack flavour and are ready to consign to compost.
Cucumbers are dwindling away, and if you want Quebec strawberries and raspberries, a trip to a public market is probably a “must” this week. Quebec cantaloupes are gone for another year.
Quebec apples, Paula red and Lobo, are crisp and ready to be enjoyed. Consider making a batch of applesauce — easy if you have a food processor as there is no need to peel the apples.
It’s a big week for Quebec peppers of all kinds, and also for leeks, squash, and celery — both the big bunches and celery hearts. Think of those chilly months when imported peppers are expensive and consider blackening the big, coloured bell peppers on a gas burner or grill, peeling away the charred skin, and preserving the delicious inner pepper flesh.
Leeks may be cleaned, chopped or sliced, and frozen in airtight packages. Make batches of puréed squash to freeze in convenient quantities.
As a green bean fancier, I buy them with caution when plasticwrapped. Lately, however, the quality has been so good from Quebec growers that even the plastic-covered packages have offered superb beans.
Imported broccoli is beginning to take over from local in supermarkets. Beets and carrots are at their best. Even “baby” carrots, usually bland in taste, seem to have more flavour this month.
Cabbage, all kinds, is cheap and good. Local Brussels sprouts are not cheap, unless you invest in a stalk of this vegetable, cutting off just the number you want when ready to cook. Salad greens are all available locally. The best buys currently are the hardier varieties of heads — iceberg and romaine.
Ontario blue plums and Bartlett pears are in good supply. Shop now for the plums before their season ends.