Market On the Move

I can hardly believe I have been able to keep my fingers from pounding out praises of Market On the Move (MOM), an earth-shaking discovery from last weekend. Our neighbors told me about MOM long ago and it seemed too good to be true. 60 POUNDS of produce for a measly $10?!

I went last weekend and was practically juggling my 10 spaghetti squash, I was so giddy about the amount of goodies piling up in my box. You hand over $10. You are given a huge cardboard box to fill. When it gets too heavy, you are brought an industrial cart to continue your bulk produce gathering. The produce all comes from Nogales and is the surplus not picked up by farmer’s markets. It’s not spoiled. It’s all in season. There’s absolutely no reason not to go.

There are limits to how many veggies of each type you can get, but the limits still allow you to feed a small army. Last Saturday, had I chosen, I could have ended up with:

• 16 spaghetti squash
• a grocery bag of cherry tomatoes
• five bundles of tomatoes on the vine
• 6 melons
• heaps of red onions
• 18 yellow squash
• 10 bags of bread (yeah, they had pretzel buns too)
• a random 12-pack of protein shakes 

I didn’t get the max of everything, but darn close. Of course I got the protein shakes. Any former athlete can’t say no to a can full of whey. My amiga Emma reaped the benefits of my excess tomatoes and spaghetti squash.

I’d never cooked spaghetti squash before, but I did this week and I felt like my fork was working magic. Cut the squash in half. Pull the seeds out. Bake it at 375 degrees for half and hour, flat side down. Pop it out and stroke your fork through the squash to watch the pasta unfurl. So easy. I made a lasagna-esque pile within each squash. Aesthetically on point and tasty to boot! Seldom do my meals meet both criteria. Usually they smell and look great, then taste bland. Or they look like road kill and are a delight to the taste buds. 

Here’s what I made! Check out Closet Cooking for the recipe! Our final products look similar. That alone made me glow with pride. Bon apetit.