My Love for Farmers’ Markets

Today I ventured to the downtown farmer’s market, the Littly Italy Mercato, with my friend Jackie. I just love it there. You can find everything from fruits and veggies to freshly baked bread, homemade dips, locally made cheese and olive oil. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than the apples you’d get at some food store, but I think it’s well worth it. Because unlike a lot of the food people buy and have no idea where it’s coming from (besides the “Product of Chile or ___” label), behind all the food at the farmer’s market, there’s a story. You meet the people that make the products, and a lot of the stuff there is organic. Today I met a guy who started a homemade granola company, and another who has his own peanut butter spread line (both of which are so delicious!). I adore the market for the same reason I love restaurants where the owner is running around in the middle of the dinner rush to greet the customers – they have passion and a real sense of enthusiasm for the food they make. I suppose that’s something a foodie like myself appreciates 🙂

Although I had just gone to my nearby farmer’s market a few days ago and wasn’t really in need of any produce, I couldn’t help but make a few purchases. Jackie and I were saying how we really would like to make the downtown farmer’s market a weekly trip!

Walking around the market and taking Harley for a long walk was the extent of my exercise today. It was a much needed rest my sore muscles & ice my calf day!

Now moving along to recipes…

I have a big weakness for Italian food. Give me pasta, bread, olive oil, wine, and cheese and I’m a happy girl. However, what I don’t like is all of the calories and fat that some Italian recipes bring. I’m a fan of fettuccine alfredo, but I only like it if it’s not too heavy. After I eat I like to feel satisfied, not stuffed. Out of curiosity, I just looked up the nutrition facts for Italian chain Olive Garden’s (not a fan) fettuccine alfredo. The dinner portion contains 1,220 calories and 75 grams of fat, with 47 of them saturated fat. That’s about how many calories I eat in a day. And 75 grams of fat!! Gross.

Last night I wanted to make fettuccine with a hint of an alfredo-like sauce. Traditional alfredo is made with a lot of heavy cream, but I nixed that and made up my own sauce with a bit of cream cheese, milk, and parmesan. I included spinach and tomato to add some produce and nutrients to the meal, and it satisfied my craving without all the guilt.

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 1

• 3 oz of dry fettuccine (Barilla)
• 1 medium Roma tomato, chopped
• A large handful of raw spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 TBSP white cooking wine
• 1 TBSP light cream cheese
• 2 TBSP Pecorino Romano cheese (Locatelli)
• 1/4 cup milk (whatever kind of milk you like works – I used Almond Breeze vanilla almond milk)
• Salt & pepper

Boil a pot of water, then cook pasta according to directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat. Warm cooking wine in skillet, then add garlic. Cook until lightly browned, then add tomatoes.

After tomatoes have cooked and softened a bit (around 3-4 minutes), add spinach and cook just until wilted. 

Next pour the milk, cream cheese and 1 TBSP of Pecorino Romano into the skillet. Stirring frequently, let the mixture cook for a few minutes until the sauce is fully combined.

When pasta is done cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain.

Put pasta back in the pot, then add the spinach/tomatoes/sauce mix in. Stir in salt and pepper to taste and the remaining Pecorino Romano. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of the cooking water to adjust consistency.

Nutrition stats: 450 calories, 10 g fat, 16 g protein, 71 g carbs