Singapore’s local farmer’s market located in Pasir Panjang was a treat! Rows of local fresh veggies and fruits and the best part – there was no “wet market” to go with it:) This is the typical meat and seafood market that borders most produce markets in this area. If you are a vegetarian the wet market ambience is usually a turn off. They did have a separate section for dried goods which included dry fish, shrimp and dry fruits but instinctively they seemed to separate these from the veggie and fruit rows. The result – we came home with enough produce to last us two weeks:) Most of this was the excitement at finding a wholesale produce market coupled with the interest to introduce juicing into our daily eating regimen. It also seemed like a fairly inexpensive alternative to the otherwise expensive produce and grocery shopping I was slowly getting used to around here. This may be a “hidden gem” for expats here as there wasn’t much of a crowd and you could negotiate if you bought enough from a single vendor. So overall, a win win:)
And so this was our lunch yesterday – carrot ginger and tofu soup, sprouts-lettuce-orange salad with orange salad dressing and fresh orange and guava juice. Can you tell we bought too many oranges:)
For the juice, we used a juicer which is a neat contraption, though my only peeve is that several pounds of produce yields two to three (if you’re lucky) 8oz cups of juice. Until I figured we could use the fruit mush or the “waste” from the juicer into our smoothies for breakfast the next morning! And if you have the Vita-mix, you can’t tell the skin from the pulp anyway:)
Carrot Ginger Tofu Soup (from the Vita-mix recipe cookbook)
4 medium carrots, peeled and halved
1/4 small onion, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of white pepper
1 tbsp fresh ginger root or ginger paste
1/3 cup light silken tofu
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth (I used Knorr vegetarian cubes but I would recommend the low sodium broth minus any MSG)
Method:
1. Place carrots, onion and garlic in the Vita-mix container and secure the lid.
2. Select Variable 1, turn the machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 4 or 5.
3. Blend for 10 seconds until coarsely chopped.
4. Heat oil in a pan and sauté chopped ingredients until the onion is clear and the carrots are tender. Add a little broth if needed.
5. Place remaining ingredients in the Vita-mix container, add the sautéed ingredients and secure the lid.
7. Select Variable 1, turn the machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to high.
8. Blend for 3-4 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the lid.
9. Garnish with celery leaves and enjoy!
Sprouts, lettuce and orange salad
1 cup whole green gram (mung) sprouts
1 cup butter or romaine lettuce leaves (spinach leaves are preferred but that was one leafy green I didn’t buy that day:)
1/4 cup cabbage grated or coarsely chopped
1/4 cup boiled green peas
1 carrot, grated
1 firm orange, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
Dressing –
3 tbsp orange sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
Method : Take about 1/2 tsp olive oil, add 1/2 cup orange juice and about 2 tsp of orange rind. Add some agave syrup to taste.
Arrange the lettuce/spinach leaves and orange segments on a platter. Spread the salad mixture over the orange and spinach. Spoon the orange sauce over the salad. Chill for a couple of hours before serving.