But here’s the catch: Like most Manhattanites, I don’t own a grill (private outdoor space? I don’t know her). I actually barely know how to use one, so this will be as much of a treat for my friends as a learning experience for me.

As a grill newbie, here’s what I plan to make, using primarily farmers’ market ingredients, of course.

My $102.40 shopping list

My haul breaks down to five dishes for four people. The cheapest was my $3 green onions, while the priciest was my $25 pork chops.

Fruits + vegetables

• 1 bundle of mint

• 5 heads of garlic

• 2 aehobak squashes

• 2 gold bar squashes

• 1 bundle of delfino cilantro

• 4 green and red Bibb lettuce

• 1 bundle of green onions

• sugar snap peas

• shishito peppers

Protein

• 2 pasture-raised bone-in pork chops

• 0.8 lb of steelhead trout

• 0.8 lb of tuna

• 0.94 lb whole sea bass

• 30 oysters

I’ll also be grabbing some secondary items I can’t get at the farmers market, such as lemons, lemongrass, and bird’s eye chili peppers.

The 6-course menu

Subscribe to see how I turned this NYC farmers market haul and some pantry staples into a five-course Asian-inspired dinner for four.

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Let’s maximize it with seasonal quesadillas, roasted fish, and my favorite Korean tofu recipe.

My $207.25 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 48 servings of meals and snacks — $4.32 per serving. The cheapest was my $1.65 yellow onions, while the priciest was my $22 grass-fed New York strip steak.

Fruits + vegetables

• purple asparagus

• Costata Romanesco zucchini

• Sungold cherry tomatoes

• nasturtiums

• garlic scapes

• sorana beans

• tsuru murasaki (malabar spinach)

• epazote

• yellow onions

• purple Peruvian potatoes

• strawberries

• lady apples

• roma tomatoes

• pink oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms

• sugar snap peas

Protein

• whole sea bass

• grey sole

• striped bass

• littleneck clams

• pasture-raised chorizo

• pasture-raised maple brown sugar breakfast sausages

• pastured grass-fed ground beef

• pastured grass-fed New York strip steak

• fresh medium-firm tofu

• fresh free-range eggs

• grass-fed mozzarella

This week’s $4.32-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

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So, for this week, let’s maximize the best of the best with some customizable lunches and bright dinners.

My $222.79 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 51 servings of meals and snacks — $4.36 per serving. The cheapest was my $2.60 frisee and snow peas, while the priciest was my $28 lobster.

Fruits + vegetables

• fig leaves

• sungold cherry tomatoes

• strawberries

• squash blossoms

• squash with blossoms

• fiddlehead ferns

• purple asparagus

• romano beans

• flowering chives

• cucumbers

• frisee

• bosc pears

• shallots

• French breakfast radishes

• snow peas

• chickpea sprouts

• micro basil

• lolla rosa + green romaine lettuces

Protein + breads

• pasture-raised ground pork

• pasture-raised chicken thighs

• pasture-raised maple breakfast sausages

• free-range eggs

• maple pepper smoked steelhead trout bites

• monkfish

• eel

• littleneck clams

• lobster

• whole sea bass

• grass-fed ricotta

• grass-fed cottage cheese

• morning glory muffin

• cranberry cornmeal scone

• everything bagel chips

• mixed-grain sliced loaf

• sunflower millet loaf

• sourdough whole wheat pizza dough

This week’s $4.36-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 51 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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Life has been a bit chaotic, between a hectic work schedule, not having a fridge, family coming into town, and a short trip out of town. Not being able to cook has put my diet out of whack, and I’m in desperate need of some fiber and freshness. I’m not saying I’m craving bland food…but I could really go for a bowl of steamed, unseasoned veggies right now (yes, it’s that bad).

As such, this week’s meal plan will feature bright, fresh dishes that showcase the best of spring produce (plus three of the steaks I was gifted).

My $177.50 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 49 servings of meals and snacks — $3.62 per serving. The cheapest was my free steaks (otherwise, my $1.50 green snow peas), while the priciest was my $27 lobster.

Fruits + vegetables

• foraged fiddlehead ferns

• morels

• squash blossoms

• asparagus

• yellow nasturtiums

• micro french lentils, chickpeas, and alfalfa sprouts

• green snow peas

• chervil

• red onion

• yellow onions

• chrysanthemum

• green and red butter lettuce

• green garlic

• bosc pears

• strawberries

Protein

• fresh free-range eggs

• tuna

• steelhead trout

• bone-in skate wing

• littleneck clams

• live lobster

• grass-fed Caerphilly cheese

• grass-fed cream

• grass-fed Greek yogurt

• *gifted, not from the market, but will be used in the meal plan: New York strip steak, filet medallions, hanging tenders

This week’s $3.62-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

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If you’re new to shopping at the farmers market, I always suggest starting with veggies: Compared to buying protein, they’re cheaper, lower-stakes, and easy to experiment with.

Let’s be frank: Protein at the farmers market can be expensive, especially if you don’t know how to (or where to) shop. So, for this week’s farmers market guide, let’s talk about my favorite protein (seafood, beef, pork, chicken, dairy, eggs, and tofu) options at the Union Square Greenmarket, including my most frequented vendors and the most affordable options.

(P.S., my fridge has been fixed, so expect my regular weekly meal plans to resume next week!)

American Pride Seafood

Before the farmers’ market, salmon was the only seafood I would cook at home. Now, thanks to American Pride, my diet is predominantly fish and shellfish.

Their winter scallops are the sweetest I’ve ever had, and their littleneck clams and mussels are my go-to weeknight dinner. They also carry varieties I rarely see at my neighborhood grocery stores, such as skate wing (I recommend going bone-in) and grey sole (one of my favorites). If you’re new to fish, I also recommend trying their mackerel, monkfish, tuna, or cod.

As for pricing, their whole fish is the most affordable option (whole sea bass is generally about $10 per pound). They also have live lobsters in late spring and summer, often priced at about $18 per pound, in addition to the cheapest oysters around, priced at either $10 or $12 for a dozen, depending on the day.

The folks are also friendly and knowledgeable, so be sure to ask for their recommendations on what you can eat raw. Nothing beats a market-fresh sashimi, crudo, or ceviche.

Like other Greenmarket vendors, they also offer TooGoodToGo bags on Wednesdays, which are typically a mix of shellfish and fish.

Price: $$ ($ through ToGoodToGo)

Days at USQ: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday

Fishing practices: fresh, wild-caught in the southern New England area

GrowNYC updates its vendor list ahead of every market day. Be sure to check it for up-to-date vendor availability.

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But let’s say you’re more of a spontaneous market goer: Shop now, plan later. How should you go about planning your meals when you barely know what you bought?

I recently found myself in a similar position, having been gifted a large amount of farm-fresh produce and protein for a sponsored post. I refuse to let food go to waste, so here’s how I created a small meal plan based on some of what I received.

My ingredients

Fruits + vegetables

• king trumpet mushrooms

• red spring onions

• komatsuna

• rainbow carrots

• sugar snap peas

• foraged fiddlehead ferns

• foraged ramps

• foraged stinging nettles

• asparagus

• rhubarb

• strawberries

• sumac and preserved lemon hummus

Protein + bread

• sea scallops

• ancestral blend ground chicken

• pasture-raised eggs

• whole chicken

• steelhead trout

• creamline whole milk

• sourdough loaf

My 6 meal ideas (+ how to build your own meal plan using my plug-and-play method)

If you’re fresh to the farmers market and niche produce game, you have to work backward: Start with what you don’t know.

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As you might expect, I don’t have the space to buy and store a week’s worth of food, so I’m only grocery shopping for a few days at a time. That means this week’s meal plan will cover four days and 29 meals and snacks from Wednesday to Saturday, with some leftover produce and protein to use the following week.

My $117.30 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 29 servings of meals and snacks — $4.04 per serving. The cheapest was my $2.30 purple snow peas, while the priciest was my $19 pasture-raised pork chop.

Fruits + vegetables

• maitake and shiitake mushrooms

• baby carrots

• flowering bok choy

• bosc pears

• chrysanthemum (can you tell I’m hooked on it right now)

• purple snow peas

• asparagus

• shiso

• green garlic

• ramps

• yuba (dried tofu skins)

• Japanese sweet potato noodles

Non-plant-based protein

• whiting

• oyster

• littleneck clams

• pasture-raised pork chops

• fresh free-range eggs

This week’s $4.04-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 29 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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The millennial “-y”-ification (garlicky, brothy, dilly, etc) of recipes is so contrived. But let me have this one lil treat: a dilly week — not because I would die at the altar of the feathery green herb (I earnestly wouldn’t), but because the bundles of dill at the farmers market are too large for me to finish in one or two meals, which means I need to find a way to use as much dill as possible this week.

My $167.35 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 50 servings of meals and snacks — $3.35 per serving. The cheapest was my $1 bosc pear, while the priciest was my $18 swordfish.

Fruits + vegetables

• bosc pear

• Asian pears

• snapdragon, jonagold, and winesap apples

• potatoes

• cucumbers

• asparagus

• red spring onions

• dill

• French breakfast radishes

• purple, yellow, and green snow peas

• micro borage

• ramps

• chrysanthemum

• wasabi mustard greens

• flowering arugula

• purslane

Protein + bread

• monkfish

• swordfish

• whole ocean perch (2)

• littleneck clams

• grass-fed ground beef

• pasture-raised Berkshire bacon ends

• pasture-raised 12-pepper sausage

• pasture-raised pork spare ribs

• grass-fed Greek yogurt

• fresh free-range eggs

• sourdough batard

This week’s $3.35-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 50 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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Do I wear jeans or a light skirt? Do I drink a warm soup, or is it already “a-light-salad-for-lunch” season? Do I need to bring a jacket when I head out, or will I start sweating in the first five minutes?

This week’s meal plan might reflect some of that confusion. But hey, at least we’re not stuck under feet of snow anymore.

My $178.5 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 43 servings of meals and snacks — $4.15 per serving. The cheapest was my $1 cipollini onions, while the priciest was my $19 dry-aged pasture-raised black angus shank steaks.

Fruits + vegetables

• masquerade potatoes

• green onions

• Asian pears

• cipollini onions

• baby celery

• first-of-the-season cucumbers

• pioppino, golden enoki, and yellow oyster mushrooms

• ramps

• chrysanthemum

• delfino cilantro

• purple, yellow, and green snow peas

• flowering bok choy

• baby carrots

• spicy microgreen mix (micro watercress, arugula, mizuna, and green wave mustard)

Protein

• cod

• ocean perch

• littleneck clams

• pasture-raised maple brown sugar sausages

• fresh extra-firm tofu

• fresh free-range ggs

• free-range chicken legs

• duck rillettes

• dry-aged pasture-raised black angus shank steak

• forest-raised berkshire/tamworth italian sausages

This week’s $4.15-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 43 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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I typically try to break from the workday with a nice home-cooked lunch, or at least try to start a morning braise while I’m WFH, so I can have a warm meal by the time it hits 12:30 p.m. But this week, I won’t have time for any of that, if I’ll even be home for lunch (you’ll see how chaotic the latter half of the week’s meal plan is).

As such, this week’s meal plan will focus on weekday dinners that keep well in the fridge, ensuring that I’ll have leftovers for lunch the following day. Think Taiwanese stir-fries and dill-heavy bean soups.

My $190.15 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 41 servings of meals and snacks — $4.64 per serving. The cheapest was my $2 carrots, while the priciest were my $22 scallops and grass-fed, hormone/antibiotic-free New York strip steak. My groceries were unusually expensive this week, in part because of the steak, scallops, and double bundle of ramps (although they will last me into next week).

Fruits + vegetables

• garlic chives

• green bibb lettuce

• mâche

• chickweed

• sunflower shoots

• overwintered arugula

• flowering gai lan

• ramps

• bosc pears

• lion’s mane, Italian oyster, and pink oyster mushrooms

• Jonagold, Braeburn, and Ludacrisp apples

• white, purple, red, and yellow carrots

• burdock root

• spring onion

Protein + bread

• steelhead trout

• ocean perch

• whole sea bass

• squid

• littleneck clams

• tuna

• scallops

• grass-fed, hormone/antibiotic-free New York strip steak

• pasture-raised, antibiotic-free ground pork

• San Francisco-style sourdough loaf

This week’s $4.64-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 41 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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I just got back from a quick work trip to Miami, where the sufficiently warm weather and high humidity now have me in summer mode. And with that, a need for quick meals that’ll allow me to maximize my time outdoors. That’s what most of this week’s meal plan will focus on: Meals that require little active prep time or can be meal-prepped.

My $166.45 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 49 servings of meals and snacks — $3.39 per serving. The cheapest was my $0.50, while the priciest was my $27 grass-fed short ribs.

Fruits + vegetables

• green gem + red romaine lettuces

• flowering mustard greens

• grumolo (heirloom Italian chicories)

• golden garlic

• stonecrop

• candy cane + golden beets

• yellow onions

• garlic

• purple daikon

• sweet potatoes

• red onion

• red, yellow, orange, and white carrots

• bosc pears

• ruby frost, cameo, crimson crisp, and arlet apples

Protein

• whole sea bass

• whole mackerel

• littleneck clams

• smoked nitrate-free Berkshire bacon

• fresh free-range eggs

• goat cheese

• fresh extra-firm tofu

• grass-fed short ribs

• grass-fed ground beef

• pasture-raised ground pork

• pasture-raised ground chicken

This week’s $3.39-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 49 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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Gave up on your dreams of starting a micro-sourdough bakery out of your apartment after the COVID-19 pandemic? Same. Luckily, the Union Square Greenmarket’s bakery vendors have perfected the art of sourdough.

For this week’s farmers market guide, let’s talk about my favorite bakery vendors at the Greenmarket, including my go-tos for sourdough loaves and the most affordable options. If you don’t live nearby, I also list some of my favorite baked goods at each stand, in case you're inspired to recreate them yourself.

She Wolf

You’ve probably seen people carrying She Wolf-branded tote bags around town. Scene-y? Yeah. But who can blame them? The bakery was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery in 2023.

She Wolf prioritizes sourcing local New York State grains, butter, and ingredients. Almost all of its baked goods use natural levain (sourdough culture), so you can expect a slate of loaves that have undergone extended fermentation.

This is luxury bread, so you have to expect luxury bread prices. My favorite toasted sesame miche loaf, one of She Wolf’s least expensive, is $10. The baguette, which uses natural levain and some commercial yeast, is $6. It also doesn’t sell sliced bread, so make sure you have a bread knife at home.

Price: $$$

Days at USQ: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (although it also have a brick-and-mortar at its bakery in the Brooklyn Navy Yard)

Bakery practices: sourdoughs, organic, locally-sourced grains and butter, baked in Brooklyn, James Beard Award semi-finalist

GrowNYC updates its vendor list ahead of every market day. Be sure to check it for up-to-date vendor availability.

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That said, I also desperately need to up my fiber intake: No amount of pickled cabbage could’ve offset the amount of deep-fried night market snacks and lu rou fan I ended up eating. And just my luck, I was able to snag a giant discounted bag of root vegetables from Norwich Meadows this week.

Let the veg fest begin!

My $153.75 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 48 servings of meals and snacks — $3.20 per serving. The cheapest was my $1 each Bosc pears, while the priciest was my $20 cod

Fruits + vegetables

• celtuce (asparagus lettuce)

• komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)

• scallions

• sweet potato noodles

• perilla

• yellow onions

• black radish

• Bordeaux purple radish

• Japanese red turnip

• white daikon

• qing luobo (Chinese green meat radish)

• purple top turnip (American heirloom)

• gold ball turnip

• overwintered castelfranco + pink radicchio

• garlic

• grumolo (Italian heirloom chicory)

• Dutch mokum + Japanese kuroda carrots

• bosc pears

• spartan, pink lady, stayman;s winesap,e vercrisp, and golden russet apples

Protein

• fresh medium-firm tofu

• grass-fed ground beef

• pasture-raised ground pork

• dozen fresh eggs

• cod

• littleneck clams

• emerson (farmers cheese)

• whole mackerel

• squid

This week’s $3.20-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 48 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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I’m here to simplify it for you.

If you’re one of the dozens of people who’ve commented or messaged me asking for a vendor guide, you’re in luck. I’m finally rebooting my Big Fat Union Square Greenmarket Survival Guide series, covering four categories: produce, protein, bakeries, and fruit.

This week, let’s start with produce.

Norwich Meadows Farm

Norwich is arguably the most famous farm on this list, and for good reason. They have some of the most unique varietals available at the Greenmarket, from niche winter cabbages to summer cucumbers you’ve never heard of. If you’re curious, they also list the +500 crop varieties they grow on their website.

Don’t take it from me: Many of the city’s best restaurants source their produce from Norwich. It’s also my go-to for specialty veg (even in the winter, with red negi, kyoto carrots, and salsify), and the folks who work there are great.

Price: $$$ (they’re also on TooGoodToGo, where you can get absurdly affordable bags of mixed produce)

Days at USQ: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday

Farming practices: regenerative, organic (no synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides), diverse varieties, regular soil testing, high tunnels

GrowNYC updates its vendor list ahead of every market day. Be sure to check it for up-to-date vendor availability.

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To celebrate, this will be a week of eating what I craved most during my baby food diet (albeit I did eat pretty well, all things considered).

My $192.64 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 53 servings of meals and snacks — $3.63 per serving. The cheapest was my $0.60 red onion, while the priciest was my $24 pasture-raised black angus beef shanks and forest-raised smoked ham steak.

Fruits + vegetables

• burdock root

• salsify

• pioppini, maitake, and Italian oyster mushrooms

• micro purple radish, mizuna, arugula, and kale

• husk cherries

• pea shoots

• delicata squash

• gai lan (Chinese broccoli)

• watermelon radish

• green luobo (Chinese daikon)

• Lithuanian red eye (heirloom rocamble garlic)

• red onion

• black garlic (fermented garlic)

• shallots

• wild arugula

• Asian pears

• Koru apples (a hybrid of Braeburn and Fuji apples)

Protein + bread

• grass-fed cottage cheese

• grass-fed halloumi

• grass-fed fresh mozzarella

• fresh free-range eggs

• scallops

• whole porgy

• oysters

• monkfish

• forest-raised smoked ham steak (no added nitrates)

• pasture-raised black angus beef shank

• pasture-raised sweet Italian sausages

• whole wheat sourdough pizza dough

• white pizza dough

• cranberry cornmeal scone

• cranberry walnut sourdough loaf

• sourdough loaf

• seedy sliced sandwich bread

This week’s $192.64-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 53 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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Here’s the low-down: I just got my wisdom tooth pulled out, which means A) I’m in a lot of pain, B) I can’t chew. Veterans of the procedure have suggested I go on a yogurt/smoothie/mashed potato-only diet for the week, but doing so might drive me nuts.

So, to satiate my stomach and sanity, I’ve planned a week of meals that both my boyfriend (with full chewing capacity) and I (with no chewing capacity) can enjoy, in hopes of bucking the bland-food-only post-wisdom teeth operation stereotype.

My $184.05 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 38 servings of meals and snacks — $4.84 per serving. The cheapest was my $1.15 parsley root, while the priciest was my $22 grey sole. I think the $5 pollock was a particular steal.

Fruits + vegetables

• koginut

• purple curly kale

• red, white, yellow, and purple carrots

• mizuna

• purple + green daikon

• parsley root

• hinona kabus

• napa cabbage

• german butterballs

• parsnips

• garlic

• yellow onion

• shiitake mushrooms

• red negi

• leeks

Protein

• grass-fed Greek yogurt

• fresh pressed tofu

• pasture-raised chicken legs

• ground pasture-raised chicken

• scallops

• cod + cod head

• pollock

• grey sole

• steelhead trout

• eggs

This week’s $4.84-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutions)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 38 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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Soon, we’ll be trading short rib braises for chilled corn sobas, pho for grilled tomato salads, and oven-baked ribs for ceviche. But until then, strap in for another week of warm, nourishing meals to help us survive this (hopefully) final leg of winter.

My $205.90 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 45 servings of meals and snacks — $4.50 per serving. The cheapest was my $1 yellow onion, while the priciest was my $24 grass-fed skirt steak.

Fruits + vegetables

• Tokyo bekana

• red Russian kale

• pink oyster + maitake mushrooms

• delfino cilantro

• watermelon radish

• upstate abundance potatoes

• garlic

• Japanese red negi

• carrots

• bosc pears + artlet, rubinette, jonagold, spartan, and crimson crisp apples

• napa cabbage

• yellow onion

Protein

• grass-fed ricotta

• grass-fed yogurt

• pasture-raised chicken legs

• grass-fed chuck-eye steak

• pasture-raised pork chop

• fresh eggs

• duck rillettes

• skate wings

• squid

• yellowtail flounder

• scallops

• littleneck clams

This week’s $204.90-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 45 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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This year’s celebration is on Tuesday, February 17. I, of course, plan to host (eight people, to be exact). And I, of course, plan to get all of my produce and protein from my local farmers market, by way of my curated shopping list and menu.

Don’t plan on hosting a Fiesting Fiesta? I’m making enough food for a week's worth of meals for two people, so you can always divide it up according to your own schedule.

My $160.30 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 14 dishes for 8 people, at about $11.45 per dish. The cheapest was my $1.80 watermelon radish, while the priciest was my $24 pork belly.

If you don’t plan on picking up ingredients at your local farmers market, then consider supporting local Asian-owned grocery stores. If you have access to Manhattan’s Chinatown, I’m partial to Aqua Best for seafood and Hong Kong Supermarket, Deluxe Food Market, and New York Marts for everything else.

Fruits + vegetables

• tokyo bekana

• red Russian kale

• Japanese red negi

• delfino clantro

• cilantro

• garlic

• upstate abundance potatoes

• spaghetti squash

• yellow onion

• shiitake mushrooms

• napa cabbage

• rainbow carrots

• watermelon radish

Protein + Bread

• grass-fed ricotta

• grass-fed cultured butter

• duck rillettes (shredded duck confit)

• pasture-raised Berkshire pork belly

• scallops

• whole sea bass

• littleneck clams

• toasted sesame miche loaf

My $11.45-per-dish dinner party menu

Subscribe to see my farmers market dinner party menu, which covers 14 dishes across three courses for eight people.

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I’ve done the winter soup rodeo. I’ve roasted enough squashes. I’ve had radicchio and cabbage every week. It’s been more than a month since the winter chill rolled into New York, and I’m sick and tired of it.

So, for this week, let’s at least cook like the weather is warming up. As in, buckle up for a lot of quick tacos, tostadas, and sopas this week.

Does it feel wrong to be eating tacos when peppers and tomatoes aren’t in season? Honestly, kinda, yeah. But this is a meal plan of my cravings, I’m desperate, they’re quick to make, and we have great cabbages and alliums right now.

My $154.48 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 40 servings of meals and snacks — $3.86 per serving. The cheapest was my $0.17 purple daikon, while the priciest was my $22 scallops.

Fruits + vegetables

• red mustard greens

• tatsoi

• red negi (Japanese scallions)

• miner’s lettuce

• leeks

• saku saku cabbage

• koginut squash

• black radish

• white daikon

• purple daikon

• red onion

• bosc pears

• golden russet, arlet, crimson topaz, and pink lady apples

Protein + Bread

• swordfish

• scallops

• littleneck clams

• whole sea bass

• pasture-raised chicken thighs

• grass-fed ground beef

• paste-raised chorizo

• fresh free-range eggs

• levain sourdough (made with einkorn, rye, and wheat flours)

This week’s $3.86-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 40 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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I just filmed a sponsored video for Farm to Table, a New York City-based grocery delivery service that primarily sources its inventory from local farms (holy cow I’m getting sponsorships now?!?!?!). The company sent me a box of seasonal/fresh produce and protein to film for the video, with no requirements on what to do with it afterward.

So, to adhere to the Asian-American moral code of not wasting any food, I’ll be using as much of it as I can in this week’s meal plan.

Thankfully, all of the produce and protein they sent are currently in season and available at my local farmers’ market (save for salmon and oranges). As such, this week’s meal plan will still keep the same ethos as any other: Using seasonal produce to create a week of nourishing meals.

My $194.15 shopping list

My haul breaks down to 41 servings — $4.74 per serving. The cheapest was my $3 purple daikon, while the priciest was my $20 whole bass.

For the sake of weekly meal-plan accuracy, the total cost includes what I would have paid had I purchased the gifted items myself through Farm to Table.

Fruits + vegetables

• watermelon radishes

• pink lady apples

• badger flame beets

• rainbow carrots

• swiss chard

• sweet garleek

• stripetti squash

• sunchokes

• blue oyster mushrooms

• winter sweet kabocha squash

• purple daikon radishes

• cara cara + toracco blood oranges (grown in California)

Protein

• monkfish

• rupert (alpine-style raw cow’s milk cheese, aged 6-12 months)

• whole bass

• whole kingfish

• scallops

• pasture-raised jerk-seasoned sausages

• pasture-raised rainbow eggs

• bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• whole steelhead trout

• wild hook-and-line-caught coho salmon (from Alaska)

This week’s $4.74-per-serving meal plan breakdown (with substitutes)

Subscribe to see my meal plan, which stretches this haul into 41 servings of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I also provide meal substitutions and some recipes.

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