Posts Tagged ‘Cucina Fresca’
- In: Learning
- 2 Comments
Disclosure: I attended this event as a guest of Curator PR. This is not a sponsored post.
I’m a slow grocery shopper. I browse the aisles for discounts, read the nutrition labels, convert measurements to metric, and compare brands. AmazonFresh delivers our non-perishable staples, and we’re lucky to live within walking distance to Melrose Market and Pike Place Market.
Whole Foods Westlake is my local supermarket and we’re there several times a week for vegetables, fruits and incidentals. Whole Foods has a reputation for being expensive (hence the moniker ‘Whole Paycheque’) but it is a greengrocer, butcher, baker, deli and purveyor of specialty goods all in one that is both of quality and convenient.
Located near Alderwood Mall just off I-5 exit 181B, the first Whole Foods in Snohomish County is opening this Thursday 15 March in Lynnwood.
My tour was scheduled on Friday at 9am and it was a surprisingly quick half hour drive to Lynnwood. The 33,000 square feet standalone store clad in Douglas-fir wood was a beacon on a bleak day.
Decorated in pastel colours throughout, the store was brightly lit and bustling with staff training and shelf stocking.
We breakfasted on muesli bars from the bakery.
A tray of berry muffins.
Of the 150 employees, fifty per cent currently work for Whole Foods so it’s a one to one training ratio. Founded in 1980 in Texas, Whole Foods is a natural food store. It stocks many organic products but it’s not certified organic. It has since expanded to Britain and Canada, and they’re considering sites in Alaska, Tacoma and West Seattle.
Denise Breyley is the Local Forager for the Pacific Northwest and I covet her job! She described it as being a ‘matchmaker’, sourcing products from local farmers and producers. There are seven recipients (Firefly Kitchens is one) of the Local Producer Loan Program in the Pacific Northwest. The money is for new equipment purchase, organic certification and other capital investments.
CB’s Nuts used the funds for a peanut butter jarring line which is in Mirracole Morsels‘ peanut butter cookie, and Middle Fork Roasters coffee is in their ‘pick me up’ cookie.
Mt Townsend Creamery is another beneficiary of the Local Producers Loan Program. These wheels of Trufflestack and Cirrus are from the first batch made with loan money.
The produce section is next where we sampled Sumo Citrus. A hybrid of Japanese Satsuma and Californian oranges, the citrus fruit is plump, seedless and bursting with sunshine.
Whole Foods Lynnwood will open with at least thirty items in the produce section, will increase to more than one hundred in the first month of trading and peaks at seventy per cent in summer.
Sold by weight, acrylic containers dispensed bulk cereals, dried fruits, flour, grains, lentils, nuts, rice, seeds and snacks. Buying in bulk is value for money and eliminates waste in packaging.
In the bulk section is the cooking department. The wooden counter will have computers for cooking resources, and the area will feature ingredients and local authors, Amy Pennington will be the first on 16 March.
The cheese department is in the back left corner. Patrons can sample all the cheeses, and they maintain a database of your purchases for your reference. You can buy shredded cheese by weight. There are also thirty varieties of olives for scooping.
Cold shelves were full of local pasta and sauces, Ethan Stowell‘s Lagana Foods, Cucina Fresca and Manini’s.
A lime sign above the seafood department encouraged us to ‘bring some local flavour home for dinner’. Each fish and crustacean is tagged with information and staff can assist with sustainability questions.
Whole Foods own Select Fish, a processing facility, for quality control. They partnered with Monterey Bay Aquarium to rate by fishery and Whole Foods does not sell red rated or non-rated seafood. A non-affiliated third party audits farmed aquaculture annually for feed and water quality, and environmental impact. Whole Foods targets three per cent wastage or spoiled seafood which is composted.
A set of clocks indicated what time the beef was minced. The meat department is a full service butchery. Whole Foods applies Global Animal Partnership‘s five-step animal welfare rating system for all meats. A fridge was marked dry aged beef, done in-house for a minimum fourteen days.
The Whole Body department has a swap program where you can bring in two conventional products to exchange for private label equivalents.
Neatly stacked bars of Fran’s and Theo chocolates.
Cans of Zevia soft drink and bags of Kettle potato crisps.
My favourite, ice creams and frozen desserts!
Refrigerators with doors and energy efficient LED lights were installed for milk and juices.
Deli, sandwiches, taqueria, and greens, beans and grains will cater for lunches and dinners. FareStart students supply the packed salads. There is an organic salad bar in the prepared foods department, and rotating themed hot bars (Thai, Mexican, Indian and comfort food). The intention is for it to be a ‘one stop shop’ for meals.
The espresso bar serves Allegro Coffee.
And they have soft serve machines with a toppings selection!
The tour concluded with brownies and cookies from the bakery.
All the staff spoke with genuine passion about what they do. There is much excitement to be ‘part of the Lynnwood community’.
Whole Foods Lynnwood opens this Thursday 15 March with a bread breaking ceremony at 8am.
I have a deep love for pasta. My family went on a European holiday when I was nine which included travelling to Rome, Florence and Venice. While I have clear memories of the grandeur and beauty of the cities, all I remember eating was pizza and gelato! Pasta is one of the first dishes I cooked by myself in the kitchen. We cook pasta at home every week and I would often chose the pasta main at restaurants. It is a forgiving partner – you can experiment with the sauce and if it requires tweaking, pasta cooked al dente will conceal the minor flaws (like a split white sauce). It pairs equally well with a slow cooked ragú as it does with a what’s-in-the-pantry-for-a-weeknight-dinner approach.
We discovered Cucina Fresca on AmazonFresh and our local Whole Foods also stocks it. They’re a Seattle company with origins at the Pike Place Market. We’ve tried their linguine, fettucine, pappardelle and wild mushroom ravioli and they’re all bellissimo!
Defining this as a recipe is questionable but it really highlights the quality of the fresh egg pasta. This is usually what I make when cooking for one. It’s ready in ten minutes – put the kettle on, pour the hot water into a small pot, grate cheese while bringing to boil, cook and drain pasta, add cracked pepper and a splash of oil, toss with tongs to coat and serve with grated cheese. If you’re fast at grating cheese, use the time to roughly chop two slices of prosciutto and hand tear a bunch of basil leaves. And if you don’t mind washing a saucepan, sauté some finely diced eschalot and garlic for extra flavour.
The fresh egg pasta is the star of the show. The olive oil glistens on the ribbons and it’s toothsome and peppery. The sharp and pungent Pecorino Romano provides textural contrast to the smooth and silky linguine. Nutritionally it’s devoid of vegetables but that can be remedied with a side salad. As an aside, I learned how to plate long length pasta from watching a Donna Hay Masterclass segment on MasterChef Australia. It’s a deceptively simple technique from the food stylist extraordinaire – use tongs and spin the plate or bowl slowly as you lower the strands of pasta to form a mound.
Recipe – fresh egg linguine with Pecorino Romano
Ingredients
1 serving of fresh egg pasta (I prefer long length such as linguine or fettucine)
1/3 cup hard Italian cheese, grated (I used Pecorino Romano but can be substituted with Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Cracked pepper
Method
1. Bring small pot of water to boil.
2. While waiting for water to boil, grate cheese.
3. Cook and drain pasta. Add cracked pepper and olive oil, toss gently with tongs to coat. Serve with grated cheese.
