Kevin’s Trip to The Market

Last week I swooped Kevin away to talk to him about a very important topic — food! Prior to working at Sprout, our newest Business Development Representative worked in the restaurant industry for nearly 10 years — so he’s pretty good at finding simple ways to amp up his meals. Today’s blog is about sharing his secrets and how he tricks people into thinking he’s a chef!

Q1: What does he stock up on when he goes grocery shopping?

• Kevin likes to choose items that will differentiate a dish or spice up a recipe (ex: radishes, parmesan cheese…)
• Staple foods he likes to always have at home are onions, garlic, rice, pasta, tomato paste, strained tomatoes, good mustard, olive oil, lemons, maple syrup, shallots, and a well stocked spice rack!
• Meat and fish: He prefers to purchase meat at butcher shops where the meat is fresh and sustainably sourced. Fish wise, he often buys trout and arctic char, using the simple cooking principles you can use for most proteins!

Q2: Which markets does he go to?

• He likes to go to Evergreen Brickworks farmers market on Saturday morning
• St-Lawrence market on any other day

Q3: What kind of meals does he like to make with these items?

• Dinner often consists of roasted veggies (broccoli, sweet potato, brussel sprouts…) + roasted chicken/meat/fish + starch (potatoes, rice, pasta…)
• To keep it tasty but simple, he often makes his own salad dressings using ingredients already in the fridge or pantry. Olive oil, lemon juice, grainy mustard and a splash of maple syrup with a pinch of salt takes no time or effort, and it goes great with any green (he prefers arugula with pine nuts and pickled red onions)
• Breakfast is an important and sizeable meal for Kevin. He’ll have a combination of either soft boiled eggs, toast, oatmeal/overnight oats/chia seed pudding (topped with cinnamon, pumpkin spice, hemp seeds and flax) depending on how much fuel he needs for that day!

Q4: How Kevin makes cooking fun?

• He likes to cook for others (friends, family) so having people over a few times a week forces him to try new techniques and ingredients!
• He challenges himself by reinventing and modifying his ‘go to’ dishes in many different ways
• He’ll put some music on. (Go to playlist: “Mom jean jams” on spotify)
• He ensures a glass of wine in close proximity!

Q7: How Kevin fools people into thinking he’s a chef?

• He uses seeds, nuts, and a lot of different spices to flavour and top dishes
• He builds up the basics to make them flavorful (ex: using smoked paprika in everything, finding ways to add different textures to any given dish with seeds, nuts, fruits etc…,) and finding ways to simplify more labour intensive dishes (Making a spaghetti sauce from scratch-ish in 20 minutes using fresh cherry tomatoes, stock, garlic, veggies and tomato paste)
• He also likes to use restaurant tricks like a mandoline to slice radishes, garlic, carrots, etcetera. Veggies not only look better but also it also shortens cooking time because they are cut thinner
• He’ll make a trip to the market to find something that will add a special twist to whatever he is cooking (e.g. something seasonal like garlic scapes or leeks in the early summer)

Q6: Advice he would give to someone who is trying to eat healthily?

• Kevin encourages people who are trying to eat healthily not to be too strict with themselves. Instead he places importance on being conscious of buying nutrient rich, quality ingredients that are locally sourced when available. He also strongly encourages people to try to cook their own meals as much as possible. Portion control is important too, but sometimes food is just too good!!!
• Recipe book recommendation: “Healthy Ish”