9 - 15 October 2017

VEGETABLES

Ultra-healthy Jap and butternut pumpkins are plentiful and available at your local greengrocer for 70¢-$1.50 a kilo whole. Delicious roasted and served hot or cold, pumpkin is fabulous added to a salad, pasta dishes or try this Roast Butternut, Mozzarella & Rocket Melts for lunch.

Queensland grown green beans are plentiful. Machine harvested beans are $3-$4 a kilo and handpicked beans are $7-$10 a kilo.

Versatile and mild tasting English spinach is delightful eaten cooked or raw and this week is a bargain at $1-$2 a bunch. Blend English spinach with cashews, tahini, lemon juice and garlic to create a delicious healthy dip.

Start your day with smashed avocado on toast, topped with sliced tomato. Hass avocados are available for $2.50-$4 each and provide a wonderful range of nutrition’s.

Queensland tomato growers are harvesting a bumper quality crop of plump, red and flavoursome salad tomatoes. Pop into your local greengrocer and bag a bargain as tomatoes are $3-$5 a kilo, depending on size.

With its purple glossy skin and creamy white fresh, eggplant easily recognisable. Once known as the “love apple” eggplants are delicious grilled, baked, stir-fried or sautéed. Field grown eggplants are plentiful and a thrifty buy at $3-$4 a kilo but you will pay $5-$7 a kilo for premium glasshouse grown. Perfect for a BBQ eggplant dip, salad, Thai style curry, or a Japanese inspired Miso & Chilli-Glazed Roasted Eggplant.

Broccoli is a year-round favourite that offers flavour and value for money, this week broccoli is retailing at $3-$4 a kilo. Flavoursome broad beans are good value at $4-$5 a kilo. Remove bean from the pod, shell a second time then simmer in boiling water until just tender. Broad beans team superbly with lamb, mushrooms, and artichokes or add them to a salad or risotto.

Add colour and crunch to an everyday stir-fry with asparagus. It teams well with beef, chicken and pork as well as other veggies. Asparagus is retailing $1-$2 a bunch.

It’s a great time of year to make zoodles. Long pasta-like zucchini ‘spaghetti’ is a great way to serve a veggie to kids. It’s colourful, low carb, gluten-free and contains fibre. Created from fresh zucchini, it’s very easy to make using a julienne peeler or a spiralizer. Zucchini’s are $2-$5 a kilo.

FRUIT

Smooth-fleshed succulent rockmelons are a great thirst-quencher. It’s important to wash the melon rind before cutting into wedges and serving. Serve chilled rockmelon wedges at any time of day. Rockmelons are $2-$4 each, depending on size.

Northern Territory mangoes supplies are picking up, the quality is improving and we can now select from Kensington Pride and the R2E2 varieties. Mangoes are $2-$4 each, depending on size and variety

Small quantities of peaches and nectarines are starting to become available at your local greengrocer.

Bananas make the ideal quick snack, as the carbohydrates found in bananas has a low glycemic index which means it is absorbed slowly and is extremely filling giving you sustained energy. Depending on size bananas are $3-$4 a kilo. This recipe for bananas with salted caramel fudge sauce dessert is a real treat.

Enjoy the extra sweet flavour and superb taste of juicy navel and blood oranges. Navels and blood oranges are retailing at $3-$5 a kilo.

Tasty and healthy blueberries are a top buy at $2.50-$3 a punnet.

FLOWERS

Springtime flowers are plentiful and stunning. In season this week lilac has just started, red and white waratahs, Guilder rose (snow ball) Queen’s anne’s lace, anemones, snap dragons, ranunculus, alstroemeria, Oriental and rose lilies, Chincherinchee, iris, stock, delphiniums, hyacinth, gerbera and Geraldton wax are plentiful.

Prices quoted in this report are only relevant for the week of the report. All prices are estimates only as prices vary depending on variety, size and quality of produce and the trading area. For further information please contact Sue Dodd, Retailer Support Manager on mobile 0438 725 453.

Published On 2017-10-09 16:30:00