Everything Squash!

Summer squash season is upon us, but sometimes we struggle to find ways to eat these curious-looking yellow fruits – yes, technically it is a fruit! Squash makes a great addition to any dinner as they’re full of vitamins A, B6, and C, as well as important minerals like folate, magnesium, riboflavin, phosphorus, and potassium. On top of all of that, they’re also a great source of fiber! In honor of these brilliantly healthy summer fruits, we at NetCost Market wanted to give you some great squash recipes to try out before the summer ends!

Spicy honey glazed grilled summer squash

If you’re having a summer grill but want to bring something a little different, this great vegetarian summer squash recipe is perfect. It’s packed full of summer flavors and will certainly wow guests! Recipe

Ingredients: 4 summer squash, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup rice vinegar, ¼ cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp. hot chili paste, 2 tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 lime – halved ½ small shallot – thinly sliced, ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro, 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds.

Method:

Get your grill going to medium heat. Cut each squash lengthways, then score a crosshatch pattern in the side of each one. Toss the squash and salt in a colander and leave for 10 minutes. Combine honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tbsp. oil. Toss squash in the remaining vegetable oil, and then brush with the glaze from the pan. Grill the squash for about 3 minutes on both sides, constantly brushing with glaze. Once slightly charred on each side, remove from the grill. Squeeze the juice of one lime into a medium bowl and then add the shallots, cilantro, and some salt, and toss together. Drizzle this mixture on the freshly grilled squash and then add sesame seeds. Serve immediately!

Summer squash baba ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is a classic eggplant dip, but this recipe calls for a slight twist, using summer squash instead. It’s a brilliant addition to any meze meal, or as a simple side with some pita bread as a snack. Recipe

Ingredients: Olive oil, 3 lbs. summer squash, 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, ½ clove garlic – finely grated, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes.

Method:

Get a grill going on medium heat. Alternatively, you can do this on the stove-top with a pan. Slice the squashes into halves and then grill for about 25 minutes, turning once midway through. Let the squash cool, and then scoop out the middle flesh, discarding the skins. Pulse the cooled flesh in a food processor with the lemon juice, tahini, and garlic until smooth, and then season with salt and pepper. Serve in a bowl with plenty of olive oil drizzled on top to stop it from drying out.

Shaved squash salad

Summer squash is also a brilliant addition to any salad, and it doesn’t even need to be cooked! This shaved summer squash salad includes other tasty summer salad additions such as cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese. Recipe

Ingredients: 1 clove garlic – finely grated, 1 tsp. grated lemon zest, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. honey, ¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, ¼ cup olive oil – a little extra for serving, 1 tsp. salt, 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes – halved, 1 ½ lbs. mixed summer squash, 4 oz. ricotta Salata – shaved, basil leaves, chopped chives.

Method:

Mix the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, red pepper, ¼ cup oil, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl until all the sugar and salt have dissolved. Toss the tomatoes and another 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a separate bowl and season with salt. Using a vegetable shaver, shave the squash to make ribbons. Arrange the squash on the plate, allowing for the ribbons to bend and twist to give it some texture. Top with cherry tomatoes, ricotta, basil, and chives, and then drizzle over a good helping of the dressing. Serve immediately.

Summer squash is one of those great foods that we often think we’ll use but never actually do. Don’t let this year be like all the others! Make the effort to do something with all those beautifully colorful squashes you’ve seen in the stores recently. At NetCost Market, we stock an array of fresh, high- quality summer squashes, so head down to your nearest store and try out some of these brilliant recipes before the season has passed you by!

Quick and Healthy Dinner Ideas from Nutritionists

We’re always being told that we should eat a healthy, balanced diet, but exactly what this entails is harder to pin down. To help answer this, we thought it would be a good idea to go straight to the source and see what meals nutritionists suggest making. This way, you’ll know you’re getting the real deal! At NetCost Market, we’ve got five great meal ideas suggested by nutritionists themselves.

Stir-fry Stir-fries are one of the healthiest meals you can prepare for yourself and your family according to nutritionist Toby Amidor because they contain at least 3 major food groups – lean protein, vegetables, and whole grains. Try using either quinoa or unrefined brown rice to serve your stir-fry with, and stick to leaner cuts of meat such as chicken breast or lean cuts of beef. A top tip is to marinate the meat you’re using in low- sodium soy sauce and lime juice for at least 6 hours before you make dinner – this helps break down the meat so it’s softer and infuses with those classic Asian flavors!

Use zoodles instead of noodles! Zoodles (noodles made using zucchini) are all the rage, and nutritionist Amy Gorin thinks this is for good reason! Zucchini contains a fraction of the calories that pasta noodles do and are high in fiber and several vitamins and minerals. This means that even if you ate zoodles until you were completely full, you’d still be under the number of calories you would have taken in if you’d had a normal-sized portion of pasta noodles! Try partially cooking your zoodles in a little bit of vegetable broth for a minute and then add cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and some homemade basil pesto for a delicious and healthy meal!

Using lentils

Keri Gans, a registered dietitian suggests that lentil soup is a great addition to your weekly meal schedule. Lentils are a great source of soluble fiber, but also contain a reasonable amount of protein and slow-release carbohydrates. Make a lentil soup by frying some chopped onions and garlic in a pan, and then adding a tablespoon of tomato paste and a teaspoon of ground cumin. Next, add a cup of red lentils and four cups of water, and season with salt and pepper. Blend once the lentils have completely cooked down and served with a sprinkle of olive oil.

Probiotic yogurt salad

Maya Feller suggests making a quick and healthy salad that incorporates high-vitamin vegetables with the probiotic properties of low-fat Greek yogurt. She suggests mixing together a squeeze of lemon juice, a chopped small red onion, plenty of low-fat Greek yogurt, chopped garlic, a small amount of feta cheese, diced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, some slices of avocado, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of cumin. This one- bowl wonder is a great way to incorporate healthy proteins with high-fiber raw vegetables. Reach for the bowl

Bowls are trending right now, with poke bowls taking American cities by storm. Alissa Rumsey, a dietitian operating in New York, believes bowls are a great way to go. They contain a good mixture of food groups, and you can easily manage what goes in them so unhealthy components aren’t masked by more healthy ingredients. A great idea is the Sorghum bowl which contains whole grains like quinoa or bulgur wheat, a type of beans like kidney beans or white beans, grilled above-ground- growing vegetables, and some cooked green lentils. The simple bowl is then topped with good quality olive oil and salt. Simple!

Nutritionists know how to eat healthily, it’s their job! But, sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what they mean when they say we should be eating a “balanced diet”. Try some of these quick and healthy meal ideas to keep your diet balanced. You’ll find all the quality ingredients you need to make tasty midweek meals at NetCost Market, so head down and start eating that balanced diet nutritionists are always recommending!

Samsa – The Queen of Uzbek Cuisine

Nestled between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in central Asia lies the picturesque country of Uzbekistan, characterized by its ornate mosques and intricate architecture originating from the era of the silk road. Luckily for us, the country also boasts one of the greatest snack foods in the world – the Samsa! What exactly is a Samsa?

A Samsa is a light pastry that’s filled with meat such as lamb, beef or chicken, or sometimes vegetarian options such as cheese, potato, or pumpkin and is then baked in a traditional tandoor (Tandyr) oven. It’s closely related to the Indian Samosa, but the Uzbek variety is characterized by the use of cumin, both black and red pepper, and sesame seeds that give it a distinct flavor!

Origins of this tasty treat!

Samsa is the perfect traveling food – the recipe was perfected as an ideal food for traders making their long journey along the silk road. They can be eaten both warm and cold, and due to the pastry encasing the cooked meat, they tend to keep for up to a week! This made them the perfect snack for a long journey through the mountains, and it’s likely that they were the fuel behind the busiest trade route between Asia and Europe for hundreds of years. The fact that they are so steeped in the country’s history makes them extra special for the people of Uzbekistan, and they’re still as popular as ever at parties and other special occasions, or simply as a lunchtime snack! So, how do I get my hands on this amazing food?!

Here at NetCost Market, we love encouraging our customers to explore cuisines from around the world, which is why we’ve included a recipe for Samsa right here for you to try at home!

You will need:

For the dough – 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of warm water, ½ tsp salt, ½ cup melted ghee (simple unsalted butter also works).

For the filling – ground lamb meat*, 3 onions – finely chopped, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp red pepper (if you have no red pepper, 1 tsp black pepper is fine).

For glazing – 1 egg yolk, sesame seeds. *Beef, chicken, cheese and spinach, potato, or pumpkin also make great alternatives! How to make (makes 18 small Samsa):

(Dough)

Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Separately, add ½ tsp salt to the cup of water and mix until dissolved. Combine the flour and water and knead until a smooth dough is formed – probably around 10 minutes. Allow the dough to stand covered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle flour on a work surface and roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cover the rolled-out dough in ghee and roll it up tightly like a cigar. Cut the dough into 18 separate pieces and then press each piece down with the palm of your hand from the side to make it flat like a patty – the hand should be pressing down directly on the swirl of the dough so that once flattened, a flat dough patty with a swirl is formed. Place the patties in the fridge for at least 3 hours (Filling and assembling the Samsa)

Combine all the filling ingredients and mix well. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 385F. Take the dough patties out the fridge and roll each one out into a thin circle sheet. Place an equal amount of filling onto each rolled-out circle. Imagine that each circle is divided into equal thirds. Bring two of the thirds together so that a single corner is formed. Pinch along the seam where the pastry meets. Now bring the bottom up and pinch together again where it connects with the pastry. On a baking sheet lined with baking paper, lay all of the Samsa out evenly. Cover each of them liberally with the beaten egg yolk and then sprinkle them generously with sesame seeds. Bake for around 30 minutes until golden brown and crispy!

There’s no snack quite like Samsa and we’re sure that when you’ve made it once, you’ll be hooked for good! Try making it next time you have a party or gathering with friends. At NetCost Market, we stock the best quality goods from both the US and Europe, making us the ideal place to get all the ingredients you need to make this indulgent and tasty Uzbek dish!

Traditional European Winter Dishes

There are parts of Europe that get cold… like, really cold! And so it’s no surprise that over thousands of years they’ve mastered how to make very comforting and hearty winter dishes. Here at NetCost Market, we thought that we should scope out some of these ideal winter meals so that you can have a go at making them yourself to keep the winter chills away, the European way.

Georgia: Khachapuri Adjaruli

Parts of Georgia get very cold in the winter, but their trick is to keep themselves warm with lots of cheese, eggs, and bread in this highly indulgent baked treat. Khachapuri Adjaruli is a bread baked with a molten cheese center that bubbles away as it’s taken out of the oven. The baker then cracks an egg or two on top and adds a huge piece of butter before serving. The idea is to then swirl the egg, butter, and cheese all together into a big cheesy, buttery mass, which acts as a dip for torn-off pieces of the bread. It may be high-calorie, but it’s worth it once in a while for the total pleasure this dish provides on a cold winter’s night!

Russia: Solyanka

In Russia, they like to keep warm with a hearty Russian stew called Solyanka. Solyanka comes in three main types: meat, fish, and mushroom – but they all contain pickled cucumbers in brine, cabbage, potatoes, sour cream, and dill. The meat that is used varies, but often it includes cured meats and sausages, pork, or beef. The slow-cooked broth is best when homemade, and it contains valuable vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system in the winter months while also warming the body up from the inside out! Germany: German Cheese and Beer Soup

You’re probably thinking, “really? Cheese and beer soup?” But yes, this really is a common soup served in Germany, and you may also be surprised to hear that it’s totally awesome! It combines all of the things that Germany is known for making – mild cheese, great beer, and strong ham, and fixes them into a warming bowl of goodness that fills you right up and keeps you warm for hours afterward! It’s a typical soup served during Octoberfest, and with a tankard of a traditional German pilsner, it will feel like you’re in the foothills of the Alps sheltering from the cold in a traditional German log cabin!

For Europeans, winter dishes have been an important part of their culture in the battle against the cold for thousands of years. This means that they’re seasoned pros at making you feel warm and comforted when winter wraps its cold grip around you, so we think it’s a great idea to trust their wisdom and try some European winter dishes when you’re looking for inspiration! At NetCost Market, we offer some of the best quality European foods. So, next time you’re craving something warm and comforting, why not take advice from the Germans, Russians or Georgians in getting yourself nice and snug!

NetCost Market Thanksgiving Catering

Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the USA since 1789 and has been a national holiday since 1864. As we all know, it was traditionally celebrated to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest, but nowadays is a time of coming together with family and friends around a traditional American feast. Traditional Thanksgiving dinner often consists of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread, green bean casserole, cranberry relish, roasted carrots, stuffing, and a good serving of thick gravy. All of these dishes require lots of preparation, time and organization to get absolutely perfect, which is why at NetCost Market we’re taking steps to make your Thanksgiving dinner preparations that little bit easier!

Our In-house Chef’s Gourmet Thanksgiving Turkey – This year our professional in-house chefs are able to prepare a perfect gourmet turkey that’s ideal for your Thanksgiving dinner. Using all the traditional ingredients and cooking techniques, our chefs will prepare your turkey so that it’s ready exactly when you need it. Just pick it up from your local NetCost Market, serve and enjoy! It couldn’t be easier! What’s more, you will also have a choice of four delicious traditional gourmet stuffings to choose from, including plain, noodles and mushrooms, fruit, and rice with dried fruits. We can also offer turkey legs, wings, and half of a turkey as alternative options, as well as various salad and side dish options. This wonderful offer is perfect for those hosting a large group on Thanksgiving, so head down to your local NetCost Market or Gourmanoff store and place your order now!

Other Turkey Options – As well as our in-house gourmet turkey offer, we are also well-stocked with high-quality frozen and fresh turkeys if you enjoy the challenge of making your own bird from scratch! Round Hill Fresh Whole Frozen Turkeys are a great option as they can be stored in the freezer and then defrost in the run-up to Thanksgiving, and at only 99¢ per lb., this is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. Our Fresh Meat department is also stocking a large range of fresh turkeys from various local suppliers. Alternatively, we are also stocking other great meats such as duck, goose, baby pig, and rabbit, if you fancy something a little different this Thanksgiving! Explore our special offers here. Sides – But what about the rest of the meal?! Well, NetCost Market have you covered in that department too! Our choice of fresh and frozen cranberries and ready-made cranberry sauce will make the perfect accompaniment to your turkey. Our fresh foods department will be stocked with extra potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, apples, carrots and other essential ingredients for your perfect dinner. In addition, we are also stocking Zeigler’s All-Natural Apple Cider, the perfect soft drink to accompany your festive dinner, and various high- quality turkey gravies and stuffing to complete your ideal meal.

So, why not make this Thanksgiving a hassle-free holiday and head down to NetCost market for all the essentials and luxury items you need to make an amazing Thanksgiving feast? Our in- house turkey offer will take a load off, meaning you can focus on enjoying yourself with your friends and family! Talk to one of our dedicated staff members in the store for more information and to answer any questions you may have.

Gourmet Buffet

Skillfully prepared gourmet meals are just for you to be tasted.

You can shop and cook or shop and eat. Start with a mini kitchen makeover. Get your simple kitchen tools ready for healthy home cooking. Begin by taking a quick look through your refrigerator, and get rid of items that have passed the expiration date: food doesn’t last forever. Make some room for fresh produce. When the kitchen looks clean and inviting, it increases your enjoyment of preparing nourishing meals. Prepare food with love. Your excitement and passion counts. It contributes to your health greatly.

I take pleasure in supermarket shopping. I go there to pick up what I need for the coming week. After I am done with my grocery shopping, I stop at a gourmet buffet also known as a salad bar. There are so many different and creatively prepared foods to choose from such as chicken wings, chicken roasted half, chebureki with chicken, lamb shish kebab, lamb ribs, goulash Hungarian, salsa with meat, chicken gyro, chicken liver, chicken rolls with spinach, beef mushrooms, baked salmon fillet, baked fish, grilled vegetables, rice with vegetables, meat pilaf, chicken pilaf, steam vegetables, blintzes with cheese, blintzes with apples, blintzes with meat and mushrooms, etc.

Salads: beet with nuts, beet with garlic, red beans, health, caesar, shrimp, crab, calamari, vegetable, eggplant, mozzarella, olives, marinated apples, and a variety of pickled vegetables, etc.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for the abundance of food we have in our stores, and my appreciation to people who skillfully prepared such delicious meals in the buffet.

The day I shop I usually don’t cook. I prefer to shop and eat, to enjoy the convenience of freshly prepared foods. It is a simple way to choose what I like. Let people do what they do best: cook the perfect food. It saves me time and effort.

Sometimes people say to me, I don’t know what to eat. Just make a pleasant trip to a supermarket and explore, experiment with a variety of absolutely tasteful and appealingly looking meals. You will definitely find the food that offers healthy vibes, and it would be impossible to resist it. Choose what appeals to you most. The kitchen is clean. The kitchen tools are at hand. The refrigerator is full of fresh produce. The menu is planned. The food from the buffet that you have selected is ready to be eaten. Now it is time to set the dinner table beautifully, and get into a positive mood to make your mealtime joyful.

Leona S.