Wegmans Blog: Fresh Stories

During busy holidays, I remember watching my mother decorate a plate with red stuff that came out of a can called cranberry sauce.  Those jellied circles with indentations from the tin can it came from didn’t look like sauce to me and no one ate it anyway.  I probably shouldn’t admit that and I’m sure some of you absolutely love it. That’s okay too, but for those of you who are of the other camp, I’ve got good news!

A cranberry sauce, or rather chutney that is planned for my holiday table this year is now available in a jar! I’m referring to our new Cranberry Orange Chutney; just as convenient as the can, but much more flavorful (in my opinion and some of yours already).

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Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings and more-we punctuate our celebrations with cake! It becomes the focal point of the event, it sets the stage as a decoration and then as dessert. Countless hosts and hostesses have agonized over the exact look of the cake and have set off to their favorite trusted bakery to place that special order.

For 15 of the last twenty years I have been a “Cake Boss” here at Wegmans. I am not a trained pastry chef but a homegrown Wegmans employee who started out as a part-timer in the Bakery and then made Wegmans my full-time career after graduating from college.  My passion for food was ignited and the company offered me a management position in the Bakery.   Over the years countless customers trust folks like me and our talented Bakery teams, to create that edible masterpiece that could communicate with a glance the purpose of the celebration.

My years in the Bakery and my new role as special events coordinator brought me to Virginia, at the Wegmans in Fairfax to celebrate with our customers and store employees, and meet Buddy Valastro –The Cake Boss!

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As a busy parent—like many of you—I’m always striving to make weeknight dinners enjoyable and stress-free.  In fact, one of the most common questions I hear from customers and employees is just that—how to get a healthy, easy, affordable meal on the table that the whole family will enjoy—in less than 30 minutes, of course.

Many of you shared your creative dinnertime  tips during our recent Family Table contest. Your stories inspired me to think about the many ways we try to help families enjoy delicious dinners every night.

For starters: a little bit of advance planning can really save us on the weeknights. When I want inspiration, I look at our Weeknight Meal Suggestions on Wegmans.com and plan my menus from there. But, for those days when I’m in a pinch and didn’t have time to plan ahead, I like to have a few items in the freezer and pantry:

Here’s what I keep on hand at my home:

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In my blog entry this summer, I mentioned our collaboration with Eliot Coleman—one of the nation’s authorities on organic farming. Eliot inspired us to try something new this year on our Organic Farm—movable “hoop houses.”

What are movable hoop houses?

They’re plastic-covered greenhouses on a track system so we can protect crops from frost as the weather gets colder in Upstate NY. Because they’re movable, once our first winter harvest is finished, we can then roll the house to cover the next plot of land—which will already be prepped with nutrient-rich compost and planted with a new set of crops. The goal is to help us extend the growing season by weeks or even months by using this system!

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When you think of easy ways to get vegetables on the table during the week, does cabbage quickly come to mind?

I’m guessing the answer is no.

The first thing is they’re pretty big. When I buy a whole cabbage, I might shred it in salads and use some to make soup, but chances are the rest might sit in my fridge until it eventually gets tossed, which is not a good thing.

Then there’s always the question of what to do with it. One of my favorite ways to cook cabbage is to shred it, along with lots of finely sliced onions and braise it low and slow in its own juices.  However, the operative word here is “slow” which rules out this option for busy week nights.

So, here’s the solution –

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