Gratitude and Abundance

I think I have to get a head start on giving thanks this week, to a couple of people in particular from the long list of wonderful contributors to our market.

All through the outdoor season we have benefited from the help of a very dedicated volunteer, Malwina Lasocka-Biczysko, who cheerfully pitches in with whatever is needed to keep things running smoothly. To mark the end of Organic Week, Malwina wrote a list of reasons for buying organic to share:

“Organic foods have a higher nutritional content. Higher nutrient content = healthier you. Buying organic also means you are supporting farmers who have held on to traditional farming practices that honour and protect the environment. Part of the reason organic goods are more expensive than conventionally farmed foods is that the producers need to adhere to tight, strict regulations to ensure the organic integrity of their products. This is costly and time consuming yet very important. Another reason is that the organic industry is not subsidized by our tax $$ (although we can change that if we make our voices heard)! Vote for GMO labelling on foods, support your local farmers, by organic when you can, and educate yourself because it’s your body and your health.”

Thank you, Malwina!

The market also received a generous gift of time from Jade Guthrie and her team of Story Tent volunteers this year, who have offered a lovely spot for small market-goers to read while their adults shop.

Jade says, “The StoryTent has been SO much fun – all of the volunteers who have worked with me over the summer have absolutely loved running the program – it definitely helps that we got so lucky with such a great group of engaged and eager kids.”

This was supposed to be the last week of the season for the StoryTent, but the weather is not cooperating. We hope Jade may be able to come next time. A warm thank you to Jade and crew in any case, and hope to see you next year too!

 

We have a special treat at the market this week! Signe Langford, the author of Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden with 100 Recipes will be offering samples of one of the tasty recipes from her book, from 4 to 5:30 — or until they run out, and signing copies of her book.

(Anybody else imagining a couple of pretty hens pecking in the back yard?)

 

A bit about what you’ll find on vendors’ tables:

From Kyle at Everdale: “While we’re busy establishing cover crops and planting for winter production there is still lots coming out of the fields. This week we have lots of salad and cooking greens, our sweet carrot and beets, leeks, scallions, onions and shallots, watermelon and daikon radish, salad turnips, herbs and a small selection of winter squash. We’ll also be bringing some celeriac and celery. Next week we’ll start bringing some of the first fresh ginger crop we’ve ever grown.

Liz Martin and Wayne Ellwood will begin bringing apples from their farm near Meaford.

The Sosnicki Organic Produce report: Lots of action on the farm lately! Bailing straw for next year’s berries, rototilling and hoeing the berries, tying cauliflower, getting soil testing done in all our fields to see how we are doing with maintaining soil health, and well, harvest, harvest, harvest!! This week we’ll bring some our sweet Empire Apples. Ugly as all heck, but sprayed with absolutely nothing, so enjoy. Rainbow Carrots, Beets with Tops, Sweet Onions, Kale, Potatoes, Red and Green Cabbage, PEPPERS! Sweet Red Peppers! Still nice tomatoes, especially the Beefsteak and Sun Sugar Cherry. Some of our Garlic (before we plant it all). For those that follow our progress you will remember our mega loss last fall of pretty much our entire cabbage and cauliflower crops due to weather fluctuations. Well, this year we are proud to say both crops look fantastic! Our Cauliflower will begin next week. Whites and Romanescas. A happy fall around here so far! Cheers, Jess, Ben & crew.

So, two farmers step into a bar…
and develop a vegan, MSG and gluten-free, local and amazing Caesar mix! This year, Blythe and Adam had a bumper crop of tomatoes, and decided to create an entirely new product. They have tweaked the recipe to perfection, substituting seaweed for clam juice and anchovies to give the classic ocean flavour, and even creating their own Worcestershire sauce. Stop by for a sample! Spade & Spoon is taking this Canadian cocktail to a whole new level.

Speaking of ocean flavour, Jason Kun, aka ‘your boyfriend in brine’ will be back shucking the freshest oysters in town.

DeFloured is going to start bringing their wonderful pumpkin pies this week, two kinds (with coconut milk or dairy) and two sizes (large $16 or small $5). If you’d like to order pies for Thanksgiving, call Krista at 416-828-4169 by Wednesday October 5^th.

This will be the last week of 2016 to get granola, crackers and baking from Evelyn’s.

All Sorts Acre, Waymac Mushrooms, Tapioca Gourmet and Culture City will return next week.

As well as a mountain of seasonal organic produce in all the colours of the rainbow, we’ll have many other wonderful local foods to enjoy on the spot or take home.

Don’t forget, next time you will find us on the rink!

See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

P.S. News from our neighbourhood: ‘The World in Ten Blocks’, an interactive documentary that explores the stories of immigrant small business owners in Bloorcourt, will be part of this year’s Nuit Blanche on Saturday night. The event is free and open to the public and will be running from 7pm to 7am at La Bella Managua, (872 Bloor St W, at Ossington Ave). Attendees will virtually navigate the ten blocks of Bloorcourt, uncovering local history and meeting different business owners, from baker to butcher, shoe cobbler to tattoo artist. Inside the event space attendees are invited to sample Nicaraguan street food, watch live presentations of the doc, meet the documentary’s participants in person, and add their own immigration journeys to a collective map that will take shape over the course of the night.
You can check out a teaser for the project here:
theworldintenblocks.com

Vendors this week:
Ali Harris
Bees Universe
Chocosol
Country Meadows
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Earth & City
Everdale Organic Farm
Evelyn’s Crackers–LAST WEEK
Floralora Flowers
Forbes Wild Foods
Island Oysters
JK Fries
Kind Organics
Knuckle Down Farm
Martin-Ellwood Apples
Marvellous Edibles
Mike the Knife Guy
Monforte Dairy
Pine River Organic Farm
Plan B
Shared Harvest Community Farm
Sosnicki Organic Produce
Spade & Spoon
Thorpe’s Organic Produce
Ujamaa Farm
Urban Harvest
VQA Wines: Frogpond
Ying Ying Soy Food
Please bring along containers and bags to help reduce waste. Free, lightly used bags are available at the info. table, and donations of more are greatly appreciated!