Monthly Archives: March 2017

Beg for Eggs, Make Room for Shrooms, Clap for Sap! So many great things coming to market, why do I keep thinking in puns and bad rhymes? Some of you readers are no help at all. Recent correspondence has included a suggestion to write about ‘wiki-leeks’, and a photo of a dancing scarecrow with the caption “Lettuce Turnip the Beet”. I might find this corny if I were arugula gal….

OK, OK, it’s time to get serious! Here’s the news:

We are reaching a turning point, when some of our winter staples run out, and the first wonderful signs of spring appear at the market.

Erika and Andrew McIlmoyle from Waymac Farms sent a message saying the above-freezing temperatures have brought on a big flush of mushrooms, so they will be coming! Plan some mushrooms in your menus this week, let’s show them a warm welcome back.

Forbes Wild Foods and Spade & Spoon will have plenty of maple syrup on their tables. I don’t know much yet about how this year’s sap season compares to others quantity-wise, but some producers are claiming the sap is sweeter than usual, possibly due to last summer’s drought. An interesting hypothesis. Remember those small but intensely sweet peaches last August? Same idea.

Longer days = more eggs. If you’ve always thought ‘an egg is an egg’, here’s a link to a helpful article on the significance of different egg labels. If you want to cut straight to the punchline, it’s no yolk, our farmers’ production methods are the best!

News from Kyle at Everdale: “This will definitely be our last week and we’ll be bringing piles of spinach and salad mix so come load up! We’ll also have dry beans, rutabaga, parsnip, watermelon radish and rainbow carrots and beets.

We’ve got all our ginger started, a greenhouse full of seedlings and lots of things going in the ground in the hopes that we can be back at the market sooner rather than later.”

 

 

If you’re itching to get things in the ground, you’ll be glad to know that we expect Urban Harvest to return with their excellent selection of open-pollinated, heirloom seeds next week!

Another sign that spring is here: this Thursday’s date is the final one on our winter Loyal Eaters Reward cards. We’re looking forward to counting how many people came to every single market for the 18 weeks of the program. (If you came every time but didn’t take a card, please tell us so we can add you to the count of ‘never miss it’ customers!) You need just 10 stamps to collect a reward, so be sure to check in with Seth at the Forbes Wild Foods table, Pia, or myself if you haven’t received your goodies and been entered in the draw. Some stamp collectors have told us they just like the fun of collecting stamps and don’t really care about getting a prize, and a couple have donated their rewards to others. It’s all good; we’re just grateful to everybody who has supported our producers all winter long.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

This Week’s Vendors:

Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Everdale Organic Farm
Forbes Wild Foods
Kind Organics
Marvellous Edibles
Monforte Dairy
Pine River Organic Farm
Plan B
Spade & Spoon

 

P.S. Another event of interest, coming up April 5th:

Ignore the thermometer and enjoy the sun! It’s spring! We’ve got a bit of news (all good) and recipes to share this week.

In honour of the season, Krista from DeFloured is busy making Buttermilk Pies with Maple Syrup from Spade & Spoon. She also has a new Vegan Carrot Cake that will be available weekly, along with all her other delicious gluten-free goodies.

Pine River will be at market with their storage vegetables, plus delicious kale and spinach.

You may think of roast turkey as a major production suitable only for major holidays. Turkey by the piece from Marvellous Edibles is another thing altogether. It’s easy to prepare, without the risk of a week’s worth of leftovers or family arguments, and it’s excellent. Jens will have some pieces this week, and more next. Lots of fresh pork, smoked duck, and beef bones will be available. Prime cuts of beef will be on offer starting next week.

Loyal Eaters, don’t forget your cards; there are just two weeks left to collect stamps. Hand in your card when you reach 10 to collect your rewards and get your name on the list for a chance at an extra-big reward.

Congratulations to Lisa Sweetman of Earth & City and Ashley Davidson, formerly of ChocoSol, on the March 9 arrival of William Zachary Sweetman. Isn’t he a lovely little peach? Hurray for market babies! 
See you at the market,
Anne Freeman

Our Vendors this Week:

Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Forbes Wild Foods
Kind Organics
Marvellous Edibles
Pine River
Plan B
Spade & Spoon

 

Event Reminders:

We Are Water – A Night in Support of Indigenous Land Defenders
Thurs. March 23rd, @ The Steady (1051 Bloor St. near Havelock), 8pm, 19+
$10 or pay what you choose (less… or more!)
Facebook Event Page: http://bit.ly/2n274Qd

COMMUNITY READING OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION REPORT
City Councillor Ana Bailão’s Office, 1240 Bloor Street West, March 24, 11am – 2pm
Live-streaming on: http://claudewittmann.ca/stream/2894.html
More information: <2894.claude@gmail.com>

RECIPES for the Season
It’s time for a couple of recipes to show off the wonderful greens we’ll have.
The first is so easy that I was going to say you can make it with your eyes closed. That would be poor advice as there is a stove involved, and a knife, but you know what I mean.

Greens with Coconut Milk (adapted from River Cottage Veg), about 4 servings
a pound of greens (kale, spinach, cabbage, leeks, tatsoi, or a mixture)
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 Tablespoons sunflower, olive or coconut oil
a teaspoon of curry powder
a Tablespoon of chopped turmeric root, or a teaspoon of turmeric powder or paste
a 14 ounce can of coconut milk
Optional: a cup of chopped cilantro, and a handful of cashews or peanuts

Slice the greens into slender strips.

Warm the oil in a large pan, give the garlic a little head start and then add spices, stirring well, followed by the greens. Toss and fry until they wilt, then add the coconut milk. Mix and heat through. If desired, top with cilantro and nuts just before serving.

The second recipe takes a little longer. It is well worth it, and even tastier the second day. While it is not a fully traditional Persian recipe, this week of Nowruz seems like a good time to make it. Happy New Year to all who are celebrating!

Greens & Beans Soup (adapted from Bon Appetit), about 6 servings
Soak a half cup each of dried beans and chickpeas overnight. (Use canned in a pinch.) Drain, rinse, and drain again before use.

Chop 2 large onions and fry them in olive or sunflower oil in a large pan until they are golden brown. (Sprinkling them with salt will speed up the caramelization you want.)

Take half the fried onions out of the pan and reserve. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic, the beans and chickpeas, plus a teaspoon of turmeric to the pan, stir and fry briefly, then add 8 cups water. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until the beans are beginning to get tender. Add half a cup of green/brown lentils and continue cooking for another half hour.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the toppings:

Mix 2/3 cup of Greek yogurt with half a cup of buttermilk.
Warm 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and stir in 2 Tablespoons dried mint.

Add half a pound of fresh, chopped spinach to the soup, and a cup each of chopped fresh parsley and cilantro, plus half a cup of chopped fresh dill (if you have it), or a teaspoon of dried dill or sumac. Stir and cook briefly. Add the juice of half a lemon and season to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with yogurt mixture, fried onions and mint oil. Serve with good bread.

The evidence that spring is unstoppable is mounting: first robin of the year spotted on Monday, witch hazel in bloom at Havelock & Dewson Streets, sap running in the bush, and giant goose eggs on Marvellous Edibles’ table!

We’re not quite there yet, though, and this stretch has to be the least predictable part of the market year. One Thursday we’re singing in the sunshine and vendors are itching to set up outdoors, the next we’re squeezing everybody in out of the wind and snow. There’s a steady stream of notes going back and forth about who can come and who can’t, for a wide variety of reasons. Time for an update for those of you missing some of your favourite farmers:

Shared Harvest (Kevin and Sandra) and Ted Thorpe are out of storage crops and will return when they have enough new ones to fill their tables again. The same goes for the return of our outdoor-season growers; they’re working hard to beat the clock and bring us the earliest harvests possible.

All Sorts Acre (Jennifer Osborn) had hoped to attend a lot this winter, but these days she’s staying close to her flock, milking a ewe who lost her lamb and bottle feeding others 4 times a day, as well as assisting with many births. She says that now it looks like she will return once the grazing season begins.

No lucky break for Sean from Lovell Springs Trout. He’s just getting over a wrist injury caused by too much filletting, and now he’s got 70-80 km/h winds and a foot & a half of snow to deal with. No trout harvesting in this week’s weather!

There’s good news too, though. We thought this would be Everdale’s last visit for a while, but this message came in from Kyle:
“Our greens appear to be holding up well so it’s looking like we should be able to come to market on March 30 as well. We’ve been busy starting the bulk of our early seeding for 2017, battling cutworms on romaine we hoped to be harvesting in early May and re-skinning tunnels in the middle of windstorms to save spinach before this cold front moved in. This time of year produces the sweetest tasting spinach, so get it while we have it. There’s also salad mix, leeks, yellow onions, dry beans, parsnip, rutabaga, celeriac, watermelon radish, and rainbow beets and carrots!”

Monforte Dairy’s special offer in celebration of Canada’s 150^th continues: $100 gets you $150 in cheese bucks (to spend at any of the markets they attend or at their shop on Jefferson) AND and invitation to their farm party on July 2^nd. Speaking from experience, even if the investment just got you the party invitation it would be worthwhile.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Two upcoming events organized by market-folks:

We Are Water – A Night in Support of Indigenous Land Defenders
In light of recent & ongoing events at Standing Rock, here, & everywhere, we’re gathering share some great art + music, and to party for a cause.
Where & When: Thurs. March 23rd, @ The Steady (1051 Bloor St. near Havelock)
Doors: 8pm, 19+
Entrance: $10 or pay what you choose (less… or more!)
Facebook Event Page: http://bit.ly/2n274Qd

100% of profits will go to supporting Indigenous land & water defenders involved in ongoing pipeline resistance efforts. This includes support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their ongoing legal actions to halt the Dakota Access pipeline; as well as support for the Pull Together collective, working to halt the recently green-lit Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain & Enbridge Line 3 pipelines in B.C.

Some amazing local talent will be sharing their music, installations, arts, & hearts with y’all on behalf of support for Indigenous land defence efforts – & it’s going to be a wonderful evening!
In solidarity,
Pia Perez, Frances Tufford, & Zoë Mager, Volunteer Event Organizers

And the following day:

CALL FOR READERS FOR A COMMUNITY READING OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION’S REPORT

Location: City Councillor Ana Bailão’s constituency office, 1240 Bloor Street West

Time: March 24, 2017, 11am – 2pm

Facilitators: claude wittmann and Adam Herst

Background: In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada published a long report on the residential schools that children of Indigenous ancestry were forced to attend in the beginning of the 20th century and sometimes even until the 1990s. The schools were meant to westernize the mind and body of the children and they were often extremely traumatic while politically justified. The Commission interviewed survivors of these schools, wrote their history and also composed a series of 94 recommendations for us so that we start to work towards an equal relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples.

Our Action: we are calling for 8 community members who would like to join a group of 10 of us to read from the TRC report. We will read out loud, each for about 10 minutes and the readings will be live-streamed on an internet radio and recorded for later playback. Our focus will be to learn and feel what happened in the past, nothing else. Everybody is invited to read or to sit with us to witness the readings. This action is part of a larger project entitled 2894. It is about Truth, before (Re)Conciliation.

The internet radio where the readings are broadcast: http://claudewittmann.ca/stream/2894.html

To sign-up to read: please rsvp asap to 2894.claude@gmail.com and choose if you would like to read between noon-1pm or 1-2pm (the 11am – noon slot is full). Your rsvp will be used to create a reading schedule that will be sent to you a few days before the reading.

 

Our vendors this week:
Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Everdale Organic Farm
Forbes Wild Foods
Kind Organics
Marvellous Edibles
Monforte Dairy
Plan B
Spade & Spoon

 

 

I grew up being fed by wonderful women, my mother in particular, and my aunts, great aunts, and grandmothers. Many of these women had to put their own ambitions aside to care for others, and became legendary for their pies, their pickles, or their bread instead, known for setting a beautiful table or stretching a dollar. I’m sure there were days when cooking up and washing up were about the last things they felt like doing. Nevertheless, they managed to infuse the food they prepared with love, and they were always ready to add a place or two at the table if extra people arrived in need of a meal. These women are my original food heroes.

Now I work with many amazing women in food: farmers, makers, bakers and activists who put their hearts and souls into what they do. This week, I propose a toast to all the women around us who care about people being well fed!

 

Here’s the vendor report:
Marvellous Edibles will be back in the usual spot, to the great relief of their fans.

The selection of greens from Kind Organics is getting nicer and nicer as the sun grows stronger.

Some of you may remember Spade & Spoon’s astonishingly good Caesar Mix from last summer, fantastic for cocktails or for drinking as is. It’s gluten-free, vegan, healthy, and spiced just right! Why is it appearing again now? Time to get all the tomatoes from last summer’s bumper crop out of the freezer to make space for maple syrup!

I ran into Jonathan Forbes in the post office the other day, and he was just back from Sault Ste Marie, where he had been meeting with harvesters from Thessalon First Nation who are going to pick wild celery this summer. Take a look at all the remarkable foods on the Forbes table that come to market because of partnerships like this.

Loyal Eaters, if you’ve made it to ten stamps it’s time to collect your rewards! We want to be sure you are on our list by the end of the month. You can keep getting stamps as long as you like….

See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Our vendors this week:

Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Forbes Wild Foods
Kind Organics
Marvellous Edibles
Monforte Dairy
Pine River
Plan B
Spade & Spoon

 

It’s hard to know what to wish for with this weather, isn’t it? I can’t help feeling thrilled to see snowdrops in bloom, but I was worried about the maple syrup season after speaking with Jonathan Forbes last week. Cold nights are very important right now, so the trees don’t go into bud too soon. I took a look at the Farmers’ Almanac to see if I could find any old time wisdom that might address current uncertainties, but I came away with more charm than knowledge.

I think I’ll keep these March sayings in mind anyway and observe what happens:

A dry March and a wet May? Fill barns and bays with corn and hay.
As it rains in March so it rains in June.

Of course, it also remains to be seen whether winter will prove this old rule true:

In like a lamb, out like a lion.

Since predictable weather does not seem to be in the cards, here’s one more, a sentence from Ellis Peters that I like better still:

Every spring is the only spring – a perpetual astonishment.

May it always be so.

So what’s good to eat this week? There’s perpetual astonishment in that, too!  Here’s the news from Everdale: “This week we have loads of winter spinach, dry beans, leeks, yellow onions, rainbow carrots and beets, parsnip, rutabaga, celeriac and winter radish.”

THREE CHEERS for this impressive MARCH list and the great variety of foods our producers bring us, four seasons a year!

Kyle continues, “I took a walk in the fields yesterday and there is lots of spinach and parsley coming back which should be available for a super early spring harvest. It seems that our garlic is starting to pop out of the ground as well :/ We tried planting our garlic in a living stand of oats and peas last fall in the hope that these would become the mulch after being winter-killed. Seems to be working so far, but the inevitable frost heave that’s coming will be the real test! Fingers crossed for a blanket of snow.”

Jens and Ayse of Marvellous Edibles are travelling to see family this week, returning next time.

Pine River will have more scrumptious and tender kale, sweet carrots, and other good veg.

When a friend heard about Angelos’ thick Goat’s Milk yogurt she cancelled all other plans to come get this food of her childhood. I am hoping it will be plentiful so you can get some too!

Forget the stock market and the real estate market and come to the real market, where Monforte Dairy has the best investment opportunity around. $100 gets you $150 in cheese bucks, to spend at any of the markets Monforte attends, or at their Toronto store or Stratford restaurant. Julia can tell you all about it.

There’s sweet, salty, spicy, sour– but nothing scary on Blythe‘s tables! Take your pick from Spade & Spoon’s excellent selection of ferments, chutneys, pickles and jams. Don’t forget some maple butter, too.

Our wonderful volunteer from last summer, Malwina, will be helping out this week, with a little show and tell and taste about winter pestos. The spiralizer will be back in action making tasty samples to share.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Our vendors this week:

Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Everdale
Forbes Wild Foods
Kind Organics
Monforte Dairy
Pine River
Plan B
Spade & Spoon