March Brings Good Things

Hello Market Friends:
March brings fresh energy and excitement. In just two weeks we will celebrate the Vernal Equinox with a special First Market of Spring. It’s coming….Stay tuned for details!

In the meantime, we have a lot of visitors this month:

Market volunteer Lianne Holland will be doing a little cooking demo this week, and offering tasty samples to market-goers.

With All Sorts Acres’ departure til May, and the freezers at Marvellous Edibles close to empty, meat is in short supply at the market, but two interesting farms have asked to come, one pork producer, one beef. This week and next, we’ve invited them for trial dates, and if all goes well, we hope they will return, possibly alternating until we expand into the great outdoors. If you are a meat eater, please introduce yourself to these farmers, ask lots of questions, and give us your feedback. Our aim is to support small-scale, conscientious producers, and to make the market the best it can be in terms of quality and selection.

This week, come and get acquainted with Huber’s Wildwood Farm, a small up and coming family farm run by Nick and Olivia Huber, located near Holland Centre. Their specialty is free range, pastured pork that is GMO, hormone, pesticide, and antibiotic free. Their heritage breed pigs spend their lives free to roam outdoors and enjoy mud wallows, while soaking up sunshine and fresh air. Being good stewards of their animals and land is a top priority for Nick and Olivia. They practice regenerative agriculture and use no pesticides or fertilizers on their farm.  Olivia will have a variety of cuts available at the market including bacon, sausage, chops, hams, ribs, peameal bacon, and more. Learn more at www.huberswildwoodfarm.com and contact them if you are interested in pre-ordering.

Heidrun‘s Report for the week: the Sourdough Breads will be Rye, Caraway, and a trial batch of Sweet Potato-Rosemary, the Artisan Loaves will be Multigrain and Spelt-Walnut, and the Italian-Style Breads will be Rosemary, Multigrain, and Cranberry-Poppy Seed, there will be Rice Bread, AND (if she gets up early enough), there will be a batch of Challah!

Marvellous Edibles will be absent, and First Fish will be attending.

Some of you will remember Nikki Daley, the sweet volunteer who brought Boomerang Bags to the market last summer. When she isn’t sewing or educating people on alternatives to plastic, Nikki is a marine biologist who works in Australia. Recently I received a nice note from her with these photos which I want to share with you:

“We’ve just finished a season working with turtles and had a small juvenile wash in with guy issues that are usually associated with plastic congestion. So just goes to show how strongly the programs we work on are so linked.”

It’s all connected.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Vendors this time:

Ali Harris (rotis, fritters, drinks, pesto)
Bees Universe (honey, eggs, knife sharpening)
ChocoSol (chocolate and coffee)
Country Meadows (olives, oil, cheeses, eggs)
Culture City (tempeh, fermented condiments)
DeFloured (sweet and savoury gluten-free baking)
Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups & snacks)
First Fish (wild-caught arctic fish)
Forbes Wild Foods (mushrooms, nuts, syrup and more)
Green Florin (nuts, oils and dried fruits)
Huber’s Wildwood Farm (pork) (visiting vendor)
Kind Organics (sprouts and salad mixes)
Monforte Dairy (local cheeses from a variety of milks)
Plan B (local and imported organic produce, cider, ferments)
Spade & Spoon (preserves, syrup, soups)