Daydreams and To-Do Lists

Hello Market Friends:

I don’t know how the end of August came round so fast. It’s hard to choose between late summer daydreams and the urge to get organized for what’s ahead. Lounging in the park over a market supper and then taking home a good haul to put by for delicious meals later is an excellent compromise.

Sosnicki Organic Produce has a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes: “Cases are 25 lbs for $30 and they are plentiful and gorgeous!! We can bring bulk starting this week! Should have them for a good month anyhow!” Get on Jessie Sosnicki‘s order list by emailing jb@sosnickiorganics.com.

2019 is a great year for tomatoes! Take the full tour: try the tasty assorted baskets of heirlooms and cherries at Marvellous Edibles, the cocktail tomatoes from Knuckle Down Farm, Thorpes’ juicy heirlooms, Shared Harvest and Plan B’s super sweet yellow cherries, and Aldergrove‘s monster-sized beauties.

Pork fans, take note: The Hubers are planning to attend market next Thursday if they have enough advance orders. For bacon, sausages, roasts, chops, leaf lard, hams, etc. go to www.huberswildwoodfarm.com and place your order ahead so they can bring it on September 5th.

Last call for Niagara Lavender Farm peaches.

Something else for your to-do list: round up your objects in need of some TLC, the wonderful team from Repair Café Toronto returns to Dufferin Grove this week! Small appliances, clothing, bicycles, household objects, toys….They’ll tackle just about anything, and teach you repair skills as well.

Market goers were really taken with the broom-making last time. We’ve decided to invite Bob and Mary back on September 19th, with an added detail in keeping with other repair and re-use initiatives at the market:
How many times have you been left with a perfectly good stick after your broom or other tool has worn out? Bring those sticks to market, whether they are generic ones to donate for re-use, or special ones for custom orders. Any wooden stick of a reasonably standard diameter will do, as long as it’s not too brittle. We’ll collect sticks at the market info. table until September 12th (one week ahead) so Bob can pick them up and get a head start on making the brooms. Be sure to label your stick with your name, contact info., and what colour twine you would like if  you are placing an order rather than donating it. If your request is really elaborate, call Bob Miller, Kawartha Broom Company: 1-705-438-8847.

Heidrun‘s Dufferin Park Bakers list:
Sourdoughs: rye, caraway-multigrain, potato-rosemary, olive-onion
Artisans: baguette, multigrain, cranberry-walnut, kamut, potato-onion buns, spelt-walnut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, whole wheat, raisin

Salad mixes will be abundant again with the return of Kind Organics.

It will be nice to see Vasile of Green Florin, just back from Moldova with dried prunes, apples and peaches from this year’s harvest.

It IS still summer: Sinclair will be whipping up green smoothies and lemonades at the Earth & City table, Fressy Bessie will have lots of ice pops for the kids; Ali Harris’s watermelon juice and other cool drinks await.

Very best wishes to loyal market friend Herschel Stroyman, who celebrated his 90th birthday a few days ago.
See you at the market!

Anne Freeman

P.S. The Organic Council of Ontario is kicking off Organic Week celebrations early with a contest which begins September 1st and continues all month with rolling prizes, including Dufferin Grove Market Bucks! Tell the world why you love Ontario Organic Food and you could win! Contest details are here.

P.P.S. Late-breaking news from Maria Solakovski:
MacGregor Park Saturday Night Supper: The field house has recently reopened (with a new splash pad an adult could love too!). As part of the community re-building, we have been hosting suppers again, for the last four Saturdays of August. So this week is the “last supper” (for this year anyway). Dinners are vegetarian with seasonal organic produce. The ingredients are inspired from the Teaching Garden at MacGregor and then heavily supplemented from the Dufferin Farmers’ Market. Prices are the same as Dufferin’s Suppers. Saturday August 31 from 5:30pm – 7pm. It will happen rain or shine!

Who’s Coming to the Market:
Aldergrove Organic Farm (veggies and flowers)
Ali Harris (rotis, fish sandwiches, fritters, drinks, pesto)
Bees Universe (honey, bee products, eggs)
ChocoSol (chocolate and coffee)
Country Meadows (certified organic olives, oil, cheeses, herbs)
Culture City (natto, tempeh and other fermented foods)
DeFloured (sweet and savoury gluten-free baking)
Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups & snacks)
Dvourr (waffles with pork, chicken or mushroom toppings-biweekly)
Earth & City (snacks, spreads and beverages)
First Fish (wild-caught Arctic fillets and hot or cold smoked fish)
Forbes Wild Foods (fresh and dried mushrooms, syrup, nuts and other wild foods)
Fressy Bessie (organic ice pops)
Green Florin (dried fruits, nuts, seeds and oils from Moldova)
Island Oysters (fresh-shucked Canadian oysters-occasional visits)
Kind Organics (certified organic sprouts and salad mixes)
Knuckle Down Farm (veggies)
Marvellous Edibles (certified organic chicken, produce, preserves)
Mismak Zena (Ethiopian Cuisine)
Monforte Dairy (local cheeses from a variety of milks, tamales)
Niagara Lavender (certifed organic tender fruit) LAST WEEK
Plan B (local and imported organic produce)
Reye’s Farms  (tender fruit (not organic)
Robinson Bread (sourdough baking from freshly milled grains-biweekly)
Shared Harvest (certified organic veggies and herbs)
Sosnicki Organic Produce (certified organic vegetables)
Southbrook (local organic VQA wines – monthly visits)
Tapioca Toronto (Brazilian-style gluten-free crepes with market fillings)
Thorpe’s Organic Produce (veggies)