Monthly Archives: February 2020

LATE-BREAKING NEWS:
I guess we should change the news title to ‘Snow will Blow…” because a few of our vendors are stuck in drifts today and won’t be coming in. Angelos can’t get the snow-blower to start, so no Country Meadows, and Vasile couldn’t make it to Pine River to get produce from Bob Felhazi, so no Green Florin. No Monforte Dairy either. Sorry! We will move everyone into the rinkhouse (north end) and have a cozy market there, Hope you can make it!
Anne

Hello Market Friends:
This is the first market day of 2020 when the sun will rise before 7am and set after 6pm. It won’t be long before the balance tips in favour of longer days than nights. When the sun is shining, the trees in Dufferin Grove are particularly beautiful in the late winter light, and if the sky clears after the snowfall ends, we will finish the market in lovely twilight.

It’s nice to take a moment to enjoy these details, after some worry that the market might be affected by a strike.  The deadline has been extended until midnight Saturday, so we’ll be watching the news and hoping for a successful outcome to negotiations.

Here’s a bit about what’s coming in:

First Fish is paying us a visit this time! Stock up on wild-caught arctic fish: frozen fillets and hot or cold-smoked.

Rodrigo reports that Plan B has beautiful spinach from their greenhouse to bring.

It’s a happy week for chocolate fans! ChocoSol will be at the market.

Jens is still fighting a cold, so Marvellous Edibles will take a break this time.

The Dufferin Park Bakers list for February 27th:
Sourdoughs: caraway-multigrain, potato-rosemary, olive-onion
Artisans: multigrain, cranberry-walnut, kamut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, raisin
Rice bread

We’ve got fritters and eggs and cheese and olives and maple syrup and miso and baking and nuts and tamales and greens too!
See you at the market! 

Anne Freeman

Who’s Coming:
Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
First Fish
Forbes Wild Foods
La Mexicana
Plan B
Sundance Harvest

Hello Market Friends:
It may be February, but you can have a rainbow on your plate with the winter foods our vendors have put by, like these beautiful pickled veggies from the Plan B kitchen!

Many of Spade & Spoon’s fans have been asking when we will see Blythe again. Here’s the latest report from her new home base in Northumberland: “Construction is put on hold for the maple season. We’re getting everything ready for the sap to run. It’s a whole new setup for us, so the learning curve is steep! We’re excited to see the system in action! Old timers in the area think the sap is going to run earlier than last year, so Adam and I are tapping like crazy right now in case it does! Missing our family and friends at Dufferin. Excited to get back in the spring. Hoping for a long sap season to get lots of maple syrup but also a short season to get back to the market!” Keep cheering them on; they will return!

Monforte Dairy will be absent this week.

The Dufferin Grove Bakers list for February 20th:
Sourdoughs: rye, potato-rosemary, caraway-multigrain
Artisans: multigrain, cranberry-walnut, spelt-walnut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, cranberry-poppy-seed
Rice bread

Alvaro from Plan B sent a note with a link to some troubling food policy news this week: “This should be getting wide circulation. The next agribusiness takeover will be relevant to our markets and growers’ abilities to feed cities.”

Small-scale farmers feed most of the people in the world. We need strategies which respect them and embrace ecological principles to support biodiversity and mitigate climate change. Use your voice, your vote, your wallet, and your fork. It’s about what to eat for dinner, and a whole lot more.
See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Who’s Coming:
Ali Harris (rotis, fritters, beverages, snacks)
All Sorts Acres (sheep products – bi-weekly)
Bees Universe (honey, eggs and bee products)
Country Meadows (olives, oil, cheese, eggs)
DeFloured (gluten-free baking)
Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups & snacks)
Forbes Wild Foods (fresh and dried mushrooms, syrups, nuts, etc.)
Green Florin & Pine River Organic Farm (nuts, dried fruits, oils, fresh produce)
La Mexicana (tamales and hot salsa)
Marvellous Edibles (organic chicken, turkey parts, produce, preserves)
Plan B (local and imported organic produce)
Sundance Harvest (local greens)

Hello Market Friends:
In case you don’t know what to do with winter vegetables, here’s a little inspiration from Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

I thought of sending a farm-themed Valentine, but ‘I’m a-tractored to you’ was the best caption I found. The rest were really corny.

You’ll be glad to know that we have a full house for our almost-Valentine’s market:

Vasile is back with Green Florin nuts and dried fruits, and he has picked up a load of carrots, squash and potatoes from Pine River for us.

Jens from Marvellous Edibles is feeling better, and there will be more turkey parts, root crops, greens and specialties at his tables.

We’re looking forward to hearing about the workshops Cheyenne from Sundance Harvest offered at Carleton University, as well as to getting some of her sweet baby lettuce.

Rodrigo from Plan B is not complaining (too much) about returning to the garage this week.

He will have good company, because both ChocoSol and Culture City are coming, and so is Heriter Farms, with certified organic pork and beef.

Only DeFloured is missing from our list of expected vendors. Krista has been under the weather so they have to miss the market.

The egg supply should be more plentiful now that John of Bees Universe has dug out from under the snowbanks in Innisfil, and of course Angelos will have lots from Country Meadows, too.

Ali Harris’s fish supplier didn’t have so much trouble with the weather this week, so he’s back in action.

Gladys and Manny of La Mexicana are making tamales with assorted fillings.

The Dufferin Park Bakers are making:
Sourdoughs: rye, potato-rosemary, caraway-multigrain, olive onion
Artisans: multigrain, cranberry-walnut, kamut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, raisin
Rice bread

ChocoSol will have sweets for the sweet, Forbes will have wild foods for the wild, and how can you go wrong with cheese from Monforte?
See you at the market, sweethearts!
Anne Freeman

Vendors This Week:
Ali Harris
Bees Universe
ChocoSol
Country Meadows
Culture City
Dufferin Park Bakers
Forbes Wild Foods
Green Florin & Pine River
Heriter Farms
La Mexicana
Marvellous Edibles
Monforte Dairy
Plan B
Sundance Harvest

Hello Market Friends:
I’m always smitten with the first snowdrops. They don’t predict anything, unlike Wiarton Willie or Fred la Marmotte, but one day, there’s no sign of them, and the next, they’re up. By the looks of it, they’ll be buried again soon, and then they will return,  just as cheeky and beautiful as they ever were.

So if they tell you there’s a ‘Texas low’ heading our way, don’t let it get you down. We’ll get through it. The market will be a little smaller than usual this time, but we’re still expecting lots of good food.

DeFloured is back! Lots of gluten-free goodies for all who have been missing them!

Jennifer from All Sorts Acres has new lambs on the farm, but is planning a trip in. You’ll find her, as well as Culture City and Plan B in the rinkhouse (north end) this time only.

Unfortunately, Jens has a bad cold, so Marvellous Edibles will miss this week.

Here’s the Dufferin Park Bakers bread list:
Sourdoughs: rye, caraway-multigrain, olive onion
Artisans: multigrain, baguette, cranberry-walnut, kamut
Italians: rosemary, multigrain, cranberry-poppy seed
Rice bread

Angie from Lapapampa is visiting to help you stay on the sunny side with delicious organic dried mangoes.

Cheyenne will be offering workshops at Carleton University this week, so Sundance Harvest will be away.

Loyal Eaters who have come every week in this year’s program can start collecting rewards! We have a shipment of shiny new market bucks for you arriving directly from the Market Mint! If you have perfect attendance, keep at it until the end of March and you’ll get an extra chance at winning one of our Grand Prize Goodie Bags!

And now, a farewell: Kevin Hamilton has been a part of the market for over a decade, first as an apprentice at Plan B, and then, with his wife Sandra, managing Shared Harvest Community Farm. Now they are moving on, and sadly, this means they won’t be at Dufferin.
From Kevin: ‘To say I will miss my weekly excursions is an understatement.’
To say we will miss Kevin’s good humour and legendary growing abilities is an understatement, too. He has offered to come by with his harmonica-playing pals, and we are counting on it.

Thank you for everything, Kevin. We wish you, Sandra and the kids all the very best.

See you at the market,
Anne Freeman

This Week’s Vendor List: Everyone will be in the rinkhouse (north end).

All Sorts Acres (sheep products – bi-weekly)
Bees Universe (honey, eggs and bee products)
Country Meadows (olives, oil, cheese, eggs)
Culture City (fermented foods and condiments)
DeFloured (gluten-free baking)
Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups & snacks)
Forbes Wild Foods (fresh and dried mushrooms, syrups, nuts, etc.)
Lapapampa (organic dried mangoes) 
La Mexicana (tamales and hot salsa)
Monforte Dairy (local cheeses from a variety of milks)
Plan B (local and imported organic produce)