From Near and Far

Hello Market Friends:

It happens every year. Just as the supply of local crops hits a wonderful high, lots and lots of market customers leave for their summer vacations, and market sales slow down.

Our farmers have worked hard to produce all this wonderful food, and they need to sell it now! We want everyone to get as excited about local harvests as we do, and to feast, preserve, freeze and share the best food in Ontario.

We’ve decided to offer $5 off deliveries for the rest of this month of abundance, to encourage folks all over town to order LOTS of great local food!

What HAVEN’T we got to eat right now? Here are some highlights from our amazing selection:

Sosnickis and Kooners are offering their first proudly organic cobs of sweet corn!

Marvellous Edibles has heirloom tomatoes so lusciously delicious you might have to eat them in private.

It is prime time for peaches! Baskets, Bushels and Half bushels of both Early Red Havens (super popular for good reason) and Baby Golds (sought after by canners) are available, as well as a few of the magical White-fleshed peaches (the ones eaten in fairy tales). Check out our new Peach Page to see all your peach posibilities.

If you think of Cabbage as a storage crop for the depths of winter, think again! Ted Thorpe, and Audrey from The Greenhouse Eatery have crunchy, flavourful summer cabbage to use for great slaw and other salads.

We shook up the Monforte cheese choices this week! You can select Nika, a spreadable sheep milk cheese with herbs and garlic, Rose D’Amour, water buffalo cheese with pink peppercorns throughout (a personal favourite) or Morita Chevre, among others.

Forbes Wild Foods is busy transforming fruits, flowers and berries of the Canadian wilds into sophisticated jellies, compotes and syrups. These make perfect gifts but you don’t have to part with them unless you really want to.

How about a cool glass of soda water sweetened with a little Elderberry Syrup, scones with Wild Blueberry Compote, or the ultimate declaration of true love, a jar of exquisite, tiny wild strawberries?

Motherdough and Knuckle Down are away this week, and Essa Seedlings and Sprouts will return in September.

It is the second Thursday of the month, and that means the Repair Cafe is on! Bring your beloved but broken belongings to the market, and Paul will take them to the ‘fixers’, who will do their best to restore them to good working order! If you left things last time, please check in as we have a few orphans at the market depot.

Vasile Florin is the kind man who brings us dried fruits, nuts and seeds from his native Moldova. He has a walnut farm in ‘the old country’ and he loves to offer tastes of all his products for customers to enjoy. This has been difficult during the pandemic, but last week he packed little samples of many kinds so we could offer them at the depot. They were very popular! If you are coming to get an order, stop by Matt’s table and see!

Nerupa’s weekly recipe is below. This week it features cherry tomatoes, which we have in abundance; remember, that’s our theme word for the month!

Anne & the Market Crew

P.S. To all our loyal readers: 

Please help the market by forwarding our short Saturday email announcing the $5 off special to 5 people. You will be contributing to the success of our farmers and vendors.

THANKS!

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta  

Cherry tomatoes are in season and what better way to showcase their sweet and tart flavour than making bruschetta. This simple recipe features only a few ingredients but one bite and you’ll be amazed at the burst of flavour!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of ripe cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp of balsamic vinegar

3/4 tsp of sea salt or to taste

1/2 tsp of black pepper, freshly ground

5-7 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

1 baguette, sliced into diagonal pieces

Instructions 

Slice cherry tomatoes into small pieces, cut each one in half and then into quarters. Place into a bowl and then olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, black pepper and stir.

Finely mince garlic cloves and basil and then stir into mixture. Set aside and prepare baguette.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cut baguette diagonally into 1 inch thick slices. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toast for 5 minutes in oven or until edges are lightly browned.

Once ready to serve, place a spoonful of tomato mixture onto toasted baguette slices and enjoy!