Stories and Storms 🌪️

Hello Market Friends:

There is no pretending that the climate crisis only affects people far away when extreme storms hit the farms we depend on. Both Aldergrove and Kooners’ suffered serious crop losses due to last week’s deluge and high-force winds, and Indy Kooner lost a greenhouse. To add insult to injury, Indy’s truck got stuck in deep mud when he was loading up for us last week, delaying him so much that some orders had to go out without their veggies.

Thank you to the wave of customers who declined their credits or sent money to help with storm cleanup. We feel a deep gratitude for this community.

The difficult truth is that farmers are subject to huge risks more than ever now. When you are not eating Aldergrove’s salad mix or Kooners’ broccoli this week, consider what we need to tell our politicians about the urgent need for climate action.

I didn’t realize how many people would respond to last week’s description of the seasonal urge to put food by, for winter, and as another way to support our farmers.

Above is a photograph of a painting by my wonderful friend, Japneet Kaur Saini. Her works tell many tales of food and community, and the ways they are woven together.

When Japneet was growing up in the Punjab, she and her sister loved their grandmother’s Tomato Jam. She says the memory of it transforms her back into a small child standing on the stout walls of their cistern with her sister, looking far into the shimmering distance of a hot,hot day, and eating slices of white bread spread thickly with Biji’s delicious jam.

As coincidence would have it, Chef and Food Activist Joshna Maharaj came by the market recently to pick up a gorgeous crate of heirloom tomatoes from Marvellous Edibles. Her plan: Tomato Jam.

I asked Joshna for her recipe, and she replied, “your mention of that tomato jam from your friend Japneet reminded me so much of something that my mom would make with more sugar, and mustard seeds. This one is beautifully sweet and savoury and would be perfect on toast, on a cheese/charcuterie board, or with fresh parathas and yogurt!” Below are the instructions to make it.

Joshna’s first book, Take Back the Tray is available now at Type Books and Indigo.ca, and you can see more of Japneet’s work on instagram @storyofaseed

Aldergrove is still in action, with several additions to their list:
How about some beautiful LOCAL ginger grown amazingly well in this northern country? And just in time for big-batch cooking, they’ve got flavour-rich Vegetable Salt.

Kooner Farms hopes for easier harvest conditions so you can get their broccoli this time, and among many other choices they have a terrific selection of various hot peppers.

Super-star Audrey MacDonald of The Greenhouse Eatery continues to amaze us each week when she arrives with her stunning array of crops. What a list from a one-woman operation. Deep and rich purples and red of her okra, carrots, and brussel sprouts were real standouts last week.

Each peach pear plum, I spy Tom Thumb goes the nursery rhyme, and you can have them all PLUS apples and grapes from Reye’s Farms right now.

Starting to settle in after summer holidays? A new Kawartha broom will make domestic chores more fun! A perfect gift for folks who are moving away from flimsy products that regularly end up in the landfill and towards quality products made locally with artistry and care. The Weasel is a great all round choice.

Chocosol has several of their most flavourful chocolate bars on special right now. If you’ve never tried them, this might just be the perfect week. They roast, winnow, and stone-grind all of our cacao fresh and on-site in Toronto to make their gorgeously packaged delights.

Forbes Wild Foods has a big showing of maple sweet this week; maple sugar, maple butter, maple syrup, and maple candies are in stock along with their many other fantastic goods.

Sosnicki’s has orange bell peppers and red ember peppers alongside their red shepherds this week! A great week to cook everything from barbecue and burritos to stews and slaws.

We will squeeze in one more recipe for peaches below, too! It’s still summer, after all!

Enjoy the last official days of the season!

Anne & the Market Crew

Easy Tomato Jam (adapted from thekitchn.com)

Makes 2 8oz jars

This jam is simple and super delicious! The sweetness of summer tomatoes is doing the heavy lifting here with flavour. Keep your eye on the heat so that the jam doesn’t start sticking to the pan and be sure to scrape up all of the yummy flavour bits that develop on the side as the jam reduces.

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot. Combine all ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

2. Reduce heat and simmer the jam until thickened, about 2 hours. Reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until thick and jammy, about another 2 hours. You’ll know it’s done when you scrape a spoon across the bottom of the pot and no liquid fills in the path.

3. Allow jam to cool slightly, then transfer to jars, cool completely, cover and refrigerate.

Joshna’s first book, Take Back the Tray is available now at Type Books and Indigo.ca, and you can see more of Japneet’s work on instagram @storyofaseed.

Classic Peach Cobbler 

With summer coming to an end and fall just around the corner, savour the last moments of peach season with a warm and delicious peach cobbler. This recipe is one of the easiest baked desserts you can make to serve at any time of the day. Top your peach cobbler off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for an extra special treat!

Ingredients 

3 cups of peaches, sliced or diced (approx. 4 large peaches)

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

For the batter:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp milk

1 tsp baking powder

A dash of salt

Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8″ x 8″ baking dish and set aside.
To prepare peaches, slice or dice and place into the baking dish.
In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and sprinkle over peaches. Toss peaches to coat them with the mixture and then spread out evenly in the baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and mix to combine until batter is the consistency of cookie dough.
Scoop spoonfuls of batter and sprinkle onto peaches. Cover all of the peaches with batter making sure the batter sits on top of them.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden and peaches are bubbling. Remove from the oven and serve warm on its own or topped with a spoon of vanilla gelato!