Dufferin Grove “In The City”! 🎥 

written by Nicole Jacobs, Market Manager

Market operates Thursdays, 3-7pm, at 875 Dufferin St 

*full vendor list here.

Yes, our market definitely is, in the city. But I suppose I could have also said, “on the city” – CityNews that is. Yes indeed – Dufferin Grove Market was on the news! The segment aired on Monday May 20, 2024. See here.

Parsnips, from Nith Valley Organics. Oven-roasted with an herb of your choice – a great side dish. 

Last week, (depending on what time you arrived), you may have seen news cameras throughout the market place. All accompanied by a very kind reporter, (Dee), who spoke to me, and some vendors, about the Loblaws boycott. Now regardless of where you sit (or stand) on this issue, it is for sure, generating important conversations. Both, around accessibility, and around the overwhelming value of community-focused food systems. See the full news piece here.

And speaking of community-focused food spaces, how about a weekly community picnic? If you didn’t know, these lovely gatherings are happening on Friday evenings at Dufferin Grove, (in our clubhouse) – pictured here. Soon they will move outdoors – yay! Perhaps you recognize one/some of those faces. Perhaps it’s even your own face. If so, well done! But for those who’ve never been, here are the “need to knows”:

*every Friday night, (starting at 6:30pm) – at the Dufferin Grove Clubhouse, (875 Dufferin St)

*bring a dish, either for yourself, or for sharing with others – (the main idea is dining together)

*but still come! (even if you can’t bring something)

*for any questions, contact Erella: wow@erella.com

Definitely a great way to make new connections. 🤸🏿‍♂️

This Thursday..

The beautiful “greens” in our feature photo come to us from Knuckle Down Farm. Farmer, Jenny Cook, is excited to be back at Dufferin Grove this week, and will have lots of (the following):

“Salad Mix, lettuce, rhubarb and green garlic for sure. Hopefully cilantro and a few other things too!” Please give Jenny a warm “welcome back” this week!

If you happen to recognize the focaccia in this photo, then perhaps you’re as excited as I am, that Robinson Bread joins the market this week, This past Saturday afternoon I took a little stroll to their bakery (at Queen, on Brock), and left with the very last baguette – thank goodness! haha. But thankfully, you won’t have to go that far. Robinson’s, full selection, will be available this week. 

Our returning bi-weekly vendors this week are Fisherfolk and Green Florin. 

Our pop-up vendors are Casa Shrooms and Pine & Ginga Juice. (Scroll for the full vendor list, or click here.)

And next week, Monforte Dairy and Heartwood Farm & Cidery!

Veggie Spotlight..

Morels! Forbes Wild Foods brought these last week to the market – the very first of the season. Morels are a nutty, hearty mushroom, that Seth tells me, come to us off the coast of BC. And in addition to being high in vitamin D, they also function as a great alternative to meat. And here’s a simple “recipe” idea that i lifted right off of google:

“Sautéed, doused with white wine and cream sauce, with lots of fresh herbs and served on toast –  quick and easy.”  I would just add some garlic, if it were me, but either way, have fun! 

And if fresh mushrooms are your preference, Noki Farms has you covered – also providing incredible varieties of fresh microgreens.

Recipe (& Community) Spotlight..

Borscht! Cabbage Rolls! Polish pancakes! Getting hungry yet? And if not, hopefully you’re at least curious. Well last week (if you recall), I wrote about beet greens, and put them in “the spotlight”, also sharing a couple recipe ideas. This (thankfully) resonated with some of you – yay! Market goer Chris B, in fact, wrote back to me, sharing recipes, from their grandmother’s kitchen, and has graciously allowed me to share them! Such a treat – thanks for that Chris. 

Some delightful context from Chris, (that I just couldn’t not include): 

“Granny Anna recipes are from a time when mothers taught their daughters to cook, and those daughters went on to teach their own daughters. My grandparents came to Canada from Poland in 1930, and scraped together the money to buy a home farm, about 300km north-east of Toronto. It had a small 100+-year-old log cabin! Granny was still turning out wonderful dishes on a gas stove – that she had to light with a match – even when she was half-blind with macular degeneration.” Wow! And here are those recipes, once again.

If this inspires you to share your own recipes, that’s a good thing! Please send them to: info@dufferingrovemarket.ca, or on insta: @dufferingrovemarket – (also feel free to tag us in your recipe stories.) PIck up your free veggie of the week, (if you happen to do this.) I will message you with a “password”, that you can tell the vendor – thanks again! 💜

Delicious barbeque chicken, from Estelle’s Caribbean Cuisine – a great dinner option to just grab and go.

Highlights From Last Week..

Many of you got the “strawberry callout”, and expressed your delight to Reyes Farms, Thanks for that! And if you missed out, or arrived too late, more are coming this week. This is only the beginning! 🍓

Another (new for the season) vendor, Jiggy Popz, made a lot of young faces quite messy, with their super delicious “popz” – a happy mess though. I mean just look at those ingredients – definitely worth it! 

And pictured here, is one of Tapioca Toronto’s incredible crepes. Stuffed with delicious market ingredients, and also gluten-free – talk to Raphael about what you’d like in your next crepe. Also, I recommend their brownies – definitely try one if you haven’t yet. 💜

And although not food-related, another highlight that needs to be mentioned, is the incredible musicians we had last week. “The Banned Band” were just fantastic. We’re not always treated to a full quartet at the Dufferin Grove Market, but when it does happen, wow! If you missed them this time around, they’ll be back next month. 💪

Thanks for reading – and see you Thursday. xo

-Nicole

(*outside the Clubhouse at Dufferin Grove Park – every Thursday, 3-7pm)

Incredible seeding varieties from Urban Harvest.

VENDORS _ May 23rd, 2024

Growers:

• Plan B Organics
• Nith Valley Organics
• Reyes Farms
• Noki Farms
• Urban Harvest 
• Knuckle Down Farm – new!

Meat & Fish:

• Rogers Ranch (beef & pork)
• Fisherfolk
• Nith Valley (lamb & chicken)

Eggs:

• Nith Valley Organics
• Rogers Ranch

Bakeries:

• Johnson Family Bakery 
• Robinson Bread

Prepared Foods:

• Magic Oven
• Estelle’s Caribbean Cuisine
• Tapioca Toronto 

Preserves & Specialty Items:

• Forbes Wild Foods
• Green Florin
• Kamplex Snax
• Jiggy Popz

Pop-Ups:

• Pine & Ginga Juice
• Casa Shrooms

Starting May 30th:

• Monforte Dairy 
• Heartwood Farm & Cidery
• Blood Brothers Brewing