So Much To Look Forward To! 🙌

written by Nicole Jacobs, Market Manager
Market operates Thursdays, 3-7pm,
INDOORS, at 875 Dufferin St 
*full vendor list here

Yes, despite the bitter cold that January often brings, there really is a lot to look forward to. But with weekly visits to your local farmers’ market, you’ll be able to discover that all for yourself! And the Dufferin Grove Market really is like no other – but you knew that. 💜
Where else can you provide entertainment with the veggies you buy? And maybe juggling cabbage first, can even enhance its flavour? Either way, might be fun to find out for yourself! But if that’s too “risqué” you can always start smaller – with potatoes perhaps. Thankfully, Nith Valley Organics will have lots of either one – have fun!


Get your antioxidant fill from these (peeled and cooked) red beets, from Plan B Organics. Once again, lovingly prepared by Rodrigo’s mom, Gabriella. It’s like you’re taking home a “food hug”.

Fisherfolk’s halibut, coconut borscht – another yummy way to insert beets into your diet. Along with some incredible wild halibut of course. Just heat it up, and off you go!


Not Quite Spring, But…
Yes, although we’re a third of the way through winter, spring probably still feels very far away for a lot of us. “Blue Monday” also takes place in January, which probably doesn’t help either. However, catching up with our “off-season” farmers, and hearing about their enthusiasm for the upcoming growing season, definitely gives me much to look forward to. 💜

It may be hard to tell, but in that photo, is Cheyenne, of Sundance Harvest – wow! Some of you will recall when I wrote about her last summer, as she’d ended her market season a bit early. Sad news at the time, but for very good reason. Cheyenne had just bought a farm in Mount Forest, Ontario. And upon catching up with her last week, I learned that she’s doing incredibly well, and can’t wait to be back at Dufferin Grove this spring!
An update from Cheyenne:
“Last (late) summer and fall, were devoted to getting the new farm up and running – in order to ensure a strong start to spring, 2025. As we’ve now expanded, with two more acres of market garden, we’re looking forward to bringing more cut-flowers, herbs, vegetables and melons to Dufferin Grove, than ever before! We’ve also invested in winter growing structures such as two greenhouses and six unheated tunnels. This means we can grow thousands of pounds of more nutrient-dense food, in the “shoulder months” – when it’s normally still too cold, to grow outside. We’ll be planting tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, snap peas, cut-flowers, early greens, peppers and basil, in these tunnels – a month before the last frost, so we can get an early jump on things!”
Look out spring – here we come! Don’t you feel a bit warmer already? haha

Wild Food Options..

Wild Enoki mushrooms – truly a thing of beauty. When I asked Nykole (of Noki Farms), to “tell me more”, she said this:
“The flavour is very mild and lightly earthy – with hints of nutmeg and sweet tobacco. I made a nice easy soup with them yesterday to prepare for the cold! Wild enoki, beef broth, leek, shallot, garlic, and some leftover shredded chicken, plus whatever seasonings were within reach!”
Sounds incredible – thanks Nykole! And (for a vegan option), I’m sure the beef broth could be substituted for a veggie broth – in addition to omitting the chicken.

Wild rice from Forbes Wild Foods – a yummy side dish, that’s also packed with nutrients. In  addition to antioxidants, wild rice is a great source of vitamin B, and folate.

Vendor News..
Full vendor list here – (for January 23rd.)
Great news! This week, we’re welcoming back Saint Spore!

If you missed out when they were here, (back in November, 2024), or aren’t quite sure what they’re all about, here’s a brief “recap”, (or intro):
“At Saint Spore we make small-batch Jun (lightly fermented green or herbal tea with honey) and other deliciously fermented things, using sustainably-sourced natural ingredients from here and far.”

And finally! Cheese is back at the market! This week, the staff of Monforte Dairy will be there themselves, selling their cheese – feel free to stock up if you need to. 🙂

House of Tigernut’s (nut-free), and calcium-rich, tigernut products – just. incredible.

Kalmplex Snax’s, dried fruit (with a hint of cayenne)  – the perfect flavour combo!

Full vendor list here.


Even More To Look Forward To..
At next week’s market (January 30th), we’ll be celebrating the Lunar New Year! And the wonderful folks at Bitter Better will be helping us do just that. Tammy and Chris are looking forward to sharing some traditional Chinese delicacies (appropriate for the occasion), with us. This will be in addition to their HTB products and teas – (including their delicious buckwheat noodles, pictured below.) Be sure to join us (on January 30th), as we celebrate “the year of the snake”! 

And for those of you (like me), who’ve been missing Repair Cafe being at the market, and are also looking for more ways to  reduce, reuse and recycle, this (upcoming) event is definitely for you! I’m speaking of “ReMarket” – happening January 29 & 30, (at St Lawrence Market.) A full list of what to donate, (or recycle) is on the website. Or just stop by, to say hi to the lovely Repair Cafe folks!

Piccolo Farm Organics brought their incredible fresh pastas, focaccia and sauces to the market last week – yum! But if you happened to miss out, great news! PFO returns to Dufferin Grove on February 6th.

Delicious “doubles” from Estelle’s Caribbean Cuisine. 

Thanks so much everyone – our vendors truly appreciate you..
-Nicole 
*every Thursday, 3-7pm – INDOORS, (at 875 Dufferin St) 

VENDORS_January 23rd, 2025

Growers:

• Plan B Organics
• Nith Valley Organics
• Noki Farms

Meat, Fish & Dairy:

• Link Haus 
• Fisherfolk
• Nith Valley Organics (lamb & chicken)
• Monforte Dairy!

Eggs:

• Nith Valley Organics

Bakery:

• Johnson Family Bakery 

Prepared Foods:

• Magic Oven
• Estelle’s Caribbean Cuisine
• Link Haus (grilled sausage & chips)

Preserves & Specialty Items:

• Forbes Wild Foods
• Kalmplex Snax
• House of Tigernut
• Saint Spore – pop-up

“Extras”:

• Poetry (with Marc)
• Ice Skating!

One step at time – we all started somewhere.. xo