Small Really is Beautiful
Feb 21, 2019
Recently, market friend Mark S. has been sending me links to sobering articles about the global decline in insect populations. Although there are many causes, the great increase in pesticide use and the loss of small-scale family farms (which tend to have weedy bits and hedgerows instead of huge mono-cropped fields) are frequently mentioned as reversible factors in this decline. We need organic, restorative food production, not as a ‘lifestyle choice’, but as a survival tool. We need the knowledge of farmers like the ones at our... Read More
Love Your Market
Feb 14, 2019
Hello Market Friends: Canceling the market last week was unprecedented, and we hope not to be repeated! A handful of brave folks turned up at the rinkhouse, and we’d be delighted to recommend that they sign up for the market news so we can reach them if ever we need to. This time, we are digging out from under, and keeping our fingers crossed for a temporary reprieve from the stormy weather so everyone can re-stock pantries and refrigerators — and share the love! What’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate? Happily, we don’t have to... Read More
No market this week!
Feb 7, 2019
Hello Market Friends: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we have decided to cancel this week’s market. It’s just too risky to ask farmers and vendors to drive in this weather. A limited number of fresh-baked loaves of bread will be available for purchase through the snack bar. Please plan to attend next week, when we’re planning a bustling Valentine’s Day market! Until then, stay safe and warm! Anne Freeman Read More
Lots to Talk About, Lots to Eat
Jan 31, 2019
Hello Market Friends: Ten days ago the new Canada Food Guide was introduced, and the comments haven’t stopped since. Impacts on healthy eating are the tip of the iceberg. The Financial Post called the new guide ‘just the latest morsel of low hanging fruit plucked and used to drive a wedge in the Canadian agricultural sector’. Reconciliation, cultural diversity, income inequality and the environmental impacts of dietary choices are all being discussed in light of this document. This is good; there’s a lot more than just... Read More
Imagine What is Possible
Jan 24, 2019
Hello Market Friends: Some of us love the great outdoors in winter, and some of us love the indoor world of reading, making and dreaming. (You can guess which camp I pitch my tent in.) When you have a little time to curl up under a blanket, stoke the mind’s fire with this interesting article about agriculture in Paris: https://tinyurl.com/ycptkalc There’s also inspiration from our remarkable vendors: Jennifer Osborn of All Sorts Acres has no end of ideas about what can be done with wool–and all the other products from her... Read More
It’s Cozy in the Kitchen
Jan 17, 2019
Hello Market Friends: When winter winds blow, it’s time to load up on market ingredients for delicious winter meals. Salads are not necessarily top of mind, but that’s what I’ve been making in the market test kitchen. Here are two hearty ones to try for lunch or dinner, made almost entirely with things you can get from our vendors. Swap in other cheeses or serve on a bed of Kind Organics‘ greens if you like. These will keep you going strong. Squash and Chickpea Salad One butternut or delicata squash, seeded and cut... Read More
Go Team!
Jan 10, 2019
Hello Market Friends: We’ve got a pretty full house again! Both the garage and the rinkhouse will be humming, as Plan B, ChocoSol, Spade & Spoon, Monforte Diary, All Sorts Acres, and Shared Harvest return this week. At the park, Heidrun (with help from Carley) will be busy baking rye, olive onion, and potato-rosemary sourdough breads, multigrain, kamut, cranberry-walnut and baguette artisan loaves, and rosemary, multigrain and raisin Italian ones, as well as rice-flour bread. Pine River‘s Bob Felhazi hasn’t been able to... Read More
A Fresh Year
Jan 3, 2019
Happy New Year Market Friends! Hope you have enjoyed a lovely break. My favourite part was doing a few farm chores–the fun kind. Chances are the topic of New Year’s Resolutions has or will come up in your conversations this week. I’d like to suggest that coming to market regularly fits in very nicely with many aspirations for 2019: healthy eating, active living, building positive relationships, investing in a more sustainable future, and having more fun! Be the change you want to see! We are back to our usual hours this... Read More
Last Market of 2018!
Dec 20, 2018
Hello Market Friends Young and Old, Near and Far, The solstice is almost here, and with it, the last market of the year. Thank you for reading our market newsletters, and more importantly, for supporting local organic food production all year long. We hope all will enjoy a sweet rest and happy times with dear ones in the days ahead, and take courage from the returning light. There will be lots of extras on the tables this week for feasts and gifts. Be sure to get extra of your favourite market foods, as we will be closed on December 27th.... Read More
A Seasonal Smorgasbord
Dec 13, 2018
Hello Market Friends: We are bursting at the seams! The market is going to overflow into the great outdoors because so many vendors are bringing you wonderful foods and extra-special goodies. Here’s a slightly annotated list of what we’ll have: Ali Harris (Authentic Recipes to Warm your Soul) All Sorts Acres (Journey to the Wonderful World of Wool) Bees Universe (Think Sweet and Sharp: bring your Knives) ChocoSol (Bonus Visit!) Country Meadows (BACK AT LAST!) Culture City (Ferments for Torontonians) DeFloured (Dee-licious, and... Read More