This week’s bounty from the market

alexandra — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:23:24 +0000

Last week I tried the tomato sauce from Loffredo Farms and I was blown away. It was SO tasty. I bought another jar this week and ordered a box of 12 for next week. I’ll save them for the cold winter months when we have no more tomatoes around…

Summer saturday

alexandra — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:29:43 +0000

It’s September and the farmers’ market was at its most colourful. The harvest is in and the variety of produce was phenomenal. We brought home:

sweet peppers (yellow, green, red & purple)
corn
shallots
fresh garlic
basil
melons (yellow watermelon & cantaloupe)
purple & yellow carrots
tomatillo (ok, this one was from Kensington, but still)
heirloom tomatoes
salad greens from Kind Organics
tomato sauce & pickled eggplants from Loffredo Fruit Farms
eggplants
red plums
Italian prunes

Stay tuned for what I’ve done with those…

This week’s find

alexandra — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:47:10 +0000

St Andrew’s Farmers’ Market

alexandra — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:01:37 +0000

There is no shortage of farmers’ markets in Toronto. But despite my interest in fresh, local produce, I haven’t been able to find one that is both conveniently located for me and on a day that I can go. At the beginning of the summer I thought I could go to the farmers’ market at Riverdale Farm, which meets on Tuesdays from 3-7 pm and is only a 5 min bike ride from where I live. I could come home early from campus and go there. Unfortunately, by the time I found out about it, I was schedule to teach a course every tuesday and thursday from 5-7pm. So there goes that farmers’ market at least until August. I’ve heard lots about the one on Duffering Grove, but again, it meets on Thursdays from 3-7 pm. The last couple of weeks I heard of markets that seem more promising. One is near King & Spadina and meets on Saturday mornings from 8-1. We always go to Kensington Market on saturday mornings so this market seems on our way. There’s also one on Borden & Bloor on Wednesday evenings that sounds promising.

So to St Andrew’s Farmers’ Market we went this morning. There was a huge rain storm before we left Kensington, so I wondered how the farmers weather the storm under their open tents. No need to worry; they were still there when we arrived around 11 AM. This is the first year for this particular market so it’s not as well known as the others and people are still discovering it. Although there are only a few vendors, I am quite happy with what I was able to buy.

From top to bottom: black & yellow bell peppers, fresh whole wheat pasta, oat bread, raspberry pear jam, eggplant in olive oil, fava beans, red new potatoes, cherries, garlic scapes, and heirloom tomatoes.

Added to the whole wheat couscous, chickpeas, tofu, lemons, limes, and Pinehedge kefir I got at 4 Life, at Kensington Market, we are all set for the next few days.

More pictures of the market:

Links:

Blog TO lists of the best farmers’ markets in Toronto

Toronto Farmers’ Market Network

Mató & Maple Syrup » St Andrew’s Farmers’ Market

This week’s bounty from the market

Summer saturday

This week’s find

St Andrew’s Farmers’ Market