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Weekly Market Notes Library

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Weekly Market Notes for August 16, 2012

Hello Market Friends:

Much to tell this week, and much to eat! Hope you can join us for a particularly bountiful market.

Welcome to a new farmer! Chris Blakely is farming on a certified organic/biodynamic grain farm up near Owen Sound, where he raises pastured Tamworth pigs, a heritage breed. "All our pigs live outside on pasture and in the bush in the winter. They will never be housed in a barn with cement floors. We feed our pigs 50% certified organic spelt grown on farm and 50% hay also grown on farm." Chris will be offering many cuts of pork, as well as Maple Smoked Bacon and 6 types of sausages: Plain, Garlic, Honey Garlic, Mild Italian, Spicy Italian and Breakfast. You'll find Chris up next to the park bread table.

Feast of Fields will have lots of surprisingly early grapes along with other luscious fruit. Did you see Matthew Sabourin on the cover of The Grid's Farmers' Market issue?

From Debbie Wiecha at Niagara Lavender Farm: "Just a heads up that we will be having a great load of peaches (the last Redhavens) and will have a wonderful load of blackberrries. Also the elderberries are ready, so if anyone wants elderberries this is the week!"

Although I can't stop eating the heavenly fresh ones, I'm also freezing as many peaches as possible this year for winter baking because apples will be scarce. Peach-blackberry crumble sounds like a must, too....As for the elderberries, Leslie Lindsay and other park cooks can tell you about making elderberry cordial, and Helga from Pine River Organic Farm recommends filling a jar with gin and elderberries to steep a potent cold cure for winter!

Sorry I forgot to mention that Peter and Nicole Bzikot were taking a well-earned vacation last week. Best Baa is ba-a-a-ck! Evelyn's Crackers, however, will be away for the next two markets.

From Shared Harvest Community Farm: "We have some cool things that we're excited about this week. We have live fermented Dilly beans and pickles for sale. We also have fresh black chick peas to eat right out of the pod. We will have the standards too. 5 different varieties of eggplant, lots of heirloom tomatoes including black cherries and sun sugars. Purple basil, Italian basil, parsley, red Russian kale, loads of baby summer squash picked small and tender as well as some purple potatoes and hot peppers!" Kevin and Sandra

Last week Kevin gave me a vegetable that no one who entered my house could correctly identify. (I admit, I can be annoying, testing people's vegetable expertise.) It was a most beautiful and extraordinary persimmon-orange and green striped eggplant about the size of a tennis ball. Our farmers push the envelope! Look, here's more coming in from Knuckle Down Farm:

"Rainbow chard, green, purple, and yellow beans, red, white, and orange carrots, yellow, red and green tomatoes. Vegetables sure are pretty. For those of you who like to try different varieties I have an Italian heirloom 'torpedo' onion this week, as well as tulsi, or sacred basil. Crossing my fingers on the greens, I noticed some puppy paw shaped holes in the row cover, so they may be a little munched." Jenny

Sosnickis' contribution: "Another great harvest for Dufferin Grove! And a special guest at our tables! Roma Tomatoes will be plentiful. We'll have extra cases, but to make sure you get yours, order info is all here: http://www.sosnickiorganicproduce.blogspot.ca/2012/07/its-time-to-order-your-certified.html?m=1 Sweet Corn!!! Lots of our corn once again! Eggplants! Big, beautiful Rosa Biancas and Enormas! Lots of Peppers, Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, Huge bunches of Kale, Cucumbers, Onions, Garlic and fresh dug Spuds!!

Come meet Vegan Chef and Internationally Published Cook Book author Doug McNish along with Sosnicki Organics as he samples some of his Raw Vegan Creations using the best Organic Produce in the country. Get your book signed and learn simple techniques on how to create easy Raw Food." http://www.dougmcnish.com Jessie & Ben

And speaking of Cookbooks....Don't forget to bring something from your bookshelf to trade at our Cookbook Swap this week. You can get a S/M/L or XL swap ticket for each book you bring and match it with an equivalent book from the swap box. Extra cookbooks appreciated. Clear a little shelf space to fill with fresh inspiration!

See you at the market!

Anne Freeman

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