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Weekly Market Notes Library

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Weekly Market Notes for June 05, 2014

Hello Market Friends:

Happy Local Food Week, this week and every week at Dufferin Grove! We have more delights in store for you!

A highlight from recent correspondence is this note from Jenny Cook:

“I'm excited to say that Knuckle Down Farm will be back to Market this week! Thank you all for your patience with this slow start to the season. I will be bringing some tender spring greens, radishes and a little rhubarb. Over the past few weeks (and with help from many hands) we have begun to raise a greenhouse at the new farm in the hope that in years to come we will never miss a May market.” Go Jenny!

We are also welcoming the return of Evelyn's Crackers! While baking with heritage and local organic grains may sound traditional, Ed and Dawn put a whole new spin on things with their unique varieties of crackers, cookies, and this year, even Pop Tarts made with Red Fife flour. When Red Fife was entered into Slow Food's Ark of Taste as an endangered treasure, I bet they never dreamed of all that could happen....

Speaking of Slow Food, Paul DeCampo, a wonderful advocate for this movement, will be behind the VQA wine table this week, representing Southbrook, the next vineyard on our list.

After you have the wine and the crackers looked after, you can get some cheese to go with them at Best Baa, and stop for a little ice cream while you're at it. It's just too tasty to miss out on; spring, and life, are short.

Field Sparrow Farm (Henry) will be absent due to temporarily low supply, but aims to be back next time.

Andrew Akiwenzie is coming down from Georgian Bay with fresh and smoked fish.

The produce supply is building steadily. Early crops have to be savoured, so here are a couple of very simple recipes to enjoy adapted from 'River Cottage Veg' by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. (I'm not including these just because I love saying his name, but isn't that a great mouthful?)

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Dressing

Great on a BBQ if you put the asparagus onto skewers, with a few spears on each. Use a medium-hot temperature.

Brush the asparagus with a little olive oil and season it with salt and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes per side, until somewhat tender and lightly charred. Whisk 2 more Tablespoons olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, some pepper, and a handful of mint leaves, shredded, to make a dressing.

Take the asparagus off the skewers and arrange on a plate, then trickle the dressing over them, and sprinkle on a little more salt and some shaved hard cheese if desired.

Fresh Radishes with Butter and Salt

Bring a bunch of pretty, small radishes home from the market. Put a little pot of slightly soft butter and a dish of the best salt you have on the table. Pass around the radishes and give your friends a butter knife so they can smear a bit of butter and sprinkle a very tiny pinch of salt on each radish before eating it. Talk about spring things.

Doula Nici Shipway will be visiting to offer free information in her 'ask a doula' tent. We will also have craft activities for kids set up by Autoshare, and we're expecting a return visit from musician Brenden Caven.

See you at the market!

Anne Freeman

P.S. In case you thought there wasn't enough fun stuff to do this weekend, have you heard about 100 in 1 Day? Here's a link: http://100in1day.ca/toronto/

These are the vendors we expect:

• Akiwenzies Fish (fresh, frozen and smoked Georgia Bay fish),
• Ali Harris (rotis and fritters, hemp pesto and seeds),
• Bees Universe (honey and bee products),
• Beretta Farms(organic and naturally raised meats),
• Best Baa (cheeses, yogurt, sheep's milk, ice cream),
• Brixton Grill (vegan barbeque),
• Chocosol (coffee and chocolate, tortillas),
• Country Meadows (eggs, cheese, olives, oil, herb and vegetable seedlings),
• DeFloured (gluten-free baking),
• Dufferin Park Bakers (wood-fired oven breads, soups,and snacks),
• Earth and City (raw foods and smoothies),
• Evelyn's Crackers (local grain crackers and cookies
• Everdale Organic Farm (organic vegetables),
• Forbes Wild Foods (wild leeks, fiddleheads, dried mushrooms, nuts, syrup, preserves)
• Kind Organics (sprouts, kombucha, kefir, teas, greens, chocolate),
• Knuckle Down Farm (organic vegetables),
• Pine River Organic Farm (organic vegetables)
• Plan B Organic Farm (home-grown, local and imported organic produce),
• Spade & Spoon (jams, pickles, soups, rhubarb),
• Tapioca Gourmet (gluten-free pancakes with savoury or sweet fillings),
• Urban Harvest (seeds, plants, body care, soil amendments),
• VQA Wineries (a rotating roster of local organic wineries), Southbrook Winery this week)
• Waymac Farms (shiitake and oyster mushrooms),
• Wildlife Gardening (native plants),
• Ying Ying Soy (tofus and miso).

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