Dear market friends,
So now it's looking more like fall, after a rather spectacular last week of summer. Fall means a cornucopia at the market (until it frosts):
From market manager Anne Freeman:
"I just talked to Jessie, and they will have 50 dozen ears of corn to bring to market tomorrow. It sold out fast at Riverdale, so those who have their hearts set on fresh corn on the cob should come early! The blueberries from Timmins are holding out, so John Ferrari will be back with more.
Special highlight will be "The Wheelhands" country acoustic band, performing from about 4-5:30."
From Greenfields:
"This week look for the first bunches of Leeks, Fennel, Red Onions, more purple Cauliflower, lots of Watermelons, still more Spanish Onions, red and chiogga Beets by the basket, Tomatoes of all kinds, Eggplants, sweet Carrots, Savoy and Green Cabbages, Lettuces, still lots of Beans plus all the regular stuff. BASIL is looking great but might come to an end soon, so get yours now."
Alvaro from Plan B said last week that he is definitely going to bring boxes of the first new apples (from an organic apple grower nearby). And as far as we know, David Pritchard will be back with his coffee, and Lenny and Heather Karmiol will be back with their sourdough. They had to miss the last two weeks because of some oven troubles.
For anyone who wants to buy large numbers of tomatoes and oven-dry them in the park ovens, Sunday/Monday are good for that (because of the residual oven temperatures after use). Last year we bought several cases of Roma tomatoes from Sosnicki's, partially oven-dried them, then cooked them a bit more, ran them through a food mill, then cooked them enough to evaporate them, and froze the resulting puree in ziplock bags. We had wonderful organic tomato puree to add to Friday Night supper, until spring -- so flavourful. If you're interested in doing this for your larder, talk to the staff on Thursday or Friday.
There are two park suppers this week, but only one that you don't have to cook for: Friday Night Supper will involve seasonal vegetables from the market and savoury meat pies and maybe even some park grapes. If it's cool there will be a campfire too. Cooks this week are Daniel Malloy and Anna Bekerman. Last week they ran out of food partway through but that was a fluke of warm weather and the holiday -- this week the supply will be fine. No need to make a reservation.
Saturday night is the street festival potluck, also at the oven, at 6.30. (For more information, see the park newsletter www.dufferinpark.ca/newsletter). People often bring lovely things and there's always a lot of food. The pizza oven will be lit and park staff Dalal Badr will be on hand to help anyone who wants to, to make a $2 pizza.
Last but not least: attached you'll find an article Wallie Seto forwarded from the LA Times. Apparently organic farming is about to come under expert attack, on the grounds that claims made for the superiority of organic produce can be scientifically disproved. There is no mention in the article about the joys of eating food grown nearby by farmers you can get to know, on local soils that are more likely bolstered by legumes or manure than by numbered fertilizers synthesized in a lab. Who can quantify the pleasure of linking the foods on the plate with the people who grew them/ raised them and picked them, and with the people who did the preparations to ready them for the market? Not me. ("Beyond rubies" is as precise as I can get.)
See you at the market!