Dear market friends,
From market manager Anne Freeman:
"Hope you can join us for a full to overflowing holiday market, on this first longer day!
Peter from Ewenity Dairy has been in with a shipment of "Eweda" and "Eweda Cru" cheeses, as well as their wonderful, densely nutritious sheep's milk yogurt(amazing as an instant meal with a spoonful of John Alecu's honey!). You can find these products in Stonehenge Farms' fridge.
In case you are getting ready to turn your computers off for a little while, advance notice that there will be a market between Christmas and New Year's, smaller than usual as some vendors will be taking a break, but well-stocked with fresh and healthy food to keep you feeling merry.
Happy Holidays Everyone!"
From Lorenz of Greenfields:
"Still a large selection of our own farm grown produce: a large assortment of winter squashes, carrots, black radishes, parsnips, beets and sunchokes. With some luck a small amount of our greenhouse grown lettuce mix but we have ordered in a large amount as well so that everyone will be able to get some for the holidays. Alvaro at Plan B tells us that he'll have some too but not nearly enough for everyone. For a X-mas special look out for Mandarines and Tomatoes. We'll also have Canadian fresh Herbs, local Watercress, Button and Shitake Mushrooms, Apples, Pears, Oranges, Grapefruits, Bananas and Lemons along with some other surprises. The greens look great this week and include Chard, Spinach, Kale, Romaine, Parsley, Red Leaf and Mustard Greens. Broccoli and very nice Ginger are available too. Wishing everyone Happy Holidays"
From Mary Lou of Beretta's:
"I will have a lot of year end specials for tomorrow. Will have some grass-only products."
From Jonathan of Forbes' Wild foods:
"I'll have a good selection of wild food stocking stuffers, lots of smaller bags of wild mushrooms and Ontario dried sweet chestnuts for a fabulous bird stuffing. I will only have two mushroom lovers gift baskets left."
From Jessie Sosnicki:
"Ben will have lots of our potatoes and carrots for everyone's Christmas dinner. Perogies and Cabbage Rolls are in abundance and are a great idea for Christmas eve or whenever over the holidays. I am sending Ben with an ample amount of both Beef and Vegetarian(Green Pepper and Shiitake Mushroom) Cabbage Rolls. They are fully roasted, but I would suggest pre-heating your oven to 350 - 375, placing frozen rolls in a small roaster or casserole dish, cover and heat until piping hot through-out. Then let them cool a bit to absorb all the juices. I've added extra sauce, so they will be messy, so take care and pick them up with 'two spoons' to serve. (You can microwave them, but oven cooking makes your house smell really good.) I will have perogies and cabbage rolls available at Dufferin until we get too busy with the greenhouses in March.
I've been in contact with Ute Zell this week, and she is bringing Ben a beautiful, big, fresh Turkey for our Christmas dinner. I can't WAIT for that bird!!!!!! Ute's birds are just simply awesome. Happy Holidays to everyone!!"
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Here is a list of food presents you can buy at the market for the twelve days of Christmas. It doesn’t include a partridge in a pear tree, but lots of other things just as surprising:
- A little jar of organic mushroom pesto from Fun Guy Farms, made by mushroom growers Bruno Pretto and Paula Vosni. They make all their own mushroom spreads, and then they import one extra: Italian truffle butter in tiny jars, for $10.
- A package of honey comb and a beeswax candle from bee-man Ionel Alecu.
- A box of artistic French-style specialty cookies Raymonde’s Little Organic Kitchen, decorated with her signature pressed violets.
- Maria Solakofski’s Guerilla Gourmet “kickin’” vegan Christmas fruitcake, wrapped in muslin, aged with dark Jamaican rum.
- Forbes Wild Foods’ Christmas baskets, with dried chanterelles, maple syrup, wild fruit jellies, and lots of other unusual foods.
- If you want to make your own last-minute Christmas food gift, you can buy some of Plan B Organics’ or Greenfields’ excellent organic lemons and make Moroccan Preserved Lemons (salt, best-quality lemons, takes 10 minutes, looks like a jar of sunshine, keeps for two years as a most delicious condiment, method posted at the rink house). [ed. see recipe]
- A bag of solar-roasted Cacao beans, just brought back by Michael Sacco from his Chocosol friends in Oaxaca, Mexico (Michael says “cacao beans were used as currency in one of the richest and most interesting civilizations of all time, that of Mesoamerica.”)
- A bag of Kate Williamson’s Best Friend Organic Pet treats: Apple Cinnamon Sniffs, Cheese Chews, Cranberry Rollovers, Peanut Butter Puppy Pleasers, Tuna Tail Waggers. Kate makes all these treats herself and her stand is often surrounded by love-struck dogs.
- A jar of Colette Murphy’s “Earthly Paradise” soothing herbal skin cream, made with the herbs Colette grows at Plan B Organics farm.
- A bottle of Angelos Kapelaris’ own olive oil, which he brings over twice a year from his olive groves in Greece.
- A can of Beate Macklin’s herb tea blend, with flowers as well as leaves.
- A jar of Melvin Laidlaw’s spicy hemp pesto, Jamaican-style.
Besides that, the market will have lots of good plain food at a reasonable price, to stock the neighborhood pantries for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s. Surely these farmers and vendors are some of the park’s best friends – what a privilege to have them come here.
Two more things:
- In honour of the day after solstice -- the return of the light -- the cob courtyard and the playground are lit up and there will be a fire in the cob fireplace, with Forbes' roasted chestnuts and Plan B cider -- come by, it's very bright down there
- John Dondertman says they want more shinny hockey players for the Friday Night permit at Campbell Rink -- contact him through the rink, 416 392-0913.
See you at the market!
Market web page:www.dufferinpark.ca/market
Park phone number: 416 392-0913.