Just because you have a garden, doesn’t mean you don’t get excited to go to the Farmer’s Market. There are plenty of them around and they are all different. I go to the Aurora Market because it is a nice way to spend half an hour on an early Saturday morning having a coffee and a muffin from a local bakery and picking up some produce (or even plants) from some local growers. There is a market every Wednesday at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill and it is quite large with many vendors…nice to stop by after shopping. But, every summer, I visit the 19th Ave Market in Richmond Hill for their strawberries. Yes, I grow strawberries at home, but most of them feed the local birds and the few that I harvest might decorate the side of a plate (never mind make a batch of jam!). If you’ve never bought strawberries from a farm, you really need to get to one of these places…often family run by great people who are really community driven. Just try how absolutely luscious and sweet they are (like sugar off a vine!). When my kids were little, we used to pick them…we would end up with more berries in our bellies than in our baskets!
That being said, I thought about making another batch of jam so I headed over to the market. Not only did I find the sweetest strawberries (I will show you what I do with these in my recipes section a little later), but I found a box peppers on sale (which can easily be sliced and frozen for later…at $8 a box, it was a steal!), just-picked baby beets, the last bit of rhubarb (more rhubarb squares…yum!), and 2 huge bunches of kale (will be making kale chips later!). Considering there were 12 pints of strawberries, walking away with all of that produce for $50 was great. Yes, you might get them for a few dollars cheaper (but not much…I shop for bargains so I know!), but you won’t get this kind of fresh goodness for your dollar anywhere else.
That being said, I thought about making another batch of jam so I headed over to the market. Not only did I find the sweetest strawberries (I will show you what I do with these in my recipes section a little later), but I found a box peppers on sale (which can easily be sliced and frozen for later…at $8 a box, it was a steal!), just-picked baby beets, the last bit of rhubarb (more rhubarb squares…yum!), and 2 huge bunches of kale (will be making kale chips later!). Considering there were 12 pints of strawberries, walking away with all of that produce for $50 was great. Yes, you might get them for a few dollars cheaper (but not much…I shop for bargains so I know!), but you won’t get this kind of fresh goodness for your dollar anywhere else.
I can already taste the sweetness of these beets. Just roasted with some really good olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper…amazing! And, the kale chips (recipe to follow!) are sounding good too!
This box of peppers was only $8! It would have cost twice that at the store…there were tons!! Either slice them and cook them up, slice them and freeze them, halve them and stuff them with a rice and beef mixture (and freeze them for later), roast them and freeze them (to use for a dip or soup or sauce…this is a great thing to have!)….so much to do so little time!!
Even these were great…but they came from the store. BUT…they were from Ontario farmers…that’s all that matters 🙂
