october saturday in east van

i spent a lovely fall day in the heart of east van.  i met friends at my favourite café - continental caffé - for an yerba mate latté.  then off to the last trout lake farmers market for the season.  my kitchen is now full of organic tasty delights!

• walter harvey's biodynamic aubergine for baba ganoush, red sensation pears & honey crisp apples to be eaten with joy, while wiping the juices from my chin (cawston, bc)

• helmers biodynamic larouge red potatoes for potato salad (pemberton, bc)

• wild products' pine mushrooms for pasta delight (forest floor, bc)

• ann friesen's organic multi coloured carrots (abbotsford, bc).  the carrots will be used in everything, but first up, they will be in miso noodles for sunday morning breakfast, and then i`ll be making some salad rolls with brown rice vermicelli, green onions, cucumber, cilantro, and ann`s carrots

• celyddon farm's organic english cucumber for the spring rolls & salad

it was a nice visit with my pals askia & jeremy, who picked a few market treats for themselves and doubled as my sherpas, making my market trip possible.

i then had a visit with some friends with backyard chickens.  by dog, blue, and one of the polish hens, blanche, have a bit of a love affair going.  it is sweet to see them excited to see each other, nose to nose through the coop.  i could spend all day chatting with the girls.

chicken fun!

last farmers market date of the 2010 season

   Saturday, October 16                             

9am - 2pm 

Trout Lake Farmers Market

North parking lot - between Templeton & Lakewood south of the 13th Avenue Alley 

Vancouver, BC

this is my last farmers market date for the 2010 season & world food day

*hot of the press* 2011 calendars
each month a local fresh foodie delight
i will also have my foodie photos:
* framed in original handcrafted frames made from east van reclaimed wood
* photocards
* postcards
* magnets

the community letter writing project will also be on the go. pop round & type a few words on an old school manual typewriter & say hi!

map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=49.258013%2C-123.061101&spn=0.00094%2C0.002411&t=h&z=19

*if you can't make it to market, feel free to contact me directly if interested in any pieces.

making it last

'tis the preservation season!  i eye beautiful mounds of fresh fruit & veg @ the farmers markets with thoughts of how to preserve the beauty & the bounty.  i was lucky to grow up in a canning environment.  childhood summers were spent in the strawberry patches of rural nova scotia, picking flat upon flat of local strawberries to transform into strawberry jam.  through my mind's eye, i can still see the strawberry stains on my fingers & feel the warm sun on my face.  i can still taste the jams, rhubarb relish, chow chow and home made mustard. 

i have carried that traditional knowledge with me, and expanded my knowledge of food preservation over the years.  you can often find my food dehydrator going full tilt, drying the italian plums from the back yard, organic tomatoes from farmer friends, cherries, pears, and more.  my fermentation cupboard grows with every season, offering up delightfully tangy treats full of probiotic & digestive benefits.

but what if you did not experience the passing of the traditional knowledge of food preservation?  have no fear, there are endless resources available.  the vancouver farmers markets can now be added to your list of resources.  they are running a series of food preservation workshops, hosted by local experts.  check out the website for who, what, when & where details.

http://eatlocal.org/makeitlast/

happy preserving!