Greetings! This week’s food post is about trying 2 new things. Firstly, I finally made it to the Farmers Market, held in Trinity Bellwoods Park on Tuesdays. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do all summer but never got my act together for, until this week, when I headed out in the pouring rain, on my second to last chance to go to this market this year, as next week is the last week it is being held.
And may I tell you that it did take a bit of ‘talking myself into it’ to get out there because it had been raining non-stop all day and showed no signs of stopping. In the end, I didn’t want to miss the experience of a full-fledged Farmer’s Market right in the city though, so I pulled on my pink raincoat and out I went. (Aside: My coat is a cute vintage one that Nick surprised me with for my birthday one year … if you’re going to be out in the rain, you might as well have a cute raincoat, right?!)
The park was nearly deserted when I arrived and made my way to the Market grounds, located at the north-western corner. And while it was as gloomy as could be, it was quite neat and different to be in the park in the rain. The brightness of the changing leaves stood out like they were lit from within. I saw funny little wet squirrels and a family of robins cheerfully bathing in a huge puddle.
And the market, which welcomes only farmers from the outskirts of Toronto, who produce organic and naturally grown goods, was also bursting with colour. I bought some coffee beans that were ethically traded, and had just been roasted two days earlier. I also got some locally grown garlic, (which I am going to try planting to grow my own garlic next summer, using the method described in this video), some delicious Goat’s Milk cheese, from a dairy that uses the milk from local farms to make their cheeses.
And, for the piece-de-resistance, I picked up a bundle of Rainbow Swiss Chard! Have you ever seen this before? I had never. And in fact, cannot remember ever actually having Swiss Chard before, making this the second aspect of this experience that was new to me. When I brought it home, I discovered that it was a new vegetable for Nick too, so we had to look up how to prepare it. (Basically, you just saute it with garlic and a bit of salt, and serve it with fresh lemon. It was delicious. And I could just feel the nutrients of this dense leafy green entering my body!)
(also in the above photo is a slice of Nick’s homemade Pickled Beets)
All in all, in spite of coming home damp I was glad to have gone. I arrived home in a happier mood than before I left, and that made the effort of getting out, regardless of very gloomy weather, worthwhile.
Here’s to trying something new. Have you tried a new-to-you food lately? Will you be having it again?
xo loulou
ps. And we may have had a late evening snack of some of the cheese …
Links:
Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market
Bona Fide Bean Coffee Company
Monforte Dairy
