New West Farmers Market

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April 9th: Final Winter Market!

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Get your garden on!
Tomato Starts (by Jen Arbo)

This Saturday marks the final winter market of the season before we take our May break and summer season starts up back at Tipperary Park in June. We’ve had a great season at Holy Trinity Cathedral, and we’d like to thank them for their continued support and partnership. We hope we’l see you at the market on Saturday. The market is from 10-2 and features 30+ vendors offering the best of BC.

What’s in season this month? According the to BC Association of Farmers Markets website you can start to see Apples, Asparagus, Chives, Pears, Rhubarb, Rosemary, Sage, and Spinach. Did you see the spinach salad recipe ideas post? I have also heard you can keep your eyes peeled for nettles and the first greenhouse peppers and tomatoes. Make sure you come early to get in on the freshest of the season. We’d love to hear your favourite recipes using ingredients from the market so drop us a line at info@newwestfarmers.ca.

Our musical guest at the market this Saturday, sponsored by The Heritage Grill, is Curtis Parry – a New Westminster resident and smooth crooner to soothe the soul. As always, we’ll have some kids’ goodies going on in the lounge and the fine folks from Girl Guides of Canada will be on hand to answer your questions about their programming for youth.

We’re also going to be randomly giving away three lovely fleece jackets courtesy of Translink to market goers that choose to leave their car at home (or carpool with three or more). Bring your camera and snap some shots, and you could win an amazing prize package in our 2011 Photo Contest.

The final indoor winter market is Saturday April 9th, from 10-2 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, located at 514 Carnarvon Street in New Westminster. It is very close to the Columbia Skytrain Station. The City of New Westminster is also sponsoring free parking at the downtown waterfront parkade – so grab some friends and carpool to the market.

We move to our outdoor location at Tipperary Park June 9th and run every Thursday rain or shine from 3-7 until October 6th. Don’t forget to sign up for a market reminder (it’s free!) from My Markets News.

Here’s the vendor lineup (please note: this list is current as of Monday April 4 – cancellations do occasionally occur so check back):

Eat On Site

  • Copeland Foods – hot vegetarian samosas, as well as frozen take home samosas
  • Gogo Java – Coffee, tea, smoothies, juice, and other liquids
  • Ovenmonkey Bakery – selling fresh Langos – Hungarian fried flatbread

Produce

Dairy

Meat & Fish

Bread & Baking

Delectable Treats

Local Crafters

FYI: 6th Annual Marché français/French Marketplace 2011

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Mark your calendar for April 14, 2011. Canadian Parents for French – New Westminster Chapter is preparing for the 6th Annual Marché français/French Marketplace. Come and experience a bit of French culture at the Marché français. Meet vendors of hard-to-find French resources and interesting French-themed items. Listen to accordion folk dance music from France and Quebec performed by Marian Rose (2:45 pm – 4:45 pm) while enjoying delicious crêpes and maple treats. There will be a children’s activity and craft area, French story time and a raffle. Admission is free. Everyone is welcome!

  • Thursday, April 14, 2011, 2:45 pm – 7:30 pm
  • École Herbert Spencer School Gym
  • 605 Second Street, New Westminster

Some of the vendors at the Marché français 2011:

  • Kidsbooks
  • French Usborne Books
  • L’École des Loisirs – Abonnements MAX – Quality book subscriptions from France
  • Savoir Books
  • Word Nerd Language and Education Ltd.
  • Van Dop Gallery – showcasing French-Canadian artists
  • Andrea Seraphim – photography from France
  • Bijoux de jardin – garden jewels
  • French Greeting Cards – locally made
  • Crêperie de Bohème – sweet and savory crêpes
  • Maples’ Sugar Shack – traditional le sirope d’erable (maple taffy served on a bed of snow) and maple sugar cones
  • CPF- New West – Will be selling 100% Maple Syrup and other maple products from Quebec. As well as resources for parents and students
  • Plus many more…

About Canadian Parents for French:

Canadian Parents for French (CPF) is a national network dedicated to the promotion and creation of French second-language learning opportunities for young Canadians.

www.cpf.bc.ca

Merci to SD40 for supporting this event.

For more information call Heidi Clarkson at 604-525-2631

Kitchen Sink Spinach Salad

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I often make the kind of standalone salads that are meals in themselves – I like to add stuff like eggs, nuts, seeds, and sometimes grilled meat for a heartier chew. I’ve recently started adding yummy treats like dried fruit and cheese. Spinach is coming up in season now and so here’s an idea you can run with: Kitchen Sink Spinach Salad. You don’t need to follow a recipe – just experiment with different combinations and throw in whatever you have that tickles your fancy. Spinach is more nutritious than lettuce and has a great flavour that really lends itself well to a lot of things. If you can’t stand that squeaky texture raw spinach has, consider serving your salad warm and wilt the spinach first. Almost all of these ingredients are available at the market. For a truly decadent salad, try making your own bacon bits. MMMMmmmmm. (Note: homemade bacon bits seem to taste best if you make them the night before).

Start with fresh spinach, washed and trimmed and torn into bite sized pieces if necessary. If you have a salad spinner, use it – the drier your spinach is, the better. Add your choice of: sliced hard boiled eggs, sliced white mushrooms, a handful of raw pumpkin seeds, a handful of sunflower seeds, a healthy handful of dried cranberries or blueberries, a few tomatoes chopped small, and feta or brie cheese crumbled.

As a dressing, you can whisk together: about a 1/2 cup -ish yogurt (we use plain) with a few tablespoons of lemon juice and high quality oil. Some people like to use mayonnaise instead of oil, but I find it is too thick. You can also add parsley, chives or dill or other fresh herbs and then add pepper and salt to taste.

YUM!

    March 12th: Springing Forward

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    lawn crocuses

    Spring is almost upon us! A few weeks ago, a rodent in a number of parts of the continent predicted an early spring and this weekend we set our clocks one hour forward. My snowdrops, crocuses, and other bulbs are all poking up, and my veggie garden layout is complete. Our farmers are all busy with season preparations, and a few of them never really stopped!

    The market this Saturday will showcase the coming of spring with fresh farm products, homemade delicacies, and beautiful one of a kind crafts. We’re featuring Ron Ulrich, a summer market favourite with a huge repertoire and a silky voice. We’ve also pleased to be presenting a 30 minute lecture in the lounge with Kelly Kiss, a registered holistic nutritionist about the 10 Healthy Benefits of Eating Local. The lecture will run at  11am and 1pm and will take place in the lounge. It is absolutely free to the public.

    Also in the lounge is homemade playdough and colouring for kids. Our community group this month is the  Royal City Gogos – grandmothers helping grandmothers. Finally, If you haven’t signed up to be a RCFM member yet, you can in the lobby! Membership is just $10 and is a great way to show your support for the market and is one of the ways we fundraise.

    Our friends at Translink are again sponsoring our transit incentive draw – take transit, walk, or cycle to the market and be entered to win a 3 zone transit pass. Green Zebra is also sponsoring a draw – anyone is permitted to enter to win a Green Zebra Guide – a chock full coupon book for green living. For both draws, see our friendly volunteers at the info desk where you can also pick up some of our new merchandise!

    The winter market is Saturday March 12th, from 10-2 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, located at 514 Carnarvon Street in New Westminster. It is very close to the Columbia Skytrain Station. The City of New Westminster is also sponsoring free parking at the downtown waterfront parkade – so grab some friends and carpool to the market.

    Here’s the vendor lineup (please note: this list is current as of Monday March 7th – cancellations do occasionally occur):

    Eat On Site

    • Copeland Foods – hot vegetarian samosas, as well as frozen take home samosas
    • Gogo Java – Coffee, tea, smoothies, juice, and other liquids
    • Ovenmonkey Bakery – selling fresh Langos – Hungarian fried flatbread

    Produce

    Dairy

    Meat & Fish

    Bread & Baking

    Delectable Treats

    Local Crafters

    PS: Here’s a poster if you’d like to download it and put it up in your building!

    Calling All Photographers

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    We frequently get compliments on the lovely images we’ve used  in our materials and on our site – did you know that all of them (as in every! single! one!) are images that volunteer photographers, both professional and amateur, have taken and given us the liberty of using? We feel really lucky because so many people find inspiration for nice photos at the market and we are always delighted when a new email, tweet, or search results in seeing new and pretty pictures – especially if it’s viewing the market in a way we hadn’t considered before. If pictures say a thousand words, we love what you are saying about us.

    Here are two images we found recently from Flickr member hudsonny that really float our boat because they are depictions of the market the way we want to be seen – a community gathering place with producers and shoppers who care.

    _9029171

    _9029234

    We’re always on the lookout for some new luscious food and market images to use, and 2011 is the year we’ll be working to expand our library. Want to help? Come to the market (winter and summer!), shoot some angles of the market you’re seeing, and tell us about it in one of the following ways:

    • Upload to flickr with the tag “rcfm2011” (and feel free to add it to our group)
    • Tweet it (Make sure you @nwfarmers and use the hashtag #rcfm2011)
    • Email us at marketmanager at rcfm dot ca (we’ll upload it and tweet it ourselves)

    With your permission, we’d like to have a copy of the photo in our library for use in our promotional materials and website. You’ll get a special limited edition RCFM button proclaiming you an official volunteer photographer, and better yet, you’ll be entered to win a super duper prize package, which we’ll be drawing at our last market in the Summer 2011 season – October 6th.

    What’s in the prize package? I’m glad you asked! UPDATED March 2nd 2011

    • A private tasting for 4 to our favourite local New Westminster winery Pacific Breeze Winery, valued at $100
    • Tea for two every month for a year at Great Wall Tea Co, located in River Market, valued at $72
    • Two annual subscriptions to Edible Vancouver Magazine: be greedy and have two years all for yourself, or be generous and have one for yourself and one for a lucky friend!, valued at $62.72

    Check back as we establish other goodies in the prize bag.

    A huge thank you to the sponsors who have donated their goods to the contest! Please check out these great local businesses:

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    Land Acknowledgement

    Our market is grateful to operate on the unceded land of the Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, and other Halkomelem speaking Peoples. We acknowledge that colonialism has made invisible their histories and connections to the land. We acknowledge the incredible gift this land is to our market and BC Agriculture. We commit to the ongoing work of decolonization and allyship.