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Farmers Market Challenge: Those Crackers

March 2, 2017 By newwestfarmers

These market vendors sure do know how to upsell. Walking up and down Belmont Street, there was vendor after vendor holding out samples of scones, fresh-baked bread, crackers, hummus, applesauce, muffins, soup, even B.C. caught salmon. I did not plan on coming home with tapenade, or za’atar crackers, or locally churned peanut butter. And yet, those were my top purchases.

It all started with the crackers.

Samaya Delights had a variety of sweet and savoury samples lining its table, but it was the za’atar crackers I was most interested in. I did not know what za’atar was and started asking questions. Za’atar is a middle-eastern blend of spices that typically includes thyme, oregano and marjoram. I was intrigued. The lady told me I must try one, but not on its own, she said, it must be paired  with a spread of garlic-roasted hummus from Bob Ali.

Oh. My. Tummy. So yummy.

Za’atar crackers paired with Bob Ali hummus

I purchased the crackers, and all but ran to the Bob Ali Hummus table. There, we had 10 or more different samples of hummus and tapenade. There were heated flavours, sweet flavours, decadent flavours. I thought for sure I would be getting the garlic-roasted hummus, but once I tried the thai green coconut curry, a mix of sweet and heat, I was sold. And I did not stop there. My eyes drifted over to the lineup of tapenades. I do not believe I have ever had tapenade, so again, I started asking questions. The most pertinent: what can you eat it with?

Vegetables. Cheese. Sandwiches. Pretty much anything.

She had me at sandwiches. I love sandwiches. Big, bold, flavourful, overflowing sandwiches. Sandwiches so big they barely fit into your mouth for a bite. With the Kalamata tapenade in hand, I then rushed over to A Bread Affair. They were sampling brioche, so sweet and light, it was as though it melted in my mouth. Not the kind of bread I envisioned for the day’s lunch, however. Instead, I purchased the last loaf of Love Birds, a savoury bread full of sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds, that I had discovered the previous market.

Sammy Goodness featuring market-fresh Love Birds bread, Kalamata tapenade, and microgreens

Surely, a sandwich is not a sandwich without the greens. The only greens on site were pea shoots from Ossome Acres and the return of microgreens from Nutrigreens. This week I opted for the microgreens. I was not the only one. After a long winter that has wreaked havoc on our farmers’ crops, it was no surprise Nutrigreens had a lineup of customers all but drooling over the giant bowl of luscious green and purple tinged microgreens.

Microgreens: salad’s equivalent of van Gogh in a bag

I had hoped to accompany my sandwich with a small side salad featuring a handful of kale. Sadly, I may be waiting a couple more months. Unlike last year when we had kale, kalettes, and other hearty green crops through the entire winter, this unusually cold and tumultuous winter of ours has destroyed nearly all. Aaron Ossome of Ossome Acres told me the day prior he was out in the fields and did tend to a couple of his crops that had survived, but were unfortunately producing at minimal levels – not enough to bring in for sales.

In fact, we were even lucky to have his walnuts on display. Following the ice storm that battled the Fraser Valley a few weeks ago, Aaron’s trees suffered major damage, losing a third of their branches.

Market Loot:

Nutrigreens: • 1 bag microgreens : $5

Samaya Delights: • 1 bag za’atar crackers: $3

• 1 large turmeric anise muffin: $2

Ossome Acres: • 100 grams walnuts: $4

A Bread Affair: • 1 loaf Love Birds bread: $6

Artisans Natural Way: • 1 400 ml jar smooth peanut butter: $10

Bob Ali Hummus: • 1 container hummus: $6

• 1 container tapenade: $6

Total spent $42

A few more purchases made solely because of the sampling effect: a 400 ml jar of smooth peanut butter churned in Sechelt; a uniquely flavoured turmeric-anise muffin; and desires for canned salmon, which I did not try until I only had $4 left in the budget. It will surely be a contender for our next market outing.

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized

Farmers Market Challenge: Snow Days

February 20, 2017 By newwestfarmers

This week there was sun, candy blue skies, and light as early as 7 a.m.. The long haul of snow has all but melted away. It is quite the contrast to the weather two weeks ago.

When I saw the dumping of snow outside my window the morning of market day on February 4th, I wasn’t sure if the market would go ahead. In all its history, it had only cancelled once, and that, as you may recall, was in January due to the danger of the icy conditions. I kept an on eye on the Twitter feed right up until 11 a.m., and with no sign of cancelling, I trudged forward.

I didn’t have a plan formulated, but I did have a goal: find something fresh, find something green, don’t break my hip.

Thanks to city counsellor Patrick Johnstone who spent the morning shovelling Belmont Street with his $20 shovel, the last was covered. The former, however, was touch and go at first.

More than half the scheduled vendors had yet to arrive, or had outright cancelled. This was not overly surprising given that many come in from the east, which had been hit the hardest. I saw my hopes of greens fading fast. And yet, tucked away at the top of the street was Aaron Ossome and his megawatt smile warmly welcoming every customer that walked his way. My eyes nearly bugged. Of all the vendors, I thought for sure the Ossome’s would be a no-show.

Aaron owns Ossome Acres, which is located in Rosedale, just east of Chilliwack, an area that got 21 cm of snow overnight. The trip in, he said was long and rough – one-way the whole way. But he wasn’t complaining.

“My truck’s from Prince George; it came with snow tires and studs,” he laughed. “I want to be here; it’s my job.”

The Ossome table was smaller than usual, featuring only the heartiest of its winter crops: eggs, walnuts, and, in a blue cooler, sprouted pea shoots to protect them from the freeze.

The pea shoots, my first purchase of the day, provided me with my “fresh and green” goal right off the hop. I also picked up a 100-gram bag of hulled walnuts that were picked from the Ossome trees. I love nuts, snacking on them every day, but I often forget about walnuts, most usually opting for almonds. The sweetness of these nuts were a wonderful addition to my morning oatmeal, yogurt, lunch and dinner salads, and even just a handful stuffed into my mouth.

A scoop of walnuts on a dollop of Greek yogurt is like maple-walnut ice cream made healthier.

Aaron wasn’t the only one smiling. It didn’t matter how cold it was, or how few customers they had at the start of market, or how much snow covered the sidewalks, or if the tent was more a wind tunnel than a weather-safe haven – they all had smiles on their rosy faces. These folks are no doubt of a hearty makeup. Kim from Sweet Thea Bakery was prepared with layers; Anne of Anne’s Jams made sure to keep her feet moving; Kathryn and Michelle from Kiki’s Kitchen found warmth in the heater behind their table; and Mas from Handworks Coffee Studio was surely blessing his fortune – no doubt the busiest vendor at the market.

Matcha tea: warmed the belly and the hands

Market Loot:

• A Bread Affair: – 2 loaves at buy 1 get the 2nd half price

– 1 loaf “Love at First Bite” $10

– 1 loaf “Love Birds” $3

• Ossome Acres: – 1 large container pea shoots $4

– 100 grams walnuts $4

• Anne’s Jams – 1 jar blackberry jam $5

• Natural and Healthy – 2-serving split pea soup plus a free 1-serving sample of the chorizo bean soup $6.75

• Local Beef and Eggs – 1 dozen eggs $6

• Handworks Coffee Studio – 1 cup hot matcha tea $2.50

Total spent was: $40.25.

Let me tell you about the local flavour in my bag. The Love at First Bite bread was voted the number one taste of Vancouver in 2010 by Vancouver Sun food critic Mia Stainsby. Inside, it featured blueberries picked from Pitt Meadows, hazelnuts from my hometown of Bradner, and grain from Agassiz. Topped with a spread of blackberry jam from Anne’s Jams, which contained blackberries picked in the late summer months off the Fraser, made for a lovely breakfast treat. The walnuts and pea shoots came from Rosedale, the eggs from free-range chickens in South Surrey, and the Hungarian-based soups were made in a Vancouver kitchen. Every bite was a bite of goodness.

Yet, still, there was a touch of disappointment with how light my bag was upon my departure. I had spent $40, but only had one full bag. Compared to the summer bags, which were often bursting with freshness, there was no doubt a significant difference in quantity and fresh-based foods. More often these days, I’m lucky to fill one bag, and the majority is of the preserved ilk. That’s not a bad thing, but it is different.

When I started tallying how long my purchases lasted, and how far they would extend, and the diversity of each, I soon had a smile near Aaron Ossome megawatt smile.

The Love Birds bread, which was chock-a-block full of flax seed, sunflower seed, poppy seed, and sesame seed, and was by far my favourite of the two, paired perfectly with sandwiches, soups, and breakfast toast. We made omelettes, fried eggs, and egg sandwiches with the eggs. The pea shoots became sandwich, soup, salad, and toast toppings. We got three full-bowl servings of the soups. And the walnuts were the treat of the entire loot.

It’s all about perspective. The winter market is not the summer market and the summer market is not the winter market. Both have their own merits, and both have great value.

I’ve got my fingers crossed for frozen berries and kale at the next market.

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized

Farmers Market Challenge – Unexpected Absence

February 9, 2017 By newwestfarmers

What do you do when you walk into a world of veggies only to discover there are no veggies?

That was the dilemma I faced last market day. For days I had excitedly anticipated carrots and kale, beets and squash filling my bags. We had been without the über fresh for over a month due to weather extremities; it had been far too long.

I got there early, right as the clock struck 11 a.m. I walked up and down the vender rows. I went inside the tent. I did a second run through. My eyes were surely deceiving me. The only vegetables they saw were potatoes, a beautiful buffet of potatoes, but only potatoes. That was it. Nothing more. After the second run-through, I started asking questions.

The ladies at Kiki’s Kitchen filled me in. The aforementioned weather extremities that had made market conditions too dangerous to proceed a couple weeks earlier, had also wreaked havoc on our farmers’ crops. Winter had come.

I could have walked away. I am sure some did walk away. But what is a challenge without the challenge?

This was an opportunity.

This is what farmers’ markets are all about.

They are unpredictable. They are at the whim of the weather. Nothing is guaranteed.

Except, of course, new discoveries.

Had the veggies been there: I would not have spent $12 on a bag of smoked chanterelles; I would not have stopped before the row of $10 homemade soups; I would not have indulged in that sample of award-winning honey. In my budget-minded books those were luxuries, not necessities. But had I not indulged, those new flavours would forever have been lost on me.

That would have been a shame.

Without the vegetables stealing my attention, this shopping adventure was all about splurging.

Market Loot:

Wheelhouse Seafoods: • 2 salmon burgers ($9)

Kiki’s Kitchen: • 1 jar ginger-beet soup, 2 servings ($10)

Your Wildest Foods • 1 bag of dried smoked chantrelle mushrooms, 6 servings ($12)

Honey Bee Zen • 1 500 ml jar wildflower honey ($9)

Total spent: $40

The salmon burgers and dried mushrooms were not new purchases. We had purchased the salmon in our first week of the summer challenge, and the mushrooms were purchased the first week of the winter challenge. Experienced forager Matt McAllister travels all over North America seeking his mushrooms; he had just got back from a trip to California where he had found “exotic” black trumpet mushrooms. But it was the smoky ones I was interested in. Previously I had tried his fire morels that had been foraged from areas devastated by fire. When you have had smoked mushrooms, it is real hard to go back. The smokiness is deep and dominant. I would recommend pairing them with a dish that is not already overly flavoured. We used ours in risotto and omelettes. We contemplated putting them into a stir fry, but we thought better of it figuring the mushrooms and soy sauce would be in an all out battle for flavour power.

The honey was for my four-year-old, who has been struggling the past month with a cold, turned flu, turned ear infection, turned lingering, hacking cough. As such, he’s been gobbling up our honey stores like crazy. At Honey Bee Zen, I sampled a few of the options, but it was the Harvest Moon that had me salivating for more. Turns out, plenty others too. This flavouring, which has placed first in B.C. the last four years running, was awarded third in its class at the American Beekeepers Federation’s annual Honey Show in Texas the week prior – where it was also auctioned off for $120!

I paid $9 for the same flavour and size.

The soup was all me. After a month of dealing with a sick child, my belly needed comfort, health and ease. Of the three soup vendors on site, I opted for Kiki’s Kitchen. I sampled the super greens and ginger-beet, and the ladies would have allowed me to keep going with the other flavours, but I needed to show restraint, if only for my budget. I was already blown away by the first two.

The super greens was creamy, with a definite, but not overwhelming vegetable note, and a pleasantly, surprising, heated kick at the end. Comparably, the ginger-beet was all ginger. For those who love ginger, this is your soup. Topped with a dusting of parmesan and a few slices of avocado – Oh. My. Yum. I do not know if I have ever had a pureéd soup so delicious. Lucky for me, Kiki and Paula felt they needed a boost of colour in their flavour options, which is how the ginger-beet came to be.

The quantity of my expenditures may not have filled my bags, but they sure did fill my belly.

Filed Under: New Westminster, Uncategorized Tagged With: Belmont Street, clean living, eating frugal, farmers market, frugal shopping

Farmers Market Challenge: Winter Edition

December 24, 2016 By newwestfarmers

Let’s talk market deals. I know I have discussed market savings in terms of longevity and quality, but I have yet to mention a word on straight up monetary savings. Farmers’ markets get a bad rap when it comes to pricing. Some not familiar with New Westminster’s bi-weekly haunt have said it’s too expensive; they can get twice as much at the supermarket than at the farmer’s market. I propose we challenge that too-oft-heard stereotype.

Take for instance, the last winter market:

As we all know, I have a $40 budget that I try to balance to a tee. In doing so, I am not shy about letting vendors know what my budget is, what my plans for the week are, and what I can guiltlessly spend on their product.

I first walked up to Kevin at Bose Farms. To be honest, Kevin has thrown me for a loop every market since the summer. His prices are dirt cheap compared to grocery stores, and to a few of the other venders in the circuit. By all accounts, he does not fit the aforementioned stereotype. On top of that, his listed prices are often not the prices you’re going to pay when you get up to the cash box. All prices, whether carrots, Brussels sprouts, squash, or potatoes, are listed per pound. As I contemplated the spaghetti squash, Kevin sidled up next to me, and whispered the price he’d charge was actually nearly half of the $2 a pound listed. That, alone, had me grabbing for the football-sized veggie. When he put it on the scale, he grimaced. At $2 a pound it would have cost $8, at $1.25 a pound, it would have cost $5. For me, that was a total score, but for Kevin, he could not consciously charge me $5 for something that cost way less to produce. Off came yet another dollar.

I also picked up a bunch of carrots ($1.40), a bag of Brussels sprouts ($2.50), and a bulky bag of kale ($1.50). I’m not the best at math, but my calculator says that should have totalled $5.40. Kevin’s price: $4!

He excused it by saying he’s not organic: that his prices are still more than what it costs to produce; and finally, that he’s kind of goofy like that.

I’m hard pressed to name a supermarket that has a consumer-based conscious like that.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Bose Farms wasn’t the only one handing out deals. Just like you and I, these farmers aren’t fans of loose change. It’s easy to lose, it weighs down the cash box, they want nothing to do with it. So most that charge per pound, including Ossome Acres and Sweet Earth Organics, will round DOWN to the nearest quarter. You may balk thinking it’s just nickels and dimes, but hold on a sec, nickels and dimes add up to quarters and dollars. Over time, it is a significant savings.

Again, when was the last time a grocery store did that for you? In fact, since the removal of the penny, most times, they round up!

Shrimp and Chard quinoa, a go-to market-fresh favourite

Given the chillier weather, I figured soup was very much in order. I hopped over to the Tasty & Nourishing soup table. So. Many. Flavours. There was roasted red pepper and tomato soup, cauliflower soup, vegetable soup, cream of kale and leek soup, broccoli and cream of parsnip soup, green pea and quinoa dumpling soup, green bean and mushroom soup, bean and chorizo soup, split pea soup, and chicken paprikash soup. They all sounded so good; I had a hard time choosing. I narrowed it down to the split pea and the green pea and dumpling soup. I love split pea, but was intrigued by the dumplings. Instead of suggesting I buy both, Adrianna, the company’s founder, suggested I buy the dumpling soup and take a sample of the split pea. When she said sample, I thought I’d get a small yogurt cup size, nope I got a full bowl and a halfs worth!!!

I can assure you I have never got a sample size this significant from a grocery store.

Nothing quite like a cup of hot soup on a snowy-cold day

And finally, we’ve got our bite-sized samples. This is not a monetary savings, no, and many grocery stores have cookie samples, yes, but how many of us know exactly what is going into those cookies, and how many little fingers have been all over those cookies? I don’t, and frankly, I haven’t touched one since I was about eight years old. But the market samples, usually handed out on toothpicks or passed over via tongs, it’s pretty safe to say are hazard free. The makers and bakers are there telling you exactly what’s in them, what their origins are, how they were made, and when they were last baked. I got a taste of pure organic apple sauce, a bite of a turmeric muffin, an offering of beef jerky, a savoury pakora, a slice of scone, and a full-sized, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet, sweet choquette from Baguette and Co.

“In Canada, you eat popcorn with movies; in France, we eat chouquettes,” laughed Bernard of Baguette and Co.

Singing fa-la-la-la-la with German apple strudel

MARKET LOOT:

Bose and Farms

Carrots

Brussels sprouts

Kale

Spaghetti squash

                                        Total: $8

Outwest Local Beef

Beets

                                        Total: $3.50

Ossome Acres

Chard x 2 ($5)

100g pea shoots ($4)

                                        Total: $9

Healthier Choice

German streudel ($3.50)

Schrippen bun ($0.60)

                                        Total: $4.10

Baguette & Co.

Baguette

                                        Total: $3

Tasty & Nourishing

Green pea and quinoa dumpling soup (600mL)

                                        Total: $6.75

Jam Shack Preservery

Raspberry lemonade jam (125mL)

                                          Total: $5

Before purchasing the preservative-free Schrippen bun I was 75 cents short of my $40 budget. I was determined to break even, and searched high and low for something 75 cents on the dot. But unfortunately, it was either 60 cents for the bun, or a $1.25 for a pretzel – nothing in between. I opted for the bun, which left me 15 cents under budget. That was not acceptable. Instead of stuffing it into my pocket, it went into the guitar case of the local entertainer Jen Hiltz.

Now, you would think after all those samples, I would have been way too full for a proper lunch back home. And I was decently full, but the thing is, the bun was preservative-free, and even though the woman behind the Healthier Choice counter told me it would last fine in the fridge, I just could not take my chances. And so, another great market adventure, made all the better with the surprise savings, was closed with a proper-good market fresh sandwich.

Needed talented mouth-widening skills for this one.

Yum. Yum.

Filed Under: Eats and Drinks, Uncategorized Tagged With: buy local, farmers market challenge, Fresh Food, frugal shopping, Shop Local

Saturday December 17th Market Day!

December 15, 2016 By newwestfarmers

It’s the last market of the year! Grab some stocking stuffers and Christmas dinner necessities!

Join us on Saturday December 17th from 11am to 3pm on Belmont Street between 6th Street and 7th Street. Our location is nestled in the heart of Uptown New Westminster and is accessible by transit, car, bike, scooter, and foot.

Be sure to visit the vendors situated in our big marquee tent sponsored by the wonderful folks of the Uptown Business Association. You’ll find many of your favourite vendors under the tent as well as some new faces.

Driving to the market? FREE PARKING is available at Westminster Centre, directly across the street from Belmont Street. If you are taking transit the #106 bus stops at 5th avenue and 6th street.

Join us on Belmont Street for lunch! Enjoy a nice relaxing hot coffee on one of the Uptown Parklet adirondack chairs – if they’re snow-free!

A list of our vendors for December 17th can be found below. Please check out Facebook Page or Twitter for any last minute cancellations or updates.

What’s happening at the Market?

Entertainment

  • Roland Kaulfuss Music Stage presents Norine Braun!

Farm Fresh Produce

  • Ossome Acres -winter squash, kale, kalettes, Brussels sprouts, micro greens, spinach, salad mix, lettuce, herbs, hand milled soap, walnuts
  • Bose & Sons Family Farm –broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes
  • Country Village Market -frozen berries, greens, pakoras
  • Your Wildest Foods – foraged mushrooms, dried teas and fresh mushrooms
  • Sweet Earth Organics – carrots, celeriac, shallots, leaks, beets, squash, garlic
  • The Garlic Lady – flavourful & local garlic

Beef, Eggs, Poultry and Seafood

  • Rockweld Farm – BC SPCA Certified frozen chicken and chicken products including eggs, dog and cat food
  • Wild West Coast Seafoods –  flash frozen fillets of Rock Sole, Petrale Sole, Rockfish, Ling Cod, Pacific Cod, Sablefish, Chinook/Spring Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sidestripe Shrimp, Halibut, Albacore Tuna Loin.
  • Wheelhouse Seafoods – seafood pasta and crab cakes, frozen salmon and spot prawns
  • Local Beef & Eggs – purslane, onions, chives, rhubarb, eggs, kale

Artisan Breads

  • A Bread Affair – breads, baguettes, ciabattas, rolls, scones (Certified Organic)

Gluten Free Breads & Baking

  • Marie’s Guilt Free Baking – bread, cookies, pizza dough and snacks

Bakery

  • Sweet Thea Cakes – tarts, pies, cookies and cakes
  • Simply Scones – traditional English-style scones
  • Gesundheit Bakery – breads, pretzels
  • Half Pint Pies – frozen mini pies to take home and bake
  • Samaya Delights – turmeric muffins, baklava

Snacks

  • Gary’s Kettlecorn – kettle corn (traditional and caramel)
  • Handworks Coffee – pour-over coffee and hand whisked matcha tea

Food Trucks & Eat On Site

  • Wheelhouse Seafoods – salmon burgers
  • Country Village Market – yummy pakoras!

Prepared Foods (Pantry Staples)

  • Jam Shack Preservery – savoury spreads and jams
  • Old Country Pierogi –frozen pierogis (gluten free and vegan options available)
  • Muy Rico – salsas, mayonaise, mole sauces, tortilla chips and corn tortillas
  • Real Meals – prepared frozen foods for healthy meals at home
  • Take A Fancy – delicious hand made chocolates 
  • Jam ‘n Music – award winning jams
  • Lilise Applesauce -delicious gourmet applesauces
  • Livi & K – raw granola clusters packed full of flavours
  • KICS Lemonade – refreshing lemonade syrups and marmalades
  • BobAli – tasty dips and hummus spreads
  • Honey Bee Zen Apiary – New West honey and honey infused products
  • Anne’s Gallery -jams, chutneys and preserves and spiced peach jam!
  • Tasty & Nourishing – soups and stews
  • Roasters Hot Sauce – hot sauces in various interesting flavors
  • Kiki’s Kitchen – vegan soups

Jewelry & Artisan Crafts

  • New World Felting -beautifully made felted scarves & hats
  • Lighten Up Jewels – timeless pieces crafted by Holly

Health, Beauty & Services

  • Purely Clean – an all natural way to clean your home
  • Oh La La Cosmetics – all natural facial and haircare products

Wine, Beer & Spirits

  • Dragon Mist Distillery – locally made vodka and gin

 

Special Thanks to our Music Stage Sponsor Roland Kaulfuss:

rolandkaulfuss logo

Filed Under: Featured, Next Market, Uncategorized Tagged With: artisans, bc, farmers market, food trucks, local, locavore, lower mainland, market, music, new west, New Westminster, Produce, RCFM, royal city

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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.

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