This Sunday, May 15, will mark the 15th Plant Sale put on by the New Westminster Horticultural Society. The event will take place at The Armoury — 530 Queen’s Avenue (corner of Queen’s Avenue and 6th Street) — and promises to have a variety of excellent plants to choose from. The sale features both local and rare plants, and new this year will be a plant collector’s booth (featuring rare and uncommon plants) and items from the New Westminster Parks collection.

Eating flowers is not generally the first thing that comes to mind when going to a plant sale, but this recipe for a Nasturtiums and Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad from Canada’s Food Network certainly puts things in perspective.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup peanut or grapeseed oil
• Salt and pepper
• 6 large handfuls of mixed greens
• 6 nasturtium blossoms

Method:

1)      Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and honey with a fork. Gradually whisk in the oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add a handful of raspberries.

2)      Put all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in the blender. Purée into a smooth red dressing. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Makes about 1/2 cup/125 ml.

3)      Mix the vinaigrette. Put the greens in a salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Strew the blossoms over and serve immediately.

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

• Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm – organic produce, eggs, and beef
• Misty Mountain Specialties – fresh wild and cultivated mushrooms, dried mushroom products
• Nature Village Farm – Asian produce grown in Richmond
• Shalefield Organic Gardens – produce from the Columbia Valley

Dairy

• Greendale Herb and Vine – Cheddar cheese, cheese curds, herbs, nut butters and honeycomb

Meat & Fish

• Outwest Ranches – beef raised locally and fresh eggs
• Port Hardy Seafood – BC caught fish and prawns

Bread & Baking

• A Bread Affair – Breads
• Blackberry Hill – Baked Goods
• Sweet Delights – vegan baking
• Sweet Thea Cake Company – tarts, pies, cookies, and cakes

Delectable Treats

• Ace Curries To Go – curry sauces
• AJI Gourmet Products – sauces made using aji spice
• Anne’s Gallery – Jams, jellies & knitting
• Gary’s Kettlecorn – Kettlecorn
• Maples’ Sugar Shack – maple syrup products
• Momma Nellie’s Goodies – Salsa
• Simply Delish Soup Co – layered soup mix, rice pilaf mix, and spice rubs
• Take a Fancy Chocolates and Sweets – handmade chocolates right from scratch

Local Crafters

• Alma Valle Fine Silver Jewelry – handcrafted sterling silver original jewelry
• Black Bamboo Artisans – hand made glazed pottery and knitting
• Ildiko Jewelry – hand forged sterling silver jewelry
• The Magpie’s Nest – stunning hand made jewelry in silver
• Pomomama Designs – wire crochet jewelry and accessories, fused fabric and metal art
• Quality Oak Accents – Fine wood creations
• Scentimental Creations – Soaps, lotions, hand made cosmetics