Recipe: Making Jam

I have a few confessions to make: I love the birds and I love foraging in my backyard. I love fresh food.  Really, really fresh food. So I get a serious thrill out of picking something one moment and eating it or preserving it in my kitchen the next. For all of these reasons, our backyard is full of fruit and constant birdsong.

Yup... you can grow fruit in Edmonton! Just ask the Fruits of Sherbrooke people at the Southwest Edmonton Farmers' Market... there is a wealth of fruit that can be grown in our climate. The Fruits of Sherbrooke volunteers go about "rescuing" unwanted fruit in the older neighbourhoods of Edmonton and turning it into wonderful jams, jellies, savoury and tart sauces and ketchups.

When we moved into our home, we purposely put strawberries, red currents, black currents, red raspberries, yellow raspberries, black raspberries, gooseberries, rhubarb, highbush cranberries and a single, lone apple tree in our teeny tiny backyard when we did our landscaping. There are flowers too... but my secret thrill comes from the fruit scattered throughout the yard, from the creative experimentation that I can do with our meals and preserves and with the wildlife that that purposeful planting has brought to our backyard. And I love the sense of wonderment, adventure and independence that finding, picking and searching for that fruit gave our children when they were young... and that gives our neighbours' three and five year olds today.

Making Jam is one of the easiest things to do and the berries are fresh, ripe and sweet at the market right now. There's nothing like biting into a ripe, juicy sun-kissed berry! And it is ever so simple and really super-easy to capture that flavour... to capture a little of spring and summer... and put it in a jar to bring out in the depths of winter. If you have freezer space, you don't even have to worry about sterilizing jars or even cooking the jam! (And I think that freezer jam tastes far better than cooked jam.) Simply mash the fruit, add the sugar and pectin & stir it up & put it in jars!

See? Nothing to it.

Right now, strawberries & rhubarb are in season and available in Alberta, and raspberries are coming out of BC. Locally, saskatoon berries are about a week or so from being ripe for the picking. At the Southwest Edmonton Farmers' Market you can find:

• raspberries (at Steve & Dan's Fresh BC Fruit)
• strawberries (at Steve & Dan's, Red Apple, and Osoyoos BC Fruit)
• saskatoons (at Peter's Lakeview Farm)
• rhubarb (Dargatz Family Farm)
• cherries (Red Apple, Steve & Dan's, Osoyoos BC Fruit)

Each year, I experiment with different combinations of fruit. Sometimes that experimentation is the mother of necessity... a recipe calls for two cups of fruit but I only have one and a half cups of one kind and need to add a half cup of something else to complete the recipe. And sometimes, I'm trying to improve on the flavour of a previous jam.

Black currents have strong flavours, but combined with mellower fruits like raspberries or saskatoons, they can be terrific. My favourite jam last year was a half and half combination of black currents and saskatoons. And I love the colour of a raspberry jam that is made from a combination of red and yellow raspberries.

Certo makes making jam incredibly easy. Certo is fruit pectin that is extracted from lime peels. I buy it in its liquid form in packages that are pre-measured. Fruit pectin is what thickens jams and makes them spreadable, rather than pourable. It is a natural ingredient that is extracted from lime peels. Every box of certo (you can usually find it in the sugar/flour/spice aisle of any grocery store) comes with a leaflet instruction chart inside. Follow the recipes there and you will always have success. If you want to find out more, click here.

For now, here's a super simple recipe. Join me... I'm making a batch today!

freezer strawberry jam
This is, hands down, the easiest jam to make! Be sure to use a potato masher to crush the berries and not a food processor so you get little chunks of fruit in the jam. And don't cut down on the sugar or double the recipe as the jam won't set (thicken) properly.

ingredients
1 & 3/4 c. crushed strawberries
4 c. granulated sugar
1 pouch liquid certo pectin
2 T. lemon juice

instructions
Hull (remove the stems) and then thoroughly crush the strawberries. In a large mixing bowl stir together the fruit and sugar. Let stand 10 minutes. Add the certo and lemon juice. Stir for 3 minutes. Put into clean glass jars or plastic freezer containers, filling up to 1/4" from the rim. Cover with lids. Leave at room temperature 24 hours or until set. Yield: 5 cups jam.

Recipe from Original Certo Liquid (instructions in the box)
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Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee

Fresh Sheet: June 26 Market

With (dare I say it....) 10 hours of sun in Wednesday's forecast, it's bound to be a great market! We will have an artist at the market this week, so pop by and see Samara's Art, or check out our facebook page to see a few of her paintings. There will also be a new jewellery vendor there, called Gypsy Byrd Designs... check out their profile on our website: SWEFM Artisans and Crafts People.

This week, Raspberry & Cocoa was featured in the Edmonton Journal's Blog, Eat My Words... chcek out their new item: a mocha croissant - a coffee pastry, with a dark chocolate filling and a delicious coffee glaze!

The fruit trucks are back and in full swing now that fruit is beginning to be in season in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. We have three fruit vendors, back for the season. Stop by and see:

• Red Apple (they will have strawberries, cherries and perhaps even raspberries at this week's market!)
• AIG, they had beautiful strawberries last week, and this week they will be bringing along some Indian baking and salty snacks as well.
• Steve & Dan's Fresh B.C Fruit will have strawberries, pears, apples, dehydrated apples, sparkling cider and a few other goodies.

And of course, the food trucks will be on site, anchoring both ends of the market... be sure to search them out and grab dinner with three great food prep styles to choose from :

• Sailin' On (vegan), 
• Bully (gourmet comfort food) 
• Yellow Bird (Japanese fusion) 

Barring high winds and wild weather, the inflatable slide, face painter and balloon creator will be at our market for the kids. Kids can also stop by our community/info tent and work on a special craft.

Fresh vegetables & fruits in season, and available now at this week's market:

• Fresh, baby potatoes! The first of the season! Don't forget to pick up fresh dill to go with them.
• Raspberries! The first of the season!
• Red Cherries
• Strawberries
• Pears (D'Anjou & Apple Pears)
• Apples (Ambrosia, Pink Ladies, Gala-no wax added, McIntosh), dehydrated apples 
• Sparkling apple juice & 100% apple juice
• Field grown radishes
• Fresh, green onions
• Over-wintered potatoes (purple, pink, & white fleshed varieties)
• Over-wintered squashes
• Over-wintered carrots
• Long green hothouse beans
• Hothouse cucumbers (long English and mini varieties that are perfect for packing in lunches)
• Field-grown rhubarb
• Field-grown spinach
• Fresh cut basil & chives & dill
• Fresh herb plants (thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, mint, sage, rosemary)
• Hothouse lettuces (green leaf lettuce and butter lettuce),
• Hothouse tomatoes (large, small & on the vine red, the wonderfully flavourful & meaty green & red striped mini zebras) 
• Hothouse peppers (small & large orange, yellow, red, green, & red & green spicy chiles)

PLUS…

• A variety of artisan breads, sweet loaves, cupcakes, homemade cookies, croissants & other buttery, finger-licking good baking
• Gluten free baking (including cheese breads & buns, cupcakes)
• Fresh & frozen meats (beef, bison, pork, chicken, fish)
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Jarred pickles
• Fresh raw honey
• Specialty gelatos
• Specialty chocolates and truffles
• Gourmet marshmallows in a wide assortment of flavours
• Greek dips and specialty Greek food items
• Indian Foods (naan, butter chicken, Samosas, Indian cookies & salty snacks)
• Thai Foods (frozen & ready for your weekday meals)
• Turkish Foods (dinner items, appetizers through to savoury pastries and sweet desserts)
• Ready-made items perfect for the BBQ season
• Smoked meats (sausages, pepperonis, sandwich meats, jerkies)
• Jams & jellies & condiments to compliment everything from your toast through to your meats and fish
• Authentic Mexican tortillas
• Sweet treats like fudge, mini cupcakes, kettle popcorn, snow cones & soft ice-cream to eat on the spot
• Dinner at the food trucks! (Bully & Sailing On & Yellow Bird)

What else???

• Jewellery (necklaces, earrings, bracelets) 
• Bath & Body items 
• Paintings
• Clothing 

Visit our website at http://www.swefm.ca
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Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee

Recipe: Rhubarb Jus and Sherry Vinaigrette

Working out of Towne Square Orthodontics (at 23^rd Ave. & Rabbit Hill Road, 780-434-7144) Dr. Darcy Dietz is our local Terwillegar area orthodontist and a vital financial sponsor of our market. Towne Square Ortho FB (His website is still being created.)

What you perhaps don’t know about him is that he is absolutely passionate about food. He has travelled the world, taking cooking classes from prestigious master chefs, he practices his skills at home in his spare time and he apprentices in the field. 

Cooking is his creative outlet, his passionate hobby and an essential part of who he is. Walk into the waiting area at his orthodontic practice and you'll see cookbooks lining the couches and food photos on the wall. The chef's hands in those photos? Those are his hands. The delectable cooking shots? Yup, those are his creations. 

The photos to the left show him in action... doing what he loves best... apprenticing, learning and perfecting his craft ... shown here at Stella, an top-notch restaurant in the Lake Tahoe area (http://www.stella.cedarhousesporthotel.com).

Darcy is exceptionally talented, knowledgeable and skilled and he brings these talents to his creative cooking. Lucky for us, he is willing to share his passion and artistic flair. I approached him last week to see if he could create a recipe for our market enthusiasts that was simple to follow and that used market fresh ingredients that were in season and locally available at our particular community market, and he was thrilled to give it a go. 

What he created was not just a single recipe, but an entire meal, complete with stunning final photographs. Each dish is a work of art… almost too beautiful to imagine eating. Follow along, and you’ll see what I mean.

rhubarb jus

Jus is a delectable sauce that is drizzled, sparingly, over a dish. Often made using the juices of the meat itself from the roasting process, it is not a gravy. Instead it is a sauce infused with an explosion of flavour. This one is a creative twist on traditional jus, and is created without meat drippings.

ingredients

8, 12-14 inch long rhubarb sticks (rough chop is fine)

3 large shallots

15 ml extra virgin olive oil

70 ml balsamic vinegar

30 ml sherry vinegar

zest of 1 large orange

100 ml orange juice

100 g white or berry sugar

50 ml water
3 pats of butter, 10g each (each pat is about 2t.)
*** optional: extra honey or agave syrup to taste

directions

**Note: this recipe is meant for a quality stainless steel pan. Nonstick = non-good. 

Slice the shallots, and cook slowly over medium to low heat in a stainless steel pan, uncovered, allowing them to sweat in the 15ml of evoo (extra virgin olive oil). Then add the rhubarb and sweat some more. A pinch of kosher salt helps the moisture to release. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook on medium heat, while stirring it all together. Then reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to steep for 20-30 minutes, covered. Remove the lid and reduce, if needed, to a light syrupy thickness. Let the mixture cool 10-15 minutes.

Now either puree in a blender, or push through a fine sieve. Discard the rough stuff. He says, "Try not to drink it all at this stage!" If it needs more sweetness, he recommends using liquid honey or agave syrup. Sugar might crystallize and spoil the texture.

As your grilled meat rests, rewarm the jus in a sauce pan, swirling in 3 "pats" of butter (probably about 10 g each) until silky and glistening, swirl them in vigorously, one pat at a time. (It should coat the back of a spoon.) This can be done a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge… but if you prepare it ahead of time, don't add the butter until you are ready to serve it. 

He suggests you serve it alongside/over lamb, pork, just about anything from the market… here it is pictured with roasted Alberta rack of lamb, grilled spring asparagus, wintered "cream puff" red potatoes, and the fresh rhubarb jus reduction.  (He says it's "All Alberta, and the red jus also has some old vine Zinfandel for flavour and colour... that isn't blood on the lamb." Then, he suggests you can drink the rest with the lamb and it will pair perfectly!) He also says, "This would ROCK on some fine vanilla ice-cream, with toasted almond slivers."

Remember, you can order your meat ahead of time from any one of our meat vendors, and then pick it up and pay for it at the market. Contact our meat vendors by clicking on their names here:

• Red Tractor Family Farm Meats (weekly)
• Sunworks Organic Farm (meats, weekly)
• Greenstein Farms (lamb-biweekly... they will be here this week)

Riverbend Gardens will have new, baby potatoes at this week's market! And Dargatz Family Farm has had rhubarb at their stall for the past two weeks and will have it again this week. Hurry! Rhubarb season will end soon (at least we can be thankful for the colder than normal temps and the unseasonable amount of rain for the lengthy season of the rhubarb this year!)

Sherry (hendsbee) shallot vinaigrette

Darcy is clearly toying with me here... but I'm honoured to have this vinaigrette named after me. :) 

Pinenuts and citrus? He says that the “the creaminess of the toasted pine nuts are a perfect foil for the tangy-sweetness of the dressing. You'll see. Your friends may go crazy over that recipe.” This makes enough for at least 10 - 12 salads, and placed in a sealed squeeze bottle, will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Darcy also explains, " I learned this recipe from Chef Jacob Burton at Stella Restaurant in Truckee, California. This recipe demonstrates that a small kitchen scale comes in handy." 

ingredients

3 large shallots

40 g sherry vinegar

80 g champagne vinegar

50 g orange juice (fresh)

30 g stone ground mustard

50 g honey

15 g salt (Kosher)

10 g sugar

50 g extra virgin olive oil

250 g canola oil

***Both sherry vinegar and champagne vinegar can be found at Sunterra Market and the Italian Market. It makes all the difference. They're some of those things you keep in your pantry for a long time. Sherry Vin is easy to find. If you can't find champagne vin, white wine vin will work. Or chinese rice wine vinegar is also great. 

directions

Slice the shallots. Add to a pan over medium-low heat and sweat or caramelize them in a bit of canola or other neutral oil. Darcy says, "Caramelized shallots are huge flavour bombs!" You can also roast them whole in foil at 350 degrees for 45 min, and then slice them. 

Take the shallots and add them, along with all of the ingredients, into a blender. Start off slowly and gradually increase to maximum speed. You are looking for an emulsion to form that has a smooth, creamy consistency. 

Serve with a butter lettuce, basil and parsley salad with peeled fresh orange segments (supremes) and toasted pine nuts (see last week's pesto recipe for roasting instructions... click here for the link). You can find fantastic quality butter lettuce at T.R. Greenhouses at our market. Holden Colony and Dargatz Family Farm sometimes carry lettuces as well. Honey is at both the Good Morning, Honey and Holden Colony booths.

With these recipes, Darcy has established himself as not only a financial sponsor of the market, but also as a creative inspiration and enthusiastic participator in our market culture… which makes him a great member of our market community! If you have any questions, or want any further recipes or inspiration, he'd love you to contact him through his facebook page.

Recipe from Dr. Darcy Dietz
Towne Square Orthodontics, 2335 Rabbit Hill Rd
780-434-7144
Visit our SWEFM website at http://www.swefm.ca
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Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee & Darcy Dietz

Fresh Sheet: June 19th

After last week's surprising & disastrous weather, here's hoping that we get a little sunshine... or at the very least, calm, if overcast, skies for the market! If you're wondering why the market was cancelled last week when the evening turned out to be so lovely, this is what our market site looked like mid-way through set-up time!

Taken from Lillian Osborne School's main doors
(as the school was in lock-down mode with the
kids & staff gathered in windowless rooms
& corridors), looking out over the
SWEFM parking lot site!

Taken from my house as the storm approached and I
did a big "Whew! Thank goodness we cancelled
the market!" before heading to the basement.

However, given that it's looking like rain, please don your raincoats and come on out to support our creative & hardy vendors... our farmers, artisans and food producers who all work so hard to bring their products virtually to your back door at your local community market.

With any luck, this week's market should have a few good surprises in store for us (if not in the weather, then in other things!). There are new vendors, some back for the season, and some new to us for the first time. Stop by and see:

• Yellow Bird (A Japanese fusion, sandwiches & wraps food truck)
• Steve & Dan's and AIG Produce will be here, bringing fruit from BC to our market! Yup, fruit season is upon us at long last!
• Gourmet Girl Cookies... yes, I know we've promised her arrival for three weeks running (darn those unforeseen circumstances!!!), but this week will be it! The demand for her cookies is high, so be sure to catch her before she runs out!
• Violet Chocolate Company (gourmet chocolate truffles with incredible, air-brushed designs)
• Cravings Artisan Gelato (gourmet Italian ice creams)
• Orange Avocado is back (jewellery)
• Three Muffin Tops Charms (jewellery)
• Farmstead Bath & Body is back (soaps & bath products)

We have heard a rumour that Slow Food Edmonton will be organizing a "market mob" at our market this week, encouraging those who follow their philosophy to put their money where their mouth is and show up en masse.... 6pm @ the Bully Food Truck!

And we have also heard that Liane Faulder, the food writer from the Edmonton Journal, may be popping by to do a piece on "ready to go meals" for a weekly feature! (If not this week, then next.)

Barring high winds and wild weather, the inflatable slide, face painter and balloon creator will be at our market for the kids. Kids can also stop by our community/info tent and paint up a fun key hook for dad... albeit a little late for his special day... or for a special someone in their lives.

Fresh vegetables & fruits in season, and available now at this week's market:

• Red Cherries
• Strawberries
• Pears (D'Anjou & Apple Pears)
• Apples (Ambrosia, Pink Ladies, Gala-no wax added, McIntosh), dehydrated apples, 
• Sparkling apple juice & 100% apple juice
• Fresh cut basil & chives
• Field grown radishes
• Fresh, green onions
• Over-wintered potatoes (purple, pink, & white fleshed varieties)
• Over-wintered squashes
• Over-wintered carrots
• Long green hothouse beans
• Hothouse cucumbers (long English and mini varieties that are perfect for packing in lunches)
• Field-grown rhubarb
• Field-grown spinach
• Fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, mint, sage, rosemary)
• Hothouse lettuces (green leaf lettuce and butter lettuce),
• Hothouse tomatoes (large, small & on the vine red, the wonderfully flavourful & meaty green & red striped mini zebras) 
• Hothouse peppers (small & large orange, yellow, red, green, & red & green spicy chiles)

PLUS…

•  A variety of artisan breads, cinnamon breads, sweet loaves, gluten-free loaves & baking, cupcakes, homemade cookies (Gourmet Girl is back!), croissants & other buttery, finger-licking good baking
• Fresh meats (beef, bison, pork, chicken, fish)
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Jarred pickles
• Fresh raw honey
• Specialty ice-creams (from Cravings Gelato, a new vendor to our market) 
• Specialty chocolate! Yup... the Violet Chocolate Company starts up at our market this week
• Gourmet marshmallows in a wide assortment of flavours
• Greek dips and specialty Greek food items
• Indian Foods (naan, butter chicken, samosas, Indian cookies & salty snacks)
• Thai Foods (frozen & ready for your weekday meals)
• Turkish foods (dinner options and dessert goodies too)
• Ready-made items perfect for the BBQ season
• Smoked meats (sausages, pepperonis, sandwich meats, jerkies)
• Jams & jellies & condiments to compliment everything from your toast through to your meats and fish
• Authentic Mexican tortillas
• Sweet treats like fudge, mini cupcakes, kettle popcorn, snow cones & soft ice-cream to eat on the spot
• Dinner at the food trucks! (Bully & Sailing On & Yellow Bird)

What else???

• Jewellery (necklaces, earrings, bracelets) 
• Artisanal Soaps
• Bath & Body items 
• Clothing 

Visit our website at http://www.swefm.ca
Like us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/swefm.ca

Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee

Recipe: Pesto

Fresh herbs are now available at our farmers' market and there is simply nothing that holds a candle to the fresh, pungent aromas and powerful flavours of those fresh herbs. I'm with the authors of Earth To Table: Seasonal Recipes From An Organic Farm...  they write that dried herbs taste of dust! 

In the summer I harvest extra basil that I don't use up in my cooking by picking the leaves and packing them tightly into large (Ikea) ice cube trays, cover them with water, then pop the cubes in a ziplock bag in the freezer... pop a few into spaghetti sauce in the heart of winter and they add a bit of summer (and a lot of extra flavour) to the pot! Riverbend Gardens still had some basil plants last week (if you'd like to put some in your garden or in pots on your deck).

I love this book for its wonderful pictures, for its focus on eating locally and growing your own food, and for its awareness of the bounties of each season.

The authors insist that eating locally means eating seasonally... and that is what I'm trying to do with our blog during market season: show you easy to make recipes that have the bulk of their ingredients available and in season at our farmers' market.

Cooking with ingredients that are in season is key not only to nutrient-dense, healthful eating... it is key to eating good tasting food as well. A strawberry tastes sweetest and is juiciest picked at the peak of its ripeness when holding it while you bite into it can stain your fingers red! And a tomato, sun kissed and still warm from the sun... there's just nothing quite like the taste of that little wonder!

The chefs who penned this book are farmers themselves and they write,

It is the farmers who make good food taste good. They do it not only by taking care of the planting and weeding and harvesting (and peering inscrutably at the horizon, watching for signs of rain), but by doing it right, and simply by doing it at all. A day can make all the difference, and a farmer's life is a year of those days. I am grateful that farmers go to all this trouble. Without the men and women who grow and sell fresh produce, or raise range-fed animals, we'd all be doomed to eating bleak, industrial food. I'm not saying I would never eat a chocolate bar or a take-out burger. But without produce and meat from properly managed farms, life would be pretty grim.

Come out to our market this week and see what authors, farmers & chefs, Jeff Crump & Bettina Schormann mean (and what most of you know to be true!). Support our local farmers, and all the effort they put into bringing top quality foods to our market. Support them to help them thrive. And support them to bring the best quality food to your plate.

Right now we have seven terrific farmers represented at our market: four terrific veggie growers and three terrific meat producers.

• Dargatz Family Farm (veggies & plants, eggs, pickles, weekly)
• Riverbend Gardens (veggies & plants, weekly)
• Holden Colony (veggies, eggs & honey, weekly)
• TR Greenhouses (hothouse veggies, weekly)
• Red Tractor Family Farm Meats (weekly)
• Sunworks Organic Farm (meats, weekly)
• Greenstein Farms (lamb-biweekly) 

And next week (June 19) the fresh bounty really begins to pour in as the fruit farmers  could begin to come on the scene (they might come the following week... it all depends on the timing of the harvesting).
pesto
In the mean time, come on out to our market and grab loads of basil for pesto. Keith Dargatz plans to harvest some from his farm and bring it to our next market (Dargatz Family Farm). Pesto is one of the simplest things to make in a spring kitchen. Simply stir a few heaping spoonfuls into fresh, hot pasta and you have a delicious & simple supper. The key is to NOT heat the sauce... the heat from the cooked & drained pasta is more than enough to intensify the fresh flavours and keep the green of the basil a vibrant & inviting colour.
ingredients
3 large cloves of garlic
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2c. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 c. coarsely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
tip
Nuts benefit greatly from a little toasting. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the pinenuts on an unlined, ungreased baking tray and toast for 2-5 minutes. A small nut, like a pine nut, will only take a couple of minutes. A toasted nut will become very fragrant when it is ready to come out of the oven... so take a sniff!
instructions
With the food processor running, drop the garlic through the feed tube and finely chop. Stop the motor and add the basil, pine nuts, cheese, salt & pepper. Process until combined and smooth, about 2 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube, blending until just incorporated but not completely smooth.

Recipe from Earth To Table: Recipes From An Organic Farm, by Jeff Crump & Bettina Schormann
Visit our website at http://www.swefm.ca
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Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee

Tonight's Market: CANCELLED

I am really sorry to say that tonight's market is cancelled.

With extreme weather in the forecast, including 5 hours of forecasted lightening & gusting high winds, market tents become kites, the metal frames make lightening rods... and the potential for people to get hurt is too great.

The last two weeks have been very challenging for our market, as quite a few tents have been broken by gusting winds, one of our volunteers was injured, and sales have been down due to poor attendance and last week's early market closures. There's no doubt about it. Attending, selling at and organizing an outdoor market is a very humbling experience.

In theory, farmers' markets are rain or shine... and I believe firmly that we need to honour our Canadian spirits, done our foul weather gear, and head up to the market to support our local farmers and artisans. But that idealistic view has to be tempered with a little realism... and the safety of our shoppers, vendors and volunteers just has to prevail.

As an organizer behind the scenes at a market, I have to say that cancelling a market is a very hard call to make... as many of these producers and artisans... and especially the farmers... rely on their sales at the farmers' markets to make a living. If the markets don't run, they don't see any sales. If the markets do run, but attendance is poor due to bad weather, then their sales are down AND the products they've harvested to bring to market are wasted.

Next week, I urge you to come out and support our vendors. They work so hard behind the scenes, getting their products ready for market and I would SO love to see them do well. This has been a tough month for many of them.

Fresh Sheet: June 12th

Bring Dad To The Market Day!

Father's Day is coming, so this week's market is sure to be lots of fun, filled with father's day activities and vendor specials to help mark dad's special day and make it memorable for him and for your family. 

• At the SWEFM table, find a draw box to enter your favourite dad to win a prize... Vines, El Mercado, The City of Edmonton and Famoso Pizzeria are donating wonderful gifts to be won! 
• There will also be a special events tent on site where your child can come and create & decorate a wooden key rack just for dad's keys, under the tent. 
• And the firemen will be at the market with their great big fire engines and bunker gear. 
• Come on out for face-painting, musical entertainment, balloon creations, food trucks, concessions and more. 
• Barring high winds or rain, the inflatable slide will be there for the kids as well.

Specials & great items at this week's market for Father's Day...

• BBQ grilling spice mixes & bottled sauces from Food Direct
• Gift Baskets for Father's Day... with shaving soap, loofah, massage bars and more from Ada's Soap Shop. Patrick's products are unique in that they are natural - contain no fragrances, colors and they are made naturally using coco and palm oils with essential oils that are derived from flowers and plants.  The gift baskets will be $20... a terrific value!
• Father's Day often means bringing out the BBQ... Red Tractor has a discount on mouthwatering beef & bison steaks for Dad!! 
• Simply Supper has a great combo for a terrific Father's Day dinner... Ready-2-Grill Ribs and/or Burgers. As well, Monita will have BBQ Rub for $10, delicious Bacon Jam for $10 and $20 Simply Supper Gift Cards already wrapped for teachers' gifts at her booth.
• Cheeses are ideal for a Father's Day treat or backyard BBQ... this week Everything Cheese will have on hand Smokehouse Cheddar, Oka with Mushrooms, Italian Style Gouda, Chevre Noir (goat cheddar) and Local Pecorino. Why not make beer & cheese your father's day gift this year ! They go perfectly together!

A number of sponsors have stepped up to help us make this year's Father's Day Market a special one. 

1. A special thanks to Vines for providing a fantastic gift basket as a generous draw prize for our event this year.
2. Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria, Magrath is generously donating TWO gift certificates for their awesome local restaurant for our prize draw as well.
3. Evangeline at El Mercado has generously donated some of her authentic Mexican corn tortillas to be won at our prize draw box.
4. The City of Edmonton has donated another family pass to be given out at this month's special event! Combine good food from our market with great exercise at the TCRC and embrace all aspects of a healthy living lifestyle!
5. Thanks to Special Event Rentals for giving us a significant discount on renting the tent under which the kids' craft will take place! 
6. Thanks to Home Depot, Sherwood Park for donating the wood for the special kids' craft!!!

Fresh vegetables & fruits in season, and available now at this week's market:

• Field-grown, fresh radishes
• Fresh cut basil & chives
  
  
• Fresh, green onions
• Over-wintered potatoes (purple, pink, & white fleshed varieties)
• Over-wintered squashes
• Over-wintered carrots
• Long green hothouse beans
• Hothouse cucumbers (long English and mini varieties that are perfect for packing in lunches)
• Field-grown rhubarb
• Field-grown spinach
  
• Fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, mint, sage, rosemary)
• Hothouse lettuces (green leaf lettuce and butter lettuce),
• Hothouse tomatoes (large, small & on the vine red, the wonderfully flavourful & meaty green & red striped mini zebras) 
• Hothouse peppers (small & large orange, yellow, red, green, & red & green spicy chiles)

PLUS…

•  A variety of artisan breads, cinnamon breads, sweet loaves, gluten-free loaves & baking, cupcakes, homemade cookies (Gourmet Girl is back!), croissants & other buttery, finger-licking good baking
• Fresh meats (beef, bison, pork, chicken, fish)
• This week's selections, from Everything Cheese... Smokehouse Cheddar, Oka with Mushrooms, Italian Style Gouda, Chevre Noir (goat cheddar) and Local Pecorino
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Jarred pickles
• Fresh raw honey
• Specialty ice-creams (from Cravings Gelato, a new vendor to our market) 
• Specialty chocolate! Yup... the Violet Chocolate COmpany starts up at our market this week
• Gourmet marshmallows in a wide assortment of flavours
• Greek dips and specialty Greek food items
• Indian Foods (naan, butter chicken, etc.)
• Thai Foods (frozen & ready for your weekday meals)
• Ready-made items perfect for the BBQ season
• Smoked meats (sausages, pepperonis, sandwich meats, jerkies)
• Jams & jellies & condiments to compliment everything from your toast through to your meats and fish
• Authentic Mexican tortillas
• Sweet treats like fudge, mini cupcakes, kettle popcorn, snow cones & soft ice-cream to eat on the spot
• Dinner at the food trucks! (Bully & Sailing On)

And Of Course...

• The inflatable kids' slide
• Jewellery (necklaces, earrings, bracelets) 
• Clothing items (Mod Shop Tots is back plus Rock My Baby Cocoons...)
• Artisanal Soaps
• Bath & Body items 

Visit our website at http://www.swefm.ca
Like us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/swefm.ca

Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee