Over the Easter Long Weekend

It was extra quiet here over the Easter extra-long weekend.  Our neighbours either side and over the back have all gone away. Many folk go camping, to the beach or travel to visit family over the four day holiday here in Australia. We stay home and enjoy the slowness of days without work or school. With nowhere pressing to be, we can settle in and relax ...

Friday:

We brought out our special Easter treasures.

(One rabbit & one hare discussing who should get the carrot!)

I finished another sailor top in a mustard-y gold.
(Can't wait to wear it!)

Little zucchini slice muffins were baked.
(Fresh from the oven with a generous dob of butter. Yum!)

Some of us "worked" hard in the garden. 

(Others simply supervised & guarded the plants.  Ahem!)

Saturday:

Cuttings for this garden-bed-in-progress were potted up. 

(Do you like my new watering can?   I do!)

A spot of reading & a little light-hearted viewing were enjoyed.
(I recommend the book:)

Gifted limes from a fellow gardener were gratefully received
(I gave him a cardamon ginger plant as a thank you.)

Sunday:

Little chocolate eggs appeared in our son's Easter basket. 
(Sunday morning's excitement!)

Fresh produce came home from a local Farmers' Market.

(... & The Big Issue to read too:)

 A simple homemade cheesecake was shared at Easter lunch.

(Our family needs very little excuse to have cheesecake.)

Monday:

A little knitting happened while curled up on the lounge.

(My shawl is growing!)

Seed potatoes were planted in grow bags.

(Two delicious varieties - Nicola & Desiree)

This delicious chicken & vegetable pie was made from this recipe.

(I used leftover chicken from Easter lunch & veggies from the Farmers' Market.)

Four days at home, without the tug of other commitments, made time for all of this simple and homely goodness. Some work in our home and garden, some time to become absorbed in our own particular interests and hobbies and unhurried days together. Plus, a little chocolate, of course!

How did you spend your weekend?

Meg

From the Farmers Market

Once a month, on a Sunday morning, a street in a nearby suburb is blocked off as local traffic makes way for the stalls of a farmers market. 

A local street is closed for a farmers market.

Up the street and back again takes you on a happy, crowded and mouth-watering stroll. There's fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables displayed on trestle tables; their vibrant colours so inviting. (I never feel this way about the fruit and veggies at the supermarket!)

Baskets of fresh Summer vegetables.

(No styrofoam trays and plastic wrap either!)

As well as fruit and veggies, there's nuts, cheeses, meats, breads, cakes, fudge, flowers, coffee and much more. 

Lots to choose from!

There's the wafts of delicious foods cooking as you pass by. Everything from fresh Turkish breads and spicy sausages to hot crepes and little poffertjes (little Dutch pancakes). Following one's nose at the market can often lead to all kinds of delicousness!

Little Dutch pancakes cooked while you wait.

(Soft, hot and drizzled with maple syrup ... Mmm!)

There's the farmers and producers themselves, standing behind their stalls or out in front offering samples of their amazing food. If you ask them, they'll tell you when, where and how it was grown or made, when it was picked or baked or bottled, why it tastes so good! The conversations to be had about food and produce, with the people who actually grew or made it, are one of my favourite things about the markets. It's how to find out where your food comes from and what's in it or on it! 

Tom grows apples in his orchard near Tenterfield (about 3 hours away)

 & his free samples were fresh, crisp and delicious!

And ... just as you go over the railway line to enter the market or just before you cross back to leave, there's a guy wearing a fluro high-vis vest. You can't miss him and for relatively few bucks he'll sell you a copy of The Big Issue with a "Gday!" and a smile. His presence reminds me that there are many in our community who fall on hard times (for whatever reason) and that abundance (in whatever form) can be shared to make someone's life that bit better. 

Lots of fresh food, and food for thought, from the markets.

In my market basket, along with my copy of The Big Issue, there was pumpkin from a farmer who also grows sunflowers too.  Two types of bananas from the grower who helped me choose some that are ripe now and some that will ripen over coming days. There's corn so sweet you can eat it raw on the cob and sweet potatoes sold at the stall that has the most beautiful classical music playing in the background. (I talked about pianos and guitars with that grower, not veggies this time:) Little new potatoes and lettuce and capsicum came home with me as my garden has none of these growing over the Summer. (Try as I might, I am rarely successful at growing capsicums!) An armful of Tom's crisp and crunchy apples made it into my basket too, his free samples were soooo good!

Do you buy some of your fresh produce at a market? If you do, what do you love about your market?

Meg

My Morning at the Market 2

At my favourite market, amid the many food stalls that offer a tempting array of healthy produce, there is a little stall that offers a range of locally-made creams and balms that are lovingly prepared to nourish the skin. Many of these lotions are formulated with a golden, calendula-infused oil that the stallholder produces herself. 

Calendula blooms in olive oil.

Lise, who runs this little stall, is the qualified, passionate herbalist who makes this range of cosmetics that feature her own soothing, softening calendula oil. On her family's certified organic farm, about 2hours from the market, Lise grows the calendula plants, harvests and dries their flowers and infuses them in biodynamic olive oil. After many weeks, this golden oil is then filtered, bottled and incorporated into batches of Lise's cosmetics.

Lise with some of her own products.

While one could walk into a department store and be dazzled by the wide range of lotions on display, I doubt if there would be many creams among them that listed ingredients I could easily recognise. I doubt there would be many that feature an ingredient that was produced not far from where I live. And I have no doubts that many would be much more expensive than Lise's lovingly prepared formulations. 

Lise's Calendula Soap.

Lise's certified organic Calendula Cream.

I think that the real beauty of visiting farmers' markets lies in the opportunity they offer for a consumer like me to connect directly with a producer. As I wander leisurely around the market, I get to talk to some of the most hard-working and inspiring people. And, in talking with them, I learn so much!

Did you visit a market on the weekend? 

Meg

My Morning at the Market 1

On many a Sunday morning, I have made my way into my favourite fresh food market. The Northey Street City Farm Organic Market has long given me many great reasons to venture out early instead of burrowing down further under warm covers in the often vain hope of sleeping in!

I love strolling from stall to stall, among the bustling crowds, listening to the live music that plays like a backing track to all the conversations and transactions taking place among friends and among producers and their customers. There's the smell of brewing coffee wafting in the air and fresh food being prepared for those waiting in line and eager for breakfast. Then, there is the colourful and inviting array of fresh produce and products that the growers and stallholders showcase on their trestle tables. The folk behind those tables have so much knowledge and enthusiasm for their fruits and vegetables, their breads, their chutneys and sauces and curds, their eggs, their meat, their FOOD!  

Farmers' Markets provide a place for the community to gather and to buy some of their food. In turn, they provide growers with a place from which they can share and sell their produce directly to the consumer. There is time to chat to them about what they grow, where they grow it, how they grow it, when they harvest it, how to cook it, when it's season will end and what will be coming into season next. 

The long, ruby-red stalks of Dave's rhubarb.

Perhaps, you'd like to come with me for a stroll around the stalls and to meet some of these hard-working, dedicated farmers. I'm going to do a little profile of a different stallholder each time I visit the market this year. Get to know them with me!

One generous grower, Ray, gave me some of his time this morning. He and his wife, Samantha, are part of a small co-operative, the Granite Belt Organic Growers, who have their stall at the markets every Sunday morning. Ray and Samantha take turns to run their co-operative's stall so they get a sleep in every second Sunday. (That must feel like a little luxury!)

Ray proudly wearing his apron.

Their stall showcases and sells organic and biodynamic produce from a small number of farms near Stanthorpe, about two and a half hours from this city market. Ruby-red rhubarb stalks, heavy heads of cos lettuce, sweet strawberries and several varieties of one of Stanthorpe's signature crops, apples, were available from Ray and Samantha today, among other things! All of it looked fresh and delicious!

Small and sweet strawberries. 

Fresh, crisp apples.

Bright green cos lettuce and bright pink zinnias.

Sourcing food at a farmers' market is a completely different experience, a closer and much more personal experience, than pushing a trolley around a supermarket with aisle upon aisle of pre-packaged foods. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't use supermarkets because most of us have to for some things. But, for me, there is something that feels really good about being able to directly support a small producer, many of whom are undervalued here in Australia, for the work they do in providing us with fresh food. And, when they place it gently in my basket after they have weighed it and added up the tally, I get the opportunity to say, "Thank you!"

A visit into these markets never fails to gladden my heart. A little bit of that happiness revisits me during the week when I eat or cook with the produce I've brought home in my basket. I'll smile this week when I spy these cheery and colourful zinnia blooms brightening up my kitchen. They somehow managed to find their way into my market basket too!

Blue jugs and zinnias.

I hope you had a great weekend.

Meg