Sunday 20 January 2013

A ShortStack Foodie field trip! A little bit of summer farmers market fun in January ...

Terra at Home Winter Market
No, I have not gone crazy.  No, I have not moved to the sunny south.  Yes, there is a winter-market in North Burlington.  Yes, I clapped my hands WILDLY when I found out.  And yes, I probably bought way more at the market yesterday than DH and I could ever eat ... in a month.  But not to worry - we don't have a month ... we have 5 days 'til we leave for NYC.  Not a problem ... we'll simply balance the vast array of cupcakes and butter tarts with kale salad and root vegetable soup.  That should negate the extra calories ... right?  RIGHT?  *sigh*  No, I didn't think so.  The market opens at 10am, at Terra, on Dundas in Burlington.  There's everything from baked goods like pies, tarts, treats, chocolate ... <pause> ... sorry I just got a little misty thinking about this one piece of peanut butter-marshmallow-fudge sitting on the kitchen counter ... I thought I heard it calling me ... where was I?  Oh yes ... there's smoked fish, winter veggies, sweet potato EVERYTHING, coffee, tea, lavender, popcorn, soaps, artisan crafty-type-things ... not to mention gorgeous potted plants, herbs, flowers ... all enclosed in a beautiful, warm greenhouse.  Ladies and gentlemen, heaven does exist ... it's in a greenhouse, and they're serving butter-tarts.

So what did I do with my haul of produce, meats 'n treats? Well ...





Sweet Potato Johnny's sweet potato waffles, soon became ...


 ShortStack Waffle Croutons ... destined for the soup bowl.

And with tea in my new "sage you love me" mug,
I begin chopping ...
 

 Parsnips, carrots, onions, celery and a little frozen chicken stock,
which soon become ...
 
Probably the best roasted parsnip soup in the universe!
(I know, it's so unflattering to pat ones self on the back ...)
 
Kale quickly joined some quick-pickled-red onions, dried cherries and toasted pecans.
And the result was a power-packed-nutrient-dense salad.
(Yup, we're still trying to make up for all the treats we devoured today!)
 
 
The strawberry and rhubarb pie ...

 Well ...
It got eaten pretty fast ...
 
Then we used the concentrated cherry juice
(which I will be trying in my Monday morning green smoothie!),
and that became ...
 
Our rendition of a Manhattan cocktail ...
which we sipped while perusing our travel guide ...
 
Then, as night fast approached, we retired to the bedroom ... but wait ...
where was our lavender dream pillow? 
 
I suspect a theif is in our midst ... 
 

And on the menu for Sunday supper?
Homemade spelt bread ... with ...
I'm drooling just thinking about it ...
 
So dear readers ... I hope we have inspired you to seek out this fantastic winter market.  There are so many vendors I didn't get a chance to talk to ... and with so many treats still to try ... I suspect that I'll be bumping into some of you next weekend.  In the meantime, here's a little snapshot of our winter market journey.  Stay warm, and keep your ski tips up.
 

8 comments:

  1. that's awesome, wish we had one like that in London!!!!

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    1. Perhaps a day-trip to sunny Burlington is in order :) I know the organizers are looking to open up into other markets ... fingers crossed they make it to London!

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  2. Love the wonderful job you did of capturing the Winter Market yesterday, looks like you had a lot of fun. Nice to meet you in person and hope to see you again soon.

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    1. I loved every second of it! Thank you for your wonderful treats - they were a HUGE hit at my house :)

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  3. Love it Jackie!! I'm in Kingston next weekend but the following weekend I foresee a family field trip to that market!!!! Thanks for informing - and of course, I always love to read your blog!!!

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    1. Oh you'll love it! You should talk to the organizers ... your cakes and cupcakes are SO AMAZING ... they'd be a HUGE hit I'm sure ... just sayin ... I'm a big fan LOL

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  4. What a great find, thanks so much for sharing this Short Stack!! I had no idea there was a farmer's market at Terra! I will definitely get out there. Some wonderful finds, for sure!! And of course, what you ended up doing with all your treasures? I'm speechless!! Wonderful post.

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    1. Your son would love it! And it took great strength to walk thru the fab-little-finds in the home decor section without buying one million items - so many lovely little things!!! Thanks for finding time to stop by my blog - I am honoured to have a New York Times best selling author pops by for a read :)

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