A Wonderful Day in Withrow Park!

It only took me 9 months to get out to this sweet farmers market located in the beautiful Withrow Park in the east end of town and it was worth it!  It was hard to decide where to start ie. with the fresh breads from St. John’s Bakery or delicious Coconut Pineapple Ice Pops from Sweet Sammies.   Spoke with some of the vendors and learned a couple of new things.  For instance, did you know that Saskatchewan is a huge producer of lentils?  Seema from Tiffinday was kind enough to take time out to share this interesting fact with me.   Her company is responsible for keeping us well fed with a delicious lunch program.   All you need to do is have your order in the day before by 3pm and they do the rest.  Murray the “egg seller”  as I like to call him (from Heritage Hen Eggs) was also an interesting chap.  Inspiring story from him on how he found his new calling producing Non-GMO eggs.  Come to the Withrow Farmers Market and find out more about what he can tell you about his eggs and what makes them so special.  See what you learn when you get out and meet the people who know their stuff!!!

 

 

Yum Yum at TUM!

Ready to try something new, fresh, and delicious?  That is exactly what the Toronto Underground Market has in store for you!  This amazing event gives new cooks and chefs an outlet and audience to share their food passions with.   The 2014 season got off on the right foot this past long weekend with it’s first event held on Saturday May 17th from 5pm to 11pm held at 99 Sudbury Street.  My husband and I made a visit and a long list of new discoveries.  The choices were endless and a little something for everybody no matter their tastes. If you have not already visited, be sure to at least try it once before the Summer ends.  Future dates and tickets can be found here.  Did I mention there’s wine and cocktails too;)

Our favorites included:

1.  TOL Filipino Gastro Fare
2.  Conductor’s Craft Ale from Junction Craft Brewery
3. Meat and Vegetarian Galettes from the Galette Girls – Be sure to check out their picnic bag for two!
4.  Bite-sized snacks from Nomz that are yummy and good for you–REALLY!
5.  A nice reminder of the evening on our way out was a complimentary gourmet meal to take home and try from Fudi.  They had 5 signature chicken dishes to choose from.  We went with the Tandoori.  Can’t wait to try it out!

2nd Annual Roncey Flea

One of Toronto’s most hopping neighbourhoods, Roncesvalles has so much to see and do.  Speaking of which, cooler than expected weather didn’t keep market enthusiasts from searching out a good find at the 2nd annual Roncey Flea market over the long weekend.   If you missed this event, no worries, another one is planned for the middle of summer so keep your eyes out for it!  Popular vendors like Silverware Jewellery artisan Leo Krukowski, vintage shop Suitcase and Pottery by Molly Bannerman were a hit with visitors with their one-of-a-kind finds.  To get more information on the next market date visit the Roncey Flea site.

Off To The Market with Chef Tom Phuong!

Looking for a new way to explore the market?  What better way than to have one of Toronto’s top chefs from the Royal York Hotel lead the way.  Chef Tom Phuong-Luu personally hosted one of my most enjoyable and intimate visits to the St. Lawrence Market.  Joining me on this fun field trip were husband and wife, Scott and Pam who were in town for a nice getaway and fellow Chef Jordan, also from the prestigious culinary team.

Our tour started at 8:30am sharp and we covered the entire market in good time while stopping and sampling a few of Chef Tom’s favorites.   Each stop we were treated to some of his insights as to what to look for when visiting a food market.   We sipped on gourmet coffee from Pasta Mia on the lower level while partnering it up with the world-reknowned morning Peameal Bacon Sandwich from Carousel Bakery on the second floor.  A quick stop into Kozlik’s Mustard stand to complete our Sandwich was also a must try.   We strolled through the various meat and fish markets to see their latest offerings.  One of the stops at Whitehouse Meats was a fun one where Chef Tom pointed out a some of the exotic meats one could sample…Crocodile and Ostrich to name a few.

The highlight of the tour was definitely when we were introduced to Murray, a good friend of Chef Tom’s, and also the owner of Golden Orchard Fine Foods located on the upper level.  He shared a few personal stories with the group on his store’s origins.   He told us of the times his mother would bake pies and leave them in the freezer to share with her customers as they visited.  Here’s another interesting tidbit, we also learned that the organic movement that is so popular today actually started in his store 20 years ago.   Ending our visit on a sweet note, Murray treated the ladies to a bottle of home-grown Toronto Island Airport Honey.

A big thank you to Chef Tom for the wonderful experience.  It was lovely meeting Tom and Pam and Chef Jordan who made the excursion an even more enjoyable one to take part in together.

The next time you are in Toronto, check out the “Shop with Chef” package at the Royal York  Hotel, this will be one of the most authentic Toronto and market experiences you have.

 

 

OTTM Must Read: Celebrate Our 100th Post With Us!

To celebrate our 100th post and the completion of the first official Toronto Market Guide, we are letting our readers download a free copy.  Just visit our marketplace and use the coupon code CELEBRATE14.   We hope you enjoy the read and get to as many markets as you can this summer!

Black Market on Queen Street West – Vintage Style

All the vintage you can handle!

Toronto Flower Market Back In Season!

Started my Mother’s Day weekend off on a beautiful note by swinging by the opening day of  the 2014 Toronto Flower Market.  The weather could not have been more beautiful.  Torontonians were out and about finding the right bouquet for their mothers and treating themselves too.  Speaking of which, my son loved the rock garden/open air planters from Patchouli while I snagged myself one of the official market totes which displays the featured water colour florals designed by the ever-talented artist Courtney Wotherspoon.  And to complete the visit, a visit to Kari Marshall’s gourmet popsicle stand (The Pop Stand) helped us end the outing on a sweet note.  To see what other vendors were present, go to The Flower Market’s site.  Also just a quick note on the location which was hosted by Great Gulf homes-definitely a nice touch to building community!   Make this one of you markets to visit this summer at least once if not more.

 

 

So Many Things to Celebrate in Parkdale!

There were so many good reasons to celebrate in Parkdale this weekend.  One was the first official Parkdale Flea market and the other was the 125th anniversary of Parkdale Collegiate!  The whole family attended and relived the 80’s with my husband:)

 

Green + Good For Us!

It was a girl’s day out to go through all the goodies at the first Green + Good pop-up last weekend.  Walked away with a sweet One Love Organics heart-shaped cleansing sponge for my daughter and some fresh beauty bars from Ella’s Botanicals for myself.

OTTM MUST READ: JOYOUS HEALTH

The next time you head out to your local farmers market, give Joy McCarthy’s latest book “Joyous Health”  a good read.  It is filled with tons of inspiring nutritional advice on how to choose the right foods for your good health.  Read more from Joy McCarthy on what she thinks about farmers markets.