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| | Seasonal Produce | | 
Photo: Carole Henshall | | APPLES
Crisp and juicy, tart or sweet - apples of all colours and sizes are popping up at the markets now. Choose from common varieties to the more obscure - all fresh and delicious. | | 
| At the markets in August:
Apples, Artichokes, Basil, Beets, Blackberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Corn, Collard Greens, Cucumbers, Garlic, Grapes, Green Beans, Green Onions, Hazelnuts, Herbs, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Melons, Mushrooms, Peas, Parsnips, Pears, Peppers, Plums, Potatoes, Radishes, Raspberries, Salad Greens, Shallots, Strawberries, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Turnips, Winter Squash, Zucchini and more! | MONTHLY RAFFLES August's lucky raffle winners were:
Pat at West End
Kathryn at East Van
Karen at Nat Bailey Stadium
Don't forget to get your tickets this month! Enter to win fabulous prizes donated by market vendors. Raffle dates are: East Van and West End:
Sept 24, Oct 8 Nat Bailey Stadium:
Sept 28, Oct 26 All proceeds benefit Your Local Farmers Market Society.
Members receive 2 free tickets to each draw.
| Market Wishlist | In the spirit of freecycling, the following items would be greatly appreciated in good condition for use at the markets this season:
- brightly coloured, plastic/vinyl table cloths
- small outdoor folding chairs and cafe (small, folding) tables
- patio umbrellas
- bungee cables
- orange traffic cones
-digital camera in working order
Call us at 879-3276 to arrange a donation!
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 Photo: Carole Henshall |  | | Vendor Spotlight | | Prepared Food Vendors
Story and Photos by Christi York | Autumn. The change in the weather and the chill in the air make it a perfect time to heat up a bowl of delicious nutritious soup. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home from work, grab a package of soup from the freezer and simply heat it up on the stove? How does Creamy Carrot and Cashew sound? Or, Curried Apple and Red Lentil?
If that sounds good to you then it’s time to visit Lemon-Thyme!
 Ruth Inglis, the chef behind Lemon-Thyme Cookworks, has been selling at the Farmer’s Market for 2 seasons now. Her 14 years as a cook in restaurants such as the Tomato Café (Vancouver) and The Parsonage Café (Victoria), in places as diverse as Yellowknife and Prince Rupert have only whetted her passion for soup making. Over the years, she slowly moved out of the restaurant business by taking on catering for friends and family until deciding that soup making would be her full time gig.
"Seasonal ingredients" seems to be a buzzword these days, but what does that really mean to you? It means it’s Squash Soup season! How does Pumpkin with Coconut Cream with Lime Leaf sound? Or Maple Roasted Banana Squash with Rosemary? Hungry yet?
Obviously the coconut and lime leaf aren’t local, but Ruth’s goal from the beginning has been a strong commitment to using mainly seasonal ingredients from BC farms. Drop by her booth soon and you might be lucky to grab a sample of her Chilled Beetroot with Fennel and Orange. Soups on!
Kelly Boyd of Bad Girl Chocolates is a graduate of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. She quickly realized after graduation that if she wanted to work with chocolate, she would have to do it herself. So she quit her job search and started up Bad Girl Chocolates.
 That was 3 years ago. She now sells primarily at the Farmers Markets, plus through her web site, www.badgirlchocolates.com.
Everything is hand made by Kelly. Drop by her booth and check out some of the best sellers - Coffee Truffles and the Guiandjua Pyramid. If you’re lucky, you might get a free sample of a Caramel Chocolate Almond.
And to make sure you keep coming back, let Bad Girl Chocolates tempt you with the Truffle of the Week! Some of more intriguing flavours include Star Anise, 5 Spice, Pomegranate, Chai, Chili, Orange Thyme, and Mulled Wine.
"My passion has always lain in finding new and interesting flavours to combine with chocolate," says Kellie. "This continual exploration of flavours has allowed me to create a number of products that are unique to Bad Girl Chocolates."
And did you know that the majority of her truffles are vegan? Good quality dark chocolate contains no milk products and her fillings are not made with a cream ganache. The chocolate dipped strawberries (when she has them) are vegan as well.
"The Farmer's Market allows me to access a community of people both interested in and knowledgeable about food who expect high quality products," says Kellie. " This is the type of customer base that any artisan chocolatier would love to get access to, and here it is all wrapped up with friendly staff and a positive attitude."
Denise of Deni’s Delights is a familiar face at the Farmer’s Markets. This busy lady has been creating her hand crafted jam, sugar free spreads, pepper jellies, chutneys, and salsas for 4 years now.
 The Farmers Market Society has played a pivotal role in the start of her business. As Deni tells the story: "One evening I was serving some pepper jelly to friends, and they said that I should start selling it at the farmers markets. I happened to call the YLFMS and the jury date was THE NEXT DAY!! I got accepted, and fell in love with the work, the markets and the people. I do attribute a large part of my success to the YLFMS markets"
When buying produce for her preserves, Deni is proud to support B.C. Farmers. People come to the Farmer’s Markets because they want fresh local produce, and she buys from many of the same farmers as you do throughout the summer.
This attitude and the care she takes have obviously paid off. "The BEST reward I get from my career is when customers tell me how much they love my products," says Deni. "I really appreciate the feedback, and the loyalty that comes with it. The best compliment I receive is when another "jam maker" buys my product!"
So drop by her booth for a sample or two. The 4 fruit marmalade is her #1 best seller, followed by some of her pepper jellies, "Balsamic Red Pepper Jelly" and "Spicy Margarita" (hot jalapeno with lime). You can also visit www.denisdelights.com
Stephanie Mills is a newcomer to the Markets for the 2005 season. Morningstar Herbals is her own creation of specially blended herbal teas that are both delicious and have many health related benefits.
 "I am a long-time plant enthusiast and tea drinker," says Stephanie. "As an Herbalist, I frequently recommend herbal teas for clients. I want to spread the word about the healing benefits of tea!"
In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Stephanie is also a "Clinical Herbal Therapist" - a 4-year program that includes 500 clinical hours.
Drop by her table for a sample of whatever she’s brewing up that day. It might be "Serendipi-tea" (Licorice, peppermint and lemongrass), or "Communi-tea" (Stinging Nettles and peppermint).
"Stinging Nettles are very high in iron, calcium, Vitamin C and many other minerals and vitamins and are recommended for a myriad of health conditions," explains Stephanie.
She’s found the enthusiastic market crowd has responded well to her teas.
" I often find that people also have questions about herbal medicine, or specific health conditions, and I always have very interesting discussions at the market."
Stephanie also runs her own practice out of Gastown where she makes individually formulated healing salves for arthritis, sore muscles, rashes, infections, sprains, and a variety of other ailments. | | To check out these and other vendors' schedules, visit our vendor schedule page here. |
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| | Market Hours | East Vancouver
East 15th & Victoria Drive | Saturdays, 9am - 2pm
Closes October 8 | | | Nat Bailey Stadium
30th Ave & Ontario St. | Wednesdays, 1pm - 6:30pm
Closes October 26 | | | West End - (Nelson Park)
Comox St, between Bute & Thurlow | Saturdays, 9:30am - 2pm
Closes October 8 | | [top] |
| Market Posters Available to Print | | 
Help us spread the word about the markets by printing out an 8 1/2 by 11 poster and putting it up at your place of work, apartment, gym, community gathering place or neighbourhood bulletin board. | Choose the market that is closest to where you will post it. Links to the posters are below: (these are PDF files)
East Vancouver
West End
Nat Bailey Stadium |
 Photo: Carole Henshall Little Creek Salad Dressing
Available at the Market As a fundraiser, the Market Society has started selling Little Creek Salad Dressing at the Market Information Tent at all 3 markets. Limited supplies are available for the rest of this season. Get it while it lasts! Proceeds from sales at the market benefit Your Local Farmers Market Society. | | Coming Events | | Cookbook Swaps Coming Soon
Our second Cookbook Swap at East Van happens October 1st. Don't miss out on this fun event!! Drop off books at East Van on Sept 17 and 24.
In addition, we've decided to have swaps at our West End and Nat Bailey markets - here are the details: September 24th at the West End Market and Sept 28th at the Nat Bailey Stadium Market. Drop off books anytime in September at these 2 markets.
Ask a Chef at the East Vancouver Market - October 1
Our last Ask a Chef day of the season is sure not to disappoint. We'll have 5 chefs at the market throughout the day so bring your Thanksgiving dinner questions and perhaps talk a little turkey (or tofurkey) with these talented local chefs: Andrea Carlson - Raincity Grill
Andrew Skorzewski - The Lazy Gourmet
Dino Renaerts - Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia
Eddy Mysliwiec - Se.ed Artisan Foods
Rob Belcham - Nu
Start Planning for the Holidays! - Winter Market December 10 & 11
Our annual (very popular) Winter Market is planned for December 10 & 11 at Heritage Hall (15th & Main Street) in Vancouver. Plan to do some great shopping at this not-to-be-missed event. We're still finalizing the roster but it is sure to be chock full of beautiful, tasty and unique gifts.
Market Events Calendar
We've got a chock full calendar for the next month.
| | East Vancouver | West End | Nat Bailey Stadium | | September 17 | Shopper Survey* | Shopper Survey | | | September 21 | | | Shopper Survey | | September 24 | Shopper Survey & Raffle Day | Shopper Survey, Raffle & Cookbook Swap | | | September 28 | | | Cookbook Swap & Raffle Day | | October 1 | Shopper Survey, Cookbook Swap & Ask a Chef | Shopper Survey | | | October 5 | | | Shopper Survey | | October 8 | Raffle Day / Market Closes | Raffle Day / Market Closes | | | October 12 | | | Why not try our Nat Bailey Stadium Market today? |
* Shopper Survey - stop by the market information booth to do a quick survey with dot stickers - fun to complete and very helpful in determining how we're doing. | | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle the Market Way | Langley Organic Growers has initiated a program at their stalls (at all markets) to reduce the amount of plastic they are using. When you make a purchase at L.O.G. and need a plastic shopping bag, you'll be asked to donate .25 to the Planting Seeds Project to buy and save organic seed. Langley Organic Growers encourages shoppers to bring bags from home (cloth, plastic or otherwise) and to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic whenever possible. In fact many markets and shopping districts (and even some whole countries) around the world have banned the use of plastic bags to reduce waste with great results.
For more information on plastic bags and their impact on our world check out The World Watch Institute. | | Here are just a few ways that other market vendors are implementing the 3 R's at the market. Ask your favourite vendor what they are doing to reduce the amount of garbage their business creates and how you can help. | | Sysko's Supper (raw dog food) uses re-usable rigid plastic containers. | Big Don's Pickles encourages customers to return glass jars for reuse. If you return your large pickle jars, you'll get $1. | | Lowland Herb Farm will reuse their plastic plant pots if you return them. Please return only those pots you purchased from Lowland. They also accept clean plastic bags in good shape for reuse. | Billie Shauer of Earthform Pottery uses both recycled bags and recycled white paper donated by a business in her area - by doing this she hasn't had to buy new packaging materials in years. | | Richmond Specialty Mushroom Growers says that paper bags are the only way to go when it comes to mushrooms- they might actually slap your hands if you try to slip your shitakes into some plastic - so don't try it. | Beckmann Berry Farm will take back their large cardboard blueberry boxes to reuse. | | Midnight Goddess Preserves offers a discount of 20 cents toward your jam purchase for each reusable home canning jar (250 or 125 ml size) returned. | Egg cartons can be recycled with Klippers Organics and Harvey's Orchards. Check with these vendors first before cleaning out your cupboards though. | | | | Plastic Bag Recycling at the Market
Bring your clean plastic bags in good shape to the market and drop them off in our newly created plastic bag bins. Then, those who need bags (or who forgot their cloth bags at home) can use these ones, instead of taking new ones at vendor stalls. Its a small way we can help reduce the amount of new plastic used in the market. |
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| Vendor Announcements |
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Book Launch - Crocodiles Say
September 29
Market vendor and fabulous artist , Rae Maté would like to invite you to the launch of her first illustrated children’s picture book, Crocodiles Say.
September 29th at 7pm, at Vancouver Kidsbooks (3083 West Broadway)
| Salt Spring Flour Mill now has Red Fife Flour
Red Fife Flour is now available from Salt Spring Flour Mill! They'll have a good supply of freshly milled Red Fife with them at the East Vancouver Market on September 24. Stock up for the fall. Red Fife is the premium heritage wheat in Canada and is one of two Canadian foods listed on the International Slow Food protected list. It's wonderful to bake with and extraordinarily delicious. If you'd like to contact Patricia from Salt Spring Flour Mill, please call 250-537-4282 or email at dogwoodlane@saltspring.com
Langley Organic Growers Looking for Help.
Thinking about working for an organic farm next season, Langley Organic Growers is looking for help for 2006. For more information click here.
Say Cheese!
 September 24th and October 8th are shaping up to be extra cheesy days at the East Vancouver Market. In addition to our regulars: McLennan Creek Dairy and Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Moonstruck Organic Cheese will be back for one more visit before the end of the season on September 24th. Then on the last market day, Mountain Meadow Sheep Dairy will be in town just in time for you to  stock up for the fall.
<< A selection of cheeses from
McLennan Creek Organic Dairy
>>A tasty arrangement from Little
Qualicum Cheeseworks
Photos: Penny Lim |
Market Memberships
There is still time to become a member of Your Local Farmers Market Society. Memberships are valid until April 2006.
Memberships support the operations of our 3 farmers markets, help us continue to work for BC farmers and to plan for the future of the markets and the society. Sign up at any market or mail in our online form. You'll need Adobe Acrobat to read this file.
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Market Soap Maker Visits Cuba
by Kasandra Maidmentt, Sunshine Coast Natural Gift Company
In February 2004, I decided to take my first trip to Cuba. I bought an airplane ticket, and traveled down the island as far as Camaguey. While I was there, I noticed shortages of just about everything, but especially soap. As I was backpacking, I lamented the fact I couldn’t share my soap with Cuba because it was too heavy to carry.
At the time, I wished there was a way I could share my soap and cosmetic making knowledge with the kind and spirited people of Cuba. It wasn’t until the last week of my trip that I met a woman from Nanaimo at the Varadero Post Office. She told me about a very close friend of hers, Erika Hach who lives in Vancouver, and is funding a soapmaking project near Guantanamo. I met with Erika, and I began to form a plan to return and bring supplies and information to the project.
 In January 2005, I returned to Cuba, and met Sofia, Angel and Anabel. We worked together for most of the time I was down there. Everyone was gracious and kind, however we were limited by the amount of resources available to produce soap. We planned to have them come up to Canada to learn more techniques and skills to share with others in Cuba.
The project that Sofia, Angel and Anabel work on is dedicated to sustainable development. They grow a species of Jatropha curcas, a 20 foot fast growing shrub which regenerates dry, arid, hard packed soil, and as a  by-product, produces an oil that makes soap and other cosmetics. This plant was introduced about 3 years ago, and this summer they were able to press 75 litres of oil so far to use in soap production. There are currently 2.5 hectares under production, and they are going to add 4 more hectares this year.
Already there are organic papaya and guava plantations in areas that were completely devoid of plant life. They are also growing shea butter palms, neem trees and other medicinal and cosmetic plants. There is an abandoned soap factory in Guantanamo because of a lack of traditional soap ingredients, and the plan is to revitalize the industry in an area that lacks economic possibilities, possibly supplying much of Cuba with valuable needed products.
I feel very proud to be a part of these exciting developments and to have contributed my knowledge to help bring about these changes. |
| | Articles for E-bits | | E-bits is YLFMS’ monthly on-line newsletter, reaching over 1,000 supporters of the Farmers’ markets in Vancouver. If you would like to submit an article relevant to our readers on topics such as local food systems, farming issues, food preparation, food issues, recipes, sustainable agriculture, land preservation, arts and crafts production and community economic development please contact Tara at tara@eatlocal.org. Only articles pertaining to the overall goals and mission of the organization will be considered for submission. The next issue of e-bits will be out in mid-October Submission deadline: October 5, 2005. | ______________________________
Newsletter Archive
Miss a past issue of e-bits? Get caught up: June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 |
Car Free Day Street Festival - September 22
One day, one street, one really fun festival. Thursday, Sept. 22, Noon to 8 PM, Gastown. Enjoy music, performances and displays that celebrate reduced car use and alternative ways that people can move around, along with lots of free, fun street activities for all ages.
Information at 604. 871.6999 and www.carfreedayvancouver.ca.
Michael Ableman - Fields of Plenty - November 16
Michael Ableman - Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
11/16/05 Alice MacKay Room from 7:30 to 9:30 PM Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library (350 West Georgia). Admission is Free. Info: www.necessaryvoices.org
Michael Ableman is the founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture, an education center and working organic farm in southern California that has become an international model for small scale and urban agriculture. His books include From the Good Earth and On Good Land.
Plant a Row ~ Grow a Row Program
 The Plant a Row ~ Grow a Row program invites local gardeners to grow an extra row of vegetables, for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society and Neighbourhood Houses in Vancouver. Whether your vegetable garden is large or small, add an additional row, bed or pot and plant something extra. If you have extra fruit or vegetables, earmark them for donation as well. Encourage your family and friends to do the same.
Garden fresh produce donated to Neighbourhood Houses will go directly into their pre-school, after-school, youth, single parent, immigrant and senior programs. Food donated to the churches will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and sent to agencies preparing meals for the hungry. Your contribution makes a difference!
Produce can be taken to a drop-off site in your area. To find a location near you, visit www.vancouver.ca/foodpolicy and click on "Current Initiatives"
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e-bits is compiled by
Roberta LaQuaglia |
Your Local Farmers Market Society
1163 Commercial Dr, #2, Vancouver, BC V5L 3X3
info@eatlocal.org www.eatlocal.org
604-879-FARM (3276) |
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