Since I was in Toronto for three weeks, Claire and I had lots of time to visit different farmers’ markets around the city – another one of our favourite pastimes. I was there in late August and September and this was the perfect time of year for these markets. The produce stands were full to bursting with a rainbow of tomatoes, peppers, greens, fresh beans, zucchini, mushrooms, corn, and summer fruits like berries, peaches and nectarines.
In the summertime in Toronto, you could visit a farmers’ market nearly every day of the week. And, unlike Edmonton, which also has its fair share of farmers’ markets, all the ones in Toronto seem to be accessible by public transit.
Jacques and I were in Calgary for a few days in July, right after we left Canmore. Since we were in the city on a Saturday, I wanted to check out one of the farmers’ markets. There are many of them, but the one that seemed the biggest and easiest to get to from our hotel was the Calgary Farmers’ Market.
The market is big, and since it’s open four days a week, many of the stalls are semi-permanent. In that sense it reminded me a bit of Halifax’s Seaport Farmers’ Market, though it’s bigger. There is a great mix of vendors, with lots of ready-to-eat food stalls, and plenty of people selling meat, vegetables and fruits, and cheese. We started off with some delicious coffee from Fratello Coffee.
Jacques went for some dim sum. He loves it, but hardly eats it anymore since there isn’t much choice at dim sum for celiacs (that I know of).
There were also many stalls selling desserts and baked goods, including the one below which specialized in middle eastern sweets. I’m not sure what exactly these kataifi are, but they look good. Jacques enjoyed his baklava from this stand.
I was excited about visiting Miss P’s Gluten Free stand. Here are some of her cupcakes. I bought a loaf of focaccia bread and some chocolate chip cookies, both of which I enjoyed. The bread had a delicious flavour, though the texture was on the dry side.
I had a gluten-free buckwheat galette for lunch. A galette is a type of French crepe made with buckwheat flour. I chose a filling of spinach, tomato and goat cheese, and it was tasty.
We really enjoyed strolling around the market. Lucky Calgarians who get to shop there all the time! Though I love our markets in Edmonton, it would be great to have one that was open more than one day a week.
Calgary Farmers’ Market 510 77th Ave. SE (Just off Blackfoot Trail and Heritage Drive) Open Thursday – Sunday 9 am – 5 pm
I was happy I got to go back to Canmore this year. Jacques and I visited the little rocky mountain town for the first time last summer and really enjoyed ourselves. Canmore is right on the edge of Banff National Park, so you don’t have to pay the park fees to stay there. Though it’s a small town, it has a definite yuppie and hippie feel, and we find it’s more diverse and interesting than Banff.
We were in Canmore for three days in July with Jacques’ show. It was so nice to be among the mountains, though with a 6-week old baby we didn’t do any hiking. But you get spectacular views from right within town. It’s truly a beautiful place. Our hotel was right along the train tracks, a short walk to the downtown, which is a fun place to stroll around.
Last summer I discovered a pizza restaurant there with gluten-free pizza, the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company. Unfortunately, this time around the restaurant was a disappointment, with pizza that I found overly salty, and really bad service. But I was able to scout out some other gluten-free options this time as well.
Once I started looking around Nutter’s Bulk and Natural Foods store, I couldn’t believe I had never been there before. It’s a real shame the store doesn’t have a location in Edmonton, because Nutter’s (at least the one in Canmore) sells a cornucopia of gluten-free products. They had many brands and products I have never seen before, and I found the selection better than at Planet Organic, which is where I usually buy specialty GF items. I picked up some GF instant miso soup packets, which I thought would be helpful on the road, and a really yummy granola bar made by Canmore company Fiddlehead Foods.
Our last day in town, Jacques heard about a cafe that had GF baked goods. Of course I had to go try them out. The Rocky Mountain Bagel Cafe has gluten-free cheesecake, brownies and at least one other item that I’ve forgotten. I tried the brownie, which was tasty but super-sweet, which is not my favourite.
While sitting in that cafe I read something in a dining guide about another cafe in town with GF options. So I continued my cafe-hopping while Lucie snoozed in her carrier.
I visited the Communitea Cafe, a beautiful space with a modern interior, lots of natural light, couches, and several people working on laptops. They had some delicious-sounding food, including several GF lunch options, and a large tea selection provided by Edmonton’s Steeps Tea. I went straight to the sweets again. There were many to choose from, including the same granola bars from Fiddlehead Foods, and some of the same baked goods they carry at Wild Flour Bakery in Banff (the two cafes have the same supplier for their GF products).
I ended up going for a Chai cupcake, since GF cupcakes are a rare find (though actually very easy to make). It was light, fluffy, and delicious, though the frosting had the greasy mouth feel of margarine or shortening.
While in town, we also stumbled across the Canmore Farmers’ Market and had some delicious Indian food there. I was surprised by how many vendors were at the market, including several fruit and vegetable vendors and lots of prepared foods. There was even a booth selling homemade, organic dog food. Like I said, it’s a yuppie town …
I’ve visited many Alberta towns this summer with Jacques as he tours the province, and Canmore was probably my favourite place of all. It makes me even happier to know that I’ve discovered some more great GF choices there too.
Visiting food markets in new cities is something I love to do when I’m traveling. Sadly I haven’t had many opportunities. I’m hoping to take in a market or two when we visit Europe this summer – so excited! I’ve heard so much about the Pike Place market in Seattle and the Ferry Building market in San Francisco. I really hope I get a chance to visit them someday. When we were in Vancouver last March I loved the Granville Island Public Market, and it immediately reminded me of the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto.
I first visited the St. Lawrence Market about a year ago, and I went back when I was in Toronto recently. It’s a pretty cool place, and just like the one on Granville Island, makes me wish we could have a market that was open during the week in Edmonton. It’s in a big old warehouse building downtown on Front street, and covers two floors. The top floor is mostly food and some kitchen-related items. When you head downstairs there is more food but also some arts and crafts mixed in.
There is so much to see.
Tantalizing cheese – big creamy wheels of it.
Lots of meat too.
Many varieties of shellfish.
Several bakeries (my mouth is watering at that Challah…).
Fresh Montreal bagels.
There’s a store on the lower level that has an astonishing array of bulk items – nuts, beans, all kinds of weird candies I’ve never heard of. They also sell different kinds of bulk salt, like Himalayan pink salt and smoked salt. It’s a great way to try new kinds of salt without paying an arm and a leg for a whole box. Last year I bought a small container of fleur de sel that’s not quite gone, and this year I bought Maldon salt. I haven’t tested them side by side yet to see if I can taste a big difference, but they’re both fantastic for sprinkling onto your food right before you eat.
The market also has many produce stands, both organic and non. When I was there in mid-May, they already had local berries. Jealous!
I can’t wait to discover more markets on my travels. Where are your favourite markets?
The Charlottetown Farmers’ Market is one of my favourite places in the city. It’s airy and beautiful on a warm summer’s day, and cozy and homey in the middle of winter. Whenever I go there on Saturday morning, I usually end up bumping into at least a few people I know. It’s a great place to buy fresh produce or delicious baked goods, or get a coffee or breakfast and sit and chat with friends and strangers alike at the picnic-style tables.
But this post isn’t about the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market. I’m saving that for later. No, this post is about the new market that I’ve discovered right here in Edmonton: the Downtown Edmonton Farmers’ Market.
I am already in love with this market, and I’ve only been there once. But it’s been on my mind all week, and every day that goes by I think, “Yes! One day closer to Saturday when we can go back to the market!”
This market is four blocks from our apartment, on 104th Street. Two blocks of the street are closed to traffic and open for vendors to set up their tents and stalls. People stroll along the street with cloth shopping bags, babies and dogs. Just like at every market I’ve been to, this market has a very community feel.
The amount and variety of produce are intense. J and I couldn’t believe it, having come from the tiny (but wonderful!) market back home. I’ve also been to the Halifax market, which is big and bountiful, but I think this one has even more produce.
Lots of farmers with greenhouses come to the market, so even this time of year we saw tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce and eggplant, which in an outdoor garden would be harvested earlier in the summer. There is also corn, carrots, potatoes, beets, zucchini, squash, chard, onions, garlic, herbs, peaches, nectarines, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, plums, apples and pears.
All of the fruit we saw was from B.C. – hence the summer variety. We talked to one woman who has a farm there. She and her husband spend part of every week going to several farmers’ markets in Alberta. They don’t sell fruit in B.C. at all.
There are also a lot of artisans at the market, and a lot of prepared food. J and I started off our trip with a stop at a stand selling Mexican food. He got a breakfast burrito and I got a quesadilla. They made their own salsa and guacamole and both were delicious. But this week I might have to sample from somewhere else, since there is so much on offer.
One of Jacques’ go-to stands at the Charlottetown market is the perogy stand. He loves them, and they are everywhere here in Alberta where there is a lot of Ukrainian heritage. We bought a bag of frozen perogies to enjoy later in the week.
Bison is everywhere.
We also discovered a stand selling the most succulent lime tarts in the world. We had to try one. This couple makes several kinds of tarts – lemon, lime, chocolate hazelnut, and some others I can’t remember. They also make quiches. The man was very nice and gave us samples of the lemon and lime curd that he makes himself. They were both heaven on a spoon – he doesn’t add too much sugar so they have a lot of tartness that makes the fruit sing, and the custard is velvety smooth. The shortbread crust was also perfect. This is an indulgence, and after about three bites I had had enough, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to resist temptation when we go back.
The Queen of Tarts stand.
Lime curd...yum...
We came back from the market laden with peaches, blueberries, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, adorable “Thumbelina” carrots, potatoes, an onion, garlic, herbs and a cucumber. We turned all that beautiful produce into some beautiful meals that I will share with you soon.
