Nothing says eco-hottie like a man with a tote bag. (Photo courtesy of cafepress)
If there is one thing I <heart> more than chickens, it would be a good farmers market. I have chased farmer’s markets (and flirted with the occasional farmer) all over the world- from Toronto to Sydney, London to Dakar, Maputo to Victoria, Montreal to St. Lucia, Melbourne to Jamaica, Paris to Belize, New York to Santa Monica, Kinmount to Hong Kong, Fiji to Florence, Barcelona to Provence- and I think that covers it.
The point being, long before I was playing the nutrition game, I still loved getting my food straight off the field, buying it as close to the source as I could.
Every Spring when the farmer’s markets spring up around the city, I am a happy girl. At the end of October, most of these seasonal markets come to an end. I of course was over joyed with the grand opening of the Wychwood Barns Saturday market. This was closer for me to get to than the St. Lawrence Market and I assumed, would be less crowded.
This morning I made my way up to St. Clair and Christie for the first of the Saturday market to be held at the fresh Wychwood Barns. Dogs were playing in the park. There were line ups of strollers outside the door and inside, it was crammed with the best collection of hot dads I’ve ever seen. Seriously eco-hottie earth dads. There was a lot of prepared food. Mostly prepared food. I did get some of my favourite Honey Crisp apples from my friends at Bizjak Farms and some sweet potatos from Round Plain Plantations. And that was it. No squashes in site. No pumpkins. No Beets. No Carrots. Just lots of hot dads and home baked goods.
Overall, it was nice. It was a nice outing for the neighbours. A great sense of community, a buzz and an excitement. The eco-hottie dads, the little ones, and the moms with their Starbucks were loving it. I had a walk around, ran into my friend Sonia (who was with her baby and ‘hot dad’ husband), and my friend Lisa of Real Food for Real Kids, and than headed down Christie to Fiesta Farms to buy my groceries.
It certainly was not the best market I’ve ever been to, but were it in my own neighbourhood, I am pretty sure I would soon become a regular. I am a total sucker for a good mix of community based food love and eco-hotties.
[...] millions of people across the world. That is insane! What is the solution? By local. By organic. Know who grows your food. The other thing to keep in mind is the importance of keeping strong and healthy. Is it merely a [...]
[...] I heart farmer’s markets, as you know by now and I was a bit sad to be missing the opening weekend of the markets here in Toronto. I did catch the opening weekend in Kinvara and met delightful towns people. The market here, as most markets do, serves as a gathering place and a chance to share information. What was the word in Johnston’s Garden this sunny May morning? The new EU laws on animal slaughtering. These are simple people who, for the most part, live off their own fields and animals. The EU however has recently set in laws that prohibit the slaughtering of one’s own livestock- either for personal or commercial use. This proves a challenge for many of the local folk who have to pay to have their animals sent to a facility and then transported back to their farm for their own consumption. I am not sure any good can come from the government controlling any sort of traditional food practices. Do they really know better than hundreds of years of tradition? This whole foods natural nutritionist is not convinced. [...]