Farmers market.

We got up nice and early this morning so that we could go to our local farmer’s market. I forgot the camera which pissed me off because I was really hoping to post some pictures. I'll have to save that idea for a later time.

The farmer’s market is great source of fresh, locally produced products. There are lots of veggies, meats and eggs, of course, but there are lots of crafts, art pieces and prepared foods as well. We bought some salmon, halibut, organic mushrooms, multigrain bread, bacon and pepperoni. Tonight is pizza night so the bacon and pepperoni won't last long. The fish will be for supper later this week. I'm really interested to see how this bacon cooks up because it is naturally smoked with no sulphites or other preservatives added. This farmer’s animals are all free range, so lots of happy pigs, and he has a huge following of shoppers just lining up every weekend to buy his pork. This industry has really suffered in the last few years, along with beef producers, and I really do want to buy from local farmers because it will be a very sad day to see them close up shop. I don't want my meat products coming from other countries or even other provinces in Canada. So I've been really trying hard to buy products made here on the Witch’s Island as much as we can.



A couple of months ago we bought some really nice liquid honey there. I’ve been raving about it ever since and we bought up almost all the remaining stock to give as Christmas gifts, it was that good. It’s the best and the beekeeper is a super nice, too. She refers to the bees as “my girls”. You just can't get that interaction from buying a jar of honey off the shelf at your super-mega big-box grocery warehouse.



In fact, we’re pretty lucky that there is a second farmer’s market close to home. We were there last weekend and came across a booth selling exotic spices. I know that the spices are probably not grown locally but then they couldn’t have been, could they? The vendor is an independent small businesswoman and that’s what’s important. We bought some smokey Hungarian paprika, some hot chipotle chili powder and some Schezuan peppercorns. We’ve already used the paprika on some chicken nuggets we had for supper this week. We tried the chipotle chili powder on some oven “fries” the same evening. Both spices were excellent and different from others that we have tried, well worth the cost!

I would really recommend the extra time to find a farmers market near you. You will find some tasty foods, maybe make some new friends and help some farmers survive in what might one day be a forgotten trade.

Home-made Seafood Chowder

This is what our New Year's Day supper looked like. It tasted even better than it looks. I wish I could have shared some with you, but I will share our recipe instead, if you are interested. It's very easy to make. We had purchased the lobster meat frozen at our local farmers market for $10.00 and it was all claws and knuckle meat only. We got the scallops there, too.

It was perfect meal to end a perfect first day in 2010.
Bon appetite.


Seafood Chowder

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. scallops, thawed if frozen, chopped if large
• 8 oz. lobster meat, thawed if frozen
• 6 to 8 20/24 size shrimp, cooked, peeled and chopped into 4 pieces each
• 5 slices bacon, chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup diced peeled potatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 3 mushrooms, diced
• 1/4 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup fish, vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
• 2 cups skim milk
• ½ cup cream
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup white wine (optional, reduce milk if using)

Preparation:

In large stockpot, cook bacon until crisp; remove from pan, drain on paper towels, and set aside. In drippings, place scallops and cook for 3-4 minutes until opaque. Remove scallops from pot and set aside.

In drippings in pot, add onion, potatoes and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are tender.

In medium bowl, combine flour, marjoram, pepper, milk, cream and mix with wire whisk until blended. Add to pot along with corn and bacon and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat for 12 minutes, stirring often, until soup has thickened and vegetables are tender. Add cooked scallops, lobster and shrimp and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the seafood is thoroughly heated.

4 servings

Adapted from recipe found here.

Busy end to November.

We have a had a very busy weekend,as you are about to see. Yesterday was a beautiful day so we took advantage of the weather and collected some greenery for decorating outside. We also drove into town to do some shopping and to visit the Farmer's Market. I really love going there and I actually spent quite a bit of money yesterday. We bought some fresh salmon portions for dinner last night and some frozen lobster meat for chowder sometime soon. We also got some beautiful small potatoes, all washed so clean that all we had to do for supper was throw them straight into the cooking pot. The homemade bread we bought made great toast for our breakfast this morning. It was even better topped with some locally produced honey. We're also going to try glazing tonight's roast chicken with some of that honey, too.

In the handicraft section I found a beautiful hand made beaded bracelet and earring set for $10.00. No, is was not for me! Hubby would kill me buying things for myself this close to Christmas. I bought this as a secret Santa gift for someone at work.




























Today we cleaned the house and started to put out some of our decorations and crafts around the inside. I was going to start my cookie dough this afternoon but honestly I'm just too tired and not in the mood to start baking today. There's always tomorrow, right?