Nature Village Farm (not depicted)
It’s run by an Asian family. They are probably the nicest vendors and have the lowest price for vegetables. ($1-2, for the other bunches it’s $2-4) I notice if you frequent them a lot, they’ll give you a nice bunch of vegetables or maybe I’m crazy.
A note on the other vegetable vendors:
I always kind of go in between the other vendors, because I like finding odd things like salt + pepper cucumbers and other veggies I’ve never heard of. I generally try to support every other hut on varying weeks, and some huts have pickled goods as well. Give the other guys a shot even though I’ve personally vouched for Nature Village Farm.
Blue Comet Seafoods:
If they ever read the review, they might know who I am. I’ve come every week to get Halibut Cheeks. The back story is I don’t know how to cook fish at all, which is a damn shame cause I’m Asian. When I went to PiCA for Molson’s Cider event, they taught me how to make halibut cheeks. When I made my own cheeks at home, my dad immediately became a fan of my halibut cheeks. I’ve come every week to make my dad halibut cheeks, organic salad greens and french fries every Thursday or Friday dinner. Last week, I got a bit self conscious of buying loads of halibut cheeks, so we grabbed their fresh Sockeye Salmon. Their price range from packs of fish are ($8(?)-12 for the smaller packs, and $12+ for bigger packs)
For anyone who hasn’t read my previous PiCa post, this is the way I make cheeks:
Pat down the moisture off the halibut cheeks
Sprinkle pepper and salt on both sides
Heat up the skillet with olive oil, make sure the pan is evenly hot
Drop the halibut cheek when the temperature is correct, and it shouldn’t stick
If the pan is hot enough and depending on the size, it should cook within 5 minutes. (I cut mine smaller)
Squeeze lemon juice ontop of fish to taste, pair with some older (sweeter) balsamic vinegar on the side/or on your salad to serve.
Farmhouse Cheeses:
Anyone play Final Fantasy 8? You know how Zell tries to get hot dogs every time in the cafeteria in the game? That’s me and the eggs here. They have a lovely bunch of organic eggs for $3.50 that is always sold out and I can never buy them. I settle for their fantastic cheeses. The brie is always my favorite, but I like trying different ones per week to be fancy. I love cheese.
Odd Society Spirits:
Ever since I interviewed the Food Gays a month ago, I’ve loved Odd Society Spirits. When we found their tent at the market, I let Josh sample their wonderful gin and vodka. I bought the cassis for him to try later. He is a big fan of the gin. He bought the vodka last week. He was hoping to buy their other spirits last Thursday, but they will be back at in the middle of July (?).
Beyond Bread / Pure Bread:
Per week, it’s either Beyond Bread or Pure Bread that’s at this corner. I hands down love Pure Bread’s pastries, but I’ve become a big fan of their bread. If you go late enough and they don’t sell a number of their bread, I’ve found they have 2 for 1. I’m happy enough to buy just the one, my favorite being the Asagio black pepper and I also sometimes get a slice of banana bread with a chocolate cake bottom. When Beyond Bread is there, I buy their garlic and potato bread.
I’ve never had this before, so this is new!
Jennifer’s Jiffies
They’re packages of baking mixes. They have brownie mixes, chili mixes, gluten free mixes, cookie, muffin mixes… Josh and I snagged a chili mix we will be cooking tomorrow.
Nice Pops (not depicted)
On certain days, it’s been super hot. If you want a healthier popsicle, they’re actually quite good. Cucumber, elderflower and mint is my jam. I’m all for a fancy popsicle food revolution, and it inspires me to try some gourmet popsicle making at home.
WHERE DID YOU GO? Jerky Baron
You were selling jerky. I was the girl with a Diana camera. Kidding. My favourite is the Mt. Pleasant: beef, organic tamari, apple cider vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cardamom, cumin, love and care.
