A Trip to Dufferin Grove Farmers’ Market

Yesterday was such a beautiful and warm, sunny summer day. It only made sense to spend some time outdoors and head over to the Organic Farmers’ Market at Dufferin Grove Park.

I brought along a few reusable totes, hopped on the subway, got off at Dufferin station and walked a short distance south.

I met up with my beautiful food-loving friend Candice (of therealdishto) and we got down to the business of checking out the vendors and sampling some of the goods.

First Stop ChocoSol!

Maybe the best chocolate I've ever tasted

ChocoSol is a small, ecological and inter-communities initiative between farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, sustainable technologists based out of Oaxaca City, Mexico and horizontal traders and chocolatiers in Toronto, Ontario (I took that straight from their site). I think this is pretty cool b/c coincidentally I was in Oaxaca, Mexico earlier this year on a yoga retreat. Kinda random!

The chocolate here is amazing and of course we sampled. Candice ended up with a gigantic bar of the Spicy chocolate. I resisted, reminding myself that I was on a mission to buy fresh veggies and strawberries – that’s it!

Next stop was Forbes Wild Foods.

I decided I would get a little adventurous and buy a few things I’ve never tried before. I ended up with Wild Morel Mushrooms (“one of the most sought after mushrooms in Canada”) along with a heap of Sea Asparagus – a salty seaweed Native to the East and West Coasts of Canada. This stuff is naturally salty so you can snack on it raw, toss it on a salad, or saute it up. The mushrooms on the otherhand should not be eaten raw!

Wild Morel Mushrooms

Sea Asparagus

In fact dinner last night was a delicious omelette made from these tasty wild findings!

Oh, and here’s one of Candice checking out the fresh veggie plants at Urban Harvest.

Lovely Candice

It’s so nice visiting the various farmers’ markets around the city because there is such a feeling of community. And of course it’s nice to support local farmers while knowing exactly where the food you are eating is grown.

What else did I leave with besides the wild edibles mentioned above??

• Fresh Strawberries – my first local ones of the year! Actually I’m snacking on these right now as I sit here typing this and let me tell you they are fresh and juicy as EVER!
• Black Kale – some sort of salad recipe will ensue shortly. Stay tuned!
• Celery – used some of this as a base in my morning green juice. Delish!

The Dufferin Grove Market runs year-round every Thursday from 3-7pm, but it’s only when the weather turns nice that it moves outside. For more details on this charming market visit their website here.

Support local AND organic and check it out!