Farmer's Market High

I know I'm very strange and I guess it doesn't take much to make me happy, but I had the most amazing time yesterday morning. I made my weekly trip to my local farmer's market, making my normal rounds and of course I needed bacon.  Bacon is one of the first things on my list, it's cheap and sometimes it may be the only meat I buy if I'm strapped for money (I've usually got a few other meats lurking in my freezer anyway).  Well this week when I showed up the farmer lit up  and started calling other people who were working there to come over, saying "this is the lady that told me about the vitamin D!!"  The previous week I had mentioned to him that bacon fat and lard were excellent sources of vitamin D and that I ate bacon every day almost and cooked with all the extra bacon fat.  I told him that his bacon was the best because it had so much fat.

Anyway, I hadn't realized that it had interested him so much.  He was pretty excited about it and I gave him the website for the Weston A. Price Foundation as well as some info on Nourishing Traditions.  And there's more good new!  I asked him about lard and he says he makes it in the fall for a local baker.  They have so much fat they don't know what to do with it, people don't want lard.  Well, some people do, some people do!!  He sells it for  2$ a pound, soooo cheap, more than half the price of butter!  I'm so excited, I'm dreaming of filling my freezer with pounds and pounds of lard, edible sunshine for the long winter months.

And if all this wasn't enough, at a quick stop at my local Bulk Barn I discovered a new product...is the suspense killing you yet?  It was organic coconut sugar.  Yes. It's true.   It's even a little less than rapadura.  I tasted it and it's sweet and flavorful.  Vaguely similar to maple sugar, but  a little moist and chewy.  I believe it's made from the sap of the palm tree, not the actual coconut.  I haven't done much research on it yet but I did find this basic info (coconut sugar) that is very helpful.

Another Saturday, Another Trip to the Farmer's Market!

Here in NB, we may not have access to the best of everything this world has to offer, but our local farmer's markets (yes, we have TWO)  which are open Saturday mornings all year round, are absolutely amazing.  Local farmers and artisans gather every week and sell everything from prepared foods, fresh meat and produce and wine and maple syrup, to jewellery and handmade wooden toys.  I buy all of our meat products and  most of our produce and dairy from this wonderful local source.  I love being able to chat with the  farmers  as well! 

To give you an idea of the great things I usually pick up,  today I brought home buttermilk, yogurt, raw cheese, sour cream, fresh sourdough breads, chicken livers, bacon and back bacon, maple syrup, beets, sweet potatoes, pears, peppers, tomatoes, and bagged baby lettuce mix.  It was a light day for me at the market since last week a bought a box of beef with tons of steak, 2 roasts, and lots of ground  beef.

Make sure to check out your local farmer's markets!  Ours are the Dieppe   Market and the Moncton Farmer' Market.