Hi everyone! It was a little quiet here over the weekend but that was totally unintentional. I did take Saturday off but I was all set to post these photos last night when I was suddenly and rudely kicked off my computer in the middle of photo editing. The internet crapped out on me. Round and around the little refresh icon went like a never-ending washing machine cycle. Sigh. Isn’t technology grand? Oh well, no matter, everything’s fine now and the weekend was pretty great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and for those who were able to spend time with their dads, I hope you had a fun Father’s Day! Ours was low-key as usual. My dad isn’t fussy about the frou-frou stuff. We just make sure he’s well-fed and he’s all smiles. We had roast chicken for him on Friday and fresh sashimi for him on Saturday. And a paper baggy of these Chinese red bean sesame balls that he loves so much. He’s a simpleton.
Ooo, the new and shiny Liberty Village ‘welcome’ corner at King & Atlantic
Peas!
Monforte Dairy cheese, YUM.
So many yummy-smelling soaps from Opeongo Soaps!
As for me, I had myself a lovely day out yesterday, enjoying weekend brunch at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West (new Gladstone post coming soon!), a David’s tea and a cupcake (surprise, surprise), and a quick visit to the farmers’ market in Liberty Village! For those who’ve never been, the market is located in the Green P lot at East Liberty St. and Atlantic Ave. just off of King Street West and east of Dufferin on Sundays from 9am-2pm. Organized by MyMarket, it’s a small one that offers a seasonal selection of fruits and vegetables, cheese, meats, honey, and this year, even handcrafted soaps made from either goat’s milk or rainwater from Opeongo Soaps, a local farm and business in Ontario that specializes in skincare products and soapmaking (check out their official site HERE).
Even though the market is small, I know it’ll get bigger as the season goes on (I’ve been to this market a few times over the past 3 years and they were at different points in the market season so I’ve seen the differences) and I always take away something wonderful from it and I feel this way about all farmers’ markets no matter how big or how small they are. While it is about finding things that you love and personal preferences, it truly is about the quality of product available.
I didn’t pick up any fruits or vegetables during this visit but I did snatch up some fabulous pastries: half a dozen fresh baked tarts and a ginourmous muffin! I could kick myself for not remembering (or taking a photo of) the farm/vendor’s name, but I’ve purchased goodies from them before, specifically some homemade peach jam and pickled beets last summer. This particular vendor not only sells the actual fruit from their farm but also homemade pastries, preserves and jams made with their homegrown product. This time around I bought an apple pie muffin (there were 3 kinds to choose from: strawberry-rhubarb, chocolate raspberry, and apple pie) and 6 tarts: 3 butter tarts (because who doesn’t love a freakin’ awesome local Canadian butter tart?!) and 3 raspberry lemon meringue tarts! My brother has already eaten one of the butter tarts and him and my mum shared the apple pie muffin and they loved them. My tastebuds and tummy will be enjoying a raspberry lemon meringue tomorrow – can’t wait! But yes, I promise I’ll get their name for you all the next time I’m there. And trust me, there will be a next time because I also wanted to grab several bars of the handcrafted soap but didn’t because I’m silly and didn’t bring enough cash for the extra purchase. Total facepalm moment.
(Update June 17: the vendor/farm is Sun Ray Orchards! Thanks to My Market Toronto for tweeting me the info!)
Soapless visit aside, it was so nice coming back to this market. I picked up some delicious baked goods and I was able to take some more cool shots of asparagus! I got so excited when I saw how the asparagus was arranged when I first entered the parking lot that I zipped right to it like a vulture. It has now, unintentionally, become my THING to photograph asparagus. I don’t whether to feel happy-geeked or embarrassed. Maybe I’ll go with happy-geeked. Because maybe one day I’ll have enough nice photos to make a coffee table book. Shrugs. You never know.
*****
The Liberty Village farmers’ market takes place every Sunday from 9am-2pm in the Green P parking lot on East Liberty Street between Atlantic and Hanna Ave. The outdoor market season is from June 1st to November 27th. Liberty Village can be accessed from King Street West and Dufferin Street. Check out Ate by Ate’s Liberty Village farmers’ market posts HERE!
Ate by Ate 