Private: Blog & Recipes Archive

Our Farmers’ Market will be taking place this Saturday, upstairs in the Mezzanine from 9am to 1pm with 13 local vendors. Check out who will be there below or click on their name to take you to their social media pages to see what they have to offer!

Saturday Vendor List: 

La Houlette De Vie

Greystead Gardens

Den Bestens Trout Farm

Blanbrook Bison Farm

Harvest Moon Trading Co.

Kynk Naturals

Nightingale Pie Co.

Pillitteri Estates Winery

Helm Baked

Vaka Chocolate

Proper Heathen Hot Sauce

Monforte Dairy

Railway City Brewing Co

On behalf of a local Farmers’ Market vendor, Vaka Chocolate, I would like to share this with you all. “In effort to raise funds to help our Ukrainian homeland, caught in an unjust, unlawful invasion by the Russian regime. All proceeds (including ingredient cost, packaging cost, production labour, design labour, packaging labour) will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal of Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian government is matching donor contributions dollar for dollar until March 18th.

This bar is available online, in-store, and at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday.

Kyiv Cake: Inspired by the Ukrainian namesake cake, this bar combines fruity Nicaraguan cacao with roasted hazelnuts, meringue and toasted white cream.

Two legends exist on the cake’s origin: one depicts the cake as a “delicious accident“, the other – an intentional recipe. Either way, the cake was invented in Kyiv around 1956, received it’s first award in 1957, and became world famous + beloved immediately after. This bar is my attempt at recreating the magic. I have made the actual cake once, for my brother on his birthday – it was a labour of love as the cake is very complex to execute.

To learn more about the Ukrainian history, I encourage you to visit encyclopediaofukraine and/or view the Netflix documentary “Winter on Fire“.

Vaka Chocolate is owned and two-hand-operated by me, Serge Savchuk, born in Ukraine, immigrated to a Canada at the age of 15 along with my parents and 2 brothers.

Thank you for supporting this cause, please share, tag, spread the word. Every little bit counts.” 💙💛

Did you know Pillitteri produces the official Team Canada Wine Collection?

$1 from the sale of each bottle of Team Canada wine goes directly to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support Canadian athletes and our athletes dreams of competing at an Olympic Games.

Make sure to visit Pillitteri at our Farmers’ Market every Saturday to check out their Team Canada Wine Collection and the other Red, White, and Icewines they have available!

This Saturday, March 5th we will have live music from local musicians Emma Rouse and Harrison Ratcliff from 9am to 10:30am and Connor Morand 11am to 1pm. They will be performing upstairs in the Blue Lounge so make sure to come out, enjoy your coffee and listen to these talented musicians.

Harrison Ratcliff, who goes by Uncle Harry is a London born and raised musician. After attending Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe college Harry has ventured into the world of live performances. In his free time he composes, produces, and mixes his own music and others.

Emma Rouse, who goes by SYREN, is a 19 year old singer-songwriter from London Ontario, recently graduating from Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe College. She has been performing live for over 10 years now in and around her hometown Stratford, London, and Toronto. Winning Stratford Star in 2017, she gained access to a studio and began writing original songs and recording them. After 2 intense years at Fanshawe learning about music production and business, she now has several originals songs spanning many genres like alternative pop, rock, folk, and more. She now has 3 original songs available globally on all streaming platforms with help from her friends at Fanshawe. Breaking boundaries and defying genres; SYREN is here to entertain you.

Connor Morand is an award-winning alternative pop singer-songwriter from London, Ontario. His crossover blend of contemporary pop with influences of hip hop and indie rock consistently push the boundaries of anything traditional and familiar. Connor’s combination of soaring vocal melodies and smooth guitar playing make for entertaining and lively shows in performances all around the world.

Cooking classes will be starting this Saturday, March 5^th at 11:00am with local chef Ankita Vaidya making 3 drinks; Turmeric Milk, Masala Chai, and Masala Milk. Make sure to come out and enjoy your morning learning a new skill and recipe! Doors open at 10:40am, are FREE to attend, and are a first come, first served event. Registration is not required at this time.

The March Cooking Classes are as followed:

March 5^th Ankita Vaidya

3 Drinks: Turmeric Milk, Masala Chai, Masala Milk

March 12^th Kimi Abdullah

2 Weeknight Soups: Potato & Leek and Red Lentil Curry

March 19^th Polina Shadman

Traditional Herbed Rice

March 26^th Melanie Amadasun

3 West African Snacks: Nigerian Meat, Tuna, and Vegetable Pie

This recipe is brought to you by Chef Kyle Fee and Chef Erin Circelli-Russell with the help of their students from The Chef’s Table at Fanshawe College.

Potato Crusted Shrimp (4 portions)

2 Russet potatoes

1 tbs Chili powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

12 16/20 Shrimp

1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Run them through a spiralizer to create shoestrings. Blanch and shock the potato, pat dry, toss with seasoning.
2. Wrap each shrimp with potato string.
3. Deep fry at 350˚ for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
    

Romesco Sauce – 500 ml

2 slices White bread

1 Tbs Olive oil

¾ Cup Blanched, sliced almonds

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

2 Cups Roma tomatoes, peeled

2 Tsp Paprika

¼ Tsp Cayenne

3 Tbs Red wine vinegar

½ Cup Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté the bread in the first quantity of oil until golden. Roast the almonds until they’re golden brown.
2. Combine the bread, almonds and garlic in a food processor and process until the consistency is very fine. Add the tomatoes, paprika and cayenne.  Process to a paste.
3. With the machine running add the vinegar and add the second quantity of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Forest City Irish Dance
When: Thursday, March 17th
Time: 12:00pm – 12:30pm
Where: Upper Level; Mezzanine

🍀 The Forest City Irish Dance under the direction of Goggin-Carroll School of Irish Dance will be performing a St. Patrick’s day dance!

🍀Grab your lunch and head upstairs to the Mezzanine for this 20 minute performance.

Maple Fest
When: Friday, March 18th & Saturday, March 19th
Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Where: Rotary Square / Blue Lounge / Mezzanine

🍁 Face Painting

🍁 Maple themed crafts

🍁 Live music

🍁Bubble show

… stayed tuned for more details!

Spring Mini Market
When: Saturday, March 26th
Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm
Where: Upper Level; Mezzanine

🌸 Over 30 amazing, local artisans and Farmers

🌸 100 special treats and gifts that will get you in the Spring spirit!

🌸 Beautiful flower stems for every child or young person (under 18)

🌸 Live music

The following changes to public health and workplace safety measures are in effect as of March 1, 2022. For the full list of measures in effect, see O. Reg. 364/20.

• capacity limits have been lifted in all indoor public settings
• proof of vaccination requirements have been lifted
• other protective measures, such as mask/face covering requirements and passive screening of patrons remain in place