Blog

Asparagus Is Rolling In!

What a beautiful Mother's Day weekend we had! Being able to sit outside, listen to the birds chirp, and soak in the beautiful weather with family was everything I needed this weekend. Whether you were having a backyard barbecue, strolling the Farmers Market, shopping the Whimsical Mother's Day Market or enjoying good eats at Latin Fest, it was a wonderful weekend to do all those things.
On a very exciting note, I have heard from our local farmer's that it is officially asparagus season!   Here are 5 reason why you should add asparagus into your meals this year.
  1. Many Nutrients but Few Calories
  2. Good Source of Antioxidants
  3. Can Improve Digestive Health
  4. Helps Lower Blood Pressure
  5. Easy to Add to Your Diet
Asparagus can be cooked in a variety of ways, including boiling, grilling, steaming, roasting and sautéing. It can be used in a number of dishes like salads, stir-fries, frittatas, omelets and pastas, and it makes an excellent side dish. Let us know how you like to incorporate asparagus into your meals!

WHO CAN YOU FIND AT THE FARMERS' MARKET THIS SATURDAY?

This is the list, folks! See who you can find at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday, May 14th! Click on their names to find information on pre-orders and to learn more about their farmers and businesses!

 

Check out their websites for more information about their products and to see what’s in season/currently available!

MULBERRY MOON FARM IS HERE FOR THE SEASON

Mulberry Moon Farm is a small, ecological family farm located in Strathroy, ON., run by Kim Barker and Alex Glazirin. They grow non-certified organic veggies – lots of them! – on just over an acre of land. They are passionate about regenerative agriculture and rebuilding the connection between farm and community. They focus on nurturing great soil, promoting biodiversity, reducing their environmental impact, and working locally. The result is fresh, healthy, and super-tasty vegetables on your table! They sell their produce through custom Farm Shares, their farm store, local farmers’ markets and to local restaurants.


Mulberry Moon Farm will be here for the first time this Saturday at our outdoor Farmers’ Market. They will have seedlings (tomatoes, peppers, kale, cabbage, herbs, chard, cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, eggplant) for your at-home veggie gardens as well as salad mix and green garlic. They are very excited to be here and look forward to sharing their harvest with you this season!

RAINBOW RADISHES

Ellen from Killdeer Food Co will have this adorable array of radishes available this week! To preorder, head over to her website and find them listed under ‘rainbow radish’! Her favourite way to eat radish is on fresh bread with salty butter and a sprinkle of salt. What’s your favourite way to eat radishes?

 

They’ve also got many soups available this week – here’s what’s on the menu!

  • Roasted Root + Ginger
  • Pork + Poblano
  • Sausage-Lentil Minestrone
  • Lentil-Barley Minestrone
  • Wild Leek-Potato-Spinach

Click here to preorder your soup for Saturday pickup at the Market!

ELDON HOUSE WILL BE AT THE FARMERS MARKET THIS SATURDAY

Eldon House will be at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday to sell some small herb plants, ferns, flower pots, small vases and books.

 

About Eldon House

Virtually unchanged since the nineteenth century, Eldon House is London’s oldest residence and contains family heirlooms, furnishings and priceless treasures of the Harris Family. Eldon House is a historic site in downtown London that has been preserved and maintained since 1960 when it was donated to the City of London. It was home to four generations of the Harris family, and is an excellent example of Georgian and Regency architectural styles. Its gardens are considered among the most beautiful in the city.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NICK EWANICK...

Nick Ewanick will be performing this Saturday, May 14th on the Rotary Square from 8:30am to 10:30am.

Nick Ewanick is a solo folk/rock/pop cover artist who was born and raised in St. Thomas, and now living in Forest City!  Since early childhood, Nick has been performing and playing various instruments.  He is able to combine some of these talents in his solo act thanks to his looping station which creates a one-man band feeling.  While covering your favourite sing-a-long songs, Nick encourages audience engagement and requests; so have them ready!  You can catch Nick all summer long around SW Ontario by following his Facebook and Instagram!

 

www.instagram.com/nickewanickmusic

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_-2YUnCkYq1agXIApTQORQ

https://www.facebook.com/nickewanickmusic

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DAVID RAYO...

David Rayo will be performing this Saturday, May 14th on the Rotary Square from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Born in Nicaragua, David and his family sought refuge from the country’s civil war in the 80’s. After fleeing to Costa Rica and living there for 3 years, the family was able to move to Canada in the summer of 1988. David arrived in London, Ontario at the age of 12. The city of London provided David with the stability and peaceful environment to grow and thrive. David went to H.B. Beal where he joined the Jazz Band and other musical groups. At the same time, his participation in church musical groups gave him the practice hours needed to solidify his musical upbringing.

 

After graduating from university, David worked as an English instructor in South Korea where he played in an original rock band named Taste of Dynomite and latin-infused music with Aqui Band. Upon his return to London, David formed Los Synco Latin Band in 2008. In the years since, David has continued to work on his song writing abilities while performing in various venues in and around London. David is married and has two children. He teaches English for international post-secondary students in London, Ontario.

SOMETIMES TEA IS SO GOOD YOU JUST WANT TO EAT IT. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN...

Take a moment and imagine the most delicious type of tea you’ve had. Maybe it’s sweet vanilla, tart hibiscus, or a classic Earl Grey. Now, consider your favourite food. Think gooey cookies, creamy ice creams, or even rare steaks. Combine the two together and what do you have? The ultimate taste indulgence for a tea lover. It’s time to get creative in the kitchen because believe it or not, tea is not just for drinking. Yes, some of the moSt delectable recipes can be enhanced with tea.

TEA-CENTRIC RECIPES YOU HAVE TO TRY (AND THE TEAS YOU NEED TO TRY THEM!)

So Simple, Just Switch Out Stock

  • If you’re cooking grains, heating rice, or simmering quinoa, mix it up by subbing in tea for stock. If a recipe calls for vegetable, chicken, or beef stock, just use a lightly brewed tea instead. It’s such a simple switch, but can add in new varieties of flavour.

Cooking vegetables, fish, or poultry? The Dragonwell green tea blends perfectly with its savoury, mellow notes.

Cooking beef, mushrooms or anything hearty? The Lapsang Souchong black tea will be a nice compliment with its smoky flavour.

 

Give Pasta Sauce a Healthy Kick

  • Try out a homemade pesto recipe and throw some green tea in. Not only will this add extra flavour, it’s another opportunity to reap the health benefits of green tea. This vibrantly green, low calorie pasta sauce will keep your taste buds and your gut happy.

Make Sencha Green Tea Pesto Pasta. Add unsweetened, freshly brewed Sencha green tea to a classic pesto recipe. Blend together the tea, basil leaves, pine nuts, oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and hot pepper flakes. See full recipe here.

 

Make Yourself a Premium Japanese Tea Leaf Salad

  • Are you making the most of premium Japanese green teas? Rather than throwing the leaves out after steeping, repurpose them in a salad!

After the leaves have steeped, their texture turns as soft as silk. There are a few different options based on how complex you want to get. Try taking the soft leaves and: 

  1. Sprinkling them into a salad of your choice for a boost of unique flavour.
  2. Combining with bonito flakes and soya sauce for a simple Japanese salad dressing.
  3. Adding  a few additional ingredients for a more robust dressing! See details here.

Short on Seasoning? Spice It With Tea

  • You can infuse different meats with different teas! Just take the spices you have on hand (like salt, garlic, brown sugar), mix in a tablespoon of tea leaves, and rub and roll it all together. This custom taste will add something special to the traditional steak or ribs. Guests will be asking about your secret ingredient!

Our personal favourite? Lapsang Souchong. It’s just great to have on hand in the kitchen due to its natural strong smoky flavour. Just rub the leaves onto a flank of steak with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

 

Take it Up a Notch by Baking Some Beautiful Bread

  • If you’re ready to move into some more complex cooking territory, bread baking comes next.

Travel to galaxies far far away with a Glowmander’s Glowblue Loaf! Inspired by the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge cookbook, one of our creative customers made this blue bread by adding in Butterfly Pea Flower tea. There are lots of variations of this recipe available such as a Marbled Sourdough or Swirled Brioche. No matter which one you use, the end product will be a beautiful, fantastic supercolor!

 

Stay Tuned next week for 5 more tea-centric recipes you have to try!

 

INDOOR COOKING CLASSES

This Saturday, join us in the Market Kitchen for our Cooking Class hosted by Kimi Abdullah. Kimi will be demonstrating how to make her Gado Gado-style Noodle Salad. If you want to check out last weeks recipe, click here!

Upcoming Classes

May 14th Kimi Abdullah

  • Gado Gado-Style Noodle Salad

May 21st Jaime Pena

  • Authentic Mushroom Soup

May 28th Brittany Quinn

  • Citrus Arugula Salad
  • Strawberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Wonton Cups
  • Stuffed Mushrooms Done Two Ways: Chicken Artichoke bacon Spinach Dip & Meatball Marinara

SUNDAY LATIN MARKET

Come down and enjoy the sounds and tastes of the Latin Market every Sunday from 11am to 3pm until September 25th outside on the rotary square! Artisans, food vendors, and live entertainment!

 

Artisan Vendors

  • Shaperfect
  • MJ Shoes
  • Femmeunika accessories
  • Maletabooks
  • Urbankanis
  • Anleka Fashion

 

Food Vendors

  • Sweeat Bakery
  • Q- Bites
  • Arepa in the House
  • Casa Cancun
  • Tropikups

SPRING SOLE TO SOUL SHOE DRIVE

It’s the time of year when we look to support our friends by swapping out their winter boots with shoes. Having little to no secure storage space our friends usually survive with what they can carry in their hands or store in their tents. With that being said we have high hopes in stocking up our running shoes so we can offer our friends a new pair of comfortable footwear that is supportive so that when they are spending most of their days walking or standing on concrete it is easier to do so.

 

519 Pursuit is looking for both men’s and women’s shoes with sizes ranging from 8-13. Men’s shoe sizes that are most requested are size 9-12 and women’s sizes 8-10. They will not be accepting children’s shoe sizes at this time as 519 Pursuit does not often support children or families in need (the local shelters do an amazing job at doing this) and they do not have appropriate storage to hold onto them as they work from two small storage lockers.

Please be mindful when donating…

  • Little to no rips or holes
  • No heels or dress shoes
  • No flip flops or sandals
  • no children’s shoes

You can make your donations in our main entrance off the Rotary Square starting May 15th!

FREE YOGA EVERY WEDNESDAY

Join us for “Wellness Wednesday’s” as local yoga studio, Crooked Crow Studios, guides you through a free one-hour all levels yoga class to help you get back outside & destress!

 

It is within Crooked Crow Studios mission to collect donations for local charities, to practice yoga, and build community connections as a way to extend positive energy beyond the mat.  The studio has partnered with 519 Pursuit to collect donations on their behalf at these FREE outdoor classes!  Check Facebook or Instagram for items that are in need each week.

 

Starts Wednesday, May 4th and goes until Wednesday, September 14th. Classes are from 11AM to 12PM.

 

Instagram: @crooked_crow_studios

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crookedcrowyogastudio/