Farmer's Market

We finally made it down to the Alberta Ave Market (93st and 118ave) earlier this evening. Visited with Amy (OFRE and fruit mob fame) and checked out this small, but diverse, market hidden away in downtown Edmonton.

And I realized I'm a bad market shopper. All these great local vendors with fresh veggies, breads made with grain, homemade pastas and cookies and art... And I hate buying things that I can make myself.

It's true.

I go to markets to buy the base of my baking and cooking (flour, grains, meats, etc), not the finished products.

But I want to support the other local vendors as well. So, I spread the word to my friends to go buy from these great and incredible people instead :)

And thus, I shall continue to go the markets, buy a few things here and there, and continue to make my own foods using ingredients from my favourite farmers and gardeners and my mother's garden that she works so hard on all summer...

To eating local and preparing your own food!

Apple Picking and Backyard Gardening

Today Zac, Londyn and I went out to a BEAUTIFUL acreage to pick a whack of different apples :)

We went with Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton, a wonderful non-profit organization that goes out and collects all the over following fruits from around Edmonton (with the owners permission of course) and then the bounty is shared among the owners, pickers, food bank and the organization. OFRE then makes goods to sell at the Alberta Ave Farmers Market to raise funds to pay for equipment and kitchen rentals (among other things).

Tomorrow, with the apples picked today and throughout the wk, cider will be made! :D

I took home some little red crab apples (i forget the name....) that apparently make THEE BEST! crabapple jelly. So, i will clean and cut and freeze until the weather cools off enough to can.

And I have a collection of larger apples (some from Vala and some from today that need cleaning still) and other fruits in the freezer waiting to be made into an assortment of delicious apple sauces for my little Londyn to enjoy.

She is an Applesauce Monster! :)

This afternoon I finally gave up on my little backyard garden. I picked my green tomatoes, dug up my dz tiny little potatoes (mostly purple), and fluffed up the dirt and DUMPED my entire compost bin on it! and then layered in the now done potato tops and tomato plants.

There was actually quite a good layer of wonderful black humus at the bottom that I'm sure will add lots of good stuff to my soil for next spring :)

The leaves of the trees in our yard will eventually end up on the plot as well, and then i'll cover it all with a tarp while there's still some sunshine to help cook it.

OH! but the most excited thing about my compost (besides all the slugs on the underside of the bin :P) is there was some avocado seeds that had split open and sprouted!

I saved one. I want to see how big I can get it :)

I did take a pic, but it hasn't even made it off the camera yet.

Until next time!