Local Food

With the onset of summer, I always get excited about Farmers Markets and fresh local produce. This year I’ve been anticipating and awaiting it with extra enthusiasm. I’ve recently finished a couple of great books – The Amateur Gourmet, The Omnivores Dilemma and The 100-Mile Diet, of which I will talk more about in another post.

I also just got back from a week at Big Basswood in Northern Ontario, one of the best places to be in the summer. So, while visiting with family, eating fresh lake trout caught by my dad, and reading about the evolution of our food industry, I started daydreaming about what I can do with food this summer. On the way home from the airport, I picked up The 100-Mile Diet. The couple in this book lives not far from us, so whenever they talked about finding a great local food source, I realized, these were places I could go.

So I spent a bit of time on the Internet, looking around for information about local farmers markets, u-pick berry farms, and local meat and fish. I even found an awesome chart that outlines foods in season in my area. And so I embarked on my own journey to discover the great local food options we have here in Vancouver.

I gathered the troops and we headed out to Krause Berry Farms where we picked berries, ate corn pizza and drank fresh smoothies. You will no doubt see many posts outlining the many fabulous treats that were the result of all the berries we picked.

Another of my favourite things to do is visit local farmers markets. For those of you in Vancouver visit www.eatlocal.org for a list of markets and vendors. We live a few blocks from the West End Farmers Market and frequent it weekly from June to late October. Another great place to find local food is Granville Island. But buyer beware, you really have to check the labels and try and stick to the daily vendors…or you might end up eating apples from New Zealand while there are fresh orchard apples two stalls over!

I encourage everyone to try and think and eat locally, it is amazing how much is out there, and the more you think about it, the better your relationship with food becomes, and meal time progresses towards social time. Heck, we have to eat right? Why not have fun doing it. With that I will leave you with a recipe that I made using market finds:

Market Fresh Pasta

Sausages ( I found some awesome lamb sausages at the market last week)
Veggies – whatever’s in season, I used peas, peppers, carrots and zucchini
Pasta – this is where I fibbed, and used dry pasta that was in the cupboard
Cheese – any kind, ricotta, goat, feta…the options are endless


While the water for the pasta is boiling, cut up the veggies and sauté in a little bit of olive oil. Cook the sausages separately, drain and slice and throw in with the veggies. When the pasta is cooked, save a bit of the water, drain and then throw in the pot with the veggies. Add the cheese and stir to melt, adding a bit of the leftover pasta water if needed. Top with fresh herbs or parmesan cheese and voila, a market fresh meal!