Never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that Aussies in one part of Australia would be separated from others by enforced border closures. But times are very different now. There are many belief systems about what is right and what is wrong. However whatever we believe is the correct thing to do for the health and wellbeing of all, one thing we can all be grateful for is access to beautiful fresh food grown by our local farmers.
We are thrilled that our Gold Coast friends can still come and enjoy all that our market offers – beautiful fresh produce, delicious food to eat while lingering to enjoy the delightful music of our amazing local musicians. At least this week as I hear more border closure changes may be in the pipeline.
What’s News at the Market this Week?
Summit Organics – Rod, Tania and Ryan are offering us a farm walk on 22nd August. Visiting their farm and hearing them share their story gives us tremendous insight into the passion they bring to growing and why they love the connection with their customers by being at local markets.
This is the perfect opportunity to see how they manage to keep producing such a diverse range of organic vegies for us week in week out throughout the year without using chemical inputs.
Numbers are limited to 20 only and booking is essential. The cost is $20 per person and that includes a light lunch. You can’t get fresher than that! You can book at the market this Wednesday.
* The photos of Tania at the farm above and the rows of tatsoi below are with thanks to Summit Organics.
What’s GREAT at the Market this Week?
Golden winter sunshine in the Tweed with good winter rain is why we have such an abundance of golden yellow pumpkins at this time of year. And there is so much to know about pumpkins. For example did you know that we can eat pumpkin flowers and we can cook pumpkin vine tips? So even if you have some unproductive pumpkin vines roaming around your back yard you have food to enjoy!! According to Lolo Houbein and Tory Arbon in Magic Little Meals you simply tip prune your pumpkin vine then take the tips to the kitchen and rinse well to flush out any tiny insects. Bring the tips to a simmer in a little water or saute in a little butter or oil. Add pepper and pinches of fennel and ground coriander. When tips are tender to eat, finish off with coconut cream, olive oil or pumpkin oil. Delicious and no waste. How great is that!
For those of us who like to buy our pumpkins from the market each week here are a couple of cooking ideas to refresh your menu and indulge your family. A really quick and simple one is mashed pumpkin with a twist. Simply cook as normal for mashed pumpkin but instead of salt and pepper add nutmeg or your favourite spice mix or a spoonful of pickles and of course a knob of butter. And mash thoroughly.
On our recipes page is a recipe from the book Magic Little Meals for roasted pumpkin that includes tahini or sesame oil and cumquats (or lemon).
Rob at Spice Palace has a wonderful pumpkin and macadamia nut dip too. It is divine even for non-pumpkin lovers according one of my very close family members who fits this cohort. 😂
