"What did you do this weekend?"
As an avid follower of the hermit lifestyle, my answer is usually nothing. I've slowly morphed into a 40 y.o. stay-at-home mom (just minus the kids), doing 8 a.m. grocery runs and browsing Home Sense for fun. But guess what kids! I did go out last weekend.
"Ooh, tell me where?"
The new farmers' market, that's where!
Nothing says wholesome family fun like going to the farmers' market. Everyone has their favourite. There's the 124 Grand Market, the City Market, Old Strathcona, Callingwood, etc etc. Edmonton's newest market to enter the scene is a game-changer. It's the city's first year-round multi-day indoor farmer's market. And it's called Bountiful, located in the city's southeast.
The market is open Friday to Sunday, from 9am to 5pm. They have over 100 vendors spread out in a nearly 50,000 square foot warehouse.
Parking is plentiful and free. If the lot is full, there is street parking as well as an overflow lot at the building across the street on Saturdays and Sundays.
I love the colourful design of the market, with each vendor having their own permanent stall and awning. There's a good variety of items to browse through, including fresh local produce, baked goods, prepared foods, and art/decor. There should also be familiar faces in the crowd, with many vendors already selling their wares at Old Strathcona or other markets around the city.
Our first stop when we arrived was Fantasy Pretzels & Donuts. Aside from Bountiful, they also operate two locations in Calgary (Crossroads Market and Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market).
If it's not obvious by their name already, they serve up doughnuts and pretzels. They have a pretty eye-catching display, with stacks on stacks of soft pretzels in a variety of different flavours. We skipped breakfast that morning so what better way to start the day than a giant soft pretzel?
They had six different flavours on hand, including original salted, pizza, Asiago spinach, truffle cheese, jalapeno Parmesan, and cinnamon sugar. I think it's pretty obvious which pretzel I went for.
The truffle cheese pretzel ($4.25) is baked with a mixture of four different cheeses: cheddar, Gruyere, Monterey Jack, and mozzarella. Since we were eating it right away, they also offered to warm it up for us. The pretzel was soft and fluffy, but I sort of wished it was chewier. They were also generous with the cheese, but the truffle flavour could have been stronger as I didn't taste much of it.
 |  |
The mochi doughnuts are $3.00 each or four for $11.00. We planned to only buy one ... but somehow left with a box of four. (Self-control, what's that?).
There were five flavours that day, so we got all of them except for the cinnamon sugar. Starting from the left, going clockwise, we got the vanilla buttercream with Nutella drizzle, toasted creamy coconut, salted caramel, and Callebaut ganache with candied fruity pebbles. The fruity pebbles are caramelized to keep them crispy. Because they were a little more labour intensive to make than the other doughnuts, it was an extra $0.25.
We didn't have the doughnuts until later that day so we noticed that they became a touch oily on the surface. Fortunately, they didn't taste that way. The dough was nice and chewy with most of the sweetness coming from the frostings and glazes. If I had to pick only one doughnut to go back for, it's definitely the salted caramel!
One of my favourite aspects of the market was the food hall section! By the main entertainment stage, there's a ton of picnic table seating for you to sit down and enjoy food from the different kitchens surrounding it.
While we were saving a spot at the picnic tables, LT went and ordered a plate of potato cheddar perogies and kielbasa from Ukrainian Fine Foods. I believe the plate was around $13 and she added bacon for an extra $1. You can never go wrong with perogies.
 |  |
Their waffle shortbreads are made with organic unbleached flour, organic cane sugar, real unsalted butter, and/or organic virgin coconut oil. I was drawn to their more unique Asian flavours, some of which include hojicha, ube, matcha, black sesame, taro, and red bean. I ended up getting their Japanese cheesecake waffle puck ($4.00). The filling was creamy and tangy and when combined with the crisp, buttery shortbread, it reminded me of a Japanese cheese tart. One of my favourite items that we picked up!
How cute are these macarons? Sucre M is no stranger to the market scene, selling their macarons at St. Albert Farmers' Market and the 124 Grand Market. Their macarons can also be found at Bogani Cafe and Hi Tea.
I picked up a half dozen macarons ($13.00) for a friend so sadly I can't vouch for how they tasted. However, I can say that they have the prettiest colours and presentation.
Green onion cakes are such an Edmonton market staple. Interestingly, these were being sold at the same stall as Pasta Delight. Each bag comes with four pieces for $7.00, or two bags for $13.00. Green onion cakes are relatively simple to make at home, but who has time for that when all you have to do is heat these up in the toaster? The toaster crisps up the outside while the inside remains tender and flaky. It's not Edmonton's unofficial "official" food for nothing.
Our last item in our market haul were some meat pies from South Island Pie (two for $14.00), sold in collaboration with Honest Dumplings. Whenever we come across South Island Pie, we always have to pick up a couple to put in the freezer. My personal favourite is their Chook (chicken, cranberry, Camembert), but we ended up getting their Wilkie (steak and cheese) and their Old Faithful (mince and cheese) this time around. Always a solid choice.
Need plans this long weekend? May I suggest a visit to Bountiful Farmers' Market? Get out and support local!
Bountiful Farmers' Market
3696 97 St NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 818-3878
(780) 818-3878
- CT
0 comments:
Post a Comment