A couple weeks ago Caron and I had a coffee date with “The Rhyming Chef” (Philman George) at Oakville Place, when we stumbled onto a delightful little farmers market in the parking lot of the mall. As a foodie and fresh produce junkie, I just had to spend a few minutes touching, smelling and taking in the general sights at this quaint farmers market. My senses go wild whenever we hit a market or any sort of produce store as when we did St Jacobs market last year (note to self – go back to St Jacobs soon) and Caron is somewhat of a similar market junkie as I am so we grabbed the camera and browsed the stalls.

The Oakville Place Farmers Market is relatively small and from speaking with the vendor at the fruit/berry stall, we learned that the market season is from June 16 to October 6 and is only open on Thursdays between 8 am and 2 pm. With locally grown seasonal fruits, vegetables and tons of baked goods, it’s a great way to not only support the local farmers, but a chance to get fresh food as it was meant to be enjoyed. If you’re a fan of the kitchen as I am, you’ll know that using fresh produce only enhances whatever recipe you’re using. But be warned that once you go “fresh” you won’t want to go back to the stuff sitting on the grocery shelves for weeks.

We also noticed that there was a vendor selling locally made knit products and if she wasn’t already busy answering some questions from a customer we certainly would have had a chat with her to know if she was the one doing the knitting and how were customer’s reaction to her beautiful creations.

We skipped by the baked products (not by choice), since we were now running late for our meeting and with the weakness I have for homemade apple pie, I would have surely adopted one to take home. Working on eating healthier and loosing some weight though!

Both Caron ann I couldn’t believe how vibrant the colours were and how perfect the produce seemed. No blemishes and even with the heat of the miday sun, they were not wilted. The greens of the beans, lettuce, asparagus and herbs, the yellow, red and orange of the peppers were all striking. The fruits we’re bursting with that strong punch of colour that convinced us that they were like little fruit sugar crystals just waiting to explode with flavor in your mouth. Caron even asked “have you ever seem more perfectly ripe tomatoes?”.. maybe she was right as they were indeed perfect to the eye.

Don’t let another Thursday go by without a quick stop at the Farmers Market at Oakville Place Mall and be sure to take your kids so they get to meet the farmers. This way they’ll know that what they eat does not originate in some grocery store.

Before you go we’d love for you to leave us your comments below, even if it’s just to say hello. And don’t forget to join us on FaceBook (for our latest updates, including discounts, coupons and more pictures from the farmers market at Oakville Place) and do tune in to our videos (escapades) on the youtube channel we’ve created.

Oakville Place Farmers Market
Where:     Oakville Place at Trafalgar Rd. & Leighland Ave., Oakville, ON

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After  a lovely breakfast at Stone Crock Restaurant, we headed over to the St Jacobs Farmer’s Market, since this was the real reason for our day trip to St Jacobs. A vibrant market with over 600 vendors and aisle upon aisle of fresh produce from across Ontario and from local farm gardens. Plus, there’s meats, cheese, baking, local crafts, home decor, furniture, clothes, tools, housewares, and more.

I was like a kid in a candy store this day! We arrived around noon and the parking lots were jammed packed, however the amount of people you have coming and going, a spot was not that difficult to find. On entering the indoor market you’re immediately greeted with the vibrancy of a packed farmers market. The sounds of people negotiating prices, placing their orders and the occasional shouts from vendors broadcasting what they have on special for the hour. The scent of baked goods, smoked meats and ripe fruits permeated the entire two floors of this master crafted wooden structure. With exposed timber and fine craftsmanship, it felt as if you were in a glamorous barn type building. It reminded me of a scene in the movie “Witness” during a barn raising by the Amish people. But as far as I could tell, the Mennonites were the ones who can lay claim to founding this astounding market.

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The selection and quality of products were unmatched as far as freshness, size and taste goes, but I found the prices to be about 10-15% more than what you’d pay at the grocery store. There were samples galore and one could easily skip lunch and dine just of the wide variety of samples vendors were giving out to shoppers. And in all honesty, it’s the widest selection of pies I’d ever seen in my life and to top it all off I saw a kid selling pickles on a stick. As you would expect to find popsicles, this kid (see pic above) had pickles on sale and they seemed to be hit, with the large crowd I saw around him.

Couple pointers I must mention though… the crowds can be extensive and navigating the market can become a bit of a challenge, without bumping into others and if you plan on bringing your children with you, you may want to think twice about bringing that baby buggy. With the crowds and tight hallways, navigating the aisles may be a bit challenging. However, the outdoor market is well suited for the entire family with it’s complete openness and the kids will get a kick out of the petting zoo at the rear.

You also got the sense of the true multicultural aspect of life in Canada as the food on sale represented many corners of the world. And if you listened closely you could also pick up on a wide array of languages and accents from the vendors and those shopping and others like me who were just mesmerized by everything.

It’s takes a good hour or so to walk through and really grasp everything the indoor market has to offer so do consider this when planning your trip. St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market  is a unique and lively place to shop.

The Outdoor Market.

Just when the sadness of having to leave the market came over me, our friends who’d been here several times before said it was time to go to the outdoor part of the market. My eyes lit up once again and this time I was in for a bigger and better treat. This section reminded me of my childhood days accompanying my mom to Sunday market in the Caribbean. Which was all open-air. The only thing that was missing was the fresh catch of the day, since the market we went to also had a seafood section where the local fishermen would sell what they caught that morning.

Here you’re greeted with the smell of cooking food as there were many options for street food to choose from. Including some of the best pita sandwiches I’d ever seen. Fresh grilled meats, topped with mouthwatering cooked vegetables (peppers,onions etc) and wrapped tightly into a sandwich which you could hold onto while still walking through the market. Seems the fresh cut fries were just as popular, with the huge lines that were gathered to fork over cash for this deep fried goodness.

Just as the indoor market had a wide selection to choose from, the outdoor market was not to be out done, except you here you could find buskers, a flea market and a small petting zoo. There were chickens, ducks, pony rides and from the pics below you’ll see a couple beautiful horses that stuck their heads out the window just in time for me to capture them with my camera.

I’ve never been a friend of flea markets so I quickly browsed through the cheaply made stuff on sale, but I did come across the most magnificent horses I’d ever seen at the rear/side of all the vendors. They was part of the trolley ride you can take through town and this can be found at the back of the outdoor market, where the flea market section is.

It seems that this section of the St Jacobs Market was also used for wholesale selling as there were options to buy in huge quantities. I saw bushels of corns, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, etc and I can only image if we came later in the summer when the local farmers were really reaping their crops.

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BTW if you’re looking for bathrooms you have two options. There’s some within the indoor market on the ground floor and in the outdoor market, work you way into the red building where there’s the designated seating area. And if you’re visiting on a sunny day remember the sunblock and walk with a bottle of water as it gets pretty hot.

I can honestly say that there’s no better way to spend the day or reason to take the drive to St Jacobs. Enjoy international favourites, and local delicacies including sausage, apple fritters, and pure maple syrup sold by Mennonite farmers who travel to market by horse and buggy. Oh yea! – don’t forget to try the pickle on a stick

St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market & Flea Market:

878 Weber Street North, Waterloo Ontario

Hours of Operation Phone: 519-747-1830
E-mail:markets@stjacobs.com

3 km. south of Village of St. Jacobs

DAYS & TIMES

Thursday & Saturday year around

7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday Summer Market

June 16 to September 1, 2009

8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

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