It's official: The Port Moody Winter Farmers' Market is now running every Sunday.
Opening day is this weekend, on Nov. 2 and the market runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the PoMo recreation complex.
What a wonderful expansion for the city. No longer will there be any confusion about which Sunday is Market Sunday. You can get all that is good, fresh and local every weekend.
Located both indoors and out, the Port Moody market will offer an even greater variety of food and merchandise as we are able to have new and different vendors on board. All your favourites will be here, along with some new ones. More than 60 vendors are registered and 10 food trucks are coming.
We will be kicking the season off with a pancake breakfast. Partnering with the Port Moody Minor Hockey Association. we will be offering pancakes topped with gourmet goodies provided by many of the vendors.
That's not the only exciting news, though. The market is publishing an e-cookbook. But it's not just any cookbook because the recipes will come from market shoppers. We are after your best, tried-and-true market recipes. What ingredients from the market inspire you? Share your recipes and help create a legacy. Bring your recipe to the information tent and the market staff will reward you with a small treasure from one of our vendors and an entry into a draw at the end of November for a gift basket filled with $100 worth of the best of the market.
November will also feature information about a seasonal fruits and vegetables. You will learn all about the nutritional benefits of a variety of items as well as different ways to prepare them.
The treats don't stop there. We are running another contest - but you need to read this column to enter. Bring a copy of the column to the market information tent and we will give you a coupon for your choice of a pound of ground beef from Redl's, a loaf of bread from Gesundheit or a dozen eggs from Rockwelds. There are a limited number of coupons available, and only one per family, so act fast.
MMM, BREKKIE
Since the market is opening with breakfast, it's only fitting that we talk about breakfast for a bit.
Often called the most important meal of the day, did you know that you can get an astonishing variety of breakfast foods at the market?
Eggs are the obvious choice and two of our vendors sell them. Farm fresh and organic, I think they are best when prepared simply so that all the goodness shines through.
How about egg in the hole? Take a thick slice of good bread from one of the four bread bakers, cut a hole in the middle, butter both sides and place it in a pre-heated frying pan. Crack an egg in the hole (thus the name! ) and fry the bread till the egg is almost set. Flip it over and continue cooking until the egg is cooked the way you like it. You can sprinkle a little cheese on top, too.
Oh my, is this tasty!
If you don't feel like cooking, grab a bag of granola from Gesundheit, some apples from Harvey's Orchard and you've got breakfast on the run.
Some locally roasted, hand-picked coffee beans from Handworks Coffee Studio will get you that cuppa joe you need, too.
Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (www.kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam Farmers Market. Her column runs once a month.
PANCAKE POWER
I'll share my family pancake recipe. I like to double the dry ingredients and keep them mixed up in a container in the cupboard so we can have pancakes whenever we like - for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
CEDAR VILLAS PANCAKES
2 cups white flour (you can substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tbsp oil
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add them to the dry ingredients, mixing it all together. Ladle the batter into a hot frying pan and cook on one side until dry bubbles begin to form. Flip pancakes and cook 2-3 more minutes.
Pancake add ins and topping ideas: Blueberries, diced apple and chocolate chips are all delicious stirred into the batter. Melted honey with blueberries is fabulous on top, or try sautéing apple slices in butter and cinnamon, and spooning that over the pancakes.
