Yesterday I went to the Symons Valley Ranch farmer’s market for the first time. I’d heard about it from a couple other people, who all had good things to say about it. I think it’s fun to talk to the vendors at farmer’s markets and learn about their products and where they come from.
My first purchase was curry. He talked us into trying a sample (really good and fresh tasting), and within 5 minutes I was back at his booth buying some. He had quite a few options, but I decided to go with small chicken curry. It was supposed to feed 1 to 2 people, and once I cooked up some rice at home to add to it I got two meals out of it.
My dad discovered Phil and Sebastian Coffee at Diner Deluxe a few months ago. When he saw that they had a booth at the farmer’s market he got a cup. While they (obviously) buy their coffee beans from all over the world, the beans are roasted in Calgary, which is pretty cool.
We ended up getting two loaves of bread from Banuka Bakery. This one was a pesto and cheese bread. At first I wasn’t sure about the combination, but it turned out to be really great.
We also got a loaf of ancient grain bread. It’s a hearty bread with lots of grains, something you’d eat with a soup or stew to soak up the liquid as it won’t fall apart or get too soggy.
On our way out we got some cinnamon buns from Rustic. They had lots of other really good looking baking (sourdough bread and apple pies), which I’m sure I’ll check out the next time I’m there. Apparently they also have a brick and mortar location that I’ll have to check out at some point.
I also bought some corn from Taber (unpictured cause I forgot to take a photo). Taber is a small town southeast of Calgary known for it’s corn. I don’t know how they manage it, but the corn from there is pretty amazing.
I’ll definitely be back to Symons Valley. They had a great mix of vendors. It’s significantly closer than the big farmer’s market in Calgary. When we went on Saturday morning it wasn’t too busy which was nice. Check out their site here.
Do you go to a farmer’s market on a regular basis? What’s your favourite thing to buy there?