Farmers' Market Vendor Trivia by the Numbers

For anyone who watches Dragon's Den or Shark Tank you know how obsessed Kevin O'Leary is with SKU's, Stock Keeping Unit numbers. If you have only one SKU to sell you are less likely to have your product placed in a big store chain.

Today out of interest I thought I would count how many SKU's I purchase to fit out my farmers' market menu.

Keep in mind that these numbers DO NOT include such items as my printer and ink cartridges, housecleaning, travel to purchase ingredients and arrive at the market, my cooking utensils and baking sheets, my bread oven and commercial mixer, the tubs to hold bread dough or all my measuring utensils and spatulas. This does not include any display items and tablecloths, paper and signage. No handwipes. No miscellaneous baking ingredients. This is my basic 'go to' that I need week in and week out.

And by the way, our market this season is a total of 16 weeks.

Here it is.

Packaging - 21
This includes all final packaging, labelling, securing, coverings and support for the food.

Flavours - 18
Here I have to list them. I am so thrilled to have such diversity and most are natural, organic and local. Saffron, rose petals, almond, vanilla, saskatoon, peach, BC and sour cherry, white chocolate, cinnamon, rhubarb, strawberry, honey, herbs & spices, garlic, tomato, raspberry and passion fruit.

Flours and baking -31
This includes my 10 varieties of flours, mostly organic and local. It includes additions to my breads such as local organic lentils, cracked grains and Canadian sea salt.

If my adding is correct that amounts to 70 SKU's or ordering and purchasing 70 unique products for my one little market table. Maintaining my stock and not over purchasing is integral. Failure in both reduces my profit.

So perhaps now you understand better why, although I do appreciate and consider all suggestions, there are very few I can act upon. Changes to my menu, such as adding gluten-free selections, creates a proportionate number of new products that I must keep in stock. Maintaining stock impacts my bottom line.

In Case You Have Missed Me

My blogging has all been put aside by the farmers' market. It is crazy busy keeping up with the schedule. I promise to get back soon and share some great food.

Mixed berry hand pies

Multigrain bread with sprouted lentils proofing.

Pumpernickel ready to come out of the oven.

Wee Peek at my Sewing Projects

D-rings to make the neck adjustable.

It is very difficult to see but there are pockets! A narrow long one for your thermometer or pen and a large double pocket just below waist level.

Vintage Robin Hood flour bags made into aprons. They are larger because I did not want to discard any of the fabric. Only 2 of these.

Linen tote bags in different sizes. So far these are the two cottons I have chosen for lining.

100% linen bread or produce bags. I have also made some in the same linen as used in the tote bags.

Sewing was My First Love

My father taught me to sew. I remember making a very trendy outfit with coordinating cape for a teen fashion show in Regina many years ago. My love of sewing led me into studying home economics at the University of Saskatchewan.

I met my BFF during the summer before college at a church camp. What luck that she was also planning to attend the same college. Together we suffered through chem labs and revelled in the fun of university life. First and second year were gruelling with an emphasis on the sciences. Real sciences like physics, agricultural microbiology, anatomy, biology, chemistry and more that have not reserved a place in my memory. Home economics is a science degree after all and we had more than one class with med students and Agros.

After completing the required courses to convocate I spent all my electives in clothing and textiles. I was always interested in health and my diet but I do not remember the day that the passion for sewing and fashion was overtaken by the obsession for food. In fact I cannot even tell you why it happened.

So fast forward to today and I find myself slipping into a few sewing projects. I have some ideas for the farmers' market that I will share at a later date. While I was in Victoria, a city with surprisingly good fabric and  notions stores, I shopped. The feel of fabrics in my hands brings back the memories of a passion I once had. It feels good. I am looking at linens.

It is almost old school to be served by men in the fabric and notions stores where I shopped. It is usually men that are tailors. These men know their stuff. I am sure it was the owner at Gala Fabrics that helped me the three times I visited. His cutting skills are amazing. He can cut a perfect straight line off the bolt as sure as if he had ripped it.

Then he recommended The Button and Needlework Boutique for the embroidery thread I needed. Again a man, probably the owner of the shop, selected the perfect product for my needs. I purchased a beautiful cotton single strand embroidery thread, almost a cord, and very strong. These types of stores used to be in every city but over time the demand has waned and they have closed. There is something about a boutique textile shop that gives a superior shopping experience as compared to the chain fabric store. First and last, the staff is knowledgeable.

Watch for more about my sewing projects this summer when the market opens.

Supper...Simply

It does take a certain level of om to make a lovely yet simple meal. Try throwing vegetables together when you are harried and it doesn't yield the same results. I know that from a meal I made last week. I can count on one hand the number of friends that have visited me in the five years since I moved away. That alone should provide motivation to make a nice meal when dear friends drop in on their way across Canada.

Farmers' market season is officially over for me even though next week is the final market of the year. After making over 2,000 scones 'a mano' this summer I hang up my apron until next June. What begins as a meditation and therapy gradually becomes a chore that brings on near nausea and loathing by the end of the season.

Even making a simple and enjoyable meal takes on a feeling of apathy that you want to fight but at the same time are helpless to resist. Such is the end of market season. Thank heaven that all things end and there is new.

Chatting with another vendor today told me that she feels the same. However, we both agreed that being a farmers' market vendor is like having a case of retrograde amnesia. The winter gestation is greeted with expectations of newness every spring. The anticipation is so strong that we plan and replan our new ideas until they can come to fruition and greeted again by the wonderfully appreciative market goers. I must say that I am impressed how many people take the time to thank me for what I do. I cherish that.

Exciting Times ... Supplies Arriving for Market Season

Our farmers' market opens in 7 weeks, 1 day, 22 hours and 17 minutes....not that I'm counting! Yes, I am counting. This weekend I will fire up my bread oven to be sure it is in fine working order and to get my bread making touch back.

These are some of the supplies I ordered and have arrived. You can see some are from the San Francisco Baking Institute. On the bottom is a proofing board. It is amazingly light compared to my homemade boards last year. I'll give it a test drive on Saturday and probably order a few more.

I will be adding baguette to my menu this summer. You can see the bags I purchased and the board with SFBI logo is the board I need to nicely lay it on the stone floor of the oven. Blue wrapped blades for scoring the tops, linen couche for proofing them and a nice big pair of oven mitts. No burns on my lower arms this year! And last but not least is hardware so I can make a broom to sweep out my oven.

And I almost forgot. I have new bags with a flat handle. They are a little larger than my usual so I can better fit all that bread into it.

Now it is 7 weeks, 1 day, 22 hours and 10 minutes.

2013 in Review

In January I found this amazing recipe for a faux sourdough rye bread. It is delicious.

'Tis the season for looking back and looking forward. Bloggers, cookbook authors, chefs and columnists are publishing their 'bests' of 2013 and 'hopes' for 2014.

These lists humble me. After all I didn't travel in 2013, at least not internationally. I don't have innovative and exciting restaurants at home.

Rather than wallow in self pity for too long I decided to take a looked back through my pictures of the year. Surprising to me my year was interesting and eventful with thanks to the many people who contributed to my culinary journey. I am amazed at how many people I met personally or virtually via food this year. All of you have added to my food adventures.

Thank you to Val at More Than Burnt Toast and the Virtual Supper Club crew, Justin at Justcooking in NYC, lovely Hutterite lady at McMahon Colony, Elisabeth at Prairie Infusions foraged foods, Val from A Canadian Foodie and all the other Slow Food delegates from across Canada, Jennifer CK who runs the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers' Workshop, writer Rosalyn, Calgary Food Tours Karen Anderson, wine writer and guru Shelley Boettcher, cookbook author supreme Jennifer Schell and all the writers I met there, Monika the baker from Kelowna, Chef Jenni, Chef Simon, Angie Quaale of Well Seasoned and all the other barbecue fanatics including Rob Reinhardt of Prairie Smoke and Spice, pit boss supreme winning at the Jack Daniels Invitational, Barbara the Cake Witch and all the other new vendors at the Swift Current Farmers' Market, Penny McKinley and all the Saskatoon Slow Food community. The problem with thanking is that I may have forgotten someone. Please forgive me and leave a message so I can acknowledge you, too.

I have chosen one picture per month to take you on my 2013 culinary tour. Many months it was difficult to choose the top picture. This post is riddled with links and unfortunately sometimes I cannot make them come out in another colour. Just pass your curser over and you will find all the recipes and sources.

January
 I made this recipe for a faux sourdough rye bread. The picture is above. It is amazing and I make it as often as I can. In January I was also cooking with veal shanks à la Dorie Greenspan and making festive layer cakes for my Western Producer article (see p. 24).

I was looking for more structure to my blogging and came up with a couple of ideas. I began my Cooking Class Monday's on my blog. I kept it up for 2 or 3 months. By far How to Clean Your Pasta Machine was the most visited. And I started Casual Friday's. Ditto, I only did it for about 3 months. My favourite recipe was Cold Sesame Noodles from the blog and new cookbook Appetite for China.  I have been much more successful with another initiative and that is joining the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. I don't think I have missed a month yet.

Pancetta with local pork belly.

February
I made my first ever charcuterie. I cured a pork belly and made an impressive pancetta. I even won the cookbook Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman, one of my favourite chefs. This was a Daring Cooks challenge.

I won a nice basket containing among other things a vintage bottle of Dom Perignon at our Lyric Theatre Valentine's Day brunch. And I won another wonderful cookbook, Tacos, Tortas and Tamales. This was thanks to Justin at Justcook NYC.

I was cooking with Saskatchewan wild boar, lake caught pickerel in tacos from the aforementioned cookbook and local Black Welsh lamb.

Cow's milk feta.

March
I searched the town over and finally found rennet. Acquiring raw milk in a farming community is not too difficult. I made this tasty feta with raw cow's milk. I had a lovely chat with a woman from the Colony who also makes cheese. I hope to meet her and chat more about her cheese making.

I experimented with sea buckthorn, Saskatchewan wild foraged fiddleheads, dried wild mushrooms, wild rice and farmed steelhead trout.

A bevy of amazing chefs.

April
I drove to Osoyoos for the National Slow Food Conference. You can catch it this year in Nova Scotia. It was a 'to die for' food experience featuring the bounty of local foods and wines. It was 3 days of the best and all thanks to the local producers, makers and chefs.

The highlight of the conference was learning about the return of the sockeye salmon to the Okanagan Lake. You can read Jennifer Cockrall-King's article in Canadian Geographic for all the details. I met and visited the gardens and vineyards of the Harkers' from Keremeos, who were name top young farmers of the year in 2012 and finally meeting a few of the Canadian bloggers I follow.

En route to Osoyoos I passed through some of Alberta's best agricultural areas producing sugar beets, bison and much more.

Bread and croissant baking class with Monika from the Okanagan Grocery in Kelowna.

Immediately following Slow Food in Osoyoos I arrived in Kelowna for the Food and Wine Writers' Workshop. Click on the link to find the information for 2014. Oh shucks, another 3 days of the best in local products, wines and chefs. Tasting caviar, fresh oysters, Summerhill Pyramid wines (and several others) and learning about the formation of the lakes, valleys and benches during the ice age. Driving home through the Rockies I stopped in Field, BC for lunch at one of my favourites The Truffle Pig.

Low and slow cooked half of lamb.

June was a busy month. Activities included my annual barbecue with the kids at the Hutterite Colony school where I am a substitute teacher, 3 women cycling across Canada stopped for a couple of nights and made a dinner including a beautiful asparagus soup, the farmers' market opening, and another wonderful bread recipe.

The highlight was attending my university friend's 40th wedding anniversary. Their daughter ordered a half of a local lamb and did an amazing job on the barbecue with it.

Kids' Cooking Camp.

July
I had 6 delightful young ladies spend 2 full days in my kitchen making real food from real ingredients. The bundt cake in the planning stages above turned out perfectly. They were so proud!

Interesting day trips were made to Schmidt Organic Mills, Cypress Hills Vineyard, Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site with outdoor brick bread oven and the Avonlea Badlands.

Chef Jenni from Saskatoon telling us about her sea buckthorn focused meal.

August
I attended a workshop at the Indian Head Agricultural Research Centre to learn more about sea buckthorn. And I became an official barbecue judge. Farmers' market is in full swing.

Shaggy Parasols in my neighbour's front lawn.

September
Farmers' market continues. Picked my first foraged mushrooms and I didn't even have to leave home. I wonder how these traveled to this location? They made an awesome soup and an even awesomer risotto.

We had the first ever block party on my street. That is amazing because all the homes were built in the 1960's. I made Black Welsh lamb burgers stuffed with brie on my homemade foccacia. Yummy.

Sour cherry jam made with SK Evan's cherries.

October
Making my exotics for the Christmas market - sour cherry jam, haskap jam and sea buckthorn jelly.

I finally found buffalo berries. They are a local favourite and look a lot like sea buckthorn. I cooked with fresh wild pheasant (saltimboca) and grocery store quince (membrillo).

Flank steak with black bean sauce.

November
I finally acquired some wonderful flank steak. It is difficult to find it locally. We placed a group order  from Pine View Farms all natural meat.

My friend, Hannah, brought back artisan black bean sauce from the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. I enjoyed it with the flank steak above and a pork tenderloin, also from Pine View Meats.

My three closest university friends and I celebrated our birthdays with a few days in Saskatoon and took a cooking class with Simon's Fine Foods. We were hoping that Ayden Kitchen & Bar would be open but we were just a couple weeks too early. Next time.

I made decorated sugar cookies with my children at the Hutterite Colony and in November I bought a pair of skates.

The Bar Humbug Ranch take off of A Christmas Carol

December
And I am ready for a new year! There are no big culinary adventures this month. I had a few Christmas markets. I didn't cook for Christmas. I just enjoyed myself!

My most memorable taste experience was the Plum Pudding at the annual Dicken's Festival in my hometown of Carlyle, SK. They put on a good show and family event. It is definitely worth a visit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  MAY 2014 FIND YOU IN GOOD HEALTH, HAPPY TIMES AND THE BEST IN LOCALLY GROWN AND PRODUCED FOOD.

A Visit to the Saskatoon Farmers' Market

The family has been making these green wooden boxes for their display for two generations. I love them.

My weekend in Saskatoon has been very full. After picking up some bread flour and a little other shopping I met Penny for iced drinks at City Perk just north of downtown. Penny and I have been online pals since I attended the "Nourish the Senses" Slow Food Conference in Osoyoos back in April. Penny leads the Saskatoon convivium for Slow Food and it is nice to finally meet.

Thank you Penny, the same Penny but thought I would introduce you to her blog, at Wanderlust and Words for reminding about the farmers' market. Since I was in town for the barbecue judge certification program, I was so focused on that. However, my hotel was only 5 minutes away and I always enjoy a visit to this market.

I love this display of cabbages. It reminds me of when I was cycling in Viet Nam and saw their cabbages neatly arranged to fill the back of a truck up to about 5 ft high.

Farmers' market vendors take great pride and care in presentation and display.

This is Betty's seabuckthorn display. I really want more but it is perishable and I just have to wait for another time.

I finally met Betty Forbes from Northern Vigor Berries. I wrote about Betty and her seabuckthorn in the Western Producer. I bought a very large package of frozen berries from her last Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed them and trying new recipes. Wish I had a freezer in the trunk of my car! I tried her seabuckthorn gelato. It was fantastic. I came home with tea made from the smaller leaves of the trees. I had also found her products in Sask Made Marketplace on 8th Street near Louise Ave. It's a nice store and worth the stop. There was more product than I was expecting and a very nicely presented shop.

Yeah! Bread! Love it!

Today was the barbecue judge class but I will cover that in another post. There is lots to say and it is nothing like the market! Tomorrow I will again attend the Ribfest and BBQ competition to observe the judging process.

The weather has been absolutely perfect. The entire weekend has been the beautiful summer weather that I remember about Saskatchewan. It has been comfortably hot, complete sunshine and mild in the evening. Even with sunscreen I have picked up a little more tan.

A Week in the Life...of a Farmers' Market Vendor

Originally I titled this post 'A Day in the Life' but as I began writing I realized that it actually doesn't happen in only one day. I spend all week to prepare for the big day. I have it scheduled to a T.

I romanticized about being a farmers' market vendor for many years. I love the atmosphere, meeting all the people, making delicious food and, well, in my mind there is some status or caché in being at the market.

Bread is baked on Friday.

I have always thought of the vendors as belonging to an elite group of passionate foodies. Food is made with tender loving care. It is sold with the story of its making. It is enjoyed in homes that do not usually make these foods. The vendor is actually adding to the quality of family food.

It should be no big surprise that I sought out the market when I moved to my little city. I had big dreams, high hopes and then found that it was just a few tables at the mall. That did not dampen my spirits and I jumped right in. After trying several baked products it seemed that they liked my rustic breads. Then it was my scones, especially my saskatoon berry and white chocolate scones. And my healthy dips. My menu grew to the point that I am thinking 'who am I anyway?' One cannot make money with one or two products in my little city. So the large menu remains.

It was a welcomed surprise when the City decided to create Market Square downtown. They invited us to participate and even bought a big tent to house us. Now the market is exactly what I have dreamed about. There is music and fun, food and lots of people enjoying being out and about. Kids and dogs are tagging along. Everyone welcomes the opportunity to buy fresh baking, vegetables and crafts.

However, I had no idea how much work was involved. I have scheduled baking 4 days of the week to have enough product for Saturday. After the market on Saturday I sit down with a glass of wine and unwind. I count my money and prepare the float for next week. I plan the amounts and menu for the following week. I make my grocery shopping list. And then off to bed by about 7:30pm.

Sunday is my cleaning and shopping day. This week it included sweeping out half of the area under the big tent. It was necessary and the city kept putting it off. So now we have nice clean stalls. The city did clean the other half two weeks ago. I stopped sweeping when I felt a blister coming on. Today I lay down at 2pm for a 2 hour nap.

Monday is my only complete day off!

On Tuesday I make 144 - 168 white chocolate and saskatoon berry scones plus 48 cheddar and jalapeno by hand.

I make my scones and freeze them so I can bake them on Friday. Friday is a big baking day. All is fresh baked. No frozen foods....yech!

Cinn Buns mixed on Thursday and baked on Friday.

I add my logo to all my grocery bags. I spend a night making a big batch of them!

I personalize all my shopping bags and labels by hand. I buy packaging products by the case. I have learned more about flour than I ever knew I could. I have a deck oven that bakes 10 loaves on a stone. I have a $700 blender! I have hired a student to help me out. Oy! Sometimes I wonder how I got here! I just wanted to do a bit of simple baking!

And the list goes on. Marshmallows, rosemary raisin crisps, chipotle pepita brittle, Vietnamese fresh rolls, fruit smoothies, and other specialty items as the spirit moves me.

Phew! I'm tired already. My feet ache. My back hurts. I don't eat all day long and wake up during the night hungry. My hair is always tied back.

Then it is the euphoria of market day. We spend the day in fun and happy engagements with all the eager buyers lining up at the stalls, waiting for the 10am opening bell. The end of the day is almost melancholy as we say our good byes to each other and look forward coming together again next week.

Kelowna Farmers' Market - Make It, Bake It or Grow It

 This is another Farmers' Market and this one is in Kelowna. The season is still early so there are very few produce items. This was an activity from the Food and Wine Writers' Workshop that I was attending. I have still not arrived at home. Look forward to several posts of the amazing meals we had at both conferences.

Slow Food Canada National Conference

I have been attending the Slow Food Canada National Conference in Osoyoos, British Columbia for the past two days. The meetings have been very intense, the food and wine out of this world and the camaraderie amazing.

I have had precious little time for blogging. Meetings run for 6 hours each day, then a workshop or farm tour for 2 hours and the day ends with the most wonderful local food at dinners that keep us until bedtime.

The chefs have been nothing but outstanding. They have been foraging for wild watercress, balsam root and biscuit root. Beef and pork have been brined, marinated and braised for 24 hours. Fruit compotes, sorbets and infused dressings have been prepared. Breads, loaves and puddings have been baked. I have never had so much delicious and lovingly prepared healthy food at a conference. Attention to detail has been outstanding. Everything is local, from scratch and prepared with simplicity.

This market came together just for our conference. It is off season but these wonderful farmers and artisans came out to show and sell. The amazing part was that this brought in so many people from off the street that they sold way more than they ever expected. While this was on, there was a wine tasting just inside the hotel.

Now I am off to a Food and Wine Writers' Workshop in the same valley. I have another 3 days of this wonderful food and wine. I promise to blog more details when I return home.

I purchased his wonderful locally grown and smoked chipotle peppers. They smell so good.

I also purchased canned and smoked Okanagan sockeye salmon. There is a special story to go with this product.

Foraged foods.

Can you see the snail shaped bread? Made special for Slow Food.