Baked Goods Spotlight – Covent Garden Market

Rhubarb Tart Today was the opening day for The Covent Garden Market. As any of you know that made it out today, the weather was not the greatest . Even though very windy (so windy that the tents were threatening to jump their ropes!), the sun still managed to make a brief appearance and it was reasonably warm for a few minutes. That was time enough for me to make a decent dent in my grocery budget. I went for asparagus and rhubarb, but I left with 2 kinds of bread, green onions, mint, tarragon, rhubarb tarts, breakfast muffins, lemon tartlettes, a jar of carrot & cardamom preserve and a few other nibblies that we ate there. There are three vendors at the outdoor market that sell baked goods: International Bakery, Made From Scratch and Bake*Well. I purchased my very artisanal looking breads from International Bakery,I happened upon the rhubarb tarts and the breakfast muffins from Dee at Made From Scratch and Stefanie at Bake*Well provided me with the lemon tartlettes,carrot cake with cream cheese icing and the home made carrot & cardamom jam. I have not had the doughy pleasure of diving into the breads just yet, but how can I go wrong with a professional baker baking such rustic breads? They look and smell delicious, every time we got back in the car as we ran our Saturday errands it smelled like a bakery in there -Vundenbar! Moving on to the rhubarb tart and breakfast muffins – yes, I ate them both in one day! You see, Sean and I went in for a coffee at the Little Red Roaster where he ate what was left of his carrot cake – for the record, he did allow me a small nibble and it was delicious! Then there was my rhubarb tart – I need to take my time on this one… it was soooooooo good! First of all, it was flaky in all the right places. Secondly, I am guessing that there must have been two kinds of sugary goodness in there to combat that tarty playfulness of the wonderfully rouge rhubarb. Lastly, the pastry was light and crumbly, topped with oats and all the right spices, it was just devine! Dee tells me she is using Arva Flour Mill flour for most of her baking needs. She goes in and gets a 50lb bag of flour! She was giggling as she told me, I did too – I can just imagine this tiny woman hauling her 50lb bag out of the mill. Dee was lovely and I am glad to meet her. Later on in the day, Sean and I shared the breakfast muffin, we made it a lunch muffin – it was full of seeds, nuts and many other good things. It was slightly sweet, just the right amount, and it was full of complex flavours and it did not even contain sugar! Quite satisfying and although it felt like a treat, it also seemed like it was good for us. On to Stefanie at Bake*Well. … On her table there were assorted tarts, preserves and I think there was a quiche. I am not so sure, my memory is vague as I was distracted by Sean drooling all over a very large carrot cake before I even finished paying! I purchased a super intriguing looking preserve type thingee – it”s a jam, it”s a preserve.. it”s Carrot & Cardamom! I am very excited to try this at a later date, and I will be sure to post the results at that time. I chatted with Stefanie for a few minutes – people, you have to meet her – she”s adorable and she believes in supporting the local food movement. Almost everything on the table was made from mostly local ingredients. For instance, she also uses the Arva Flour Mill and takes advantage of seasonal ingredients like berries and nuts in her baked goods and preserves. So now you are saying okay, okay – but why are those lemon tartlettes on there? Yes, the other thing I purchased was two lemon tartlettes, and of course the lemon filling is not from a local lemon, but the crust and other ingredients are! I bought these for a special treat for me and my mum tomorrow for her special Mother”s Day lunch. Can”t wait to dive in! Thank you Stefanie and I am SURE I will be back. Once again, The Covent Garden Market surprises me with its various treats supplied by its local producers, it is such a great place to go on a Saturday morning and when I am there I feel that it has it”s own little vibe and this particular visitor just loves it!  Read More

Rockin' Rhubarb

photo: Kelly Hunt Just the facts Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable (yes, this means it comes back year after year – so giving — that rhubarb is). Shoots of rockin” rhubarb appear early in the season, which makes locavores happy, because we are starving for fresh stuff in April and May. Rockin” rhube is a good source of vitamin C and iron, and is widely used in many desserts, jams and other good things. TOXIC? – Yes, there is truth in what you have heard – The leaves of rhubarb contain a high concentration of oxalic acid salts. The salts can be very toxic, so rhubarb leaves should never be consumed by humans or fed to your pets. The stalks (petiole) are just fine to eat, and apparently they will work wonders on your digestive tract – if needed (yes, that is short for – they make you “go #2″). Don”t throw out the leaves! Leaves of the Rhubarb provide a good source of organic matter in a compost pile. Rhubarb is pretty. Yes, it is and if you do not believe me, just go see for yourself,buy some local rhubarb. Now,here is your chance to impress your friends, tell them you are serving them a compote. A compote is made of fruit that is simmered in a sugar syrup. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon, orange, cinnamon, cloves. The dish is then potentially topped with whipped cream, cinnamon, or vanilla sugar. It is one of those very chef-like dishes, that is dead easy, but all fancy. Rhubarb Compote6 cups 1-inch pieces fresh rhubarb (from about 2 pounds)1 1/4 cups sugar1/3 cup water Combine all 3 ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until rockin” rhubarb is very mushy and begins to fall apart. Stir occasionally, about 20 minutes. Here is where you can add in any flavours that you might like to jazz it up. Transfer compote to medium bowl. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, about 3 hours. Cover and keep cold. Serve chilled. Top with whipped cream and whatever else you might think tastes good. Enjoy. One more thing, rhubarb is not one of those things that I have been finding at farms, I believe that some farms do grow it, I just have not personally been running into it. For me, it seems to arrive from generous aunts and uncles or friends that have loads of it growing out of control in their backyards. If you don”t happen to know anyone that has an abundance of it to share – there is a house on Medway road with a sign out front that says “Fresh Rhubarb”. I saw it just this week on Medway Road between Richmond and Adelaide on the south side of the road. If all else fails, the grocery stores should be stocking Ontario Rhubarb right about now. Happy Hunting!  Read More