September 6, 2023
Well, here we are in
September! The weather had cooled some, but this week we’re back into the triple-digit
heat indexes. Fortunately, tomorrow the heat/humidity combo is supposed to
break. My fingers are definitely crossed.
This weekend past found us
taking our annual trip to the St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market. If you’re ever in
southwestern Ontario, this market, and the village of St. Jacob’s which is
about a ten-minute drive away from it, are worth a visit.
The village is smack dab in
the middle of Mennonite country, so there are plenty of horses pulling buggies
to be seen. But more pleasing to the aesthetic senses, there are arts and
crafts, clothing, preserves, freshly baked bread and many things produced by
the Mennonites available for the discerning shopper.
This year, we didn’t take a drive
into the village. There were a lot of people out and about, and since we had
realized this would be so on a holiday weekend, we decided ahead of time that
our trip would be limited to the one stop.
Mostly, we go to the market for
the apple fritters. Well, actually, those were just one of the items that was
on our list this year. Our daughter drove us the forty-five minutes to the market,
because both of our scooters fit better in her car, and she likes to go, too.
She volunteered to get in line for the fritters. Yes, there is a line up, every
time. And yes, on the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend, that line was about
35 minutes long. She told me she wished she’d brought my walker. Her knee has
been bothering her as she has reinjured it, and while it will heal in time, the
humidity is not her friend any more than it is ours.
Our list for this year’s trip
wasn’t very large. We got the fritters, but on the list were some items from
the butcher’s shop as well.
There are a couple of venders
there who have meats without any added growth hormones or other chemicals. So
when we can, we’ll pick up some of their bacon, and an item we all enjoy,
smoked pork chops.
And of course, my husband is a
true carnivore, so no visit to the market is complete without the purchase of
steaks. I will tell you that we bought really good steaks and leave it at that.
I like to see all the
different goods that are available. The market is quite large, with a few large
buildings to tour, as well as outside stalls. Inside the buildings is where you’ll
find your hand-crafted clothing and jewelry and whatnots. Outside, there are
plenty of venders in of every sort around the grounds, offering everything from
lawn ornaments to sunglasses. It’s an amazing feast for the senses. And of
course, the scent of street food—burgers, funnel cakes, really just anything
you can imagine—is free to inhale, stirring the appetite.
The only “extras” I purchased that
weren’t on my list were two loaves of bread—one rye and one sour dough—made that
day, and something I had been looking for but not finding: mint sauce. In this
case, mint jelly, which I hope does for lamb what my mint sauce of old has
always done. I’ll keep you posted.
I also had only one veggie on
my list that I wanted to purchase and then put down: green beans. Our tomatoes
continue to flourish, but they have deprived the beans of their true potential
this year.
On Monday, David harvested
some more tomatoes from our table gardens, enough that he filled one of our
large bowls. Fortunately, there are a whole lot more tomatoes to come. Also,
fortunately—for me at least—I was able to choose two large and two medium
tomatoes so that I can make one of my favorites—stuffed tomatoes.
I make this dish once a year,
usually. It’s my way of celebrating our garden. Also usually, I have a
granddaughter and a second daughter who always seem to know when this dish is
in the works. They’re the only other members of my family hereabouts who love
stuffed tomatoes. And they’re also sure to drop by and I’m telling you, their
timing is usually impeccable.
Notice the use of the word “usually”,
above.
I plan to make this dish
today, despite the heat. Also today, my second daughter and her daughter are
not in the area. Or rather, granddaughter is, after a trip to L.A., just home
late last night and off to work this morning. Poor thing, she’s probably so
tired she’s likely to go home and straight to bed at the end of the day. And second
daughter, why, she’s off with some friends for a nice, relaxing get-away in a
quaint town in Quebec.
She comes back to us tomorrow,
likely not getting to her house until the evening.
I’m not saying there will be
stuffed tomatoes left for them. But I’m also not saying there won’t be. I guess
we’ll just all have to wait and see.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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