Places to Worship on a Sunday…
Small, yet perfectly formed, this is the type of Growers’ Market you wish was weekly. But the 2nd Sunday of each will have to do and you’ll want to get there early. Forgo your usual breakfast plans and pick up a piping hot gozleme or grab a coffee and get in line for an egg and bacon roll by the good folk from Trunkey Creek Bacon. You’ll find their entire range of pork inside the Community Hall – this is one instance when you’ll feel quite entitled to be piggy!
Once fortified, you’ll be ready to browse the wonderful array of gourmet goodies. These include: freshly made breads, pasta and organic beef pies, perfect for a lazy dinner that night. There’s free range eggs, milk and cheeses produced by goats and sheep as well as the humble cow and you’ll always find a tasty treat to call dessert. If you’re feeling somewhat more carnivorous, choose from a range of grain fed meats; lamb, rabbit, duck, chicken were all available on my last visit or seafood, both fresh and smoked. Complement your meal with locally produced sauces and relishes, olives and olive oil and of course, the freshest fruit and vegetables the region has to offer. One stall had the first zucchini flowers of the season, just begging to be stuffed with goat’s milk ricotta, mint and prawn mince. No prizes for guessing what I had for lunch that day…
The beauty of supporting your local Growers’ Market goes beyond indulging a rural idyll – though who wouldn’t rather shop in the sunshine than under the flurorscent glare of your local supermarket? A Growers’ Market allows you to build a relationship with the people who put passion in their products and in having a natter, you’ll learn the best ways to handle their goods. Food always tastes better when you feel like you’ve played even the smallest part in its process.
Which brings me to my favourite aspect of this particular market; not only is there a lovely selection of established plants and cut flowers on offer, you can purchase seedlings as well. This is not your standard nursery set-up but something more akin to a lolly shop for gardeners. Heaven! You take a punnet – better still, you’ve remembered to bring back the ones you used last time – and choose as many varieties as you like. The choice is superb and made me feel giddy with possibility. Ideally, come armed with a list and stick to it. The very seasoned gardeners I know, do this and plant new crops of the same type each month, ensuring a constant supply of their favourites. Clever, I reckon. I’m never organised enough to sow seed this way but having the seedlings ready to go forces you to get them in the ground. Plus, you avoid the panicked over-planting which results in a glut.*
Blackheath Growers’ Market is on between 8am – 12noon, the second Sunday of every month; at the Blackheath Community Hall, which is on the corner of Gardiner Crescent and the Great Western Highway…except in November, when due to the Rhododendron Ball, they’re held at Blackheath Public School, corner of Leichhardt Street and the Great Western Highway.
BYO shopping bags please!
My smile would be this big too, if I’d grown tomatoes as superb as these!
* a glut can inspire you to impressive culinary heights and force you to use your home-grown produce in ways you’d never imagine. On the other hand, it can also result in a shameful waste…you do the math!
WORDS by KERIS MACARTHUR, IMAGES by ANN NIDDRIE
