The Market Blog

Is it really summer if you don’t relax on your patio with a refreshing beverage made with fresh, local, in-season fruits? Get a true taste for the season with this super easy-to-make peach-raspberry agua fresca.

Recipe by Jennifer Barnes, Holistic Nutritionist.

Ingredients

• 1 peach, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup water
• 3 ice cubes
• 1 slice Navel orange (for garnish)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. This gives the drink a thicker consistency. For a Fresca consistency blend all ingredients except ice in a blender and add ice once your ready to serve.
2. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Divide into glasses, with ice and garnish with slice of orange and enjoy!

Notes

Less pulp
Strain your aqua fresca after blending.

Extra garnish
Add raspberries, sliced peaches and oranges to each glass.

Make it fizzy
Add sparking water instead of flat.

Add a kick
Add a few pieces of sliced jalapeno to each glass.

No maple syrup
Use honey instead.

by Marshall Ward

A truly great cup of coffee starts with the finest beans.

“Our brewed coffee is super popular because we use quality beans, and we have customers who will drive for hours just to get the beans or a cup of coffee,” says Mikayla Lomax, a barista at Full of Beans at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market.

Full of Beans, located in both the market’s white tent and main market building, offers beans roasted with state-of-the-art equipment in Toronto, where they also treat and filter their water to remove unwanted additives — all in service of getting the best possible taste. 

“Our house blend supreme deluxe is a medium roast and it is really popular, and we have lots of people who love our vanilla hazelnut or caramel crunch,” says Lomax.

“We also have an amazing espresso machine, which was actually designed by Bugatti, so people come out of their way to get our Americanos, espressos, along with our specialty drinks and ice drinks, as we sell tons of coffee that we bought from local roasters.”

Full of Beans baristas like Lomax are passionate and committed to making the best cup of coffee while providing friendly customer service.

“I’ve been working here for six years, ever since my first year in high school, and it’s a lot of fun,” she says. “The market atmosphere is great, everyone is always happy to be here, we’re always busy, and we get to know all the vendors and everyone who works here, along with all of our amazing customers.”

There’s practically always a line at Full of Beans, but it moves quickly because most people are return customers who know great coffee when they find it. 

“It’s evident how much visitors to the market love our coffee, as the number of customers we’d have on a Saturday — before pandemic restrictions — was insane,” Lomax said with a laugh.

“There would be three or four of us working behind the counter, bouncing off the walls and each other, and we’d have a long line-up of people waiting patiently. And even with the limited capacity of people who can come into the market tent, it still feels just as busy because it’s only me and someone else working, rather than a whole group of us.”

When a coffee business is hopping like that, you know it’s full of beautiful beans. 

by Marshall Ward

Vietnamese cuisine is among the world’s tastiest and healthiest. 

And you don’t have to travel halfway around the globe to taste the real deal. You can find deliciously authentic Vietnamese dishes right here in the Market Tent at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market, thanks to one local Vietnamese eatery, Sen Cuisine.

“When me and my younger sister Ha came to Canada five years ago, we wanted to bring the healthy food and unique flavours from our hometown in Vietnam, serving great food to great people here at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market,” said Hanna Le, owner of Sen Cuisine.

Mouth-watering appetizers like their rolls — whether veggie, shrimp, BBQ pork, and grilled chicken salad rolls — make for a scrumptious starter or lunchtime snack.

From rolls to wonton soup to noodle dishes and more, Sen Cuisine brings every one of their dishes to life with fresh ingredients and a balance of distinct, refreshing flavours.

At Sen Cuisine, a great deal of thought goes into their family recipes and careful use of oil, from their savoury wontons to their must-try curry veggie rice noodles with beans, carrots, and crispy shallots. It also comes with a fiery but flavourful Asian hot sauce that they’ll drizzle on, or you can ask for on the side.

With their aromatic seasonings and citrus hits, their stir-fried veggie noodles and Pad Thai burst with tangy flavour, and makes for a great meal at any time of the day.

Tofu enthusiasts can delight as Sen Cuisine — every Saturday at the market — offers their amazingly fresh, homemade tofu, made with only two simple ingredients: Canada grown soybeans and organic vinegar, with no preservatives and no filler.

“We grew up in a small village in Vietnam, and I saw my uncle make tofu when I was a child,” said Hanna. 

“When we came to Canada, I tried a lot of tofu, but it’s not like my uncle’s tofu. So we tried to make fresh tofu from my uncle’s recipe, and when our customers came to try the tofu they say we’ve never tried tofu like that before. Now they come back time and again for more.”

Our community should take pride in welcoming entrepreneurs like Hanna and her sister Ha, and feel lucky to have their family’s delicious recipes to eat.

“I think the flavours from my hometown are very special, and I want to serve the best food from my home country,” said Hanna. “So come on in to the bright and beautiful white market tent and try our Pad Thai.”

Your tastebuds will thank you.