I’ve got to say that the St.Lawrence Market is probably one of my favourite places in Toronto. Every Saturday morning, they open up their doors at 5am.
The South Market is a huge building, with a lot of history… I strongly suggest people go to the website, and read up on this building! If you’re looking for anything food related, chances are good that you will find it here. There are quite a few organic food sellers, too. So if you buy organic, you’ll be happy to shop here! This weekend, I picked up some organic strawberries priced at $6 for 2 containers. Every strawberry in each container was plump, ripe and bright red! I couldn’t wait any longer once I got home, and after tasting one… Oh boy, are they sweet… I’m sure that the Ontario strawberries will be really great by mid-June, but right now… Sadly, all of them looked small and half-ripe. The prices were also significantly higher than I would have imagined. I didn’t see any for less than $5-$6 per container. Oh well! I also bought some organic lemons {pictured below}, and one of them was HUGE. I mean really, really huge… About the size of a large orange or grapefruit! There are also a few butchers in the South Market that have prime cuts of meat. I bought fillet mignon a few times from here, and I must say that they were some of the most tender steaks I have ever had in my life. There are so many different places to buy cheese, which is great for a person like me who loves cheese! Cow’s cheese, goat’s cheese, lamb’s cheese??? I’m still looking for that vegan cheese, but couldn’t seem to find it…
The North Market is full of Ontario growers who bring a beautiful abundance of fresh seasonal produce. If you love fruit, they have it. Vegetables, they have it. Meat, they have it. {If you like, you can even get a pig’s head…} Breads and bakery items? Yep, they have that too! On a few occasions now, I’ve done all of my grocery shopping at this market. The funny thing about the North Market, is that I’ve spent a long time viewing the website and asking myself “where on earth is this North Market??”… For the life of me, I could NOT find an address to the North Market. I imagined it was somewhere in North Toronto or something… So a few weeks ago, after spending an hour or so in the South Market building, I look across the street and see some family setting up a table of tomatoes and bell peppers. I walked across, and took a look. Then, I looked up Jarvis St., and saw that there were more tables. Then, I walked up to a table, bought some rhubarb, and had a conversation with one of the growers. I told her my little story about not knowing where the North Market was, and she had a good laugh… It was then that I realized I was IN the North Market. I look behind the woman, and see a door leading into another building. This building had table after table FILLED with fresh Ontario grown produce, Pure Ontario maple syrup and honey, and so much more! Jackpot…
So today, like many other Saturdays, I came home with a massive bag of tasty, fresh food. Some spices, veggies, fruit, meat, and whole grain bread. This really was like Christmas morning for me… 
top: a "large" lemon from Sobey's. bottom: an "average" organic lemon.
Seriously. It's REALLY big! I don't know why I find this so amusing...
I've died and gone to heaven.
[...] Nikki Recipes, breakfast, desserts breakfast, culinary, dessert, fruit, healthy, maple syrup, pancakes, recipe, rhubarb, sauce, st. lawrence market, strawberry, Sweet, Toronto, vanilla Leave a comment One of the things that I love to do on Saturdays now that the weather is nicer, is go downtown to the St.Lawrence Market. I love wandering through the North Farmer’s Market tables, because most of what you get there is local produce, with a lot of organic options. Inside the two levels of the South Market, you will find everything food related from cooking supplies, produce, cheese, meats and more! On Saturdays, they’re open at 5am, so I may my way down there as early as possible. Today, I managed to get there for shortly before 6am, and went on my mission to pick up some tasty foods. Since I was out grocery shopping at the market so early, getting back from the market at 7am gave me ample time to prepare a tasty and healthy{ish} breakfast for Joe and myself. {More about my day at the St.Lawrence Market.} [...]