Out & About #269 | Mississauga Farmer's Market Run

The skies were overcast when we departed. Grey clouds huddled above us, heads together as if contemplating the exact time to cast showers on the life forms underneath them.
High levels of humidity weren't about to stop me, though. I had undertaken a grand mission: to hunt down fresh produce for the sake of delivering a low-impact meal (and completing a surprisingly interesting assignment).

According to my research, the Erin Mills Farmer's Market was the closest spot for locally-sourced products. We arrived shortly after it had opened, and noticed that only a few booths had been set up in the Daniels parking lot. Besides an information booth, the remainder of the booths sold vegan chocolate, baked goods, honey, and some commercial cooking equipment.

A single stall had garlic and parsley on display - each carefully bunched up but with no price tags in sight. We eyed the two types of garlic: a small, round clove of Persian garlic and larger Korean garlic boasting plumper properties; individually, they were priced at two and three dollars respectively. Bagged green and purple kale leaves sold for four dollars. Both were seriously overpriced, but I decided to give it a try anyways.

​The search for usable dinner ingredients then continued after popping the feather-light paper bag into the trunk. Next on the list was the Mississauga Flea Market / Farmer's Market at Mavis and Dundas. Prior to this trip, I hadn't paid much attention to the yellow and black sign draped across the otherwise unassuming warehouse across from the Loblaws. The parking lot was eerily quiet, the interior was dim, and the stares of the other occupants of the building were intense and unnerving.

Majority of the space was dedicated to being shop spaces for flea market vendors, leaving only one quarter for an unauthentic farmer's market in the corner. The journey was short-lived, as our intended purpose was to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables for food preparation. This so-called market provided neither locally-grown produce, nor those of decent quality. Along with appeaing bruised, overripe, or blackened from careless handling and transport, the items donned labels and plastic casings that weren't reflective of a true Farmer's Market.

Sugar cane juice and mango smoothies were situated near the cashier, so we opted to try a small cup ($2) as we were on our way out with one piece of ginger. The surrounding customers were on the crude side: a petite, haggard-looking lady bumped into me twice, scanning my appearance the first time and greedily spying my handbag on the second. It was an unbelievably frightening sensation that I hope to never experience a second time.

Two failed attempts later, we arrived the Port Credit Farmer's Market. This was the most proper weekend pop-up of them all!

Not only were there sufficient parking spots, the stalls carried a diverse selection of locally-grown and/or organic, fresh-off-the-farm produce. Ranging from juicy grape tomatoes to award-winning Canadian cheese to extremely fragrant cloves of fermented Black Garlic, our third stop offered the greatest number of required materials - and at the lowest price too!

All-natural bee products, flavourful frozen soups, and biodegradable cases of onion and kale were only a few of the many items available - the Port Credit Farmer's Market satisfied my needs exceptionally. I was not only able to uncover an incredulous amount of raw materials with much ease, but also found joy in reveling in the freshness of the ingredients after purchasing them.

Fancy florals lined the first one aisle, while independent arts vendors, a cafe pop-up, and musical duo with guitars were present in the second. In addition to the basic produce sections, the market also provided a platform for honey to be directly sold from farms and, potentially, the bees themselves.

View the recipes constructed from the Farmer's Market(s)' trip(s) HERE !

Maple Syrup Toffee was also quite satisfying; we purchased five pieces for a meager dollar. Most importantly, it was tasty without being overly sweet.

As the clouds grew progressively darker, we swiftly grabbed a Signature roast from Destination Cafe and bolted back to the car. Droplets accumulated in the heavy masses above, so we settle for concluding the trip with a watery Americano in hand. (I later went to CoCo to satsify my iced milk tea cravings.)