Opening Day of the 2011 Caledon Farmers' Market season took place on Thursday, June 16th.

The weather was beautiful, the vendors' booths were bountiful and there were plenty of people in attendance to see what was available for sale - and enjoy a piece of delicious "Opening Day Cake" from Mercato Fine Foods.

Stacey Fokas, author of "Freshalicious" treated market goers with a simple, yet delectable culinary creation using ingredients available from Market Vendors. (See recipe section below)

Eat Local Caledon hosted a "Make-Your-Own" salad dressing station, and in the Children's Zone there were colouring sheets, face painting and the launch of the "Market Sprouts Club" and the Caledon Public Library's Summer Reading Club. 

It was a great start for this year's market and we look forward to a busy season in 2011

Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison said it best during her live interview with Radio Caledon-B105.5FM: "The Caledon Farmers' Market offers something for everyone."

It may still be considered a small community market, but the Caledon Farmers' Market has grown steadily since it opened in 2009. The quality and selection of our vendors' foods and other products is exceptional and definitely well worth seeing.

You are also encouraged to visit the Farmers' Market webpage and Facebook Profile to stay up to date with Market news, including weekly themes and events.

We look forward to seeing you at the Market this season.

Throughout the 2011 Caledon Farmers' Market season we will be sharing plenty of interesting information about the Market and local food-related events on our Facebook Profile page.

You are encouraged to visit often to learn about upcoming special events, recipes, previews of vendors and much more.

There is something different happening each week at the Caledon Farmers' Market.

See below for a summary of what to expect:

June 23, 2011

• Celebrating Seniors' Month with seniors' discounts at participating vendors
• Complementary coffee and tea for everyone, courtesy of Caruso's Gourmet Pizza (located next to the Market)
• Plant a seed activity in the Children's Zone
• Chocolate covered strawberries demonstration with Eat Local Caledon
• The Caledon Public Library will be promoting its Adult Summer Reading Program and hosting Artistic Poetry: An Art Exhibit featuring the works of The Golden Age Academy at the Albion Bolton Branch, next to the Farmers' Market

June 30, 2011

• Summer Fruit Festival
• Colouring sheets, face painting and other activities in the Children's Zone
• Make-Your-Own Strawberry Salsa demos by Eat Local Caledon
• and much more

Visit www.caledon.ca/farmersmarket to view the list of special events and weekly themes.

Maple Balsamic Lamb with Sunflower Sprouts
(Recipe courtesy of Freshalicious.ca)

• one Leg of Lamb (deboned ~ approximately 5lbs) from Bert Nieuwenhuis
• 500ml Maple Syrup from Duffy's Lane Maple
• one pound Sunflower Sprouts from M&B Alchemy
• five fresh Baguettes from Spirit Tree Estate Cidery
• five or six fresh Garlic Cloves
• quarter cup of Balsamic Vinegar
• quarter cup of Sunflower Oil (plus more for frying)
• Sea Salt to taste

1. The night before trim all excess fat and slice into one-and-a-half inch long stripes.
2. Then slice the opposite way to slice very fine thin bite size pieces.
3. Finely chop the garlic, add to the lamb, and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, sunflower oil in a sealable container to marinate overnight.
4. Fry the lamb on high heat until the water bubbles form the meat, season with sea salt and drizzle on maple syrup.
5. Reduce until it creates a caramelized sauce and looks sticky sweet.  You can adjust the amount of sticky sweet sauce by adding more or less maple syrup. If you add more you may need to reduce longer.
6. Serve on sliced baguette (half inch thick) with chopped fresh sunflower sprouts and the Maple Balsamic Lamb on top.
7. Enjoy!!

Tip: You can prepare your a whole leg of lamb and use only what you need and freeze the rest for another occasion.