A Market Inspired Menu

Nothing is better than fresh! Manitoba has so much more to offer the dinner table than we generally give it credit for. With local love and pop-up markets becoming more and more prevalent, your weekly trip to the grocery store during the summer can be switched to a weekly trip to the local market. Walking around our weekly farmers’ market is so inspiring, we’ve brought you a market menu for summer entertaining that features Manitoba’s best.

This quinoa salad is so versatile and the perfect way to showcase fresh produce. We've suggested using radishes, cucumbers & peas but adding your favourites like fresh spinach, asparagus, green onions or herbs would work wonderful as well!

Garden Quinoa Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa

5-6 small radishes thinly sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber

3/4 cup shelled peas

Vinaigrette

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp lemon juice

6 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Method:

1. Cook quinoa to package directions. Allow to cool.

2. While quinoa is cooking, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together.

3. Combine vegetables, quinoa & dressing together. Season with more salt & pepper if necessary. Enjoy!

Thirst Tea & Coffee is a new, local company serving handcrafted tea lattes & lemonades from their "tea traveller". You can find them at our weekly farmers market, and they've come up with a market inspired iced tea recipe for you to enjoy at home!

Sea Buckthorn & Lemon Balm Tea Lemonade

2 tbsp dried sea buckthorn leaves

1/4 cup fresh lemon balm leaves + extra sprigs

2 tbsp local honey

4 drops vanilla

4 cups water

4 cups lemonade (we suggest organic lemonade that is typically less sweetened)

fresh berries

Method:

1. Combine 1/4 cup of lemon balm and dried sea buckthorn leaves in a tea infuser or tea bag (if you do not have either of these a french press or straining your tea through a sieve after it has steeped also works).

2. Boil 4 cups of water and pour over your tea mixture. Steep for 8 minutes. After removing the tea from the water, stir in honey and vanilla.

3. Fill a large glass or mason jar with ice, fill two thirds with tea and top with lemonade.

4. Garnish with fresh lemon balm and fresh berries if desired.

You don't need to have a fancy ice cream maker to whip up this cool treat! We used local black raspberries for this recipe. Black raspberries are very similar to the red variety but some people fine them slightly sweeter.

No-Churn Black Raspberry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups raspberries

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup 2% milk

1/4 tsp salt

5 large egg yolks

Method:

1. In a saucepan combine raspberries & sugar. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and crush the raspberries as they soften.

2. Stir in lemon juice, cream, milk & salt. Bring to a gentle simmer.

3. With the egg yolks in a large bowl, gently ladle 1/2 cup of warm cream into the eggs and whisk constantly. Continue half a cup at a time until 2 cups of cream have been added, going slowly. Add the rest of the cream mixture and mix thoroughly.

4. Cover and chill the mixture for at least 4 hours.

5. Pour chilled mixture into a shallow dish and place in the freezer. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer every 30 minutes for 2 hours.

6. Cover and freeze until firm. Then you're ready to serve!

Top with fresh berries, chopped chocolate or nuts!

Each of these recipes is intended to be a blank canvas for summer produce, allowing ingredients to be showcased as they become available throughout the summer. The featured ingredients can be interchanged as new fruits, herbs and vegetables come into their season. In Manitoba, the flavors of farm fresh & local grown items are incomparable to what we are able to buy throughout the winters in our grocery stores. Therefor we feel the need to celebrate our summer harvest as much as possible! We hope we leave you feeling inspired, and look forward to seeing you at our weekly market - Saturdays until September 14th, 9am-1pm.