Vancouver Farmer's Markets

I spent a week in Vancouver a little while ago for a couple music shows: Rural Alberta Advantage and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Thanks to both for killing it, and your welcome Neil Young for singing you happy bday.

Anyways, I spent most of the down time eating.

One of my favourite things about Vancouver: Year-round farmers markets. If I lived in Vancouver, I would visit these markets weekly.

Granville Public Market

Fresh fish

Fresh Produce

Granville has a pretty diverse assortment of vendors ranging from the raw ingredients: produce, and fresh fish, right up to artesian bakers, and sausage makers.

Oyama charcuterie display. Check out the duck confit in the back left!

My favourite shop: Oyama Sausage Company is (and was) worth a second trip. The best approach is to have a look around the counters for what you want to order before you take a number. Its busy and they won't call your number twice before moving on to the next customer.

Also, make a plan before going and check out their site; the massive assortment of charcuterie, sausage, salume and their specialty: prosciutto is overwhelming.



We grabbed some spanish chorizo for a paella we were cooking later that night, and some duck prosciutto for a late night post wine feast. Hard to describe duck prosciutto: Lighter and less intense than the pork veriety, and the fat was creamy. Delicious.

Duck prosciutto

B.C. seafood paella

My favourite part of the paella was the combination of the rich halibut stock with the oily saltiness of the chorizo and the warm flavour from the saffron. I think I could have eaten those three in combination as a soup and been satisfied, but the fresh B.C. mussles and salmon were nice too.

On the the second trip to Oyama Sausage Company (this time with our knowledgeable local - who also happens to be a great cook), we grabbed some Serrano, and wild boar ham, duck liver pate with black truffles and cream as well as some duck confit.

Serrano ham and duck
liver pate

Wild boar ham

We had the hams and the pate with some cheeses, apples and crusty bread (rice crackers for Rhi) for lunch one day but saved the duck confit for a treat on our last night in town (more on that later).

The hams were a nice compliment for each other; the Serrano satisfied that familiar prosciutto-like salt obsession I have and the boar ham providing a bit deeper complex contrast. The pate was decadent, but very rich. In a previous post where I made chicken liver pate, I thought about drizzling some acid to cut through the richness, but I think it would have ruined this. In hindsight, I think pate is best enjoyed celebrating the richness, and having a slice of apple afterwards or a good glug of bold red wine.


Vancouver Winter Farmers Market (By Nat Bailey Stadium on Ontario St.)

Heirloom tomatoes

Fresh squeaky cheese
curds for breakfast

This market was a bit more of a local secret. It didn't have all the fancy bells and whistles, but it had a real community sense. Everyone knew each other, there was a food scrap recycling program and even a bike tune-up shop. Like Granville Market, this one had a good range of vendors but the highlight was definitely the produce.

While shuffling through the maze, we had cheese curds that were so fresh they squeaked for breakfast. Rhi, assured me this was normal for fresh curds.

Food recycling program

Sole Food

I didn't get a photo but there was a guy here who made his own sausage, and did so keeping in mind local beers to pair with. Great idea and wish I had more time to chat him up. Next time.


Duck Confit!

I'm too excited about this stuff to wait for another post. In a nutshell, duck confit is duck cooked in its own fat and then preserved in the solidified fat (once it cools down) for weeks. Admittedly it sounds gross, and doesn't look much more appetizing when its fresh out of its cold fat cocoon, but once crisped up on a hot pan, it was up there with the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Words wouldn't do this justice, but for the sake of this blog: think the satisfying oily saltiness of duck skin, permeating through a perfectly cooked juicy duck leg. For those who haven't had duck, think he same thing with turkey but richer.


Final thoughts

This post wouldn't be complete without mentioning our host. She made sure we ate very well and our wine glasses were never empty for long.

She cooked up her special crab recipe with a leek and bacon hash, golden beets and baby sprout greens as well as a crab bisque fitting of the first meal. She also made duck breast with a delicious gravy/chimichurri made from the duck drippings and fresh basil with baby artichokes.

Unfortunately I was too busy over-eating and didn't capture many photos of what she cooked up. Fortunately for me (and irrelevant for you), I remember every moment and left a little more inspired. Big thanks to Heather for the reminder that good home cooking is all about good conceptualization of your favourite local ingredients. She also shares my belief that the cook should never be without a glass of red in their hand.

I leave you with one last picture of the crab.

I ate this x 2 suckas!

Cheers,
-m