Inside this
issue:
The
Meaning of Thanksgiving
Throughout history
many cultures have celebrated the harvest season with thanksgiving festivals.
It’s a time to give thanks for an abundant harvest and to celebrate
the cycle of life itself: the continual pattern of renewal of plants
and animals.
Harvest festivals existed
around the world in many different cultures including the ancient Greeks,
the Romans, the Egyptians, and the Chinese.
Greek: Greek
myth was inextricably mixed with religion. The ancient Greeks worshipped
many gods and goddesses. Demeter was the goddess of the grain and the
rich harvest. A feast was held each autumn and offerings of seed corn,
cakes, fruit and pigs were made to Demeter in the hope that her gratitude
would grant them a good harvest.
Roman: Ceres,
goddess of wheat, was the Roman equivalent to Demeter and harvest foods
were offered to Ceres during the annual harvest festivities.
Egyptian: Min
was the ancient Egyptian god of vegetation and fertility. The harvest
festival of Min featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part, followed
by a feast, music, dancing and sports.
Chinese: The
ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival on a day they considered
to be the birthday of the moon. They baked special moon cakes that were
round and yellow like the full moon. It was believed that flowers would
fall from the moon during the 3-day festival and those who saw the flowers
would be rewarded with good fortune.
Canadian:
In Canada the day is celebrated on the second Monday in October with
a thanksgiving dinner that traditionally features roasted turkey and
cranberry sauce, fall vegetables such as squash (native to the Americas),
cider and pumpkin pie. The European roots of this celebration date back
2,000 years to Celtic priests, the druids. Once their summer's harvest
had been safely stored, the Celts prayed for their sun god in the coming
battle with the darkness and cold of winter. The Celtic harvest rituals
were eventually absorbed into the Christian Feast of Saints and "Thanksgiving"
as we know it was born and later brought to the new world.
The first annual Thanksgiving
Day was proclaimed by the Canadian Parliament on November 6, 1879, as
a "day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful
harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
Kingston market vendors wish you
all a very happy Thanksgiving celebration.
CHRIS ACKERMAN
On this beautiful Saturday
afternoon in the fall, Chris Ackerman’s stall is a colourful array of
ripe field tomatoes and apples, jugs of preservative-free cider, and
ornamental kale with purple leaves. Glowing in the background are pots
of bronze and yellow chrysanthemums.
Chris has been coming to market
since childhood. He remembers riding in the family’s Caprice Classic
with the back seat full of corn and tomatoes. His mother, Lynn, was
known as "The Apple Lady". They had 20 acres in apple orchards
and made their own cider for years until they found someone else to
press it. Chris recalls coming home from college and pressing cider
till one in the morning and then getting up at five to come to market.
At that time they also had a hundred head of dairy cattle, but the cows
were sold three years ago and the orchards were chopped down in the
late 80’s. "There’s been a lot of changes. Coming to market is
the only thing we still do," said Chris.
The other thing they still
do is sell fresh cider that is free of additives or preservatives. The
cider is made from hand-picked apples with no "grounders".
The current batch is made from Macs, Spartans and Elstars. Chris will
press cider once a week from early October until December, and then
at least twice a week as the demand picks up for the Christmas season.
"Some people buy up to 50 jugs to freeze," he said.
The cider can be served cold
or heated up with cinnamon sticks and spices. Since there are no preservatives
the cider must be refrigerated and then it will keep for seven to ten
days. After that it should be frozen.
Chris carries up to fifteen
varieties of apples and he describes the best use for each kind. For
example, right now Elstars are good for cooking because they hold together
well and have a tart flavour. They will be followed by Spys and Idareds.
Spartans are good for apple sauce. They have pink flesh and make a pink
apple sauce with no need for sugar.
For eating as a snack, Chris
recommends Royal Gala because they are hard and sweet and Elstar because
they are hard and tart. He said that many Europeans like the Cox Orange
Pippin. They are the most expensive variety, almost double the cost
of Elstar, and this is because the trees are harder to grow in this
climate since they don’t withstand our winter so well. The all-time
favourite and big seller is the Mac, even though they do get soft when
cooked.
Next year, Chris will be planting
vine crops such as cucumbers and zucchini. In May he will be selling
bedding plants and hanging baskets grown in the family greenhouses at
Baycrest Farms, South Bay, in Prince Edward County.
**********************************
The Kingston Public
Market Vendors’ Association welcomes new vendors for their produce section
and crafters for Spring, 2002.
If you are interested
in producing home-grown food or flowers for a living, or if you want
to sell unique foodstuffs or hand-made items that are not currently
available at the market, we would like to hear from you.
Think about the rewards….
If you take pride in what you produce and enjoy the benefits of working
in a close-knit community with loyal customers, perhaps this is the
place for you.
For more information
Contact Wayne Hawley,
Market Clerk, 384-1770
ext. 155, Monday to
Friday during office hours.
*****************************************
Kingston Market:
Past and Future
Market Square is home to the
oldest farmers’ market in Ontario. The market’s informal origins reach
back to the arrival of Empire Loyalists in the 1780s and the founding
of the city itself. The formal establishment of the market took place
in 1801and this year marked its 200th anniversary.
This year also marked a renaming
of the Market area to First Capital Place. Bounded by King, Brock
and Clarence Streets, this area extends into the waterfront to include
the marina and the Shoal Tower. An application to declare First Capital
Place a national historic site has been made and there are plans to
transform the area, including Market Square, in keeping with the heritage
theme.
While these contemplated changes
are physical the Kingston Public Market Vendors’ Association is reflecting
on other changes that may benefit the market. For this reason, we invite
our readers and customers to participate in a shared vision of what
the market could be.
Share Your Vision
for the Market
The KPMVA was formed
in 2000 to provide a unified voice for market vendors and to work in
a postive and co-operative way with the powers-that-be. The markets
is more than thevendors: it belongs to the community and the KPMVA is
very eager to hear what you would like the market to become.
Please write your suggestions on the tear-out
form below and give it to Hank-John Reinink or Titia Posthuma at the
market. Any market vendor will be glad to direct you to their stalls.
Or you can e-mail your comments to Donna James, [email protected].
Name: ________________________
Phone #: ______________________
What items are not
available that I’d like to see
_____________________________________________________________
What I like most about
the market
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
What I like least about
the market _____________________________________________________________
Comments/Complaints
_____________________________________________________________
Pumpkin Recipes
Thanks to everyone
who shared their favourite pumpkin recipes. We picked a Pumpkin Soup
that Mary and Peter Carlson submitted. Peter said they served this to
friends one time and the guests raved about it so much that one of them
wrote to Gourmet Magazine requesting the recipe. The Magazine
eventually contacted the Carlsons who were rather taken aback. They
sent off the recipe but it never was printed in Gourmet Magazine. Here
it is.
Pumpkin Soup
One 2 1/2-lb pumpkin
or squash (7 cups when cut in 1" cubes)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups lightly salted
chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly gound
pepper
2-2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup finely chopped
ham (optional)
Croutons:
4 tbsp butter
2 slices white bread
1/8 tsp mace;
nutmeg
Peel the pumpkin or
squash and dice into 1" cubes. Melt butter in large, heavy-bottomed
saucepan. Add pumpkin and onions. Stir to coat. Cover and cook over
low heat for 20 minutes.
Add the stock, salt,
and pepper. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.
If using squash, blend the soup till smooth. Otherwise, pass the soup
through a sieve or food mill to remove any fibres. Return to saucepan.
Add milk to the desired consistency. Taste, add more salt if necessary.
Heat through but do not boil. Stir in chopped ham.
Melt the butter for
croutons. Cut the bread into very small squares and fry gently until
golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle on mace.
Serve the soup in a
tureen or bowls with croutons on top. Grate fresh nutmeg over the soup.
**********************************
There are many different types of
pumpkin and a quick look around the market reveals an amazing variety
from small decorative gourds to pumpkins for cooking or carving. What
seems to be missing are the giant ones: is this an opportunity for
a new vendor?
What’s In Season: Winter Squash
Major Ontario varieties
are Waltham Butternut, Buttercup, Royal Acorn, Hubbard, Hercules, Kindred,
Delicious and Boston Marrow.
Buying and
Storing
Look for a dry, uniformly
hard surface free of soft spots and bruises. Despite the tough exterior
(which preserves them during lengthy storage), winter squash needs careful
handling.
To store for several
weeks at home, keep cool and dry with good air circulation. Best bets
for lengthy storage are butternut and hubbard varieties.
Preparing
Squash can be halved,
seeded and baked at 375°F (190°C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve cooked
squash with a tablespoon of brown sugar or maple syrup and a pat of
butter in the cavity. Or, scoop out flesh and mash.
To microwave, pierce
whole Ontario squash in several places.
Cook on High for 8 to 12 minutes, or until tender, depending on size.
Turn over partway through cooking. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Cut in
half, remove seeds and serve, or scoop out flesh and mash.
Winter squashes also
lend themselves to creamed vegetable soups and, like pumpkin, the puréed
version can be combined with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to make squash
pie.
South American cooks
will bake a beef stew inside a seeded squash which acts both as a cooking
vessel and an ingredient of the dish.
Source: Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Queen’s Printer for
Ontario, 2001
