The St. Lawrence Market, Toronto - I am officially naming it food mecca.Recently my husband and I were lucky enough to attend our friends wedding in Toronto. The hockey loving couple were married at the Hockey Hall of Fame in the shadow of the Stanley Cup. The wedding, and the trip in general, made for a fantastic summer vacation!
I knew that Toronto had a lot going on culturally and I knew that it is a very crafty, artsy city, but I had no idea how wonderful the culinary scene would be.
We spent a full morning at The St. Lawrence Market, Toronto's farmers market on steroids. I think I want to live there. I want to pitch my tent and live right in the middle of the aisle between the peameal bacon (yes, I've found a bacon I love!) and the imported Greek sheep's feta. I think I found heaven.
In the market one can find everything from fresh herbs for cooking and healing.
Home made jams, jellies, and preserves are plentiful.
Fresh pasta and many sauces await your kitchen table ...
... as do warm breads of every shape, flavor, and grain type.
And now I would like to say a few words about cheese in Canada. The beauty of purchasing cheese in Canada is that the government doesn't put excessive rules on the ages, aging process, raw milk ingredients, and enzymes found in dairy products. As a result, I was able to have sheep milk feta that had been imported from Greece, stored in whey, and shipped in a wooden barrell. I've never seen or tasted anything like it. The feta had a creamy layer on the outside and a firmer center - like frosted cheese - and had a pungent barnyard taste that many of us cheese lovers crave.
Just one of many cheese shops in the St. Lawrence MarketLet me spell this one out: B-A-C-O-N!
I am not a fan of bacon. I know, what kind of person am I? For some reason bacon tastes metallic to me. I've tried many kinds of bacon from the cheap Oscar Meyer varities to skilfully cut and cured bacon from some of America's best butchers but I just don't like it. Then, I met real Canadian peameal bacon... although in Canada they just call it peameal bacon. Peameal bacon is a variety of unsmoked back bacon that is brined and rolled in a meal made from ground yellow peas... and it is GOOD. When cooked it is juicy and has a crispy, crusty coating that becomes a little bit sticky I assume from the sugar in the pea meal. The beauty of the meat counters at the St. Lawrence Market is that you can purchase cooked bacon to enjoy on site, or you can purchase bacon to take home and cook. I was very pleased to find a carving station where we could sample the goods, and sample we did!
raw peameal bacon
peameal bacon and back bacon carving station at the St Lawrence MarketLearn more about raw milk controversy
Visit the St Lawrence Market in Toronto
Hockey Hall of Fame is well worth a visit too! The wedding was catered by the HHOF restaurant and everything, especially the french fry bar, was delicious!
