Flemington Farmers Market

Until a local farmers market open last year, I visited many farmers markets in Melbourne.  Then we had our own and I haven't ventured far afield since then.  This weekend I had a yen to go to a farmers market.  The fifth weekend doesn't offer many farmers markets.  Thank goodness that Flemington Farmers Market is on every Sunday.  I really enjoyed our visit there and am sure I will return some time.

Our first stop was at the Red Beard Bakery from Trentham.  We tasted their sourdough hot cross buns and immediately bought a six pack.  They were light and fluffy but substantial too.  I looked longingly at the loaves of bread but I have a sourdough starter begging for attention.  Then I dragged Sylvia away from the bread tasting.

Before any more purchases, we walked around the market to get a sense of what was there.  It is always overwhelming to see the array of goodies on offer at a farmers market and it was hard to know where to start.  We walked by the cat treats, the oversized zucchini and the fundraising honey joys.

We began with a snack.  Not one of these pies.  Firstly we shared a soft chewy salted pretzel.  I looked at the Pure Pie stall longingly but they did not seem to have any vegetarian ones that were warm.  It was too early for pies.

Instead Sylvia and I shared a Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart.  They were rich and gooey.  So gooey that I rushed back for some serviettes.  But very delicious.

Then I bought some garlic.  Because we needed it.  And I liked the sound of elephant garlic.  We wandered around and bought vegies from a few stalls.  Two coloured corn, green and yellow zucchini, rainbow chard, purple kale, broccoli, onions.

I really liked the peppercorn tree in the middle of the market.  We stopped there to sample cheese.  Sylvia was very taken by the BoatShed Sun Smoke Cheese and we bought a wedge for $15.  (Not the price we usually pay for cheese but we both love our smoky flavours.)

I was particularly taken by this eclectic stall with the Wild Dog Natural Produce's Strawberry Vinegar.  Sylvia would have stayed and drunk all the tester vinegar.  Instead I bought a bottle ($9 for 250ml) which we took home to drink like cordial with soda water.  It is so so so delicious.  It was only through a little self control that we didn't drink the whole bottle today.

Next we headed over to the apple stall and tasted the three on offer from the Otways.  I really wanted to like the Cox Pippins because I love the name but the Jonagold were crisper.  Sylvia loved the red ones (I think they might have been Akane) so we bought a few of these too.  Don't the apples look just beautiful.  I turned some of them into a crumble tonight.

On the way out I started wondering about lunch.  We stopped at the pie man by the entrance and bought a wagyu sausage roll for E, a morroccan sweet potato pasty for me and a frangipani berry tart for E.  Sylvia got another pretzel.  My pastry had beautiful flaky pastry but was quite spicy.

Here is most of the food I bought.  One of the reasons I went to the farmers market was that I had made an effort to use up (almost) all the vegetables in the fridge.  I was delighted that I managed to get all the vegetables into the fridge.  I feel well stocked yet again and ready to face the week.

Flemington Farmers Market
Mount Alexander College
169-175 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, Vic 3031
 Every Sunday 9am - 1pm
www.flemingtonfarmersmarket.com.au