What greater compliment is there than that?! The back room is overflowing with nothing but the freshest from your neighbours at Twin Creeks, Wolf River, Bayview Organics, Persephone Garden, Silver Dollar and Soundview Orchards. First there's the whole salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and Laurel's balsamic vinaigrette. Then there are potatoes, zucchini, beans, onions, garlic and peppers "hot, sweet and exotic". We'd love to see every herb have a happy home, so Kathy is taking orders for her basil, dill, parsley (curly and Italian) Thai basil, Thyme, etc.

We've added one more variety of plum to the store this week for a total of four, along with Red Haven peaches. And the new apples just keep coming from Soundview Orchards- the tart varieties of the early season.

Speaking of apples, we had a fascinating visit from the folks at O'Keefe Grange in Arran. They have heritage varieties of apples - one, called "Lady" is 5000 years old! On Thanksgiving weekend they'll have a heritage apple tasting. When you've chosen your favourite they will graft it for you and NEXT Thanksgiving you can come and pick up your own tree for (I think I'm remembering correctly) thirty dollars. That's the most exciting way to promote bio-diversity I've ever seen.

If all that is making you think apple pie, just check the top left shelf of the black freezer for Barb's ready to bake pies. And if you're in the "mode", the ice cream is just to the right. We have seven flavours of Mapleton's Organic and a new Raspberry Chocolate Chunk from Organic Meadows.

While I'm in the sweet section, Trudy's brownies, carrot cake and cranberry oat cookies are always favourites. We discovered a new treat at Summerfolk and are now carrying organic spelt cookies from New Moon Kitchen - dairy and egg-free but certainly not flavour-free - Chocolate Mint, Ginger Snap, Moka, Oatmeal Goldies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. There's also a gluten-free chocolate macaroon.

Margaret keeps making your gluten-free favourites. The samples of her peach coffee cake were a big hit last week with everyone, and she makes savoury breads, muffins, pies, tarts, cookies, and cakes to order as well as for our freezer.

Saturday may rain so after you've shopped at Around the Sound and the Market, it'll be a great day for the first ever Wellness Roadtrip. This self-guided tour includes visits, samples and demonstrations at nine venues with local wellness practitioners. Tickets, which include a chance to win a prize package worth over $3500, are available from the Ginger Press.

This weekend and next you can also see "Tuesdays and Sundays", a poignant one act play produced at Grey Roots by a new professional theatre company in Owen Sound - Union Eight. We're proud to have offered a little help to this production as it was financed in part by sales in Around the Sound of a yoga DVD by the director Clare Preuss. Ah, you've got to love that kind of symbiosis.

Thanks to everyone who sent me the link to the excellent little video about where our food comes from. See it yourself at www.eatrealeatlocal.ca
And look at the wonderful vignettes about Around the Sound producers put together by Jon Lawless and Michal McCurdy over the summer at www.youtube.com/aroundthesoundfood

Around the Sound Local Food Market is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West, just a block north of the library.
Call if you need something special put away for you - we're now regularly saving bread for a few savvy customers and calling others when their favourite foods are in.

See you Around the Sound!
Anne

519-370-2333
www.aroundthesoundfood.com