North Leeds – News today made the short journey down to Oakwood’s monthly Farmer’s market to meet some of the stall owners and sample some of the fine produce.
Autumn Harvest Mushrooms
First port of call was the delightful mushroom stall Autumn Harvest Mushrooms run by Jane and Adriano, which captivated us with their vast range of mushrooms that came in all shapes, sizes and colours. We sampled some delicious oyster mushrooms and conjured up some great risotto recipes on the spot. The types of mushrooms on offer included wild mushrooms such as Chanterelle and St Georges and farmed mushrooms such as Blewit and Coral. Also on sale was a range of dried mushrooms, mushroom powders and mushroom bruschettas.
Next we visited Kulfi entrepreneur Mike Tattersall who produces some of the North’s best Lassi, Sorbets, Ice creams and Fruit Ices. Indie-Ices have been trading for two years now and in this short time have racked up a variety of prestigious awards.
Indie-Ice creator Mike Tattersall
We were told of his award winning two star Mango and Lime ice cream and was taken back with how delicious his new Mango Lassi was as well. Two stars in the Ice cream world is seen as exceptional. Two more of Mike’s Ice cream flavours, Almond and Cardoman have also won awards recently in the Fine Food Awards. To keep up to date with Indie-Ices you can follow them on twitter here
Next we perused Woodside Farm’s stall of fresh strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants, and was wowed by the range of cakes available on the Cutting Cakes Patisserie stall. Our mouths watered as we examined the cakes on display, the Meanwood based patisserie also make wedding cakes and celebration cakes to order, visit their website for more information.
Belleau Bridge Trout Farm
Just across from these stalls was the Belleau Bridge Trout Farm & Smokery stall run by Simon and Ginny Harrop. On display was freshly caught Trout, smoked and unsmoked. The farm was established over 30 years ago and is based in Lincolnshire. The Rainbow trout for sale was caught from the spring fed waters of the great Eau River.
Thistlemist Farm
On to the soups and sauces we went, stopping at Thistlemist Farms stall run by Brett and Joanne Cameron. Based in Rothwell they produce a range of restaurant quality soups, dips and sauces direct from the family kitchen, and even grow the produce themselves. On offer to try today were sauces such as Mexicana and Sambuca, and the extra delicious Roast tomato, ginger and lime sauce. Thistlemist, where possible, source their ingredients locally helping reduce the carbon footprint and supporting local farmers at the same time.
Low fat Venison burgers and sausages
Providing hot food for the day was Round Green Farm serving up delicious low fat Venison burgers and sausages to the hungry crowd. At £3 each these proved a real bargain, and there was even the option to buy some more venison products to take home.
Next door were Yorkshire Highlanders named after the cows (or the four legged lawnmovers as they like to call them) that graze Dearne Valley. They were selling a variety of beef, not to be confused with the popular beef from the Aberdeen Angus cows! Along with the beef, you could also buy wild boar sausages, venison liver and ostrich fillets, there really was something for every carnivore.
Not forgetting the variety of fruit and veg on sale at other stalls, along with the cheeses, milk, herbs and chilli’s, Oakwood Market caters for everyone, and is a great way to spend a Saturday morning sampling the delights of the region, and bagging a real bargain. See you again next month Oakwood market.
Click here to download the latest leaflet on dates of upcoming farmers markets in Oakwood.
Photography by Gemma Burnham www.gemma-burnham.com
