Category: From the kitchen

Pork Fit for any Fork

We may be so much more than a craft butcher and artisan deli, but what type of place would we be if prime cuts of pork weren’t available? We are called ‘The Piggy Market’ after all!

We feature pork exclusively from Haanover View farms, located in Marysville, Ontario (between Kingston and Belleville). They raise a Tarmorth/Duroc Blend breed pig, which creates an excellent old world flavour with the fat composition of a newer breed, which makes for truly delicious pork all around.

A really simple way to cook a Coppa (boneless shoulder roast) is to season with salt, barbecue spice, and roast in a 350 degree oven until done to an internal temperature of 151 degrees. It is then ready to be sliced for dinner, or also great for sandwiches. Make sure to stop by for the best pork that is perfectly suited for any and all forks (and mouths!).

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Say Cheese!

Sweet Dreams are made of Brie..or any other type of cheese that your heart desires!

We do a lot of sweat dreaming here, and over the past seven years, the cheese selection at The Piggy Market has gone from 4 cheesemakers, to well over 20 cheesemakers represented! All the cheeses are handpicked by Dave, who will often head to tastings, award ceremonies, and many times to the cheesemakers directly to find out what’s new and exciting!

One of our favourites at the moment is the cheese of the year for 2016, the Avonlea Cheddar from Cow’s Creamery in Prince Edward Island. This is a clothbound cheddar, aged for two years on the Island. The Cheddar is a great example of how where a cheese is made imparts flavours into the milk, as this cheese comes with an aroma and slight taste of cellared potatoes! Come on in for a taste of the East Coast!

Many of the cheeses in our cooler boast really unique flavours, from the region they come from. Whether Quebec, Ontario, or Prince Edward Island, we’ve got the right cheese choice for your entertaining, sandwich, and snacking needs!

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Soup, There It Is!: A Comforting Way to Stay Warm

The weather has been quite dreary lately, which can make one just want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket, favourite movie and a hot bowl of soup. Besides the immediate sense of nostalgia that soup can bring (your Mother making something to fill both your bowl and stomach) those comforting feelings are actually very beneficial to your well-being.

‘Soup is good for the health.

Perhaps the easiest way to add vegetables to your daily meals is to eat soup. You can make several bowls of soup filled with fruits and veggies each day and you’ll be filled. Eating vegetables is part of a healthy diet so veggie soups are highly recommended. Fiona Kirk wrote a book on soup as an effective diet. In her bestseller “Soup Can Make You Thin”, Kirk wrote:

“The wealth of ingredients in a bowl of soup provides a good balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats as well as the vitamins and minerals required to create energy and keep us firing on all cylinders.”

Soup makes you feel full.

Soup fills you up because it stretches the stomach. You easily feel full so it’s ideal to eat soup at the beginning of every meal.’

Let us help you relive those comforting moments with some of our finest house made soups:

Turkey Noodle

Beef and Barley

Sausage and Lentil

Tomato Coconut

Potato Leek

Cream of Celery Root

Velvet Squash and many more!

New soups are made every 2-3 days, so make sure to stop by to see what’s available.

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Bon Voyage & Bon Appetit!

Chef Arif, one of our familiar faces around The Piggy Market, will be leaving us at the end of the week.  Arif has been with us for well over a year, and has become a huge part of the store, with the take home dinner program, our lunch menus, re-vitalizing the butter chicken, creating our hummus that we sell to Origin Trade every week, and much more.

Arif came to us through a long career with much experience, from Vancouver, London Ontario, and restaurants here in Ottawa.  As of October 24th, you will be able to find him at Le Hibou, in Wakefield, Quebec, where he is taking over as Executive Chef.  Arif will be sorely missed, but coming into his place is Dan Ward, who has been with us for the summer and will be taking over the dinner and lunch menus.

Arif is still with us until Friday the 14th, and we have quite a few of his delicious take home dinners in the freezer that you can stock up on!

Come on in, and say good bye, wish him well, and best fortunes for the future.  Then go visit Le Hibou in Wakefield next month for some good eats!

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The Piggy Market Thanksgiving Experience

Thanksgiving is probably one of our favourite times of year here at The Piggy Market. We use it as a time to reflect on the past summer season, and remember all of the good times we’ve had, before the coming of winter.

It also means there’s time for one more harvest dinner, and we always try to make the most of it. The store will be absolutely full this weekend, with anything you could desire! If you want to make sure we have exactly what you want, feel free to order ahead. Here’s what you’ll be able to find:

Turkeys – From Scotch Line Turkey Farms, near Waterloo, Ontario. Fresh, never frozen, and growth hormone and antibiotic free.

Hams – Lavergne Western Meat, in Navan, Ontario. Bone in, Maple Smoked, and delicious. All from pork raised within 100 KM of Ottawa.

Fresh Pork – loin roasts, leg roasts, belly, and more. From Haanover View Farms in Marysville, Ontario

Lamb Legs – All natural, from a 4th generation farm in Osgoode, Ontario. Maple Meadow farm is also our regular supplier.

Pheasants and Guinea Fowl out of the freezer. Cornish Hens. Chickens and Duck.

Our Bakers are hard at work as well, making sure there are lots of breads and treats available. Remember, our baking is always guaranteed 100% nut free. We’ll have miles of pies available all weekend as well:

Pumpkin – Pumpkins from Rideau Pines Farm, and roasted in house.
Apple – Apples from Hall Apple Orchard.
Raspberry – Berries from Rideau Pines Farm
Sour Cherry – Cherries from Warner Farms – available only Saturday afternoon and Sunday
Apricot – Fruit from Warner Farms

As always, Kyle will be hard at work making our infamous beaus beer sausage stuffing, which will be available by the litre. This one always goes fast, so call to reserve for sure!

Please note, we will be closed on Monday, October 10th. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Full on summer

Well, it looks like we’re full into summer. Steak season extraordinaire. One of my personal favorites for a backyard summer BBQ is a gorgeous t-bone, from o’Brien farms, with grilled corn on the cob, and a nice heaping bowl of guacamole.

For steaks, I always salt the meat about an hour before I cook, and let it come up to room temperature so as not to shock the steaks once they go on the grill.

Grilled corn is probably one of my favorites of the summer, and is even better over a campfire. Buy fresh corn on the cob, and soak it for an hour in water. Drain, and cook right in the husk over a medium heat for about ten minutes. Once cooked, unhusk, butter, a little fleur de sel, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Guacamole, while not exactly local, goes absolutely wonderful with grilled meats, and a lot of the non avocado parts can be procured at the farmers market. All you really need for a good guac is avocado, lime, onion, garlic, cilantro, and salt. If you want to be a little more colorful about it, add some diced field or cherry tomatoes for color.

This summer is breeding it’s own particular set of problems. With the high heat and the low rainfall, a lot of farmers are buying water for irrigation. Corn is few and far between, some crops are really short season right now, and we are seeing price increases as the costs increase. This won’t end with the end of produce season, as meat producers are relying on corn and hay crops that are failing.

On a positive note, local chili peppers are thriving in the heat, tomatoes are full of flavor, and as a whole in Canada we seem to be supporting our local food systems more and more. Enjoy the summer, the steaks, and pray for rain (overnight rain, of course)!

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