Ballan Farmers Market - February 2013

Here we are into February and yes, am very well aware I am running behind in my blog posts and there are quite a few events happening around the area over the next few weeks that I do need to let you know about!

But first of all, don't forget the Ballan Farmers Market on this coming Saturday!

The Farmers Market is again looking splendid and lovely to see everyone out and about enjoying themselves.  Last month it was a beautiful sunny day here in Ballan and it was lovely to see so many people wandering around chatting to each other, having coffee at the Mill Cottage, purchasing the fresh produce and generally enjoying themselves!

But there was a new person there I had not seen before.

I wonder if you got to see him?

the littlest busker in Ballan!

so cute to watch him play his 'guitar' to all the passers by.

This Saturday the market will have the usual fabulous stalls plus a new meat and small good seller, loads of berries, fruits, even a wool producer and moorabool landcare display.  So get down there early to make sure you don't miss out!

Hope to see you there too.

click LIKE on the Ballan Farmers Market Facebook Page for all the latest information.

Fresh Produce is always available at the Ballan Farmers Market as you can see in one of the previous blog posts HERE.

Dates: 2nd Saturday of the month
Location: Mill Cottages gardens, Inglis St, Ballan

and a couple of those events coming up are:
Ballan Vintage Tractor Pull & Engine Rally - Ballan Racecourse Reserve.  
17th February, 2013.  Grounds open Saturday 16th February 2013 and some camping facilities are available.
The Ballan Autumn festival just gets better and better! Enjoy the fantastic street parade with wood chop, art and craft shows, bands, amusements, concerts, pet show, and much more..... that's coming up next month!

The Meredith Bakery at the Ballan Farmers Market!

We had another great day at the Ballan Farmers Market last week, just unfortunate that the weather was cold and windy! 

Didn't seem to stop the people coming out in full force though ..... so many have been hearing about this wonderful little market that they are coming from everywhere to check it out!

You should too.

The next Ballan Farmers Market is on Saturday 13 October.

There are many stalls selling a variety of fresh produce, but one of the tastiest stalls at the market is the MEREDITH BAKERY. They are usually situated just inside the main entrance.

above 'map' shows where the stall is usually located.

Its not possible to try each and every one of their pies or loaves of bread - well certainly not in one trip to the market - but they attend many of the Farmers Markets in the area as well as having the bakery in Geelong.

Meredith Bakery originally opened in Meredith, (Victoria, Austraia) in September 2011, and has been receiving consistent fantastic reviews, so much so they opened a shop on the corner of Moorabool and Kilgour street in Geelong, just up the road from Simonds Stadium in July 2012.

They specialise in bio-dynamic Sourdough, though they also cater for those who like bread with less strength in flavour with semi-sourdough's, white, wholemeal, wholegrain and fruit loaves.

Not only do they bake bread, but original meat, chicken and vegetable pies. Including family size pies too. Also do quiches, fresh foccacias or sandwiches all with their own products.

the above are not my images - I stole them off the Meredith Bakery's Facebook page!

and they bake in store, fresh, daily!

But don't just take my word for it .... this week the results came out for The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in Melbourne held last weekend and they received 6 SILVER and 6 BRONZE medals for 12 of their pies!

                 CONGRATULATIONS to MEREDITH BAKERY!!

Meredith Bakery entered The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in Melbourne this past weekend and received 6 SILVER and 6 BRONZE medals for 12 of their pies!

and to get your taste buds working overtime, their winning pies are:


Thai Green Chicken Curry
Chicken and Leek
Cauliflower Broccoli and Blue Cheese
Seafood Chowder
Minted Lamb and Pea
Spiced Vegetable and Meredith Feta
Beef Mushroom and Red Wine
Spanish Mussel
Lamb Curry
Beef Wellington
Plain Mince Pie
Plain Chunky Pie
You can buy them at the bakery in Geelong or at most of the Farmers Markets in this area ..... in particular at the BALLAN FARMERS MARKET on the second Saturday of each month!!

In case they sell out quickly, I think I might need to be there early next month!  I am going for the Cauliflower Broccoli and Blue Cheese Pie and John is sure to want the Spanish Mussel Pie ..... what one would be your favourite?



URL's that will be of interest:

Ballan Farmers Market


The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition

Meredith Bakery   (though not up and running just yet!)

Meredith Bakery Facebook Page


other blog posts on the Ballan Farmers Market:

1. April 2012


2. April 2012

3. May 2012

4. June 2012


5. July 2012

6. August 2012

 
7. August 2012

MEREDITH BAKERY

OPEN 7 DAYS

Kilgour and Moorabool St's, 

Geelong, Victoria 3220

contact number: (03) 5297 9567

hours of opening:  every day - 7:00 - 18:00

don't forget the next Ballan Farmers Market is:

please note the above blog post was not for any social media event, this particular post is for the enjoyment of our loyal followers !!

But we are available for Social Media work at anytime. Be it bakeries, restaurants, festivals, wineries, galleries, cafes, coffee shops, markets or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!

email:

Leone and John Fabre

Fresh produce always available at the Ballan Market.

One of the main reasons for going to the Ballan Farmers Market is to pick up the fresh local produce!

One of my favourite's is the Silver Beet .... if I don't get my fix of fresh silver beet I am not happy. Always pick it up just inside the gate in the garden area as seen above.

Silverbeet is more popular than English spinach in Australia and easier to grow as it is more heat tolerant. In other countries, Silverbeet can be known as Chard or Swiss Chard. It may be green or green with red stems and veins. Many Australians feel that spinach and Silverbeet are interchangeable. But there is a difference in nutrient analysis and some recipes work better with one rather than the other.

You cannot go wrong when you choose fresh local silver beet, you can just about see them little vitamins doing the happy dance!

Native to the Mediterranean, silver beet has an earthy flavour and is a good source of folate, fibre and vitamins A and C and iron.

This is the vegetable, with its big, dark green leaves and white veins and stalk that many Australians mistakenly call spinach. Silverbeet is in fact a close relative of both spinach and beetroot. Used for many centuries, silverbeet was mentioned in Roman writings dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. Even before this time it was a popular vegetable, thought to have originated in the Mediterranean.

....... and beetroot.

Wow, have you ever seen such delicious looking beetroot?

Beetroot is a root vegetable with dark purple / red skin and firm flesh. It has a rich, earthy flavour with a mild, bitter edge.

Baby beetroot is smaller and sweeter than the regular variety, and is ideal for salads.

Beetroot leaves can be used like spinach, cooked on their own as a side dish, or in soups, salads and sauces.

Choose beetroot without splits, and with leaves and stems intact.

Beetroot is high in fibre and folate and contains manganese, vitamin C and potassium. The bright purple colour is from antioxidants called betacyanins that may help prevent high blood pressure and protect blood vessels.

Beetroot leaves are rich in vitamin K and the antioxidant beta-carotene.

When cutting beetroot stems, leave about 3cm of stem attached, or the colour will bleed. Wear disposable gloves when preparing beetroot to avoid staining your hands.

Click HERE for some great tips on preparing beetroot.

Hope we see you at the next Ballan Market on September 8. Be early so you can have the best choice of all the fresh produce that will be available.

our previous blog posts on the Ballan Farmers Market are here:

1. APRIL

2. APRIL

3. MAY

4. JUNE

5. JULY

6. AUGUST

  

 

.

did you forget what today was?

Second Saturday of the Month

Today is the second Saturday of the month and if you missed today's Ballan Farmers Market you are now going to have to wait till next month!

The Ballan Farmers' market commenced in November 2011 in its unique location at Mill Cottage, 96 Inglis Street Ballan.

The first market had 1,000 visitors and subsequent markets are held on the second Saturday of the month from 9am to 2pm. 

Maybe put these dates in your diary now:

• September 8
• October 13
• November 10
• December 8

We were a little late arriving at the market today as we had stayed overnight in Melbourne. But still managed to buy the fresh produce that we needed.

Today we spent some time looking at the plants available as we are now starting to think about the garden and what plants we may need once spring arrives!  This particular stall at the market has plenty of fresh vegetables,  plants and seedlings as well as a good display of cactus as seen in the images below:

so next time you are at the Ballan Farmers Market, do check out this stall. It is located (usually!) way at the back, you cannot miss it:

don't forget, the next market is:

our previous blog posts on the Ballan Farmers Market are here:
1. APRIL

2. APRIL

3. MAY

4. JUNE

5. JULY

.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

If you live anywhere along the Western Freeway, Victorian  Central Highlands or near Bacchus Marsh, Greendale, Ballarat, Daylesford or Ballan, this is a friendly reminder that the BALLAN FARMERS MARKET is on again this coming Saturday.

A couple of months ago I did a blog post on our first visit to this friendly little market in the town of Ballan and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

If you would like to read about our visit, click HERE.
The Ballan Farmers Market website is HERE, which will give you any updates and how to contact them too.

... and of course there is always Facebook!

So don't forget the market is on this coming Saturday rain, hail or shine ... its still worth visiting for the fresh produce and a warming cup of hot chocolate maybe.

can't miss it, follow the traffic and the crowds along Inglis St.

off to the market again!

Yesterday we were back at THE BALLAN FARMERS MARKET!

If you live close by, do try to get there soon ... its on the second Saturday of each month.

The day was perfect and the crowds soon turned out in force.

We didn't stay so long this time, we met up with friends, purchased a few vegetables, a bunch of wildflowers and of course some yummy Ginger Biscuits!

..... and the protea's look superb on our dining table.

Now I am off to prepare the fresh vegetables we purchased for dinner.

a visit to the Ballan Farmers Market!

 

Ballan & District Farmers' Market is full of community spirit. With more than 30 stallholders placed throughout the beautiful surrounds of Mill Cottage it attracts hundreds of people each month. The market is usually held on the second Saturday of the Month.

We had the opportunity to attend the market with friends this past weekend and it truly was delightful. The weather was perfect, there were people were wandering around just enjoying the atmosphere and the stall holders were there with their fresh produce ... it was a great day for everyone.

We took Oscar with us and decided to get there early, well before the expected crowds, we parked in the main street and I think we were lucky to find parking so close by looking at all the vehicles already there!

as we approached Mill Cottage we saw that there were stall holders already set up on the street itself selling plants, herbs, honey and other fresh produce.

and once inside we saw that there were many stall holders selling everything from fresh vegetables to wine, from fresh bread to home made cookies and others cooking foods while you wait .....

the gardens of Mill Cottage are a delight to see as well ...

Ballan Farmers Market is worth visiting if you live close by in Regional Victoria and even if you live in the city of Melbourne and looking for a pleasant drive "out in the countryside", than plan ahead and make the effort to visit this delightful rural village with it's Farmers Market on the second Saturday of the month!

Ballan & District Farmers' Market 
 

Where:

92 Inglis Street , Ballan, Victoria, Australia

Phone:

0408218954

Email

 

the dates for the rest of 2012 are as follows:
May 12
June 9
July 14
August 11
September 8
October 13
November 10
December 8

 

 

 next blog post will be about the "Biscuiteer Extraordinaire"

John and Leone Fabre