I’m Thankful for the Crossroads Market

My sister-in-law came to visit us for Thanksgiving. It was really nice! The kids adore her, and no wonder. I realized this weekend she spends waaaaay more time playing (and just hanging) with them then either the Hubster or I do. But then again, she doesn’t have to cook dinner, clean-up the dishes, do four peoples’ laundry, clean a 2,000-odd square foot house, and so on, and so on…the way we do.

Anyway, we’ve all enjoyed Auntie’s visit, and we had a busy time while she was here, too. We had some real fun hiking in Banff and visiting town on Sunday – but we didn’t get home until after 6:00 so it was takeout on Sunday and the big Thanksgiving bird on Monday.

Back in time, though, to Saturday. Hubster suggested a trip to a local country farmer’s market – the Millarville Farmer’s Market. Given that we had to be back home by 1pm for a visit with family friends, though, we decided that the long drive there and back would limit our time at the market too much. That left the Calgary Farmer’s Market – in town, but HIDEOUSLY busy. And then Hubster remembered the Crossroads Market, which is near his new workplace. Worth a try, we decided…why not?

So, we all piled into the van and headed down to Inglewood (one of Calgary’s neatest little recently-gentrified neighbourhoods) and then slightly south to the Crossroads market. A cross between a flea market, ethnic food court and farmer’s market, this is my new fave place to locate all the weird and wonderful things a body could want.

We decided to head to the outdoor part of the market first, replete with fruit from BC and the ever-present Hutterite stands with truly local (southern Alberta) produce. We got great enjoyment from chatting it up with the Hutterite farmers, who are masters of the sales pitch. I asked for a bag of red potatoes from one, and he put three in my bag…in response to my quizzical look, he said, "they’re three for five; I knew you’d want the other two" followed up nicely by "do you have enough preserves put by? My wife made these pickles here herself…"

What a victim of a smooth picth, me, as we had to lug around a 10lb bag full of potatoes for the rest of our visit! Walking the rest of the aisle we were regaled with smooth-talking Hutterite men (the women were all behind-the-scenes) hucking their cabbages, celery root, potatoes and chickens. One youngster, holding up a dead, blood-dripping bird pitched, "they taste better than they look!" Giggle.

Inside, then, to the prepared-food area; much like a mall food court, but chock full of decidedly non-mall outlets. Choose from the Ukranian take-out (ohhhhhh….perogies…..), Turkish restaurant (kebabs, baklavaaaaahhhhhhh….), several authentic asian eateries, two (count ’em, two) places that sell nothing but pies (sweet, savoury, quiche, etc.) and even a bakery for dogs.

We spent a good deal more time than we should have in the candy store, which had a good supply of "retro candy", if you can believe it. I did take a few strolls down memory lane, though, with these goodies…

I used to buy this for 50¢ in the tuck shop at camp. We could spend $1.00 (two items) each week. This stuff lasted the longest, ergo, I bought it!

And then these…

…which we bought at the marina when we went to the cottage for summers. Imagine, taking your boat to go shopping! It was a sad day when that marina closed…but these retro confections brought back all those fun, carefree memories.

My kids looked at me like I had lost my mind and opted for PEZ, another childhood fave of mine, although they’ve jumped on the licensing bandwagon, with dispensers shaped like Shrek and Bratz, I see.

On our way out of the market, we were lured once again by the old-world charm of the Hutterites; well, actually I think it was their shamelessly bold sales tactics. The farmer I bought my cabbage and chicken from said, "buy from me…I’ve got the freshest stuff! You see, anything I don’t sell today I give to them guys to sell next week…" I don’t know whether he was telling the truth or not, but our Thanksgiving feast last night was one to remember. The chicken (which I had cooked too long and at too high a temperature as usual – my specialty!) was so juicy and delicious that everyone – including my children – had seconds. The potatoes (I made some scalloped and some mashed because we had sooo many!) were remarkably good, and my 7-year old took leftover mash in her thermos for lunch today.

When we had laid out the spread and everyone had served up a heaping plateful, we thanked the farmers (actually I think the words I used were ‘workers of the world’ – who knew I was a Marxist?) for our meal, and then spent an enjoyable 30 minutes or so eating and trying to decide if everything we were eating was local. Our only question marks were the asparagus (bought at Costco so who knows where it came from) and the bread – baked at our local Safeway but where did the wheat for the flour originate?

However you spent your weekend, I hope it was enjoyable, and whatever your cultural inclinations, I think we can all enjoy a moment to give thanks (if you’re me it’s to the workers of the world) for all that we’re so lucky to have.