Vendor Spotlight: Bali Bites

Where do you prepare your sauces? What is your production process like?

Our sauces are prepared in our home kitchen. Making this sauce does take time and a lot of man power…thank goodness for my 3 sons helping out! We follow the same traditional preparation steps that our grandmothers have done, with a slight tweak in the use of modern equipment. We definitely make our sauce with lots and lots of love and tears…tears of joy when the production is finished!

What are some unusual uses for peanut sauce that some people may not know about?

Baking is one use that surprises our customers, but we encourage them to be creative and try adding the sauce to recipes that call for peanut butter. We just love the feedback from them! One customer uses our sauce to blend in her smoothies instead of protein powder. Another uniqueness of our sauce is that it can be eaten wet or dry. One of my sons scoops some right out of the bag and crumbles it over his granola, cereal, or rice while another sprinkles it over his chocolate ice cream, or dips his strawberries into. Sounds like pregnancy indulgences, but don’t knock it till you try it! I used it for a salmon poke dish just recently, it was another successful creation of mind blowing taste

What are your favorite types of food to cook at home?

Indonesian, Chinese and pretty much everything. I love cooking globally.

What do you like most about selling at farmers markets?

The interaction with customers have been phenomenal! Besides introducing a new product, it also gives us a chance to share stories and educate the public about our Indonesian culture. It has been wonderful to share our product, and we hope it enhances the markets and provides a variety of products in each community.

Why is supporting local important to you?

Talented and hard working individuals who tirelessly provide for the community, as much as they provide for their families, should be supported for their livelihood. Markets bring a community closer, while encouraging and educating the public to choose healthier alternatives and appreciate each vendor’s speciality that you usually can’t find commercially. As well, supporting local is good for our local economy, and to keeps growth inside a community.

Winter POP Club – Week 3

Discover the Power of Produce and join the POP Club this Sunday!

Last week, kids were taught about the different hats that farmers wear. They learnt that farmers not only grow delicious produce for us, but also take on many different roles in order to their farms running smoothly. This week, we’re changing things up with a cooking demo! If you haven’t yet registered, come down to the POP tent this Sunday and join the club!

So, how does the POP Club work?

Well, the POP Club is a farmers market-based kids program. Each week children (ages 5-12 years old) will participate in fun and educational activities that will teach them about fruits and vegetables, local food systems and healthy food preparation. After that, they will be trying the 2-Bite of the week which will be a fruit or vegetable that’s in season and can be found at the market. As they try the 2-Bite we will share with them interesting facts about what they are eating. Once they finish the activity and try the 2-Bite, children receive a $3 market token that can be used towards any fruit or vegetable of their choice. They can either use their token right then or save them for bigger purchases. This teaches kids how to make healthier food choices and how to manage their money.

There is no cost to participate and the program runs every Sunday rain or shine!

November 17 – Week 3: This week our POP kids will be making their own salad! We’ll take the ingredients found at the market and together create a simple, delicious kale salad. Kids will learn the value of cooking their own food and using healthy, fresh ingredients to do so!

2-Bite Club: Kale

Hope to see you this Sunday!