Tauranga Farmers Market

AUTUMN

A Bountiful Season in the Bay

WORDS LIZ FRENCH | IMAGES ALEX SPODYNEIKO

In his ode To Autumn, John Keats describes a “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”. A poem about the Bay of Plenty autumn would sing the praises of our stable weather, clear blue-sky days and crisp nights. However, our autumn is also very much a season of fruitfulness, nowhere more obvious than at the Tauranga Farmers Market. Autumn is for energising, entertaining and enjoying special celebrations, with Easter in April and Mother’s Day in May.

PLATTERS AND PIZZAS FOR PARTIES OR PICNICS Planning a platter for cocktails or starters? It’s almost as if the Tauranga Farmers Market stall holders colluded to produce the perfect blend of meats, cheeses, vegetables and preserves. Get piquant dried meats from the Hungarian Artisan Company lightened with cherry tomatoes from Rivendel Gardens and crisp sweet peppers from Southern Belle Orchard. Add pickles and relishes from Milly’s Fine Food, where almost all the ingredients are sourced from fellow stall holders, matched with cheeses from Mt Eliza Cheese and Wholesmoked NZ.

Make bruschetta with sliced Flaveur sourdough, drizzled with olive oil from Katikati Frantoio, spread with sliced tomatoes from Paul’s and topped with fresh basil from Liberty Growers. Or make a genuine Kiwi topping using kahawai from Smokey Seafoods. If its pizza you plan, get your bases from Flaveur, use Blue Monkey cheese and add an exotic touch with oyster mushrooms from Billy. Almost too pretty to eat, these Whakamarama grown mushrooms are a native of South East Asia and enhance any Asian dish or stir fry.

EASTER BUNS AND TREATS One bite of a hot cross bun from Flaveur Breads will ruin you for supermarket varieties for ever. The Whipped Baker is also baking buns especially for Easter. If you are feeling too mature to do the Easter egg thing (never!), treat your sweet tooth from the tempting array of baking at the market. Whether you want dessert or something sweet to have with morning coffee, Blackadamia has cakes, tarts and squares beautifully baked and mouthwateringly displayed. The Travelling Frog puts a French spin on little goodies for special treats, excellent for Easter and a must for Mother’s Day.

MAKING MUM’S DAY We all love the gift of flowers. Kathy Henderson at Henderson Lilies points out that the pleasure of receiving flowers is immeasurably improved by not expecting them. While a bunch of blooms can brighten any day, what better time to show appreciation with flowers than Mother’s Day, 10 May. Kathy says they will be stocking a full range over autumn and for Mother’s Day, including lilies, tulips, gladioli (forever associated with Dame Edna), and gloriosa from Zimbabwe, especially appreciated by ex-pats. Kathy explains that flowers tend to span Asiatics which are very colourful but not perfumed and Orientals which tend to be more restrained in hue but exuberantly perfumed.

SHOP LOCAL

Every Saturday 7.45am to 12noon Tauranga Primary School, Fifth Ave, Tauranga | www.tgafarmersmarket.org.nz