Another country, another market. The EPIC market (Exhibition Park in Canberra) is a farmers market brimming with fresh, seasonal (mostly) produce just off Federal Highway, north of the Canberra City Centre. Open on Saturday mornings from 7.30 am till midday, it is set up in a giant tin shed, filled with over a hundred stallholders. The market showcases the many agri-business opportunities in the region and offers a wide range of seasonal and home made foods.
The sun is winter-warm and peeping shyly round the clouds, as we dodge a little mud and jump puddles to reach the shed…
…and I have landed at the top of the beanstalk. HUGE lemons, pumpkins, cabbages, and daikon (winter Asian radish) are piled high on the tables. A barrel of deep green broccoli could feed an army. Used to fist-sized cauliflower in Manila, I am staring wide-eyed at the ones here that have grown as big as my head. I am like a kid in a sweet shop, dashing from stall to stall, trying to juggle bags of produce and my iPad. Where is my One & Only photographer when I need him? My sister wanders behind, giggling at my over-enthusiasm and the hectic pace at which I flit back and forth.
We stalk past a stand of farm fresh eggs, accompanied by a banner introducing all
the chooks (chickens) in the business of producing the ingredients for your Sunday morning fry-up. We joke with the stallholders about whether the chooks have names. Pointing to a small, dumpy figure in the photo, the owner claims Matilda lays the best and largest brown eggs.
Wandering on, we raise our nostrils to the mouth watering scent of a sausage sizzle. Organic, gluten free sausages have been cooked and quartered for tasting. We lick our lips and leap in, giving all three varieties the thumbs up and walking away with a packet of each for tomorrow’s barbecue.
Further along, Honey, home made jams, nuts, olive oils and vinegars are available to taste. We do.
I discover a table swamped in huge red capsicum and, continuing the red theme, crates of grape-shaped tomatoes. I collect a bagful for the One & Only, who has a bit of a fetish for tomatoes. They may not be in season but sprinkled liberally with 
salt and pepper atop a thick layer of ripe, buttery avocado, they are great on toast for breakfast.
The meat isn’t the cheapest, but it’s come direct from the farm. Lamb chops and lamb chevapchichi catch my eye. Here’s more to throw on the barbie.
Giant white mushrooms that weigh heavily in my hand, like firm round breasts, will apparently last up to 2 weeks if kept airtight in paper bags in cool temp. I have a sneaking suspicion they won’t last that long. We buy a huge bag full, again with that bbq in mind.
It is obviously a great place for a weekend family outing, as couples usher their small kids on scooters down the track, shopping bags brimming, the children sporting lips coated liberally in cream, chocolate or froth from a baby cino. A little girl who has obviously decided to dress herself this morning, has also donned a pair of foam fairy wings and flits round her mother.
One stallholders has made up flower pots filled with snow peas, and there are plentiful bunches of home grown flowers: Sweet Williams, banksia, gerboras in glorious sunny colours, even a few select posies from traditional country gardens.
And as we leave, bags overflowing, we are tempted to taste some small, red apples
with plenty of crunch and a lightly sweet flavour. I can’t remember the last time I actually are an apple with taste.
I love my farmers market in Manila, but it’s usually hot and always crowded. Here in Canberra, in June (winter in Australia), everyone is rugged up in anoraks and coats, and boots are the foot attire of choice. And there is plenty of space for everyone. Tables are set up for shoppers to sit and contemplate a coffee or a freshly cooked crepe. And the kids have inevitably chosen one of the great flavours at the ice cream stall. My sister comes here quite often, and bumps into friends at every turn. I laugh to myself, remembering lengthy trips to the supermarket as a child, when the weekly shop was our mother’s big social event as she caught up with a million friends, stopping to chat in every aisle.
One stall holder with an olive grove has a Filipino neighbour who has planted grape vines in the hope of adding a wine list to his beer business in the Philippines. We have a long chat about life in the Philippines. Hey look, I have friends in the market too!