Purveyors of Fine Made-in-Manitoba Products!

That's what we're becoming!  There are sooooo many neat, handcrafted items being made in Manitoba, in small batches, where the producers are selling direct at Farmers Markets, without distribution channels.  We love to share 'good things', so we've acquired a few nifty things we'll have with us at the Global Market Brandon, while supplies last.

If you read this blog a bit, you know we've got copies of Getty Stewart's awesome book 'Prairie Fruit Cookbook'.  Love anything specific to our region and needs: read our review here.  We've already made a number of the recipes, including cocktails, entrees and some canning recipes!  Love this book and love that proceeds benefit 'Fruit Share Manitoba', an outstanding volunteer organization!  We'd love to see a Fruit Share Brandon branch, but we're really too busy to spearhead such a development.  If you've got the time to take some phone calls, organize some volunteers to pick back yard fruit - please get in touch!  With the GST, copies are $20.90 - a worthwhile investment!

For the second year, we've managed to acquire a small (teeny, weeny) amount of Manitoba Maple Syrup, from Oakman Enterprises in Portage la Prairie.  If you're a maple syrup lover - you should try this stuff!  It's different from the Eastern sugar maple syrup - more vanilla, caramel tones, not quite as sugary sweet!  It's awesome stuff!  This is really a labor of love for Mitch and Linda; they are not commercial in any sense and don't have a website or blog or Facebook page or any of that stuff!  Every batch is truly handcrafted: they tap the trees on their property, boil down the syrup themselves (a hot, sweaty job) and package up their small harvest.  With our early, warm Spring, this was not a great harvest so quantities are limited!  Bottles are $12.50 and only twelve are available!

I'm currently wearing our last item: 'Sap 'n' Salvy' balm from Prairie Short Botanicals!  I just gashed my ankle big-time on a pallet in the feed shack.  What I reach for is this balm.  I've had mine for a couple of months and have used it on cuts, scraps, bug bites, my raspberry cane scratches and even on the goats' udders when the girls scratched themselves up!  Love this stuff!  Laura is all about using our Manitoba native plants; you may be familiar with the workshops she's led at Harvest Moon Society.  Her healing balm is native white spruce sap and balsam poplar extract, with local beeswax and olive oil (from far, far away but that's okay: canola oil is just not as healing and Manitoba hemp oil can go rancid easier).  I can't say enough about my love for this balm!  Check out her website here, she also has a nice Facebook page under Prairie Shore Botanicals!  If you have a chance to take any of her workshops on wilderness skills (usually with the fascinating Dwayne Logan) or using native plants, go for it!  So much to learn!  We have a limited quantity of the balm in a 25 ml size for $9 and the 50 ml for $18.  A little smear goes a long way!

So, that's some cool Manitoba products we'll be sharing in the next little while!  See us at the Global Market, 12th and Rosser, Fridays from 4 - 7 PM and Saturday from 9 AM until Noon!  If you're interested, but not in the area, get in touch and we'll look into mailing you some!