Picking Something Fresh in the Public Orchard

What's better than walking around, enjoying the summer sun, and picking berries right from the branch? Picking berries in the heart of Winnipeg's downtown! The fruit in our Public Orchard is starting to ripen, and we can't wait until you can harvest fruit from the trees. Yes – you can pick the fruit for FREE!

In 2013, Winnipeg CORE helped us install 61 fruit trees and as many as 75 fruit bearing shrubs as a part of our Target Zero initiative. Since the trees and shrubs are still fairly young, it will take 2 or 3 years until all the plants are producing the fruits of their labour. 

BUT, some of the plants in the Public Orchard are very close to giving us summer treats! 

Here are some of our favorites:

1. Ben Connan Currant

Taste: Rich blackcurrant flavour
When they're ripe: When they are a deep purple (darker than in this photo)
Use them for: Blackcurrant Shortbread Bars

2. Goji Berry

Our Goji Berry plants are currently full of flowers like these ones that will soon produce fruit!

Taste: Slightly bitter with a sweet berry aftertaste
When they're ripe: When they turn bright red and taste slightly sweet
Use them for: Pineapple Goji Berry Smoothie

3. Northline Saskatoon Berry

Taste: Sweet and juicy
When they're ripe: When they are a deep purple
Use them for: Saskatoon Berry Ice Cream

4. Goodland Apple

Taste: Crisp and tender sweetness
When they're ripe: When nearly half the apple has turned red
Use them for: Classic Apple Turnovers

5. Double Delight Raspberry

Taste: Classic and sweet
When they're ripe: When they turn bright red and taste sweet
Use them for: Raspberry Lemonade Yogurt Popcicles

6. Pixwell Gooseberry

Taste: Boozy grape-like flavor
When they're ripe: When they turn red and feel soft (pick green berries for cooking)
Use them for: Gooseberry and Elderflower Jam

Full list of fruit in the Public Orchard:

Berries & Cherries:	Apples & Pears:	Plums & Apricots:
Tundra Honeyberry Red Lake Currant Pixwell Gooseberry Polaris Blueberry Goji Berry Northern Sky Blueberry Northline Saskatoon Berry Double Delight Raspberry Highbush Cranberry Theissen Saskatoon Berry Ben Connan Currant Nankin Cherry Black Nankin Cherry Carmine Jewel Cherry Cupid Cherry Evans Cherry Crimson Passion Cherry Russian Orange Sea Buckthorn	Milstream Apple Goodland Apple Zestar Apple McIntosh Apple Goodmac Apple Red Sparkle Apple Prairie Magic Apple Fall Red Apple Carroll Apple Apple Multi-graft Dexter Jackson Apple Prairie Sun Apple Northland Apple Norkent Apple Early Gold Pear Golden Spice Pear Ure Pear	Toka Plum Pembina Plum Westcot Apricot

Follow the progress of the Public Orchard on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now Snapchat! 

Happy picking!

The NEXT Great Food Trend Happening at The Forks Market

It's time to treat your taste buds to the NEXT exciting food experience at The Forks Market. Now open, the NEXT food kiosk in The Forks Market showcases a unique local chef or restaurant that will rotate on an ongoing basis.

The Forks Market has always been a destination for variety when it comes to food, and NEXT is here to build on that trend. We’re really excited to offer a rotation of great chefs and restaurants at NEXT- and continue to share Winnipeg’s innovative foodie scene!

The NEXT food kiosk is located in the newly refurbished Centre Court, now dubbed the Food Hall, and will have Dancing Noodle as its first tenant. Their hand-pulled noodles are as authentic and appetizing as they are magical to watch when being made.  Usually located on Pembina, Dancing Noodle will be at The Forks until August 5, temporarily closing their main location.

Innovative and local, not to mention tasty- those are some of the things we are looking for when it comes to NEXT tenants. NEXT gives well-known restaurants and chefs in the city a food lab to show off new and innovative menu ideas. And for new entrepreneurs, NEXT can give them a space to launch their unique concepts.

So, if you want to become part of NEXT (or know someone who should), call 204-987-4352.

Stay tuned on social media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. to find out who's coming to NEXT.

Homegrown Summer: A Visit to The Forks Farmers' Market

Blog post by Lindsay Somers

I don't know about you, but I love enjoying each season and the unique things it brings. In summer, I love biking and taking in the sites, sounds, and flavours. One of my all-time favourites is the fresh produce that we get here in Manitoba, and nothing says summer like going to a farmers' market to get it. So last weekend we (Bob and I) biked to The Forks Farmers' Market (open on Sundays from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. near The Forks Market) to check out what they had.

We decided to bike there because - well, I want to ride my bike everywhere! It feels great to use your own body to move, get outside and is a more pleasant way to get places. With updated bike lanes and oodles of bike parking, The Forks is an easy bike destination to get to [just remember to bring a tote bag to haul all your goodies!]. 

Farmers’ Markets are always a bit of a surprise shop, you never know what’s in season (non-gardener here!), and artisans always have new and different handmade offerings. My strategy is always to walk a couple laps first as see what’s out there before really honing in.

I love chatting directly with the people who spent time handcrafting and growing the goods. Everything is made with pride and care. It feels so good buying directly from the source.

One of my favourite finds was infused vinegar from Blue SkyManitoba. It’s a game changer for homemade salad dressings. Just mix with olive oil, and voila! Delicious salad dressing. There were over 20 different kinds of infusions. After some hard deliberations, we chose oregano, sun dried tomato and garlic. You can smell every sample to see what suits you. The vinegars are also great for meat marinades and dips too!

Another great discovery was Teamate tea. Every tea you could possibly imagine, I mean EVERY kind. We settled on mint green, ginger fresh and iced lavender. It is worth stopping by this booth if only for the aromatherapy!

Fruit and vegetable season is just beginning, and there was already so much to choose from! I picked up a few salad essentials: spinach, radishes and zucchini. I always prefer locally grown vegetables, they taste so much better. And, all are grown organically with no pesticides. We rounded out our shopping trip with some classic Manitoba perogies! I imagine they were made with tender love in a rural church basement.

What a lovely way to get my produce and a few essentials for the week. It’s an excellent way to spend time together browsing about on a sunny day. Ah, summer.

Later, we came home and put together a simple summer supper. Perogies and salad, so good! I can’t wait to see what they’ll have next week!

Lindsay Somers is an expert in urban lifestyle health. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram. All photos by @janinekropla