Fresh produce and organic food markets in Cape Town and the Winelands offer an increasingly popular way to spend a weekend morning.

Porter Estate Market, Tokai

Saturday morning. The air is peppermint-crisp, winter is over and the bare branches of a hundred trees scratch against the pale blue spring sky – the sun has not been up long. It’s 9 a.m, and the stall-holders at the Porter Estate Produce Market in Tokai, Cape Town, are just finishing setting out their delectable wares. The first visitors are straggling in, drawn by the aroma of “moer” coffee and frying bacon.

Weekend mornings in Cape Town have become all about the food markets. Porter Estate is one of the more recent additions, and has become incredibly popular since it opened in the latter half of 2007.

The choosing of the delightful setting, at the Chrysalis Academy near the Tokai Plantation, is a stroke of genius. This under-used space is green, sheltered on even the windiest of days and overlooked by rugged mountains.

The market is divided into three sections:

• A small but growing craft circle with the usual range of arty bits and bobs and things for kids to busy themselves with.

• The actual market area is well laid out. While there is the anticipated array of organic fresh produce, there are also deli-delectable edibles to tempt every palette. From cheeses to vinegars, chocolates to chillies – most stalls offer tasty titbits to whet the appetite and persuade browsers to become buyers.

• The final section of the Porter Estate Market is the most popular – where you get to buy yummy meals and enjoy them then and there – at wooden tables and chairs in the lovely natural setting. A sandbox under shade keeps toddlers amused, musicians play classical instruments and the entire scene is relaxed and happy.

Eat There

• Freshly squeezed juices – Made from organically grown fruits and vegetables
• Moer coffee – served the traditional way in enamel cups with condensed milk!
• Pancakes – cheap and popular with the little ones
• Gourmet Burgers – Too late for breakfast? Have lunch!
• Farmer’s Breakfast – A large fresh breadroll with a choice of toppings including bratwurst and onions, veal sausage, salmon and scrambled egg and for vegetarians, scrambled egg, tomato and spinach.

Take Home

There are so many tasty foods to take home. We like

• Hand-made balsamic vinegars from Protea Hill Farm in Stellenbosch
• ‘Theobroma – Food of the Gods’ chocolate truffles
• Artisan bread.

Need to Know

Where: Chrysalis Academy, behind Tokai forest picnic area. Follow the Pink Piggie signs.

When: Saturday mornings between 9am and 1pm (weather-permitting).

How Much: R5 entrance fee (per car) (donated to the students of Chrysalis Academy who assist with parking)

I love the Porter Estate Produce Market in Tokai. It’s perhaps not as big as the Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market, but it’s a whole lot closer and there’s more than enough variety to keep me entertained (and stocked up).

I also find it far less stressful than the Neighbour Goods Market out in Woodstock (plenty of parking, for a start, more room to move about, and a much friendlier atmosphere, in my opinion).

Almost every Saturday morning, I grab my trusty basket and take the short drive down to the Chrysalis Academy, where the market is held, and every time I come back with an assortment of goodies to tide me through another hopefully supermarket-free week.

This weekend I was sensible, for a change, and had breakfast with a friend before I wandered the stalls – it made for far less drooling, and led me to a few stalls I hadn’t spent much time at before (something to do with not needing instant gratification, I suppose).

Breakfast consisted of a ‘Farmhouse Brekkie’ – a fair-sized portion of scrambled eggs and bacon on a roll (they’ll serve it up on rye instead if, like me, you provide them with your own bread).

Several other options were available for the same price: bratwurst + onions, veal sausage + onions, pure beef burger, salmon + scrambled egg and the vegetarian option of scrambled egg, tomato + spinach.

It was pretty good, and certainly filled the gap (plus, I’m happy to report, both the cutlery and the plate on which it was served are completely compostable, so we could bin them feeling most virtuous indeed).

We washed it all down with ‘Moer Koffie’, served in authentic chipped enamel cups at another nearby stall (with a choice of hot milk, cold milk, or – wait for it – condensed milk!) and then wandered into the market proper.

First port of call (naturally) was to stock up on my stash of Ellen’s splendiferous chocolates (R5 each – I am so not telling you how many I bought this time!), then to Knead Bakery’s stall to grab a loaf of their scrumptious 100% rye bread  and then to the organic veggie section to fill my basket with whatever fresh produce took my fancy (the sweet potatoes at the moment are pink inside, and ever so delicious!).

Then, my primary needs sorted, I thought I’d check out something new (new to me, but not new to the market): hand-crafted balsamic vinegars from Protea Hill Farm in Stellenbosch.

To be honest, what first got my attention at first was not the vinegars, but the many trays of fresh raspberries laid out on the table… they made my mouth water (this is an entirely different reaction from drooling, I’ll have you know!).

It turns out that Protea Hill Farm grows all its fruit naturally – no insecticides or pesticides are used on the plants or the fruits. And, even better, “no colourants, preservatives, flavour enhancers or any chemical substances are used for the vinegars and syrups”. As if that wasn’t enough, the fruits are apparently sun ripened, and harvested in a 100% ripe condition (equals high sugar content, and sweet flavour).

You can taste it.

They’ve won a number of awards for their lovely vinegars, and it’s not hard to figure out why. I was hard put to choose only one (budget, budget, damned budget!).

In the end, though, it was the ‘Balsamic Tarragon’ that got my vote, though the ‘Balsamic Mint’ was just as tempting (my friend bought that one).

Wonderful, full, juicy flavours, and the fact that it’s all natural and is grown and produced locally made it a must-have.

Another successful day at market, and still so many more stalls to explore. Who needs impersonal mass-producing supermarkets when you can find so many wonderful things in the beauty of the great outdoors!

The Porter Estate Produce Market is open every Saturday morning between 9am and 1pm (weather-permitting). Directions are provided here. There’s a R5 entrance fee (per car) that is donated to the students of Chrysalis Academy who assist with parking. My advice: go early – the market is very popular and the good stuff goes quickest.

From: MotherCityLiving

This outing is one of the things we miss most about living in Cape Town. So if you are in the environs, then please make the trip (often) to treasure this little unpretentious gem of a market…you wont be sorry!

From http://www.therecanbeonlyjuan.com

Green beans are so easy to grow, requires very little space and the  “magic” of green beans, is that the more you pick, the more you get. If you want to learn more about growing beans, this is where you will find the know-how!
Back to my green bean stew. Ideally, you want quite a fatty meat for this stew. Lamb and specifically lamb ribs, knuckles or neck cutlets are our choices of meat to use. The flavor you get from the lamb, combined with potatoes, onions and the luscious green beans is hard to beat. You can cook this stew in a pot on the stove or even a slow cooker, but I use my Dutch Oven or black pot in the oven . It saves time and the flavor, in my opinion is just better. Traditionally in my family, we enjoy green bean stew with fresh cucumber salad, beetroot salad and fluffy white rice. So, if you want to try your hand at this true South African favorite, cook with me!

From: Nina’s Kitchen blog

It’s wonderful to be able to touch, taste, smell and select your favourite produce directly from the source. “Our aim was to find vendors who have unique produce to offer”, says Stephen Coetzee, market manager. “Most of the fresh goods available here are not available to us in our supermarkets”. The market is professionally organized and customer friendly, it is community driven and provides an opportunity for the students at the Chrysalis Academy to gain valuable life and work experience.

Porter Estate Produce Market will be open every Saturday from 9AM till 1PM weather permitting. Sufficient parking is available on the grounds.