Victoria Cosford
Despite best-laid plans, for most Christmas rears up suddenly, catching us off guard, too much to do, stress run rampant, time running out. However. Draw deep breaths and head instead to the farmers market, a one-stop shop for so many festive-season needs and a hub to cosily commiserate with your community. There’s beautiful free-range hams and pork from Esperanza Farm and Hayters Hill. There’s Warren’s Dorper lambs, legs and shoulders for long slow roasts. If it’s poultry you seek, there’s Misty Creek Farm for their grass-fed chickens. Bake up a big tray of vegetables: Dutch creams and pumpkin chunks, sweet potato and carrots, or go Mediterranean with eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, cherry tomatoes: Jumping Red Ant, Summit Organics, Everest and Morrows Farms all positively dazzle with choices.
Not forgetting all the lush bunches of salad leaves and herbs from Forrest Organic, Summit Organic, and Gourmet Salad Hut. Treat yourself and your guests with magnificent heritage tomatoes from Coopers Shoot tomatoes. Thickly slice and layer with equal widths of Cheeses Loves You’s mozzarella, a gloss of Grumpy Grandma’s EV olive oil, a strew of aniseedy basil. Grumpy Grandma’s plump smoked olives make a stylish nibble along with Spice Palace or Baraka dips – and bread of course, Scratch Patisserie’s or Crabbes Creek Woodfired. Last-minute gifts needed? Consider fragrant chunky Church Farm soaps or boxed spicy sauces, or beautiful beeswax candles from Ahana.
Something sweet is mandatory, one option being Sarah Wheeler’s gorgeous Pure Melt chocolates – or, meltingly lovely, a simple case of creaming together 250g unsalted butter and 80g caster sugar, folding through 100g toasted chopped macadamias and 250g plain flour then baking in teaspoonsful at 170C for about 15 mins. Scatter generously with icing sugar, and that’s Christmas sorted!
Mullumbimby Farmers Market: each Friday 7–11am.