Cafe Maplethorpe Blog :: PEI Restaurant

There. I said it. I hate yard sales.

The fact that I do not hold yard sales or attend any held by others makes me something of a freak on Prince Edward Island, home of the annual 70-Mile Coastal Yard Sale. (For information on the 2009 70-Mile Coastal Yard Sale, set for September 26 and 27, follow this link.)

I think people guess my lack of interest is simply because I am ‘from away,’ but more likely it is related to the way I was raised. Having lived through the Great Depression, my mother would never have allowed her children to be clothed in the cast-offs of others. She would never bring the used things of others into our home. Most of all, she would never stand in someone’s yard, even a stranger’s yard, and paw through their belongings. Not in a million years.

But we’re Islanders now. Every year my little village of Bedeque picks a date in June and everyone has a yard sale in their respective yards. Those who live out of the village, or who can’t hold their own yard sale on the chosen weekend for other reasons, often donate their things to the United Church where a collective yard sale is also held.

Peer Pressure

Although I have resisted participating in the Bedeque yard sale since our arrival, this year I agreed to have a sale. I don’t know if it was peer pressure or just the mountain of junk we have accumulated over the past 7 years. The important point is that I finally joined in the fun!

Well, it wasn’t fun. It was a cold and rainy day. Everyone in my family managed to have  somewhere else important to go that morning, leaving me at home to run the garage sale alone. We had many lookers, and sold a few things, but not enough to justify the time and effort spent on the project. A few people just stopped by to find out what times the restaurant is open or to see if I had any baked goods for sale.  Most of the things I really wanted to get rid of are still here, waiting to be carted off to their final destination.

I still hate yard sales.

For the past 6 years we have observed a Saturday morning ritual…driving 45 minutes to Charlottetown to buy locally-grown veggies, Island-made sausages, Fair-Trade coffee and so much more at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market. We always bump into other Summerside-area residents we know–there are lots of people making the Saturday trek. The Charlottetown Farmer’s Market has always been THE place to mingle, nosh and stock up on the best provisions on Prince Edward Island. Some Saturdays we can barley squeeze through the crowded isles, let alone find a place to park. Sure, we think about the gas we burn on the trip, our sad contribution toward climate change, the added expense…all that guilt just leaks out of our brains and drips down the seats of our car. But bottom line is we love the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market vibe, the people and the food, and despite the nagging little why-don’t-you-do-the-right-thing-and-shop-closer-to-home thoughts, we just go. Marty Taylor’s sausages are calling and I don’t have call waiting.

Well. We Used to Just Go

Summerside steps up!

The one-year old Spring Street Farmer’s Market is keeping us closer to home these days. And by all measures, keeping lots of other western Islanders out of Charlottetown on Saturday mornings.

What a vibrant market!

The Spring Street Market is a beautiful year-round space in the historic downtown Holman Building. Exposed brick and stone walls, upscale vendor display areas and plenty of space for shoppers to linger and mingle have created a Saturday morning destination for hundreds. (Really–hundreds!)

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This morning I picked up certified organic pork, a week’s worth of locally-grown root vegetables, 5 dozen free-range eggs and a big package of fresh hand-made pasta. Then I sat down to visit with people I haven’t seen since last Saturday.

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I saw people snacking on plates of sushi and Belgium waffles, big cups of steaming coffee and giant moon pies from some of the food vendors. One of the girls was showing off a piece of pottery she just bought, a beautiful birthday gift for a friend. The squeals and laughter of children could be heard coming from the play area.

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Guest Chef

The Spring Street Market just launched a new program–weekly cooking demonstrations featuring local chefs. And guess who got to be the first guest chef!

My job was to offer some new cooking twists on seasonal foods…root vegetables, locally-produced meats–anything currently on offer by Market vendors. I met lots of our regular restaurant customers wondering when we are going to re-open (THIS TUESDAY!) and gave out samples and recipe cards.

We made two of our signature dishes, Apple Slaw and Country Mushroom Soup. (Cabbage is one of the “11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating.” See the whole article here.) In honor of the Chinese New Year, we tried a new recipe as well, Chinese Five-Spice Braised Pork Loin. What a hit with the crowd!

Thank you, Emmerdale Eden Farms, for the donation of organic pork loin for this demonstration.

We signed up a whole sheet of e-mail addresses for our monthly restaurant updates and recipes. It was a really fun morning and a great way to ease back into restaurant cooking after 4 weeks off.

Still Off to Charlottetown…Sometimes

We are still visiting our friends at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market once in awhile. But most Saturdays we’ll be supporting local growers even closer to home at the Spring Street Farmer’s Market in Summerside. Hope to see you there, too!

Welcome to the Cafe Maplethorpe Blog!

“Maplethorpe” is the name of our house, built in the 1860′s by the first Postmaster of Bedeque, Major Wright. Yes, at first we thought it odd that someone would give a house a name, but why not?

This is the story of an American family that chose Prince Edward Island in 2002, and have been working since then toward a sustainable organic lifestyle for our home and business. Our goal is to chronicle our life on “the gentle island” month by month throughout the year with a special focus on the food of Prince Edward Island.

We invite you to share our stories, post some of your own, try our recipes and pass along your thoughts.