For the love of Farmers Markets

I love a good farmers market. It's something you probably already know about me if you've read my blog or chatted to me about food before - because I don't just love shopping local, I'm all for getting my hands on the freshest produce possible. And if these aren't reason enough, there's also the added bonus in that most of Perth's farmers markets have some fantastic stalls that cook up a little something something to win your heart over.

Traditionally Leederville's markets tend to be my go to on a Sunday (they've shut for winter now), but when I can be bothered driving that tiny bit extra distance, Saturday's Subi Farmers Markets are something outstanding that I highly recommend.

The fruit, vegetable and meats on offer are all ridiculously fresh, and there's a wonderful aroma wafting through of spices, bread and other kinds of goodness. Usually when I head down it's mid-morning, and I like to indulge in a fresh banh mi from Baguette Me Not or something healthy from The Little Shop of Plenty. However if I can get there early enough, there's one place that has my heart - Mr Drummond's Crumpets.

Run by former Masterchef contestant Wade Drummond, and dessertress/blogger Bri (you may know her as Eat Meets West or Hole Food Doughnuts), this dynamic duo are the market king and queen of sweet treats. I first tried their 'crack pie' last year which is a five sugar cake that nods to Momofuku's seven sugar version. It is delicious, complex in taste and all kinds of decadent. 

But even better is there current offering - the crumpets and doughnuts. I recently stopped by with my best friend Carly and we decided to get two of each to share. Her beautiful dogs were also our dates, and happy to lick up any leftovers.

The crumpets are serious business as you can probably tell from the picture. Soft and fluffy on the inside, with a nice toasty bottom they are actually some of the best crumpets I've gotten my hands on. Too often they're stodgy or sticky, settling in the bottom of your stomach like a rock. 

The accompaniments we had on our crumpets that day were salted caramel with double cream and popcorn, and a passionfruit curd. Do you really need me to go into detail on these? I didn't think so, they definitely speak for themselves. Decadent, well balanced in sweetness and just completely moorish. Just by the smallest of inches, the passionfruit was my favourite. 

The doughnuts that day were raspberry jam and apple crumble with custard. I love jam doughies and this one hit the spot, though there's never enough jam in my opinion (to be honest it could have been completely filled with jam and I still would've wanted more). The apple crumble was comforting and sweet, with a nice texture to the doughnut itself and the crumble. 

These definitely went down a treat! I can't wait to get my hands on the fairy bread, or peanut butter flavours in the future sometime soon. But be warned if you are heading down for some doughnut goodness - they set up shop at 8am and the stock never lasts long, usually selling out in about 45 minutes. Get up early and get your sugar treat!

At Subi that day and then the following weekend in Leederville, a trip to the Shak Shuka stall was in order for some rich Moroccan flavours. At $15 the shakshuka combo isn't the cheapest market eat, but I do find it really filling and a great comfort food dish. 

The tomato base is served with slices of sausages and baked eggs on top of couscous, with a fresh baguette slice and harissa aioli. The harissa is from Riki Kasper's line of goods, something I have recently been sent by the Cooking Professor - and the harissa is serious business. I'm a big fan. 

I like this dish a lot actually - with it's gooey baked eggs and it's spiced meaty sausage slices. Because couscous is totally my jam, I appreciate the fluffiness of this and it's ability to soak up the delicious sauce. This is something I think this winter will be a go to at markets for me (more so than it already is). 

A new addition to the market scene is Carina's Kitchen, a stall selling cakes in a jar (I think the price was around $7.00 each). Carina contacted me to try out her products so I stopped by one Sunday after my veggie shop at Leederville to pick some up to take home.

The flavours she kindly gave me were dulce de leche, red velvet and carrot cake. The cakes are sweet and spongey, the icing buttery. I found the dulce de leche flavour light, and the carrot cake was flavoured so but was missing the dark spiced cake laced with grated carrot. The red velvet however was definitely my favourite with it's rich chocolate flavour and soft texture.

With so many great eating options at your fingertips, it's no wonder I love visiting farmers markets so much. There's lots more to choose from too, so have a look for your nearest and dearest here.