Zucchini Frittata Loaf and a Farmers' Market Picnic

Fresh zucchini and dill, creamy eggs, and salty pockets of feta combine to create a winning combination in this baked Zucchini Frittata Loaf. It's a perfect take-along for picnics and potlucks or a great main dish for a light summer meal. Come join us on a bright sunny weekend as we browse the farmers' market with friends and enjoy a relaxing picnic afterward. We're serving easy dishes we've made ahead and tasty items we've purchased at the market.

It's the height of summer and gardens and markets are overflowing with their abundance. Even though our own garden is producing a bounty of vegetables, it's always fun to head out to our local farmers' market to find some of those fruits we can't grow or try a new vegetable or herb we haven't planted. We love just being part of the bustling action and happy atmosphere. In addition to the fresh produce, there are so many other delightful items to sample or buy: breads, meats, flowers, crafts, and preserves. There's music and laughter, relaxed crowds, food trucks, and a summer party vibe like no other.

Local Farmers' Market

One of our favourites is the St. Albert Farmers' Market. It's the largest outdoor farmers' market in Canada! On a sunny Saturday morning in the summer, it's the happenin' place to be.

The market winds down three different streets, with lots of extra pockets of vendors, food trucks, and space for picnickers.

The iconic statue art, jokingly nicknamed the 'Aspara-geese' by locals, marks the beginning of the St. Albert Farmers' Market.

A Morning at the Farmers' Market

We meet our friends, Nicoletta and Loreto (who love to picnic as much as we do), at the market with baskets in hand. It's a perfect morning for a sunny stroll up and down the rows of market stalls, leisurely following the pace of the crowds. We see what's good and choose tasty items for the picnic we are planning later: a basket of ripely glowing apricots, a handful of snappy garden peas, a loaf of freshly baked focaccia. From the meat guy we buy a ring of garlicky ham sausage, and farther down the market, a chunk of aged local cheddar. It's a haul of tasty delights.

It's Picnic Time

After an enjoyable morning at the market, we head to a nearby grassy area. It's in Millennium Park along the Sturgeon River. We choose a spot with a picnic table beside the suspension bridge, and we can see the St. Albert Trestle Bridge just down the river.

We bring a wagon to haul our picnic gear from the vehicle, and then have fun setting it all up and making it look pretty. We've brought wooden placemats, plastic glasses, and melamine serving boards and bowls. We always like to bring fresh flowers - they just make a picnic feel special. These poppies, calendulas, and white Maltese cross were picked from our garden, and their brightness is a welcoming beacon (we've wrapped them in wet paper towel and tucked them in a canning jar). The trick to keeping poppies fresh is to burn the bottom half-inch of the stem with a candle or torch to seal them so they don't lose their sap and wilt in the vase.

Setting Up for a Picnic

We've brought a wicker picnic basket for our dishes. We always bring an insulated cooler with ice packs for any foods that need to be kept cold. Extra baskets and crates hold the serving dishes, tablecloth and napkins, flowers, and extra items. We bring compostable bags for garbage and to put dirty dishes in for the trip home, hand wipes, paper towels or wet cloths in bags, and of course bug spray and sun screen, too. We've started bringing a small folding stool and a cooler jug full of water so we can set up a small hand-washing station, with a hand towel for drying. We pack ice cubes in a wide-mouth thermos and coffee in a thermal flask.

Zucchini Frittata Loaf is a Great Picnic Dish

This zucchini frittata in loaf form is an ideal picnic dish. It tastes great at room temperature, and you can transport it to the picnic right in its parchment paper-lined loaf pan (the parchment paper prevents any metallic taste getting into the frittata).

To make the frittata, the extra step of salting the shredded zucchini and letting the juices seep out, then squeezing the zucchini in a clean towel to remove any remaining water, really helps get a beautiful texture to the finished frittata. The eggs are creamy, and the pockets of crumbled feta add deliciously salty bursts of flavour. Loads of fresh dill enhance the whole frittata with the taste of the summer garden. The deeply burnished crust gives way to reveal a green-flecked yellow interior, making for a very appetizing main course for a picnic or any summer meal.

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Guten Appetit!