Trenton Stories: Trenton farmers market has a taste of Russia

I go to our open-air farmer's market this time of year for gorgeous red rhubarb, strawberries, asparagus, garlic scapes, hydroponic tomatoes, and fresh farm eggs. I also go to get the tasty hot cabbage rolls served up by Igor, a native of Moldova, who calls his home-cooking business "A Taste of Russia".

Igor and I found a common thread as we chatted for the first time. Igor's sister lives in Vilnius, Lithuania, and I am, of course, Estonian, which is one of the three Baltic countries (the third is Latvia, which sits between Estonia and Lithuania).

Some of Igor's family, including his sister, like my husband's aunt and cousins, were sent to Siberia by the Communists back when our native countries were being invaded and held as captive nations. So, with the horrors of the past to unite us, we struck up a friendly customer-vendor bond.

Igor's wife is the saint who slaves away in the home kitchen to prepare these treats for the 13 farmers' markets Igor sells at each week, from Kingston to Peterborough. He's in Trenton every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 7AM to 2PM.

Feta-spinach triangles

Cheese blintzes

So far, Igor has made my taste buds dance with feta/spinach triangles, cheese blintzes, potato-cheese perogies, and the apple-blueberry strudels his wife makes.

Apple-blueberry strudel

I've yet to eat Igor's borscht, apple dumplings, and a couple of other homemade specialties. I can't resist starting with his cabbage rolls each market day because I just love them. If I have money left over after seeing what the other stalls have to offer, I return to Igor for some of his other goodies.

The apple-blueberry strudel makes a great bring-along when you're going to someone's cottage or house on a summer's evening. That's why I bought it the first time and it was eaten with great enjoyment. It's delicious with a cup of coffee or tea, sitting on the deck or by the bay, lake, or river.

Igor is an affable, soft-spoken, lovely man with a smile on his face for everyone. He's been seen to give out free samples to folks who stop by his table, and especially to those who buy something.

When I buy my two cabbage rolls, he has thrown in a perogy or a feta-cheese pastry for me to try.

Igor knows how to market his brand very attractively, with a custom-made logo that appears on his t-shirt, signage, and three sides of his van.

His burner and grill are hard at work heating things up all day as he cooks onsite. The aromas around his table really work up an appetite! Igor is ready with dollops of sour cream, if you want it, for most of his ready-to-eat foods, as is the European custom. He always looks like he really enjoys what he's doing. If you want to take any goods home to enjoy later, he has lots of frozen product on hand, too.

Cabbage rolls

Hot, steaming cabbage rolls! Lightly covered in sauce, the cabbage leaves envelop a mixture of ground meat and rice. I eat these delightful treats right there in the parking lot, in my car! There's no fast food better than this fast food! So, so yummy!

Igor's Russian-style perogies are little pockets of cheesy, potato-ey deep-fried pleasure. The taste is a blend of flavours that tickles your palate and satisfies both the smoothly creamy and crackly crunchy requirements for comfort food status.

Potato-cheese perogies

I found out about Igor and his "A Taste of Russia" in the local paper. I hope after you read this blog post you'll visit one of the farmer's markets he sells at. You'll have a happy tummy!