South Philly garden update

Sunday, June 22, 2008

(Mints and sorrel)

(Patio tomato with raspberry in background)

(Another patio tomato with zinnias)

(Chard)
Considering the clay in my soil—amended with mighty but not nearly enough bags of leaf compost, mushroom soil, and vermiculite—I’m reasonably pleased with the progress. The patio tomatoes are fruiting and the others are flowering (Brandywine, Yellow Pear, and Mortgage Lifter), peppers are ready to flower, chard is happy, sorrel was unhappy in the ground and, alas, remains peevish in its own pot, all the herbs are gangbusters. This was the first year I bought plants at Greensgrow, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Next update: plants sprouted from Seed Savers Exchange.

Market report: Headhouse Square

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I had really good intentions today - I was going to get up, run over to the Headhouse Square Farmer’s Market, take lots of photos, and take copious notes about which vendors were selling what.  But then I got distracted by the amazing produce.  Considering my CSA share from yesterday is pretty good-sized, I had to stop myself from buying every single pretty green thing I saw!

The market was mobbed at 10am, another reason I didn’t take lots of photos or notes.  There was just enough room to navigate through with purchases.  Note taking was out of the question!

My main reason for hitting Headhouse was to see what Culton Organics was selling.  After Kevin’s post about finding local artichokes from Culton, I really wanted to check out what kinds of other things were being sold there.  The Culton stand did have a large supply of massive artichokes ($4 per huge choke), but I was really interested in an Spanish heirloom variety of turnips.  They sort of look like Hakurei turnips, but have a purple-ish cast and are little more squatty-shaped.  I have yet to give them a try.  I also picked up some cipollini onions and round summer squash while I was there.

I stopped in at the Weavers Way stand - they had gorgeous bunches of multi-colored beets.  I picked them up and put them down at least a half dozen times - I wanted them because they were so pretty, but I still have some beets in the freezer from last Fall!  Finally, common sense won out and I put them down for good.  But I did buy two gorgeous kholrabi for my husband.

The first of the local blueberries found their way into my bag, although I can’t for the life of me remember what stand that was.  Griggstown Quail Farm had duck breasts ($10 per breast), and I bought four lamb chops ($10) from Hillacres Pride.

I must rave about Wild Flour Bakery.  Their stand was incredibly pretty, and I wish I could have taken photos of the gorgeous displays.  As is, I felt compelled to buy a few things there.  They had big cracker sheets with different flavorings for $1 each.  I bought one with pink sea salt, one with red pepper and curry, and another with garlic.  And I had to try the potato bread pretzel ($2)!  It was genius!  I love potato rolls to be begin with, but with pretzel-y crust and lots of salt? Heaven!

My last stop was at the nursery that sells herb plants and flowers at the South end of the Shambles.  I bought three pots of parsley and a pot of Lettuce Leaf basil - big healthy plants!

All told, I spent less than $50 for all of that, most of which was spent on meat and plants.

Next week I can finally get back to hitting my local farmer’s market: the Lansdowne market on Saturday.  Woohoo!

Clark Park market report, 7 June

Saturday, June 07, 2008

The market is even fuller and busier than it has been, now that it’s June and there are a few more farmers coming, but the biggest, most exciting news from today is that the market has set up all the stands with credit-card machines.  The market is paying the credit fees, too, so method of payment shouldn’t make much difference to the farmers.  I’m inclined to think that it’ll help, actually, given the number of times I think, “Oh, I’d buy X, Y, and Z, but I forgot to get cash, so I can only get X and Y.”

Also exciting were the first zucchini, garlic scapes at a number of stands, and the continuing supply of strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, snap peas, and numerous varieties of green leafy things.  Farmers and bakers present today included Pennypack Farm, Eden Garden, Urban Girls, Keystone Farm, Landisdale Farm, the University City High School Gardens, Margerum’s, B.T.‘s baked goods, Slow Rise Bakery, and a couple others whose names I’ve forgotten.

(I came home with garlic scapes, spring onions, rhubarb, snap peas, and four-seed cookies.)

Clark Park market report, 5 June

Thursday, June 05, 2008

I’d completely forgotten that the Clark Park Thursday market started up today, but then I saw people walking up the street eating strawberries…and then I saw the tents.  There’re definitely fewer vendors than on Saturday mornings, so it’s an easier market to miss (if, say, you were driving by instead of walking), but there was still a good amount of variety.  For non-farm stands, there’s Betty’s Tasty Buttons (wonderful chocolate) and Big Sky Bakery (mostly bread, but I think they also do cinnamon rolls). 

The farms there today were Eden Grove farm, which had spring onions, lettuces, asparagus, and strawberries; Quaff Valley Farm, which had lettuces, strawberries, radishes, and eggs; Mountainview Poultry, with chicken, turkey, and various poultry products; Landisdale Farm, with strawberries, snap peas, shelling peas, lettuces, kales, pac choi, and their usual selection of eggs and dairy; and Backyard Bison, with various kinds of bison products.

(I bought hot bison jerky stick things and asparagus.) 

Opening Day at Swarthmore Farmers Market

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Today was opening day for the Swarthmore Farmer’s Market, located in the parking lot in front of the Swarthmore coop.  Even in the full swing of the season, the Swarthmore market is never very big - maybe a dozen vendors, about half of them selling trinkets, dog treats, or prepared foods.  The opening day was a little smaller than normal.

Forrest Acres Farm was there with a nice selection of meats, cheese, dairy products, and baked and canned goods.  Willing Hands Farm was selling some lovely looking mustard greens (which I purchased), radishes, and green onions.  Sadly, that was about it for fresh produce and meats.  Maybe this early in the season there isn’t too much produce on hand to sell?

The city of Swarthmore does expect most of their standard vendors to return this year.  I’ll be looking forward to more vendors!

Swarthmore Farmer’s Market is open Saturdays, 10-2.

A quick jaunt through Headhouse Square

Monday, May 12, 2008

Over the weekend I accidentally ended up at the Headhouse Square farmer’s market with two friends.  For a Spring market, the selection wasn’t bad at all!  Some rhubarb, tons of salad greens of all varieties, bok choy, radishes, spinach…and herb and vegetable plants.  Tons of them!  So if you’re looking for herb plants, head over next weekend - I picked up some super healthy-looking parsley, dill, rosemary, and tarragon from one of the vendors.  Yoder Heirlooms, in particular, had gorgeous looking produce. 

Aside from produce, the market had at least two vendors of locally made bread, as well as cakes and quick breads, jam, honey, artisan sausage and pepperoni, and cheese.  I saw a sign for boneless duck, and noticed two other meat vendors.  There were lots of great eggs available, too.

The real star, though, was asparagus.  Quite a few vendors had really gorgeous asparagus, and from what I’ve been hearing the asparagus crop is stellar this year and extra early.  Last night I made asparagus risotto with the bunch I picked up yesterday at Headhouse Square market - it was delicious!

I really like asparagus, and am always disappointed by the crappy, tasteless commercially grown stuff available in the Winter, so my plan is to buy at least a dozen bunches or so while it’s in season and preserve it for later…in a few different ways.

My favorite method is freezing - it’s the preservation method that saves the most nutrients.  Trim the asparagus ends, sort by thickness, and blanch them in boiling water - 2 minutes for thin spears, 3 minutes for medium, and 5 minutes for thick ones.  And then give them an ice bath, let them dry, and freeze them.  They can be frozen for eight or nine months.

Asparagus can also be canned in a pressure canner.  The texture does suffer a bit, so I usually don’t can them.  However, I do like the look of nice, canned asparagus spears.  Blanch them for about three minutes after you’ve trimmed the ends, and pack them into canning jars while the asparagus is still hot.  Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt and boiling water, leaving about 1 inch of headspace.  Close up your jars and process at 10 pounds of pressure for 25-30 minutes.

I also plan on making some asparagus ravioli for a rainy day. 
Freshly made ravioli freezes nicely - just don’t make huge and overstuff ravioli.  Arrange them on a layer of wax paper on a cookie sheet covered in corn meal, freeze them, and then pack them into freezer bags.  They can go right from the freezer into some boiling water when you’re ready to cook them.

I spy…a farmers market!

Monday, April 21, 2008

It’s just about that time: time for outdoor farmer’s markets to reopen!  Woohoo!

Here are the opening dates we know of.  Have any to add? Leave us a comment!

Headhouse Square - May 4
South & Passyunk - May 6
Rittenhouse Square - May 13
City Hall - May 14
University Square - May 7
Oakmont Market - May 21
10th & Chestnut - May 22
Chestnut Hill Growers Market - May 10
Swarthmore Farmers Market - May 17
Lansdowne Farmers Market - May 24
Collingswood Farmers Market - May 3
Haddonfield Farmers Market - May 10

Something new every day!

Friday, April 18, 2008

This is really a fun time of year to eat locally.  There’s not a ton of stuff that’s seasonal, but fresh things keep dribbling into the farmer’s markets and every day brings some new shoot in the garden.  I have tons of chives already, and there’s some overwintered sorrel that looks ready to harvest!  And did I mention the fig growing on my fig tree?

Every time I get the email about what’s coming in the next week at the Fair Food Farmstand, I can’t open it fast enough.  This week there are wild garlic bulbs and spring scallions from Green Meadow Farm.  There’s baby rainbow chard and beet greens.  Spinach.  There’s even a recipe included involving the garlic and the great, locally grown spelt berries sold at the farmstand.

I know what I’ll be eating this weekend!

What’s in season at your local market?

“Off” season

Friday, April 11, 2008

Although it’s not often, every time I visit the Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market during the winter, I am amazed by the quantity of fresh, local produce.  Apparently, it’s not as “off” season as I thought!  Tons of greens, apples, GIGANTIC sweet potatoes, cranberries, parsnips, herbs and jellies are just a small sampling of what I considered purchasing this week.  After a couple rounds through the stand and some assistance by fabulous volunteers, Sarah and Kelly Ann, I finally settled on some gorgeous greens of the spinach variety, two kinds of apples, gourmet preserves and some soon-to-be-reviewed vegan scrapple, Vrapple.

I’ve been delighting in my stash all week, using apples with breakfast and spinach with dinners (such a nice addition to the freezer veggies I’ve grudgingly been using).  As always seems the case however, simple is best when eating locally, and today I realized that the bulk of my lunch originated from the farm stand.  This salad of spinach and diced apples was crispy, refreshing and, especially with this warm air, a titillating tease to the oodles of fresh Philly goodness just on the horizon.

Want to get giddy with me?  Here are the Farmstand hours and contact info:

White Dog Community’s Fair Food Farmstand

Tuesday through Saturday, 8am – 6pm
Sunday, 9am – 4pm

12th and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-627-2029
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The only thing that would’ve made my salad better are those cranberries I saw.  I picked them up and put them down a couple times before finally deciding to pass.  Too bad, as they would have added a perfect complimentary tart to the apple’s sweet. 

Guess I’ll just have to make another trip to the market

Farmers Helpers wanted!

Saturday, April 05, 2008

And now for a much shorter entry on an event in the future...

FARMER HELPERS NEEDED TO WORK AT CITY MARKETS

Some of the farmers who will come to sell at Philadelphia’s outdoor markets this summer need help at their stands. If you like the food and excitement of the farmers’ market and need some cash, you should consider working for a farmer! There will be a two-hour training workshop in late April for anyone who is interested. Leave a comment on this entry, and I will be in touch via email. This training is supported by the Penn State Philadelphia Resource Center (Penn State Extension Service).

Grass Fed Beef Stew

Monday, March 03, 2008

Although it’s balmy today, over the weekend it was cold. Sundays I try to make a pot of something for eating and freezing, so on Saturday I went to the farmers’ market at Fitler Square and bought some beautiful, grass-fed eye round from Rineer Family Farms. Plus, very nice potatoes and red onions from them, too. (I find it so hard to find a good red onion even at the greengrocer, do you? They always look like someone’s been bowling with them.) From one of the vegetable stands (which name I forget—sorry!), I bought carrots and parsley. The other stew components were mushrooms (local), red wine, and such. Plus asparagus (I really needed something green) and bread from Sarcone’s. Good stuff, Maynard.

wintry, local food

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Obviously, eating local food in the winter takes a little more perseverance and planning than in the summer.  The frequency and geographical locations of farmers’ markets may not be as profuse, but Philadelphia is certainly fortunate that there is still a diversity of local food available amid the winter cold.  I’m still working for some of these local-food organizations, and I’ve done some investigation into other sources, so here are my thoughts!

Let me talk about Winter Harvest first, partly because I work for Farm to City but also because I’m posting this entry today primarily to remind everyone that it’s the last day to place your orders for February.  Winter Harvest is a winter buying club run by Farm to City, and I’ve already described the way it works.  (The ordering window closes TODAY at 5 pm, and if you don’t have an account already you can use PayPal to deposit some initial money.)  There are literally hundreds of items—herbs and bread and coffee, almost any kind of meat cut desired, goat dairy products, and even some vegetables like potatoes (of course) and baby greens.  And I’m sure you can make your weekly Thursday pick-up at one of our dropsites that’s convenient for you!

(Photo from Farm to City.)

Then, there are still two farmers’ markets that continue year-round in Philadelphia; both are on Saturdays, 10-2.  The larger of the two is in West Philly at Clark Park, 43rd & Baltimore— and it is a superb farmers’ market anyway, in a wonderful neighborhood!  (Not that I am at all biased by living within a couple blocks.)  I know the market manager, and I asked him recently about what farmers are still coming during the winter.  There is an Amish farmer with baked goods and noodles and eggs and such, Keystone Farm with apples and meat, Landisdale Farms with a variety of beautiful certified-organic vegetables and beef, Slow Rise Bakery, Margerum’s with the previously-discussed dried beans and a large selection of herbs & spices, Maury Sheetz with vegetables, Rineer Family Farms with roots and salad greens and (new!) beef, and Betty’s Tasty Buttons fudge.  Every other week, there is also a farmer there with chickens…  So, as Naomi has described before, clearly there’s still plenty of local food to enjoy these days!  The other market is at Fitler Square, 23rd & Pine, which I think has two farms.  I think one is called Highland Orchards—can anyone confirm this?  They grow a variety of crops in greenhouses, but also may buy some vegetables to supplement their variety.  Rineer Family Farms is also there over the winter, before moving back to Rittenhouse Square when it opens!

And of course there’s the Fair Food Farmstand, still conveniently open Tuesday-Sunday at the usual Reading Terminal hours.  There are lots of apples and potatoes, mushrooms, citrus sourced through a PA co-op from family farms in Florida, a full selection of grass-fed meats and dairy, and treats like maple sugar and fudge and biscotti. 

My snack food mania

Monday, January 28, 2008

I live really close to Farm Fresh Express in Lansdowne.  Sadly, it took me until this past Saturday to actually get over there and check it out.  If you’re not familar with FFE, you can either place an order from their availability list of mostly locally grown produce, meat, dairy, etc. and they’ll deliver it to your house for a couple of bucks, or you can pick up your order at the storefront.  Alternatively, you don’t have to pre-order anything - just show up at the storefront and peruse the stock.

I didn’t pick up a ton of stuff (my volunteer shift at the Fair Food Farmstand was that morning), but there were some locally grown dried red cayenne peppers I couldn’t resist.  However, what really made me want to kiss the nice lady working the store straight on the mouth was finding a bag of blue corn tortilla chips made from Pennsylvania corn.  Mejico Blues are super thin blue corn tortilla chips, and they’re absolutely delicious!

It isn’t too often that you find prepared snack food made from locally grown ingredients, unless it’s something like dried fruit.  Of course, now I’m completely obsessed with these chips and I’m almost afraid to eat them for fear I’ll never be able to get more of them again.

Oh, and for those of you need to worry about gluten intake, they are apparently gluten (and dairy) free.

Edited to note: Alas, I have just been informed by the nice people at Farm Fresh Express that they found out the corn is not locally grown, only locally milled.

Clark Park Market report, 1/5

Saturday, January 05, 2008

On this first Saturday of 2008, I made it to the Clark Park farmers’ market for the first time in close to a month.  I was impressed by the continuing availability of apples, cabbage, and kale, among other things, but I was trying to limit my purchases.  I bought carrots, onions, and spicy beef sticks from Landisdale Farm, lentils from Margerum’s, apples (Gold Rush and Northern Gold) from Keystone Farm, and spinach from a farm whose name I didn’t see and forgot to ask (oops!).

I also stopped to consider the very nice looking chicken and chicken products (eggs, sausage [turkey or chicken with pork casing], and quarts of soup) from Mountain View Poultry Farm.  If I’m feeling brave enough in two weeks, when they’ll be back—they alternate between Clark Park and a market in Phoenixville—I think I’ll buy a whole chicken.  (I’m comfortable cooking pieces of chicken, or tofu or seitan, but I’ve yet to do more than watch the cooking of an entire bird.)

The Marketplace at East Falls

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A new marketplace, modeled after the Pike Place Market in Seattle opened last week in East Falls. The Marketplace at East Falls only has a few vendors open right now but more are scheduled to open in the next few weeks. Though not all of the vendors appear to feature local foods, many do.

Jeff’s Produce had a sale on locally grown apples when I stopped in on the weekend and I got to sample Hudson Bread (which I believe is made in New Jersey or New York) with some DiBruno Bros. cheese spread. The Head Nut has a location at the marketplace and Crossing Vineyards, a local winery is slated to open there as well. King’s Dutch Country goods which sells Lancaster County baked goods, ice cream, milk, eggs and yogurt was closed on Sunday when I stopped in, but I’m thrilled to have local, Amish products closer to my house than the Reading Terminal Market. CB Enterprises selling Jake and Amos jarred fruits and pickeled products, Bulk Baking Products from Lancaster Co., Pappadelles Pasta, and Harvest Bread and Candy also looks very promising for the locavores though it wasn’t open yet either.

The Marketplace also features prepared foods, deli meats, and a Kosher and Halal meat place is supposed to open soon. A full list of vendors is on the website though they’re not all there yet. I’m looking forward to making it a regular grocery stop.