Where is your thanksgiving turkey coming from this year?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

In a previous post, Nicole mentioned that Fair Food Farmstand is taking orders for local, humanely-raised turkeys for out Thanksgiving meals.  If you’re anything like me, and finding that this holiday has snuck up on you a bit, then you’ll be happy to hear that the Farmstand has extended their ordering deadline.  Whew!

Naturally-Raised Turkeys $2.99/LB
(Hormone & antibiotic-free, free-range)
Available weight ranges: 10-15 Lbs, 16-21 Lbs, 22-27 Lbs, 25-30 Lbs
Green Meadow Farm, Gap, PA
Ordering Deadline: Noon, Nov. 19th

Organic Turkeys $4.50/LB
(Certified Organic, raised on pasture)
Available weight ranges: 12-15Lbs, 15-19 Lbs
Spring Water Farm, Gap, PA
Ordering Deadline: Noon, Nov. 19th

“Bourbon Red” Turkeys $6.50/LB
(Heritage breed, hormone & antibiotic-free, raised on pasture)
Available weight ranges: 7-10Lbs, 11-14 Lbs
Griggstown Quail Farm, Griggstown, NJ
Ordering Deadline: Noon, Nov.16th

Pick up for orders will be at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market on Wednesday, Nov. 26nd from 9AM – 6PM.  You can place your turkey order at the Farmstand, or online at www.whitedogcommunityenterprises.com. Email with questions or concerns.

Although I personally won’t be consuming turkey at our annual Veg*n Thanksgiving Feast (we’ll roll with Ray’s Seitan), I’m sure many are happy to know that the Fair Food Farmstand is providing such a great opportunity to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys raised by local family farmers.  Happy meal planning!

Turkeys, Challenges, Sprouts, and Oysters - Oh My!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

It’s November and that means one thing: it’s Turkey Day Challenge month!  Contributors to Farm to Philly will be sharing their favorite Thanksgiving dishes with you all month long!  My own Thanksgiving should be interesting this year.  My in-laws have been coming for Thanksgiving dinner for the last couple of years, but this year my own parents might be joining us.  This puts me in a bit of a pickle - while my mother will at least try anything you put in front of her, my stepfather is deeply suspicious of high-falutin’ cooking (and when I say “high-falutin” I mean that anything other than plain old mashed potatoes with milk and butter, for instance, is considered bizarre and potentially dangerous).  And so I might need to do a lot of cooking this year - stuff that I want to make, as well as stuff that my stepfather will eat.

Oh, and speaking of Thanksgiving, Fair Food Farmstand is now taking orders for Thanksgiving turkeys.  They’ve got naturally raised turkeys from Green Meadow for $2.99/lb, certified organic turkeys from Lancaster Farm Fresh for $4.50/lb, and Bourbon Red heritage breed turkeys from Griggstown for $6.50/lb.  If you’re trying to save a bit of cash, you might consider signing up to volunteer at Fair Food - volunteers get a discount.  I’m a seasonal volunteer, and my first shift back after dragon boat season was this past Saturday morning.  Stop by and say hello if you’re around - I’ll be there loading up vegetables, bagging spinach, and wrapping cheese every Saturday from 7:30am to around 11am.

My first contribution to the Turkey Day Challenge is a very simple way to prepare brussels sprouts: brown halved sprouts in olive oil with finely chopped bacon.  That’s like crack in a bowl right there.  I don’t eat bacon too often because I don’t like the texture, but I do like the bacon available from the Fair Food Farmstand.  I believe it’s double smoked bacon from King’s Butcher Shop - nice, thick bacon.  My husband, who generally thinks brussels sprouts taste like dirt, will eat brussels sprouts this way.  For him, bacon makes everything taste better.  For an extra special dish, use walnut oil in place of olive oil.  Delicious!

As an unrelated aside, my husband and I had dinner at Ansill’s last night (I had the Trick or Meat Halloween special - squid cooked in its own ink, a skewer of beef hearts and veal kidneys, and Tongue in Cheek - a bowl of veal cheek and pig tongue with white beans and pumpkin.  Everything was delicious!).  On the appetizer menu they offer raw oysters - the oysters of the day were Cape May Salt Oysters.  Offal aside, I would have gone to Ansill’s just to have the locally grown oysters!

Local Turkey Source

Although I’m going to my parents’ in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving (sure beats flying at Christmas!), I’m ordering turkey from Highland Orchards to make when I get back so that I, too, can forage among the leftovers. They also have goose, duck, and turkey breasts. While there’s no information about this on their website, you can call them or pick up an order form at the Fitler Square Farmers Market in Philadelphia (23rd/Pine on Saturdays, 10-2) before 11/15. They’re also taking reservations until 12/1 for winter and spring CSA shares, and they do have a “small” share which I’ve found to be perfect for my small household. The phone is 302 478 4042, email . Enjoy!

Gold Rush Apple Time!

Friday, October 24, 2008

These wonderful apples, possibly the perfect apple, are available for a short period of time from North Star Orchard. To buy them in bulk or to reserve the delicious cider from these apples, there’s a form on their website. You might think that this is overkill, but Gold Rush apple lovers are serious. To see all the hard to find varieties of apples and asian pears (another North Star specialty), visit one of their farmers market locations. If I sound like a commercial, it’s just that their fruit is so good and Ike and Lisa are really nifty people. Check it out.

Locally made pasta!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

I have a deep love of DiBruno Bros. shop in Center City - they always have at least some locally made cheese, and sometimes even have locally grown produce.  Today I found out that they will now be making pasta to order in the center island.

What makes all this talk about fresh pasta so interesting is the fact that Di Bruno Bros. will be making its own fresh pasta right before your very eyes in the store’s Center Island. As part of a growing partnership with fellow Italian Market staple Talluto’s, we have obtained an antique pasta making machine that will be on display every Friday thru Sunday beginning on October 10th. We will provide customers with a healthy variety of traditional cuts as well as a range of flavors including whole wheat and spinach.

Fresh pasta isn’t just better tasting, it’s naturally high in fiber, low in sugar and gives off a slow, steady release of energy. Because it develops less gluten, the pasta is lighter, making it quicker to cook and easier to digest.

Woo!

Apple heaven

Sunday, October 05, 2008

While not a website about supporting local farmers and eating seasonally, A Food Coma is a new blog devoted to New Jersey.  And hey, we gotta support Jersey, right?

A Food Coma is a group blog devoted to restaurant reviews, recipes...there’s even a podcast!  Their lead story is pretty timely - a recipe for apple pie.  We are awash in locally grown apples right now.  Linvilla currently has nearly 25 varieties available for picking.  The Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal has dozens of varieties from various area farms. 

Other local orchards for apple picking:

Weaver’s Orchard, Berks County
Shadybrook Farm, Bucks County
Styer Orchard, Bucks County
Highland Orchards, Chester County
Johnson Farm, Jersey
Terhune Orchards, Jersey

Farmers Need Websites, Too!

Monday, September 29, 2008

What could be more idyllic? A local farmer, working his/her land. Bringing the bounty to market. Blogging about this year’s tomato pests. Updating the farm website to include eCommerce. Wah? Insert sound of a record scratching. But what might sound funny at first is actually really important to seizing the momentum of the locavore movement and continuing it’s ideals: namely, of the connection between farmer and his/her customer. Unfortunately farming, especially Pennsylvania farming (with it’s high Amish population), is reluctant or simply not equipped to jump on board. And the few that do have, well, I’m sorry to say, they have bad sites. I have yet to see a well-designed, well-constructed and effective website for a farm.
A website is such an important medium for farmers, not just to promote their farm, but to promote their farming idealology. As much as we would like to believe that we can converse — farmer and customer — the sad fact is that’s nearly impossible (have you been to Headhouse? I’ve seen rock concerts that were less crowded.) But with a website, farmer’s have a FAQ area. They have an About Us area. They now have the chance to say what they don’t get the opportunity to say at market. Plus, they can get responses, via email, from their customers. And despite the perceived high learning curve of websites, you don’t need to know squat about HTML or code. All you need is a bit of easy jargon and a clear set of goals for your site. And with proper help, you’ll be off and running in no time.
So you’re convinced: “I NEED a website!” you say. Where do you start? Before you go running off to your friendly local web professional (for your information, a professional would be a graphic designer or web designer) you need a plan. Yes, it is definitely the job of these professionals to help you, but they aren’t mind readers. You need a goal: what do you want to accomplish from the site? And are you willing to invest the time needed to develop it? If you just want a basic, nuts-and-bolts informative site (basically, an interactive Yellow Pages listing), there’s not much you need. Throw in an About Us page, a Contact Page and a Products page and rush off to the professionals. You’re ready. But I don’t want you to stop there. The web is such a rich media device that it deserves to be developed. You care about your farm, you care about your products. Tell people that. Here’s your chance. If you’re not a writer, hire someone. Put a request on Craigslist (a design/web professional can help you here, just realize that there will be a mark-up). And even if you can write, get a proofreader. It’s the difrenc btwn amatre and professiona (that’s on purpose, BTW).
Once you have a goal (i.e., “more customers”, or to “better inform my customer’s”, etc.) and you have your content, then get moving. A designer/web professional will walk you through the steps. They can help you get a domain name (such as “www.farmtophilly.com” or “www.myfarmname.com") and a hosting service (hosting service is the company that provides the server space for your site to rest on, so it’s available to the world). Besides “domain name” and “hosting service”, really, all the other jargon you need to know (and you might not even need to know these) are: eCommerce, database, shopping cart and payment gateway. These 3 terms describe increased website functionality. In all likelihood, you will probably not even need them. At it’s simplest, eCommerce is a blanket term that means an online marketplace as well as the connection between the shopping cart and the payment gateway. The rest of the terms are how eCommerce functions. So, if you decide that you need an eCommerce site, then first you need is a database. A database is simply the individual products that you offer. Unlike a typical HTML site, where if you want to add something (or subtract) you need to go in and change the entire page, a database is able to be updated on the fly. Once you have your products, a shopping cart is what allows your customers to place your items in their “cart”, to purchase at the end of their web visit. Once they’re ready with their purchases, they use eCommerce technology, coupled with a gateway payment provider, to take the customer’s credit card information and process it. Voila. This is probably far more information that the typical farm website would need, but I just wanted to take the mystery out of these words and terms.
The jargon is one thing, but what about the content? As I described earlier, every single farm site that I’ve been to is just awful. I’m sorry. I really am. I know that there is an aversion to “marketing” — it’s an ugly word that conjures up images of sleazy ad men and disreputable business’s using all forms of trickery to snag innocent customers. But that’s (technically) not the case. Marketing is really just communicating to your customer. You think you have the best salad greens and you want to shout that from the rooftops? That’s marketing. You don’t use pesticide and you want your customers to know how and why? That’s marketing. Your cows only eat grass and you want people to know why that’s better than corn fed? Yep. Marketing. Tell people what makes you special! Your website is the best opportunity to explain everything and tout why. Don’t blow this chance. Keep a pen and notebook handy at all times. Jot down ideas about why you’re special (or anything else that you want people to know about you). Then, at the end of one month, collect them and organize. I’ll guarantee that if you write down ideas when they occur, at the end of a month, you’ll have to throw copy out!
The point is this: whether you want to blame or congratulate Michael Pollan, the locavore movement is increasingly bridging the gap between urban and rural populations. To remain vital, farms need to utilize 21st century tools. Big box markets are using all of their powerful marketing tools to tout their “local” cred. We need to get in front of this shift and affirm the importance of our local cred and why it trumps theirs. Your customers crave information — they are tech-savvy people who think nothing of spending an hour “researching” (by visiting websites) which cheese is more local. By using the tools that are available to all you can help your customers make the right decision.

Greetings!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Hello and welcome to my first post! As I understand, my posting “hook” is a bit different from the usual Farm To Philly postings. So let’s use this time as a “getting to know you” chit chat, shall we?

Local living has become an obsession of mine. There were several instances that led me to the Locavore lifestyle (to be discussed in future postings). But rest assured, I am here and there is nothing that I would love better than to have a vibrant, local Philly (or, should I say, Southeastern PA) economy. The more you become involved in something, the more you want to help it along. So here I am — a graphic designer and marketer by trade — trying to find a way to parlay my talents to the benefit of what I love and believe in. And all roads led to here.

My goal for these entries is to bridge the gap between the local economy and their potential customers. Without proper messaging, no matter how great — how noble — a movement is, if it can’t relate to a larger group, it is destined to fizzle out. And there is nothing inherent in the local foods movement to make it a fringe activity. This isn’t a simple, fanciful trend. Because it’s not just local-lovers who truly believe in their heart of hearts that something needs to “give” in our food distribution mentality.

Put plainly, how we eat now is not sustainable. If left as is, it will collapse. I’m sure there are several people out there far smarter than I am, working diligently on this project. But for those of us at the grass-roots level, local living is the “answer”. It combines all the different food-activism goals: it’s beneficial for humans (from farmers to eater’s health); it’s beneficial for the land (at it’s most basic, due to simple accountability); and it’s humane to animals (no true Locavore mistakes Hatfield for “local”). Ideally, the locavore movement is something that vegetarians, farm-worker union organizers and eco-warriors can all hang their hats on. But if people don’t know about how appealing this idea is, it runs the risk of petering out. Does anyone remember macrobiotics? Well, you might. But rest assured: Joe Sixpack doesn’t. And that’s the key: relevance.

The Green movement is still germane. And why is that? It’s not because our planet is going to hell in a hand basket. No, I’m a bit too cynical to believe that. It’s because certain key players — from Al Gore to the Christian Right (yeah, even they did) — got on board. That kept it from being sidelined in the media’s “flavor of the week” flow chart. And as someone who truly believes in the local movement, that’s what I want for my crusade: an assurance of sustained relevance.

So, fellow local-lovers, here we are, on the precipice of change. The word “locavore” is on the tips of everyone’s tongues. I’ve taken it as my personal mission to ensure that it moves from the tip to the stomach: that local-living becomes ingrained in our daily lives. My posts will be appreciable to those buying locally, but it will be most relevant to those selling locally. I want to give you brave and needed business owners the tools necessary to compete and to (reasonably) profit. Because I believe that when you gain, we all do. Happy Localling! 

Get ‘em while they’re hot: Christmas Limas

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I’ve never even heard of Christmas lima beans before last week, but Margerum’s is currently selling them fresh.  A heritage breed, Christmas limas are native to Peru and have a slightly chestnut-y flavor.  Apparently, these beans can be dated back to 1500 C.E.

Coincidentally, I very nearly bought a bag of dried Christmas lima beans last week when I was in San Francisco.  Rancho Gordo, a California dried bean grower, produces them, and the mottled beans caught my eye.  Via the Slow Food site, I know that I should save the pot liquor when I cook them up because it’s delicious!

I did find out one very interesting fact while researching the beans.  Lima beans should never be eaten raw.

Certain varieties, especially those with a red or black testa, have been associated with high levels of cyanogenic glucosides (linamarine); but there is no reliable correlation between seed color and cyanide content. Environmental Christmas Lima 2 factors may also influence the degree of toxicity. These substances have been reduced to safe levels by selective breeding. However, it usually means that the beans must be soaked twice, changing water each time, and then cooked for about two hours.

Interesting, no?  I really like raw lima beans, although I rarely have fresh ones in the house.  I guess that means I should stop eating them raw!

Some interesting recipe ideas that include Christmas lima beans:

• Dandelion greens and Christmas lima tacos
• Christmas lima spread
• Christmas lima bento
• Grilled anchovies with Christmas limas and mint

If you’re interested in seeking them out, Margerum’s sells at two farmer’s markets that I know of: Clark Park on Saturday and Headhouse Square on Sunday.  Alternatively, you can grow them yourself - seeds are available via Victory Seeds.

Roxborough Farmer’s Market Report

Friday, August 29, 2008

Last summer Red Earth Farm’s CSA offered locally grown fruits through their buying club each week. In addition to my fruit share I was able to order extra delivered with my share every other week. This summer I am not so lucky. I did not buy a fruit share and so far, not a single fruit has been offered through the buying club. That means that every Friday I’ve had to arrange my schedule to make it to the Roxborough Farmer’s Market to pick up fruit for the week. The Roxborough Farmer’s Market, though small, offers a great deal of variety. The big problem is that the market is so popular that most of the fruit sells out within an hour or two.

The past several weeks I’ve done my best to get there at 2.00 when the market opens. The line starts even earlier. I was 15 minutes early last week and the line was already ten people deep. I waited in the hot sun for about 20 minutes before I made it to the front of the line. I needed my husband who was towing the toddler in the bike trailer to help me home with the goods.

In addition to seasonal fruits and vegetables the market also offers baked goods, jams and jellies, eggs, quilts and fresh cut flowers.

Calkins Creamery: Udderly Hot

Monday, August 25, 2008

Calkins Creamery is one of my favorite cheese makers in the area.  I just like the taste of their cheese, regardless of what they add into it.  I think it must be the milk - their cows are happy cows.

For the Summer, Calkins introduced a new cheese called Udderly Hot.  It’s their Havarti mixed with locally grown chiles.  I am totally in love with this cheese.  After a few slices, I thought “OK, this is good, but it could be a little hotter.” Later this weekend, I sat down and ate a little more.  Now I think maybe hotter would be overwhelming.  It’s so good.

And it makes a spectacular grilled cheese with carmelized onions.

I’ve always bought it from the Fair Food Farmstand, but I understand that it’s now available at many Whole Food markets in the area.

Still Life with Pears and Grapes

Sunday, August 24, 2008

These were so pretty that I had to take a photo: lovely small pears and these tasty wee Thompson grapes. Both from Highland Orchards (DE) at Fitler Square market. And, they have spots open in their fall CSA shares—and two sizes so that those of us not feeding a family of 4 can enjoy the abundance without being overwhelmed.

A glimpse at life beyond the computer and pile of legos…

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Today we have a special guest post from Dawn Warden, reporter for the Main Line Times and a good friend to Farm to Philly.  Enjoy!

My assistant reporter, Ben (9) and I, had a wonderful time a few weeks ago, roaming the countryside of North Coventry Township. Our mission: to chat with milk and cheese farmer/producer, Sue Miller, of Birchrun Hill Farm (2573 Horseshoe Trail Chester Springs) and Dan Heckler of Jack’s Farm (jacksfarm.net) a boutique “polyculture” micro-farm located in the outskirts of Pottstown.

Our efforts—and gas consumption—rewarded us with rolling hills, dairy and horse farms, and fabulous old stone homes. After meandering off course, and overshooting our destination, we landed at Camphill Village Kimberton, a biodynamic dairy (a VERY interesting place that deserves its own space), where Miller and her assistant, artist Sebastian Upson, whip up wheels of raw milk Birchrun Blue, Highland Alpine and Fat Cat.

I’ve only seen a couple cheese rooms, but I have to say, this one is pretty nice, roomy, with lots of windows and a nice-sized vat and drain table. There’s also a huge copper vat that I forgot to ask about, and a winch for extra-heavy loads.

When we arrived, Miller and Upson had just completed the whey separating process—they do this with an instrument called a harp, and it functions much like a whisk, but it’s a heck of a lot bigger. (I’m 5’3” and I could swear it looked as big as me.) My son and I both got a kick out of watching them lift the massive load of curds and remaining whey onto the drain table with a sturdy stretch of cheesecloth. 

The next step was to get the cheese-to-be into the plastic molds where separated into smaller amounts, it would drain some more and start to take the shape of the mold. That day, Miller was working on the Highland Alpine (front row in photos) and Fat Cat (back row).

We got to peek at the aging wheels that are kept in a separate room on the lower level of the barn. It is much cooler in there and smelled amazing—if you are a blue cheese fan. As much as I like goat cheese, I didn’t like the aroma as much when I visited Shellbark Hollow/Pete Demchur as I did the blue. (Pete’s cheese is wonderful too, and I regret not having my camera with me the day I visited.)

My son was dying to look at the farm animals, so after showing us the milking room, Miller took us to see the big girls. When we got there, we discovered a calf had been born overnight and was hobbling around trying to get its legs. The placenta was still hanging out of the mother, which as off-putting as it sounds was interesting to see. I got a huge rush of goose bumps and a little choked up because when you see this new life and the beautiful farm and all the milk and cheese and radiant smile on Miller’s face, it is hard not be in awe of life on a farm, of nature and the miracle of birth.

Corny, I know. But don’t knock it till you try it. 

More animals were in store for my son at Jack’s Farm, where Dan Heckler is now raising broiler chickens and pigs. (He has a waiting list for the pigs, and I know all you vegetarians will be miffed at me for saying this, but I would love to get one. I have never cooked an entire pig and it is a culinary goal.) He also has egg-laying ladies, making Jack’s Farm more convenient by the day. (One-stop shopping does make the day easier, right?) The Heckler homestead is lovely, as you can see from the photos we took. It is most definitely a little piece of heaven—and quite a fertile piece of property. The layout is very deceiving. The farm appears smaller than it is, but there are several growing areas, a washing and packing room, a couple of those neat-looking greenhouses made out of flexible material, and a nice-sized barn that also doubles as Dan’s wood working shop. 

It is really easy to romanticize about Heckler’s life; his house is one of those charming old stone creations with nooks and crannies and interesting accents that people spend gobs of money trying to replicate, and the physical space it sits on is wonderfully peaceful. But, when you see how much he has to take care of, it’s like “whoa!” this is hard work. He, though, seems to do it all with a smile on his face. (I did visit him on a gorgeously sunny and warm day—perhaps his demeanor would be a bit different in the pouring rain.

He was a proud papa, showing me rows upon rows of micro greens, cucumbers, nasturtium, asparagus, tomatoes, beets, carrots (five kinds), amaranth, artichokes, mâche (lamb’s lettuce), radicchio, arugula, strawberries, blueberries and more.

Currently, Heckler sells directly to restaurants and everyday customers through the Phoenixville Farmers’ Market and his farm stand—an open ended barn space filled with veggies, potted herbs, eggs, a cooler of homemade ice cream and a big can for customers to leave a little love for the farmer. (Yes, this is a man who has a high level of trust—and a great attitude. He told me he’s only been stolen from a couple of times, and his thought was, ‘if someone would go to that length, they need the money more than I do.’)

David Clouser of Sola restaurant in Bryn Mawr is the one who turned me on to Jack’s Farm and it is truly worth the drive if you are longing for a dose of rolling, bucolic roads and big ole barns and stone homes, and a few nibbles of pesticide, herbicide, icky-cide free produce.

My son made it through the tour, but a few moments of impatience and complaints over the flies and the heat made me realize, this kid needs to spend a lot more time with me getting reacquainted with the hard labor side of Mother Nature. After all, you do reap what you sow. 

For more photos from the trip, please go here.

The 320 Market Cafe

Monday, August 18, 2008

I’m always on the lookout for places to pick up locally grown foods, whether it’s in the city or the burbs.  Lately, I’ve been finding more little gems in the burbs!  My latest favorite is the 320 Market Cafe in Swarthmore.  They keep a nice stock of locally grown fruits and vegetables.  Over the weekend they had local squash, corn, tomatoes, peaches, and a whole host of others.  They’ve also made a pledge to only carry mushrooms from Chester County (according to their newsletter, ChesCo mushroom producers are facing stiff competition from Chinese producers - who charge less, but also produce an inferior product).

Additionally, 320 stocks Birchrun Hill cheese, Seven Stars yogurt, and Natural by Nature milk, and coming this Fall you’ll be able to pick up local, organic, pastured chicken and local grassfed and pastured beef.

I should also mention that they have stellar pico de gallo.  The avocado may not be local, but the tomatoes are.

It’s really great to see the 320 Market Cafe making an effort to support local farmers and our local economy.  I’ve heard reports that many other small markets in the vicinity (not just Delaware County, but throughout our region) are moving toward this model, In increasing numbers, people care about where their food comes from and have the desire to keep small farmers afloat. 

Clark Park market report, 16 August

Saturday, August 16, 2008

It’s really apple season!  I’m so happy.  Those are Ginger Golds from Fahnestock Fruit Farm, along with broccoli and a pepper from Keystone Farm, multicolored beans, some hot peppers, and another bell pepper from Urban Girls, a red pepper, a cucumber, two small summer squash, and an ear of corn from Shenk’s Berry Farm, and two four-seed cookies from Slow Rise.