Digression from Tomatoes

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Tuesday morning, parking and setup for the Rittenhouse Square farmers’ market went unusually smoothly, so I wandered into the Barnes & Noble across the street, contemplating the purchase of a news magazine to read over coffee.  My choice became easy once I noticed that the current issue of The New Yorker is the food issue!

(That morning, the first food-related article I came to was an amusing and tantalizing exploration of Singaporean street food, by Calvin Trillin.  If it’s feasible, I’d recommend buying the issue to read that article; sadly, only the abstract is available online.)

The full text of the article I read yesterday afternoon, however, is available online.  It’s entitled ‘New York Local’, by Adam Gopnik.  Needless to say, I was excited to read this article—localism, the word Gopnik seems to use frequently, is entering the zeitgeist as interpreted by such a venerable magazine as The New Yorker!  In the middle of the article, I texted a friend who is a geography professor, ‘I’m not sure what to think of [the article]’, and after I had a couple hours to ponder it, I think I’m annoyed.  Gopnik writes about his meetings with community chicken carers, rooftop beekeepers, a Central Park forager, and a Brooklyn College fish farmer—all people he encounters in his week-long experiment to eat only food ‘grown or raised within the five boroughs of New York City.’

OK, intriguing experiment.  But…I started to become dubious when Gopnik lists the following reasons he attempted this experiment: 1. to find out if it was possible, 2. to explore localism, and 3. ‘to see if perhaps the implicit anti-urban prejudices lurking in the localist movement could be leached away by some city-bred purposefulness’.  ...Huh?!  Is it just because I’ve become a locavore while living IN the city, taking advantage of co-ops and farmers’ markets and farm shares with other urban residents, that I am oblivious to this anti-urbanism he claims to sense in the movement?  It’s true that he mentions in the paragraph previous that the usual rules of localism allow for a 100-300 mile foodshed, but if the whole article is focused on a five-borough foodshed, will his readers remember that passing mention?  Am I just over-reacting?

He talked about interesting people and exciting projects, but I was a little sad that this article was the only perspective on localism in this issue of The New Yorker, a perspective so different from my own experience as a locavore.  Please do let me know your thoughts!  I know most of the blog entries so far have contained beautiful produce collections or tasty recipes [edited to add: and I love all of them!], but I am also interested in your help to become more conversant in the theory and advantages/objections to eating local.

OK, intriguing experiment.  But…I started to become dubious when Gopnik lists the following reasons he attempted this experiment: 1. to find out if it was possible, 2. to explore localism, and 3. ‘to see if perhaps the implicit anti-urban prejudices lurking in the localist movement could be leached away by some city-bred purposefulness’.  ...Huh?!  Is it just because I’ve become a locavore while living IN the city, taking advantage of co-ops and farmers’ markets and farm shares with other urban residents, that I am oblivious to this anti-urbanism he claims to sense in the movement?  It’s true that he mentions in the paragraph previous that the usual rules of localism allow for a 100-300 mile foodshed, but if the whole article is focused on a five-borough foodshed, will his readers remember that passing mention?  Am I just over-reacting?

He talked about interesting people and exciting projects, but I was a little sad that this article was the only perspective on localism in this issue of The New Yorker, a perspective so different from my own experience as a locavore.  Please do let me know your thoughts!  I know most of the blog entries so far have contained beautiful produce collections or tasty recipes, but I am also interested in your help to become more conversant in the theory and advantages/objections to eating local.

CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

Upon hearing that another dozen ears of corn would be present in the CSA share from Lancaster Farm Fresh today, I immediately set out to Williams-Sonoma to get my hands on their corn zipper gadget.  For the last few weeks I’ve been using a knife to cut the kernels off cobs of corn, but the corn goes all over the place.  After cutting kernels off of a dozen cobs, my kitchen is positively littered with corn.  And while my dog certainly loves to perform her clean up duty, I hate to lose all that corn.  Alas, Williams-Sonoma was out of the zipper, but had something better: the Good Grips corn stripper.  It’s sound like a rural burlesque show or something, but the stripper has a container that catches the corn as it’s removed from the cob.  I fully expect to be blissfully happy as I process this corn tonight.

That was a little off the subject, but yes, there were a dozen ears of sweet corn grown by Green Acres Organics in today’s Lancaster Farm Fresh share.  Additionally, there was:

• 3 red bell peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics
• 6 red slicing tomatoes grown by Countryside Organics
• 2 heirloom tomatoes grown by Riverview Organics
• 1 spaghetti squash grown by Elm Tree Organics
• 1 pound onions grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm
• 2 delicata squash grown by Green Valley Organics
• 3 pound bag potatoes grown by Busy Bee Acres or Elm Tree Organics
• One of the following items: 1 bunch escarole grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm, 2 eggplant grown by Riverview Organics, or 1 bunch parsley grown by the Back 40 Ranch (I was lucky enough to get the eggplant)

I am particularly excited to see the spaghetti squash, which I plan to bake and combine with cheese (because everything is better with cheese!).

Coincidentally, I’m told by our site manager that there were supposed to be extra vegetables in the share this week to make up for being shorted a watermelon two weeks ago.  Alas, nothing extra.

Head to Headhouse and Make this Soup

The bounty of the much-touted Headhouse Farmers Market inspired this soup recipe.  Make a list of the ingredients and head to the market to see if you can get one item from a different stand to spread the love around.  Or, just stop by our table, Weavers Way Farm, and buy everything but the corn.  Deliciously fresh, this soup can be served hot or cold so it’ll make the transition between seasons with you.  To stock up for the colder months, buy extra fresh corn to cut off the cobs and freeze.  Then buy bushels of tomatillos to make salsa verde to also freeze or can.  That way, when winter settles in, you can call upon your stockpiles to make this hearty soup to remind you of the freshness of summer.

Corn and Tomatillo Chowder
Adated from The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Soup

2 T. peanut or corn oil
4 large shallots or 1 medium onion, diced
1 hot pepper such as Hungarian Hot Wax, diced
1 sweet pepper (purple, red or green), diced
2 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off (about 2 cups)
12 or so tomatillos
3 c. of vegetable or chicken stock
1 c. light cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Husk tomatillos, place in a small sauce pan and cover with water.  Place on high heat until water boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes until tomatillos loose their bright color and float to the top.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large deep skillet.  Add the diced onion and peppers, reserving a tablespoon or so of the pepper for garnish later, to the hot skillet and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until they get soft and brown on the edges.  Add the corn kernels to the skillet and saute for 2 minutes until softened and the color pales.  Finally, drain tomatillos from their hot water and add to skillet to toss with sauted vegetables.  Stir to incorporate.

Carefully pour contents of skillet into a blender (or use an immersion blender for extra ease) and process until smooth, adding a little stock if needed to loosen it up.  Transfer blended contents back to skillet and slowly add in stock over low heat.  Allow soup to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to scrap up any corn sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in cream.  Serve soup chilled or warm.  If serving warm, gently reheat - never allow soup to come to a boil.  Garnish each bowl of soup with diced pepper and thin slices of an uncooked tomatillo.

(makes 4 large servings)

take the tomato

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I’m glad Nicole wrote out those 10 things you can do with tomatoes. I was already plotting and planning what recipes from the NYTimes I would make. I really loved the idea of a tartlett. But I am not one to follow recipes if I can use what I already have in the house.

So I took the tartlett idea and made something yummy of my own. Tomatoes on filo. They were probably the tastiest thing I had this week.

The same concept from the NYTimes recipe is there, instead of using puff pastry I used filo dough. I put it on a silicon matt and brushed each layer with butter. Then I took equal portions of riccotta and goat’s cheese and mixed them with fresh basil. I spread it on the filo much like you would pizza sauce or if you were icing a cake. Then I put my very yummy fresh cut tomato rounds on it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with parmesian. Fold the edges up if you like the more picturesque tartlett picture, or leave it as it.. the cheese really doesn’t run over the sides. Pop it in a 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. It was absolutely delish!

CSA Weekly Report:  Blooming Glen Farm

Whew.  After our Rhode Island vacation, it seems we’re finally getting back into the swing of things over here.  Readjusting to schedules and responsibilities is always a little slow moving, especially after spending two weeks in a tent at the beach.  We’ve been…  resistant, I’ll say.  I’m happy to report, the vibrant colors at Blooming Glen really softened the CSA pick-up duties this week.

The peppers are out of this world, and I’m quite excited to have received garlic this year.  Pictured is a German White variety, next to some yellow onions.  As one might imagine, we’ve been making some mean stir fries in Souderton lately. 

If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out this great newspaper article, “New crop of farmers comes with college degrees, no farming past” (The Intelligencer, Aug. 25), which features the Blooming Glen farmers, Tricia and Tom.

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

This week’s CSA share:

Arugula—2 bags. One bag was a substitution for an item I had requested that was unavailable. Perhaps I’ll use one bag for a salad, and one bag for a saute.
Spaghetti Squash
Swiss Chard
Slicing Tomatoes—both red and yellow.
Cucumbers—thinking of making my mom’s wakame and cucumber salad with these.
Peaches (from the buying club)—probably the last of the season.
Oak Shade Cheese Horseradish Cheddar (from the buying club)—made from a dairy farm near the CSA. Has a nice zing of horseradish to it.

Local produce report, 28 August

I basically skipped my usual farmers’ market shopping last week—I picked up some apples and asian pears (asian pears!  in August!), but then I left town for the weekend—so I got this week’s supply of local produce at my neighborhood food co-op instead.  Going clockwise from the top left, I picked up a watermelon, some hormone-free skim milk, two kinds of tofu (one atop the other), red peppers, white mushrooms, zucchini, scallions, and chickpea flour in the center.  Everything except the milk is organic.

Much as I enjoy going to the farmers’ market and speaking to the farmers, it’s wonderful to have more consistent access to local foods.

Sundried tomatoes

Monday, August 27, 2007

Continuing with the abundance of entries on tomatoes, I want to ramble on concerning a fun purchase I made last week, at the Fair Food Farmstand. 

These sundried tomatoes are from Overbrook Herb Farm in Lansdale, PA.  Two weeks ago, the Farmstand manager Emily filled a shiny steel cannister with these vibrantly red bits-o’-summer.  I sampled one, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself reaching for another one, since I usually assume I don’t like sundried tomatoes.  (I like tomatoes in sauces, but I don’t eat them plain.)

Last week, I decided to make tomato sauce, and the recipe that I wanted to try called for adding chopped sundried tomatoes at the end for extra flavor.  Excellent, I thought!  It will give me an excuse to buy those sundrieds at the Farmstand that had been insinuating themselves into my cravings.  So during my Friday morning shift, I put aside a bag of them—they are now being sold in plastic sandwich bags for $4—and I took the opportunity to ask Emily more detailed questions about them.  Apparently a lot of Overbrook’s tomatoes split early in the season, a considerable loss for a small farm.  The farmer had purchased a dehydrator, so he decided to make sundried tomatoes and sell them! 

They have a simple, sharp flavor, and I especially like the way you can clearly see different tomato varieties mixed throughout.  Despite my theoretical aversion to sundried tomatoes, I kept popping them while I was peeling & chopping Roma tomatoes for sauce…and I couldn’t even bear to put all of them into the sauce, leaving some in the bag for future sampling. 

Jampacked Headhouse Square Market

The Headhouse Square Farmers Market was crazy yesterday.  Last Thursday’s article in the Inquirer brought the people out in droves.  I got there a little before 1 pm, a full hour before the market was scheduled to close, and the pickings were really slim.  Jennie at the Weaver’s Way Co-op table said that it had been nonstop people since they opened and Albert (staffing the PhillyCarShare table) said that some of the vendors had run out of food to sell by 11 :30 am. 

I didn’t feel like competing with the three women picking over the last of the fresh corn, so I went without this week.  I did manage to come home with a nice haul nonetheless.  Spending just $19 (there are some benefits to having your choices limited) I purchased:

1 head of lettuce
6 roma tomatoes (not nearly as tender or juicy as the slicers I got last week, but very tasty)
3 skinny purple eggplants
2 pattypans
1 regular eggplant
1 quart of white nectarines
1 cantaloupe
1 yellow pepper
1 zucchini
2 onions (red and white)

Nettlesome cheese

A few days ago I bought a small chunk of Valley Shepherd Creamery Nettlesome cheese.  It sat in my ‘fridge.  I just couldn’t work up the motivation to try it.  Stinging nettles in cheese?  It just sounded…wrong.

But Nettlesome cheese is so, so right!  This mixed milk cheese is really wonderful - it’s filled with dried nettles and has a great, grassy smell.  The taste, too, has grass undertones.  Not in an unpleasant way - in a very rich and interesting way.  Coincidentally, I had this idea last night during my tasting - it would probably make a really great grilled cheese sandwich.  It seems like it would melt really well, and the taste of the nettles would be really unique.

Interestingly, eating cheese with stinging nettles is pretty good for you.  Aside from all the benefits of dairy, nettles have long been used in herbal medicines to treat disorders of the muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Who knew you could eat cheese and treat arthritis all in one shot?!

Valley Shepherd Creamery is located in Long Valley, New Jersey.  And if you’re ever up that way, they do offer cheesemaking classes.  Valley Shepherd Creamery is also the location of the 2007 Artisan Cheese and Food Festival coming up on September 29.  It sounds like an amazing event for local food aficionados.  Over 25 small farms and artisan food producers throughout the Northeast region will be there with American Cheese Society award winning cheeses and specialty foods.

Edited to note:  Nettlesome cheese is available in the dairy case at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market.

When life deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys

Friday, August 24, 2007

From the sounds of things, Farm to Philly contributors (including me) have been up to their eyeballs in gorgeous, locally-grown tomatoes recently!  Yoko made pasta sauce.  Anj made pizza sauce.  And, judging by the look of the tomato plants in my garden, the onslaught of tomatoes will continue for at least a few more weeks!

There’s nothing better than lovely tomatoes right out of the garden or from your favorite local farmer, but there comes a time when there might be too much of a good thing.  If the other contributors are like me, another bite of tomato sandwich or gazpacho or salsa or tomato sauce would send me over the edge.  And with two dozen tomatoes sitting in my kitchen right now, I need something new and exciting, something I haven’t eaten entirely too much of this Summer!

With that in mind, I give you ten things to do with tomatoes (other than salsa, gazpacho, sauce, or sandwiches):

1. Grilled tomatoes with blue cheese and pine nuts.  This [recipe] was one of the winning entries for a Washington Post tomato recipe contest.  There are more recipes to be had, but this one appealed to me.  I don’t know that there are any sources for locally grown pine nuts, but one can certainly find good local blue cheese!  Birchrun Blue, for instance, from Birchrun Hills Farm.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.
2. Sofrito.  If you’re drowning in cherry tomatoes, consider making a little sofrito [recipe] for a rainy day.  For the uninitiated, sofrito is a sauce that used as a base for many Spanish and Latin American dishes.  A friend of mine uses hers to mix with mashed potatoes.  You can use it for a million things - to add flavor to sauces, mixed with yellow rice, anything!
3. Tomato gelato.  Paired with basil gelato (a personal favorite of mine available sometimes at Capogiro) and ricotta gelato [recipes for all three here], who could resist kicking back during the dog day’s of Summer with this little treat?
4. Roasted Tomato Bread Pudding.  When I make bread pudding, my husband screws up his face and denounces it.  If I call it stuffing, he eats it.  Whatever you call it, it’s good and roasted tomatoes make it better!  The recipe [recipe] utilizes both regular and cherry tomatoes.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that stale Le Bus bread makes fabulous bread pudding.
5. Dill Green Tomatoes.  It’s not the end of tomato season yet (not by a long shot), but I do always find myself with a smattering of small green tomatoes at that time.  I like the idea of using them green to make pickles [recipe], and it’s also a great way to use the last of the dill, garlic, and hot peppers!
6. Tomato, Basil, and Brie Spread.  Being a total cheesehound, the very idea of brie mixed with anything makes me swoon.  If I can get my hands on the new brie from Green Valley Dairy, so much the better.  The spread [recipe] smeared on a baguette from Metropolitan?  Yes, please!
7. Roasted Tomato Hummus.  Aside from the glut of tomatoes in my house right now, I also have the dregs of the roasted garlic I made recently from my first ever batch of garlic.  What better way to use them both than to make hummus [recipe]?  Mmmmmmm mmmm!
8. Baked Stuffed Tomatoes with Goat Cheese Fondue.  There are several excellent ideas for using too many tomatoes in this NY Times article, but go directly to #2 on the list.  Holy crap.  Using the stellar goat cheese from Shellbark Hollow Farm, this little slice of cheese lover heaven would be awesome!  I might need to make this tonight.  Or I might need to eat lunch before I chew off my own hand.
9. Garlicky Tomato Tart.  As a rule, I’m not a fan of deliberately low fat cooking.  There’s something to be said for eating well, but just not going overboard, you know.  That said, the Garlicky Tomato Tart [recipe] from Cooking Light is pretty excellent.  It’s comfort food around my house.
10. Oven dried tomato oil.  I’m a big fan of anything that involves sun-dried tomatoes, but I’m a little squicked out about the idea of leaving food outside to dry.  Oven-drying tomatoes [recipe] works great and there’s less possibility of animals wreaking havoc with them.  And oil with sun-dried tomatoes seems like such a useful thing to have around the house!

There you go!  Ten things to do with tomatoes that you maybe haven’t made this Summer!  Go forth and eat more locally grown tomatoes!

CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

In yesterday’s Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA share, Autumn snuck in!  That’s right, the first of the Winter Squash!  Having been under a deluge of peppers and tomatoes for the last few weeks (this week included), it’s sort of a relief to be seeing some new vegetables.

The full share list:

3 red bell peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics 3 Cubanella Peppers grown by Green Valley Organics 1 bunch radishes grown by Elm Tree Organics 4 slicing tomatoes grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm 2 heirloom tomatoes grown by Riverview Organics 8 Roma tomatoes grown by Countryside Organics 6 ears sweet corn grown by Green Acres Organics 2 delicata squash grown by Green Valley Organics 1 blue Hubbard squash grown by Farmdale Organics 1 bag hot Hungarian peppers grown by Farmdale Organics

All those tomatoes and peppers, combined with the large quantity of tomatoes I’ve been pulling out of the garden, guarantee another go-round with the pressure canner.  More sauce?  Sofrito?  Hmmm.

It all comes back to the squash, though.  Since finding out that they were coming my way, I’ve been trying to figure out how I want to use them.  Ideas?  Suggestions?

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Thursday, August 23, 2007

I’d completely forgotten about what I’d ordered last week so this week’s share was a surprise.

I ended up with a bunch of leeks, a head of summer crisp lettuce, a bunch of curly kale, a quart of green beans and tomatoes. Lots of beautiful, stripy, red, green, orange, yellow and purple tomatoes.

I’m not a tomato person, but these tomatoes are just so pretty I want to eat them and like them anyway.

We ran out of fruit this morning and since it’s not a fruit share week I stopped at the farmer’s market in Fairmount on my way home from the gym. It was my first time at the Fairmount farmer’s market this year. Unlike the Roxborough farmer’s market there are a couple of different stands. One vendor seemed to be selling meat as well as fruits and vegetables but I didn’t ask any questions. Another vendor ( I wish I’d picked up their flyer) was selling cheese and Bobbi’s Hummus, whose garlic hummus may be the best I’ve ever eaten. The Amish stand, like the stand near my house, was also selling canned and baked goods. 

I appreciated the variety, but compared to my local farmer’s market the prices are outrageous. Corn was selling for 60 cents an ear at one stand and 80 cents an ear at the other. I bought corn for 25 cents an ear last week after complaining that 50 cents an ear was too much at Linvilla Orchards. I did not buy any corn but I did spend just over $20 on fruit. The amount seems exorbitant to me, but then again it’s fruit and it’s only in season for a short time so I may as well enjoy it while I can. 

I bought a quart of apples, a quart of pears, a pint of raspberries, a watermelon, a quart of peaches and a pint of grapes. The pears are ripening in a paper bag, the raspberries were a bit disappointing though Sam will eat them anyway, and I haven’t yet tried the peaches. The watermelon may end up being a vodka depository because my teacher husband goes back to work on Monday and might need a treat. The apples are fantastic. I’m not positive, but I think the farmer told me they were called Sansa. I asked if they were best for cooking or eating. He told me that they’re eating apples and he wasn’t kidding. They are sweet and crisp and my son ate two of them this afternoon.

The grapes are also amazing. I’m so used to eating supermarket grapes that when I bit into a truly grape tasting grape I wondered for a second if it was artificially flavored. These grapes are so good I called my husband from the car on my way back home and told him they were the best grapes I’ve ever eaten.  They’re so good I don’t want to eat them because I don’t want to lose them.  They’re so good I’m saving all of the seeds in the hopes I’ll somehow learn how to plant grapevines in my backyard next year.

I love farmer’s markets.

Third annual Eat Local Challenge for September!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Jackie and I have stepped up to the September Eat Local Challenge - will you?

More details have emerged about what committing to the challenge actually means.  The good news is that there really isn’t a concrete set of rules - you can participate in whatever way makes the most sense to you.  For the Farm to Philly challenge-within-a-challenge, though, let’s have our own set of guidelines!

1. Eat one meal per week during the month of September that is made using locally grown ingredients.  Non-local oil and spices are allowed.
2. Can, freeze, dry, or otherwise preserve two things during the month.
3. Utilize one new resource for locally grown food during September - that could be a new restaurant, farmer’s market, etc.

Does that sounds do-able?  Comments?  Suggestions?

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

This week’s share:

Lemon basil- new to me. Smells strongly like lemon balm, tastes lemony and peppery. I haven’t decided what to do with this yet.(Update 8/23: it makes for a lemony but tasty pesto)
Lettuce- normally, I shun lettuce, as I find it boring. For some reason, I found myself in a salad mood when I ordered this.
Sungold cherry tomatoes- intended for the salad, but again, I ate a lot of them on my way home from the pickup.
Slicing tomatoes- love the tomatoes, but I think I should quit while I’m ahead. I admit that I love their full flavor—I cannot eat grocery-store tomatoes anymore.
Perpetual spinach- it’s really a chard. It’s called “perpetual” as its growing season is longer than spinach’s. Mild-tasting, good sauteed, just like spinach.
Pattypan squash- yum.