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Jampacked Headhouse Square Market
Monday, August 27, 2007
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.
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.
Posted by Jackie on 08/23 at 05:37 PM
Farmer’s Market
Monday, August 20, 2007
This week’s Red Earth Farm CSA share contained
1 quart of red slicing tomatoes
1 head of escarole
4 Walla Walla onions
1 pint of tomatillos
1 bunch of perpetual spinach
peaches and nectarines
Feeling like the share just wasn’t enough, I headed to my local neighborhood Farmer’s Market on Friday and picked up
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 zucchini
1 cantaloupe
6 ears of corn
For dinner last night I made Grilled Vegetable Tostadas with Two Salsas. All of the vegetables for the tostada and the sauces were local, including hot peppers and eggplant from my garden, and I topped the tostadas with local Amish Cheese.
I love that Farm to City facilitates my CSA and ensures that every Friday from June through October a nice Amish family will sell fresh fruits and vegetables (as well as canned goods, baked goods, and crafts) just a few blocks from my house. For a full list of farmer’s markets check out the Farm to City website. There’s a farmer’s market in different areas of the city and suburbs Monday through Saturday.
Posted by Jackie on 08/20 at 11:50 AM
Drizzly Sunday at Headhouse Square
The Headhouse Square Market was absolutely packed when I got over there yesterday around noon. I had wondered if the unseasonably cool and drizzly weather would prevent people from heading out, but it seems that the farmers market crowd is a little more hard core than that. The main aisle was packed with folks who were tasting and wandering before they bought as well as the more focused shoppers who knew exactly what the wanted and where to go to get it.
In the last month I’ve managed to stop by Headhouse Square every Sunday, and in that time I’ve developed sort of a routine. I know who sells the peppers, corn and melons I want, and where to stop to get purple basil and tomatoes. I know these patterns will continue to shift as the seasons change, but I’m enjoying them while I can. Also, and I know that everyone says this when they are asked why they shop at farmers markets, I’ve really loving getting to know the people who are selling me my food. The guy at Beechwood Orchards recognizes me as the girl who is crazy for his white nectarines. Yesterday, when he saw me coming, he waved me over and said, “I’ve only got two quarts of white nectarines left, I was afraid you were going to miss them!” I bought one, as well as a quart of honeycrisp apples, which were really juicy but still the tiniest bit green tasting.
I spent $29.10 yesterday, which is my highest to date since the market at Headhouse opened. I bought more fruit yesterday than I have in past weeks, which is what knocked my total up. I also got a nice bargain, buying a conjoined zucchini (two for the price of one) for $.50. I love days when two quarters are actually enough currency to complete a purchase. The entire list of what I bought is after the jump.
1 quart honeycrisp apples (the quart was $4 and I didn’t realize until I got it home that there were only four apples in it. Not the best bargain)
1 quart white nectarines ($4.50 a quart for nine nectarines, totally worth the price as they are delicious)
1.5 pounds of assorted plums
1 conjoined zucchini (two fused together while growing)
1 bag of purple basil
1 cantaloupe
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
5 assorted tomatoes
6 ears of corn
1 bag of delicious, spicy baby arugula (I had some last week as well)
1 cucumber
Home Sweet Homebrew
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The other day I ran across a notice that Seven Bridges Cooperative (an organic homebrew company out of California) is sponsoring the 2007 National Organic Homebrew Challenge! All entries must be brewed using malt, hops, and adjuncts that are verified organically grown and non-GMO. Yeast must be non-GMO. It made me wonder what kind of effort it would take to brew beer from locally grown ingredients.
Certainly, if you’re going to make a fruity beer, you could use locally grown fruit in the production. But what about the barley and hops? Or even other beer additives, like wheat or oats? Beer making used to involve only locally grown ingredients, so surely there must be a way for local homebrewers to get their hands on local grains, no?
The nice folks at Wine, Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply in Feasterville do say that making beer from locally grown ingredients can be tricky, but it’s possible. In some cases, you would really need to grow your own. They do sell hop plant root cuttings in the Spring, so it’s possible to grow your own hops. There are plenty of places to buy various types of hop plants on the internet and some great growing tutorials.
There may or may not be a source for locally grown malting barley, but it seems easy just to grow your own. Not any old barley will do, you understand. I’ve found some good sources for seed: Chin Ridge Seeds and Amazon. Malting your own barley doesn’t seem too difficult.
There are a million different things you could probably grow to facilitate making beer from locally-grown ingredients. I even found a great article about planting a beer lover’s garden. I may just need to incorporate a few things into next year’s garden.
Pick your own
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Posted by Jackie on 08/15 at 09:23 AM
Linvilla Orchards - pick Summer apples now!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Linvilla Orchards is one of the areas best known ‘pick your own’ farms, not far from Center City and only about 15-20 minutes from my house in Delaware County. The 300 acre farm grows an impressive array of fruit - six varieties of strawberries, six varieties of raspberries, seven varieties of blueberries, blackberries, 34 varieties of peaches, 30 varieties of apples, five varieties of grapes, four varieties of pears, plus apricots, nectarines, and plums. Oh, and vegetables - tomatoes, eggplant, corn, and peppers. Oh, and you can pick your own pumpkins and holiday trees. Let’s not forget the lake stocked with trout for fishing! Truly, the place has everything…even hayrides to deliver you to the appropriate field!
Right now, apples and peaches are in excellent picking, as are the grapes and all the vegetables. The Mister and I ran over there today to sample the Summer apples - Paula Red and Ginger Gold.
The Paula Red is the lovely little apple on the right in the photo. It’s known as an excellent apple for making applesauce - it needs no sugar at all. The apple is crisp with a slightly tart flavor - it’s just delicious! Now is the perfect time to pick up some Paula Red. These Macintosh-type apples seem to be at their peak right now. I could not resist chowing down on one right there in the orchard! A word of warning - don’t use this for pies. When cooked, this apple gets extremely mushy…which is why it’s so excellent for applesauce!
The Ginger Gold is a new-ish apple variety discovered in Virginia in 1969. It is my absolute favorite Summer apple - it has the taste of a Fall apple. It’s juicy and mildly tart, with the added benefit that it resists browning when cut. You can do anything with it - pies, applesauce, salads, although it’s classified as a dessert apple. I love to eat them plain and fresh, or sliced with blue cheese.
After apple picking, we meandered over to the peach grove. The peaches are fantastic right now, although we found many more yellow peaches than white. The blueberries were very picked out - we only managed to pick a handful of blueberries.
The grapes were amazing and no one was picking them! Early Concords are in season right now. Concords are a slip-skin variety. I’m still deciding what to do with these - I have about four cups of grapes or so, so if you have suggestions, please pass them on. I’m thinking some sort of dessert.
The next event coming up at Linvilla is August 25 - the tomato festival!
Linvilla Orchards
137 W. Knowlton Road
Media, PA 19063
Capogiro - Blackberry Gelato and Rosemary Gelato
Cheesesteaks are not the only food for which Philly is famous. Thanks to Capogiro, Philly is also known for artisanal gelato and sorbetto. Capogiro has received national press for its diverse and daring selections, including such offerings as Cucumber and Pinoli. In terms of taste and quality, Capogiro’s gelati rival those found in Italy.
Capogiro sources a lot of their ingredients from local farms. Today, the two locally sourced gelati that caught my eye were the Mora Gelato and the Rosemary, Goat’s Milk and Honey Gelato.
The Mora Gelato is made from blackberries sourced from Green Meadow Farm in Lancaster County. The blackberry flavor in this gelato is intense and concentrated, yet it is still bright with an almost citric freshness.
The Rosemary, Goat’s Milk and Honey Gelato, however, is not to be missed. The rosemary is sourced from Overbrook Herb Farm in Landsdale, PA, the goat’s milk comes from Pequea Valley Farm in Lancaster County and the buckwheat honey comes from New Jersey. On paper, rosemary may seem to be out of its element here. But one bite will change your mind. The fragrant, fresh-from-the-sprig herb blends well with the rich goat’s milk and sweet honey. Despite its creaminess, this gelato is surprisingly refreshing, especially on a hot Philly afternoon.
Capogiro
119 S. 13th Street
(215) 351-0900
and
117 South 20th Street
(215) 636-9250
Posted by David on 08/12 at 10:42 AM
Clark Park Market report: 9 August
Friday, August 10, 2007
Fahnestock Fruit Farm: the larger (ginger gold) apples
North Star Orchard: the smaller (summer blaze) apples, the pears, the carrots, and the red peppers
Quaff Meadows: eggs and hot peppers
I am thrilled that it’s apple season. Last week’s apples, my first of the season, barely lasted through Wednesday, so I got a few more this week.
Pennsylvania Noble
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
When I contemplated starting to eat locally made food, my first thought was ‘What about the cheese?’ Oh sure, I know where to buy locally made mozzarella…and I can make my own ricotta cheese and fromage blanc…but what about cheddar? What would I do to satisfy my craving for good cheddar?
As luck would have it, I was running around Reading Terminal Market one day when a man from Green Valley Dairy was pimping some of his Pennsylvania Noble. From that day forward I knew I would never have to worry about my cheese cravings. While it’s not super sharp, the “cheddar style” cheese has a slight nuttiness and a good strong taste going for it. Plus, it’s organic and made from the raw milk of grass fed, pastured cows. And cave aged for seven months. It’s absolutely fantastic with slices of apple or pear and a glass of Shiraz.
In addition to being available at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal, you can also find PA Noble at DiBruno Bros., Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop, and online at Green Valley Dairy.
On a related note, I see that Green Valley will soon have a Brie de Meaux-style cheese available. I can hardly contain my excitement! One can only hope it emits the eye-watering stench of dirty feet of real Brie de Meaux. Be still my heart!
Buy Fresh Buy Local Happy Hour at James
Monday, August 06, 2007
The folks at Buy Fresh Buy Local asked Jim and Kristina Burke of James to host a happy hour to kick off the summer. Jim and Kristina had a better idea: “We said, why not the whole summer?” Kristina said.
And that’s what they did.
Every Tuesday this summer, James has hosted a Buy Fresh Buy Local happy hour from 5pm to 7pm. The specials include:
• Half off of all local draft beers, including Philly’s Sly Fox Royal Weiss and New Jersey’s Flying Fish;
• Half off of all cocktails made with fresh fruit sourced from Green Meadow Farm, including and the B&B made with Philly’s Blue Coat Gin and local blueberries and the insanely popular Strongberry Lemonade made with local strawberries and lemons; and
• Free bites made with farm fresh, local ingredients!
Last week, the free apps, which change every week, included focaccia made with sweet cherry tomatoes from Green Meadow Farm. But one of the more impressive selections was the diverse platter of bruschetta and vegetable spoons. The diced beets, also sourced from Green Meadow, had an intense fresh-from-the-ground earthiness. The Country Time Farm pork pate bruschetta was smooth and satisfying. The Vineland, New Jersey spinach topped with ricotta cheese, however, stole the show—deep, rich, meaty greens without any bitterness.
There are only a couple of these summer happy hours left at James, so make sure you stop by. But don’t worry if you miss out; James’ commitment to fresh local ingredients lasts all year-round. Chef Jim Burke admits it can be challenging to source locally during the winter months, but he doesn’t mind. “It makes you more creative,” he says.
James
824 S. 8th Street
(215) 629-4980
Posted by David on 08/06 at 05:55 PM
White Dog Hosts Local Corn Dinner
Sunday, August 05, 2007
On Tuesday, August 7 at 6 pm, White Dog Café will celebrate the tastes of Summer with a Local Corn Dinner, featuring innovative dishes created with corn grown organically by Pennsylvania farmers.
“Right now in our little corner of the world, corn is at its peak of perfection,” says White Dog founder Judy Wicks. “With this dinner we are celebrating both the glorious bounty of the area’s fertile countryside and the hardworking farmers who cultivate it.”
To create the dinner, Executive Chef Andrew Brown sought out the region’s best organic corn, a bi-color silver and white sweet variety, indigenous to South-Eastern Pennsylvania, which he sources from Green Meadow Farms, Branch Creek Farms and Lancaster County Farm Fresh Co-Op. For the multi-course dinner, Chef Brown will create a variety of delicious dishes that showcases the corn’s incredibly sweet natural flavor. Some of the dishes will include: Corn and Herb Gnocchi, with blue crab and corn broth; Corn Encrusted Fish, line caught from the Atlantic Ocean; Corn Pudding, with chocolate-hazelnut topping; and several surprise dishes. The dinner will cost $45 per person. Reservations are required.
Following the dinner, guests will be joined by Deborah M. Burd, Executive Director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, who will discuss some of the challenges facing small, family-owned farms and explain what guests can do to help change the US Farm Bill to protect the area’s rich farming traditions.
White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom St.
(215) 386-9224
Posted by David on 08/05 at 05:27 PM
Hot and Sweet Chevre
Friday, August 03, 2007
If I were stranded on a desert island and could only take along one kind of food, it would be cheese. I love cheese above all else, which makes me the black sheep of the family because my people have a serious sweet tooth issue. It’s possible, though, that Shellbark Hollow Farm’s Hot and Sweet Chevre could make them see the light - this locally made cheese is absolute perfection.
Ignore what you think goat cheese tastes like. Some of it can be a little chalky in texture, and many people don’t like goat cheese because it’s got a bit of a tang to it. Maybe it’s the locally produced raw and organic goat milk or maybe it’s purebred Nubian goats cared for lovingly by the family who runs Shellbark Hollow Farm - this goat cheese is light but tart, and unbelievably good. When you add in the hot peppers, it’s irresistible!
The Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market sells Shellbark Farm products, and I’m also told that the White Dog Cafe often has the cheese on their menu. Do what you have to in order to get your hands on some.
Sunday at Headhouse Square
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Despite the rain that was coming down this morning, I headed out around quarter to 1 pm to walk down to the Farmers’ Market at Headhouse Square. I’ve been trying to get down there every Sunday since they opened, and for one reason or another, I haven’t been able to make it happen. But this morning I got up, with a mostly unplanned day stretching out in front of me. It was still drizzling when I headed out, but the skies started to clear right around 1 pm. I got to the market around 1:15 pm and wandered around for a while, taking pictures, and checking out the vast arrays of lush, gorgeous, drool-inducing produce.
I eventually put my camera away and got down the business of buying some produce. I gave myself a limit of $20 and only went over by a single dollar. Here’s what my $21 got me…
1+ pounds blond cucumbers
2 green peppers
1 generous package of lemon verbena
1 pint sweet orange cherry tomatoes
1 quart white peaches
2 yellow heirloom tomatoes
1 butternut squash (although it seems to early for these guys, she told me they were fresh)
1 bunch kale
1 bunch Swiss chard
2 yellow peaches
4 small yellow plums
3 small pears
Everything is blindingly fresh, mostly organic and all locally grown. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to eat.
