“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

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