Backyard Beekeeping

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It’s clearly bee season at Farm to Philly! Yesterday Nic posted about a beekeeping operation he and his wife saw on their honeymoon as well as a bee swarm he encountered back home. Today I’m sharing a post by my good friend Anjeanette. She and her wife recently started keeping bees at their house in South Philly. This is her story…

I’ve always wanted bees. It is a strange thing to say when you are a city dweller, but I have always wanted them. For a long time it was just a dream. I tried convincing my aunt and uncle who own a hay farm in upstate NY, and then my in laws in upstate PA. Both had land and space. I had a rental in the city with no backyard. For a long time I read all I could about bees and dreamed.

Fast forward several years. Now we own a house in the city with a backyard. I took a beekeeping course at Temple Ambler this year and ordered my bees. In my course I pretty much was over the moon every week. I’d come home and exclaim, “We are going to have bees! And most likely they are gonna die!” I know that sounds completely contradictory, but consider this: we had a really early spring bloom but my bees weren’t coming until May 5th. Most flowers would be done by the time the hive got out and working. Bees who do not make enough food cannot thrive, protect their hive from robbers, or overwinter. All of the information I learned in class told me that this bee experiment might not work. I was too happy to care. Remember, I had already ordered my bees.

I got my 3 pound package of bees from Draper Super Bee Apiary in upstate PA. While I was there I also bought the equipment I needed to get started: bee hats, a hive tool, a bee brush, and a smoker. I had a hive box at home, all primed and painted for the new guests. One of the owners of Draper Bee told me I had the whole drive home to name all 9000 of my new girls. We hadn’t gone too far down the road before we named the queen Mrs. Garret and the hive the Facts of Life.

I installed the package two weeks ago. All signs show that the hive is thriving. I am still feeding them sugar water and will be for another 4 weeks. I’ve seen Mrs. Garrett and know she is laying eggs. The girls are making honey and collecting pollen. I check them about every 5 days. I don’t know if my backyard beekeeping will be a success or not. Right now listening to them work and seeing them fly are enough for me. Perhaps this one doesn’t thrive, but I know that I will try again.

Some great things are going on with city beekeeping. The Free Library’s South Philadelphia Branch is having a urban beekeeping demonstration on 5/31 at 6pm. The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild has meetings every month on the third Thursday. Temple and other local universities have been running courses to help new beekeepers. If you have been wanting a hive you can find the resources both online and with other hobbyists in the area.

If you want to see pictures I have been putting them together on flickr. If you have questions I can either answer them in comments, or make a more detailed post about them. Since I started this backyard experiment people have asked me questions. I had researched bees for so long, I assumed everyone knew the same things. No question is too dumb. But please know that I am just an amateur hobbyist. And if the question is too much for me I would be willing to call and talk to an apiarist to get you the right answer.

Flight of the Bee

Monday, May 21, 2012

I apologize for my absence on Farm to Philly. Although this farm season has gotten off to a very fast and exciting start, my actual reason for my lack of writing is that I just recently got married and spent the last two weeks in Italy. In future posts I hope to make up for my absence by writing about the culinary gems we uncovered while traveling. But for now, I have a story with such perfect timing that I would be remiss not to tell it.
As I thought about what I wanted to write about for my first entry home, I started scanning the pictures and came across this one

This is a bee frame from a farm that my wife Elisa and I stayed on in the Tuscan countryside. In order to stay in business, many of these farms incorporate what the Italians call Agriturismo’s. These are working farms that host travelers for “authentic farm stays.” I use parentheses because I imagine that some of these farms are a little bit more on the “turismo” side and less on the “agri.” But not Vecchio Maneggio. This farm is owned by a wonderful couple named Tiziana and Mauro whose cuisine will be the subject of many more entries. The farm is also staffed by their son Simone and their brother Paolo, who is the resident apiarist. Although some of our family thought it strange that we decided to do bee keeping for a honeymoon activity, it was actually an amazing experience. The language barrier was difficult. But aside from a few off color jokes about virgin queens that I can’t repeat here, Paolo explained that Italian apiaries have not suffered from colony collapse at the rate of countries such as the US. For those of you who don’t know, colony collapse is a phenomenon where entire hives of worker bees disappear leaving only the drones and an endangered queen. This phenomenon has been reported in Italy, so I think Paolo was boasting a bit when he said it never happened there. But I do think he was on to something when he explained that because Italy has been so vigilant against industrial fertilizers and chemical pesticides, their bee populations have not suffered the losses that countries that use these destructive techniques have.
This was a very interesting and impacting part of our trip and it really made us appreciate just how healthy and well-stewarded the land was around us, aside from being completely beautiful.
I call it ironic though, because being the crazy gardeners we are, we went right back into the garden as soon as we got home, taking care of some over due tasks. One of those tasks was pruning back a very unruly Juniper tree in our front yard. While up in it, trying my best to not fall off the ladder, what should I see but a whole swarm of bees on a tree branch over me head. I called out to Elisa and our housemates to come look. Everyone was very interested and close until I calmly explained that I was going to cut them out of tree. This sent our housemates taking a few steps back out into the street. My initial advice is if you see a swarm, you should contact the folks at the Philadelphia Bee Keepers Guild to come help you. But since I have done this before, I was confident to remove the swarm by myself. So there I was, in the tree, with a handsaw, holding onto the branch for dear life as I sawed away. As the branch began to give I could feel the weight pulling on my arm, but I held on and as it came loose, in one motion I let the bees down into a Rubbermaid bin that Elisa was holding beneath me. Once the lid was put back on, my housemates came in from the street to tell me how awesome it was to watch. Had I dropped the bees on Elisa’s head, I’m sure their reaction would have been different. But they were in awe.

Those who weren’t in awe were my neighbors. They were very upset and adamant that they were my bees in the tree. When I told them it was a swarm from another hive, they didn’t react well to the word swarm, telling me that they could have killed someone. So after I let my adrenaline settle, I calmly explained to them that when bees swarm, they are at their calmest because they are so disoriented and have no home to protect. That’s not to say you can’t get stung, but the chances are very low. This placated them for the time, but I knew I needed to explain a bit more, so I went back the next day and got in a little deeper to explain colony collapse and the danger of losing bees in nature. Although they were still of the opinion that bees belong in the country, they could see my point and all is well again on the homestead front.
So I let it rest there. The bees are now with a friend from the bee keepers guild and all is at peace in the neighborhood (well, as much peace as Kensington can give). But what I wanted to explain further was the reason that the bees swarmed to our yard. In my opinion it wasn’t because there was another bee box as my neighbor hypothesized. I believe they came because they found a healthy piece of land in the city. And as was explained in last month’s Grid magazine, the diversity of flowers in the city along with our longer growing season and wide-spread organic practices make the city a very hospitable place for keeping bees. Even though nuclear weapons, disease and war seem like the obvious paths to the apocalypse, a world without bees would lead us to a similarly frightening end.
Even if you don’t have plans to make beekeeping your summer hobby, if you see a swarm and you don’t feel like hopping on a ladder and cutting them out of the tree, give a call to the beekeepers guild because if you like to eat, then a bee is really your best friend. And speaking of eating, it’s good to be back and I look forward to giving you all a few more stories and some great Italian recipes from the farm. Until then, keep it growing.

The First Strawberries

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

One of our first goals for our community garden plot was a nice plush patch of strawberries, something we could return to every few days for a brimming handful or two.  Four seasons in, and we’ve finally done it.  The strawberries have filled in nicely, despite the “I’m just rotating the soil” massacre of 2010.  There is just enough room for some perennial herbs (chives and garlic chives) and some bush beans.  A scan of the flowers and reddening fruit, and I’m guessing it will be a very good year.

Technically, these aren’t our first strawberries of the season; we ate that meager handful, just washed and sliced, over the weekend.  But, this was our first real bounty, and I wanted to acknowledge that somehow.  Moreover, my parents were coming to dinner, and strawberries are my mother’s favorite.  Now, I am not very creative when it comes to desserts, but I thought that I could manage something special just this once.

The spelt flour biscuits are vegan, following Erin Mckenna’s instructions.  They were topped with some maple sugar for some sweetness.  (I tossed the strawberries with the maple sugar as well.)  More unusual, and a first for me, I infused the whipped cream with lavender.  Hours before whipping, I brought the cream to a simmer with two teaspoons of dried lavender flours before allowing it to cool again.  Adding it to the whipped cream kept the lavender flavor and floral perfume rather subtle, exactly as it should be.

Asparagus Carbonara

Saturday, May 12, 2012

In case you missed it, the farmer’s markets have returned and brought asparagus with them.  I think my problem with asparagus is a common one: it is such a relief from winter and early spring that I overindulge while relying on the same recipes.  This year, like every other year, I am determined to try something new.  This year, unlike last year, I have already succeeded.  It may only be one new recipe (so far), but that’s one more than last year.

The idea came after watching No Reservations.  Anthony Bourdain was in one of those “authentic” trattorias in Rome that no foreign tourist can ever seem to find on their own.  The carbonara was served with zucchini flowers, tossed with pasta at the last minute so that the flowers barely wilted.  Reasoning that if the flower works well so would the fruit, I diced one small zucchini and added it with the onion.  The results were encouraging enough to try other vegetables - like asparagus. 

Simply poach the asparagus in salted water for four minutes, slice into small rounds (leaving the tips whole), and add to the saute of of onions and pancetta (or bacon) prior to adding the egg, cheese, and pasta. 

When Life Hands You Yogurt: Uses #4-6

Well, I did it.  Two people, five pounds of yogurt, and not a single tablespoon wasted.  Granted, I did cheat a bit: I liked the yogurt flatbreads and baked eggs with arugula so much that I decided to have it again.  However, I did find two other uses for the yogurt.  One, it makes an excellent substitute for mayonnaise in potato and tuna salads (as pictured here).  Two, in a pasta full of greens, herbs, and lemon.  Had there been been yogurt left, this would have been next.

Sicilian Style Pizza

Philly is known for soft pretzels, Peanut Chews, and TastyKakes, but there’s also some decent pizza in the area. I used to love hitting Lorenzo’s on South Street after a show. All the really good pizza I’ve had in town has been of the thin crust variety, but my heart really belongs to sicilian style pizza with a thick crust. Not deep dish—that’s something different—but great, thick, yeasty crust. That kind of pizza is few and far between in Philadelphia, but you can make your own . . . almost entirely from locally grown ingredients.

My favorite crust recipe comes from Serious Eats. They have absolutely perfected a simple sicilian style crust. The secret is kind of weird but perfect for Philly area localvores—potatoes. We’ve always got lots of options for buying potatoes, it seems!

1 medium russet potato, about 7 ounces
15 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 ounce (about 2 teaspoons) kosher salt
1/4 ounce (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast
1/2 ounce (about 3 teaspoons) sugar
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 cup warm water

Boil the potato until tender, then put it through a ricer; let cool. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment; blend until the dough comes together, and then add the riced potato. Mix on medium-high speed for about six minutes.

Spread a thin layer of olive oil over a rectangular baking sheet (I use a typical cookie sheet). Dump the dough onto the oiled sheet. The original recipe calls for you to allow the dough to spread by itself over a period of two hours. I’m a little on the anxiety-ridden side, so I like to press the dough into the pan with my hands and then let it rise for a few hours.

From there you can use local tomato sauce or pesto as well as local cheese for toppings (Cherry Grove Farm does a decent locally made mozzarella, or you could go with some of the great locally made cheddar or goat cheese). And, of course, there are all sorts of locally grown vegetables in season right now: spring garlic, sorrel, asparagus, mustard greens, spinach, and herbs.

How do you finish the pizza after it’s topped? Bake at 500 degrees for thirteen or fourteen minutes. It should be noted that this dough would also make amazing breadsticks. Depending on how long you let it rise, my dough has turned out anywhere from an inch to two inches thick.

Dessert, with a Side of Drinks

Thursday, April 26, 2012

While I am not a fan of normal cheesecake, I’ve always loved the Italian variety made with milky ricotta instead of cream cheese.  This ricotta cheesecake gets an extra splash from the addition of rhubarb, which starts to pop up right about now. I actually used rhubarb from last year’s crop this time, since I like to freeze bags of it for off-season use, but you should be able to find this year’s rhubarb in your local market soon if it isn’t there already.

As a bonus, the poaching liquid for the rhubarb can, after the fruit is added to the cake, be simmered until reduced by about half, leaving you with a beautifully pink, slightly tart syrup, which can be added to iced tea, lemonade, or fizzy water, or used as the basis for a fancy springtime cocktail.

Rhubarb Ricotta Cheesecake (with a rhubarb syrup bonus)
(Adapted from Nick Malgieri, How to Bake)
Serves 8-12

For pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut in ½ inch cubes
3 large eggs

For rhubarb layer:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
Half a vanilla bean, split
1 ½ lbs rhubarb, leaves trimmed away and sliced into 1-inch pieces

For cheesecake layer:
1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
⅓ cup granulated sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a food processor and pulse briefly to mix.  Add the butter and pulse again until powdery, then add eggs and pulse until the dough begins to come together.  Pat into rectangular block, wrap tightly in plastic or in a quart-sized zip-top bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, bring the sugar, vanilla and water for the rhubarb to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the rhubarb and immediately turn off the heat.  Let the rhubarb cool to room temperature and drain well, setting it aside while rolling out the dough and preparing the ricotta filling.  Return the poaching syrup to the pan and simmer briskly until reduced by half, decant into a glass jar, and refrigerate for use in drinks later.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a quarter sheet pan or 9-inch tart pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to overhang the sides all around.

Slice off one third of the pastry for the top lattice, and roll out the remaining two-thirds on a floured sheet of parchment paper into a rectangular piece large enough to overhang the edges of the pan by about an inch and a half.  Tuck the pastry into the prepared pan.  Roll out the remaining third of dough into a rectangle just larger than the pan, and use a pastry or pizza roller to slice into strips one inch wide.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the ricotta on the lowest speed just until smooth.  Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar, mixing again on low for 30 seconds, then repeat with lemon zest and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down between additions and mixing only until each egg is incorporated.

Lay the poached rhubarb in an even layer on the bottom of the pastry-lined pan.  Pour the ricotta filling gently over, spreading it all the way out to the edges.  Lay the strips of pastry lightly over the top of the filling, fold the overhanging edges of the pastry over to seal in the ends of the strips, and crimp all around.

Bake 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling has set.  Cool to room temperature on a wire rack before using the parchment to lift the cheesecake out of the pan, and slice into 8-12 squares.  If not serving within a few hours of baking, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spring Sesame Collard Greens

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Last October, one of my housemates came home with a few little collard seedlings and I planted them in our backyard. They kept on growing all winter, and for the last month or so I’ve been harvesting the still-tender leaves for raw collard green salads. This past weekend was the last hurrah though, since the plants started flowering and my farmer friends at Mill Creek Farm encouraged me to harvest what was left and then take them out. Fine with me, since I can certainly use that space for my other plants!

I was surprised by how delicious this simple dish turned out.

Ingredients:
1 bunch collard leaves
2 T vegetable broth or water
3-4 T sesame seeds (toasted, optional)
1 T sesame oil
spices to taste (I used McCormick Far East Sesame Ginger Blend, a mix of garlic, sesame, ginger and red pepper, orange peel, coconut, onion, and soy sauce)

Heat the broth in a wide skillet and lightly saute the greens until bright and slightly wilted. Remove from heat and toss with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and seasoning. That’s all!

Asparagus Season Underway!

Friday, April 20, 2012

One of the most thrilling parts of spring for me is the abundance of fresh asparagus. My husband and I tried to plant asparagus in our home garden a few years ago without much luck, so I get inordinately excited when the farmer’s markets start getting big piles of it. Fair Food Farmstand is getting their first asparagus of the season (from NJ Sheppard Farms and Fifer Farms). Speaking of Fifer, Fifer Orchards is celebrating the early asparagus harvest this year with their Asparagus Peak Party tomorrow from 10am to 4pm.

One of the local restaurants near the orchard will be featuring a few ways to cook up asparagus, including beer battered asparagus and shaved asparagus salad.

Now, true: fresh spring asparagus doesn’t exactly need much in the way of cooking. Even raw, it’s delicious. Still, when there’s so much good asparagus going around it almost seems criminal not to experiment. Some ideas:

• asparagus vichyssoise
• asparagus lemon gelato
• mascarpone, ham, and asparagus tart
• asparagus with lavender, pine nuts, and bocconcini
• asparagus cake with parsley cream

However you enjoy asparagus, don’t miss out while it’s in season!

Grid Alive This Thursday

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

As this blog shows again and again, there is a great story being told about local food in Philadelphia. And what makes this story so compelling, and the movement it is creating so strong, is that the people who are telling this story are the same people who toil away in the kitchens and gardens of this city. I always explain to people that I couldn’t see the value in my writing if I couldn’t put my words into action, and I couldn’t see the larger picture of my labor without the outlet to reflect on this action. In addition to this blog that allows my voice to get out there with many more great writers and doers, I am also extremely grateful for Grid Magazine.

Grid Magazine is not only keeping the idea of print magazines alive, but it’s also telling many of those great stories from this movement. To get more of these stories out there, Alex Mulcahy, publisher of Grid, and I are now bringing these stories to the stage. The show is called Grid Alive, and as I explained at our first show, the concept is somewhere between the Johnny Carson Show and an NPR interview show. By bringing the people featured in Grid to the stage, we try to dig a little deeper not only into their projects, but who they are as people, all the while trying to have a lot of fun and a few laughs while we’re doing it.

Our next show is tomorrow night and the theme will be Chickens and Bees. And we won’t just be talking about it. We’ll actually have chickens on stage, plus an observation hive. The show will be held at Trinity Memorial Church on 22nd and Spruce. Doors are at 7 and the show starts at 8. Tickets are 5 bucks, but there will be beer, bees and chickens. Who can beat that. For more info, visit www.gridphilly.com. See you there. 

When Life Hands You Yogurt: Use #3

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

I’ve written about Jamie Oliver’s brilliant use of yogurt as a substitution for bechamel before.  That time, I was heeding his recipe, using it in manicotti.  This time, I used it as a layer in a mushroom lasagna. 

When Life Hands You Yogurt - Lots and Lots of Yogurt

Saturday, April 14, 2012

As I’ve said before, Winter Harvest is a wonderful program.  Every month, I am astounded by the variety and availability of fresh produce, meat, poultry, and prepared foods – all of them locally grown or made. 

Nonetheless, I am prone to error when ordering for the month.  For example, several years ago, I ordered 22 half-gallons of milk rather than 2.  The good people of Farm to City caught that mistake.  This time, however, I had to live it: last week, I brought home a five-pound container of Pequea Valley plain yogurt. 

For some of you, perhaps, this is not much of a purchase.  For a household of two, I can assure you that it is.  However, with flexibility that CSAs require, in which you cook with what’s available, we decided to use up all five pounds of yogurt in as many different ways as we could. 

Uses 1-2: Yogurt Flatbread and Baked Eggs with Arugulga and Yogurt

Eager to use our newest cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, we first opened the container for breakfast last weekend.  The flatbreads called for greek yogurt, a much thicker consistency than the five pounds in front of me. Following Mark Bittman’s advice, I strained two cups of yogurt through a flour sack dishcloth and a mesh strainer.  Within a few hours, I had the requisite ¾ cup of greek yogurt.

The yogurt and whole-wheat flatbreads were cooked on a griddle.  Meanwhile, we baked Rineer Farm eggs and Silver Mine Farm Sylvetta Arugula, and topped them with yogurt spiced with paprika (see here). 

We made substantial progress with these, and the yogurt did not feel repetitious coming, as it did, in two very different forms.  However, there was plenty more yogurt to go. 

A week of fun at Norris Square

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

When the Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP) first started converting a stretch of vacant lots on Palethorp St. into community gardens, the neighborhood was a war zone. A ruthless drug trade and city neglect made for conditions that confined neighbors to their homes almost like prisoners. But as it happens so often in this city, communities can only be kept down for so long before they start doing something about it. By creating a network of gardens on Palethorp St., all with their own themes of different reflections of Puerto Rican culture, NSNP established a safe and sacred space for residents to take back their community. And from May 12th through May 18th, NSNP is going to be opening up their gardens and neighborhood centers to the public during De la Siembra a la Cosecha (From Seed to Harvest) Festivale to invite everyone from Philadelphia to celebrate the impact of their gardens.

Through out the festival NSNP will offer opportunities to get your hands dirty through volunteer work, family time during the youth talent show and movie night, and ways for the adults to kick back with a “Schmooze and Booze” happy hour held in the garden. They will also hold a Garden Resource Fair on May 18th to close out the festival by passing on the resources that allowed them to succeed in this amazing neighborhood transformation. Workshops include healthy cooking by Farm to Families, legal issues for working on vacant land from Amy Laura Cahn, and technical gardening skills. For information on the Garden Resource Fair please visit http://gardenresourcefair.eventbrite.com/. For all other information on schedules and how to register for events, please visit the festival site for more details.

So if you’re looking to start your own project, or if you just want to enjoy a mojito in a garden that takes you from North Philadelphia right to the Puerto Rican countryside, this is an event worth checking out. If nothing else, you’ll feel the power of community and you’ll see how a group of neighbors can make a huge impact on their block just by planting a few seeds in the ground. Because that’s what it’s all about. You plant the seed and you work towards the harvest. Because even though it sometimes may not seem like it in these neighborhoods in Philly, the harvest will come. And the best way to celebrate it is to sit back and enjoy it.

Dinner Pilfered From Friends

Monday, April 09, 2012

Recently, my wife was explaining to a friend how she had learned to replant Jerusalem artichokes to propagate more.  Our friend warned us to be sure we planted them in a pot, as they tend to spread quickly and become very difficult to extirpate.  “In fact,” she continued, “I’ve probably still got some in my (community garden) plot right now.  You’re welcome to dig them out for yourself.”  And so we did.

This soup was pilfered from her plot and combined with some chicken stock of ours.  We’ve had some excellent creamed Jerusalem artichoke soup – most memorably at the Farm and Fisherman. But here I wasn’t looking to create anything complicated; instead, I wanted to have an effortless soup that also focused on the taste of the artichokes.  There are innumerable ways to elaborate on this, so think of it only as a starting point.

Something New for Dining Out Locally

Sunday, April 08, 2012

At first, using local ingredients meant a deliberate choice of restaurant and (often, limited) menu.  Now the variety of food available year-round has expanded menu possibilities and expanded the practice beyond typical “farm-to-table” options.  It’s a true measure of how far tthis has come that even restaurants not commonly associated with it incorporate local food into their menus.  Case in point: Triumph Brewing Company.

Triumph now features its Home Grown Menu, a frequently changing menu of locally sourced dishes.  These include Flaim Farms from Vineland, Doe Run Farm in Coatesville, Solebury Orchards in New Hope, and Blooming Glen from Perkasie. 

Couple that with beer brewed on site, and you couldn’t do much better for reducing your food miles. 

Here’s the current menu.