Clark Park market report, 9 August

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Having missed the Clark Park market for the last two weeks, I went a little crazy this morning.  (I love that I can pay with a credit card at the farmers’ market.)  I’m planning to make pizza tonight with the local chard I picked up at Mariposa earlier in the week, so I bought some mozzarella from the Pennypack Farm stand and basil from Urban Girls.  I also got corn (today’s lunch), a watermelon, a hot pepper, some summer squash, ground beef, and two bell peppers from Shenk’s Berry Farm.  The other hot peppers, the tomatillos, and the green-and-orange bell pepper are from Urban Girls, and they’ll probably go into a black bean soup (not all the hot peppers, though).  Despite Nicole’s offer, I continue to enjoy my adult-lettuce-free summer.

Market report, 2 August: Bloomington

Monday, August 04, 2008

I spent the weekend in Bloomington, IN, so I missed my usual trip to the Clark Park market.  Instead, I investigated the farmers’ market in Bloomington.  I’d had its official address, so I was surprised to find a sign for it two blocks away from where I’d expected.  Then I turned the corner and saw all the tents—it’s huge!  It seemed to be about the same size as the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan, although I’m not great at estimating size like that.

There were three or four double rows of stands selling produce, plus a ring around the outside that included a higher proportion of processed things like baked goods, smoothies, dairy, and tamales, in addition to the produce.  These peppers were particularly eye-catching:

Since I was travelling (and staying in a motel, with no refrigeration beyond the air conditioning), I couldn’t try all the things that looked tempting, like the elk meat or the plums or those peppers or the various cheeses, and I don’t think I could’ve fit a bonsai tree or some of the beeswax candles in my backpack, anyway.  What I bought was food for brunch, with plenty of extra for breakfast yesterday (and today, and a bit more):

Vanilla yogurt, of a drinkable consistency and in a beautiful glass bottle, Early Gold apples, blackberries, part-whole wheat sourdough, and a cinnamon roll that didn’t last long enough for the picture.

Market report: Clark Park

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Yesterday’s trip to Clark Park farmer’s market was more than just about picking up my CSA share.  Since I find that I have to supplement my share with other food so much more this year, I was pretty interested in who was selling what.  Overwhelmingly, the tomatoes were the best looking things - nearly everyone had them, from classic slicers to giant, misshapen heirlooms, to tiny cherry tomatoes.

Urban Girls definitely had the prettiest display.  The big bowl of on-the-vine cherry and yellow pear tomatoes was gorgeous (and fantastic-tasting: I had to buy a pint), but they also had a big bowl of mixed variety cherry and grape tomatoes as well as boxes of large heirlooms (one of which also came home with me).  They also had huge amounts of super fresh basil, as well as a small amount of large tomatillos and white peaches.

Another vendor (can’t remember the name) was also laden down with a ton of peaches, but they also had cute little donut peaches!

The produce at University City High School’s stand was also really pretty and fresh - they were selling some great looking tomatoes, half pints of blackberries, leeks, radishes, Japanese eggplants, and zucchini.

Margerum’s and a few other vendors were selling some great looking corn.  And, of course, I made a pit stop at my favorite brownie joint, BT Brownies.  Excellent, as usual!

A visit to Ithaca, New York

Monday, July 14, 2008

It seems like many of us here at FTP are on the move this Summer - first Kevin goes to London, and now my trip to the slightly more domestic location of Ithaca, New York.  This past weekend I was in Ithaca for the Fingerlakes International Dragon Boat Festival.  Knowing that Moosewood Restaurant is in Ithaca, there was at least something locavore-ish to check out.  Not knowing anything else about Ithaca, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As it turns out, Ithaca has an amazing local foods scene and is incredibly progressive about environmental issues. 

Even the dragon boat festival is trying to become what they call a ‘zero waste zone’.  There was a stand at the festival dedicated to educating people about composting, something I’ve never seen at another festival.  And the recycling bins!  It took me nearly 15 minutes to figure out which was the appropriate trash can into which to toss a yogurt cup. Already a ‘zero waste zone’ is Ithaca’s lovely farmer’s market.

A few of my teammates and I stopped in at the farmer’s market yesterday morning on the way out of town.  It’s beautiful setting: right next to the lake.  And it’s charming - it’s a pretty outdoor market with a roof.  It’s an interesting mix of local artisans and local growers.  And what’s better is that these local growers seem truly interested in educating people about what it is they’re selling.

The very first place I stopped was the Cherry Knoll Farm stand.  The farm produces only blueberries, and sells blueberries, several varieties of blueberry wine, and blueberry wine vinegar.  I could not resist buying the vinegar, especially after the recent discussion in the comments section of a post here on FTP about making salad dressing!  The very nice man at the stand was very excited to talk about the vinegar - he told me that it takes about nine months to make, and is aged in barrels.  I also purchased a bottle of their dry blueberry wine.

Three types of cheese came home with me from Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Co.  Here was another vendor who was incredibly proud of the cheese - she proudly boasted that she makes all cheeses by hand.  They use the milk from the hormone-free, grass-fed cows on the family farm.  I bought a chunk of the Red Meck, a Muenster-style washed in beer, as well as a cheese with stinging nettles and one flavored with onion and chives.

And lastly, I could not resist buying a jar of pork liver pate from The Piggery.  The Piggery raises heritage breed pigs and sells charcuterie at farmer’s markets and direct from their farm store.  Oh, and even more amazingly their goal is to eventually have a product line that uses every single part of the pig, and their whole business focuses on reducing their carbon footprint, even down to making their products in a solar-powered kitchen.  I think it might have been Heather, one of the owners, who was so sweet to me yesterday morning at the stand.

Have I mentioned that I love produce/meat vendors who are so excited about their products that they can’t stop talking about them?  We have too few of those types here in the area.  Don’t get me wrong: I know the local farmers are proud of what they produce, but I rarely run into one who wants to talk your ear off about what they’re selling.

One thing I do think we do a little better here in Philadelphia (and this is based off a single farmer’s market visit, so I might be dead wrong) is bringing heirloom and more unusual vegetables to market.  The produce at all the stands at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market were stunning and beautiful, but I didn’t see anything unusual or interesting (produce-wise). 

As I mentioned, I was able to visit Moosewood Restaurant.  As someone who owns a few of the Moosewood cookbooks, I was delighted to have the chance to eat there.  It’s an interesting place - the menu changes twice every day, and the dinner menu offers only four entrees to choose from.  I wouldn’t say the food is spectacular, but it came across as very comforting.  They did have a nice selection of local wines.  And, of course, the menu included many locally-sourced items.

Surpisingly, in what seemed like the suburban hinterlands of Ithaca (where our team’s hotel was located) there was a restaurant called Watercress that we found by accident.  Watercress also uses locally-sourced ingredients in many of their menu items.  The food was a little more contemporary, and very delicious.  Excellent service, too!

I’m always amazed at the differences between Philadelphia and other cities when it comes to supporting local farmers.  The Philadelphia area definitely has an amazing farmer’s market system and there’s a vibrant community of those who seek out locally grown produce and meats.  Ithaca, too, has a fantastic community of local farmers and producers.

Clark Park market report, 12 July

Saturday, July 12, 2008

So many choices this morning!  I had to pause for a while to try to figure out how much I’ll actually be able to use this week, lest I buy twice that much produce.  I missed the blackberries, which were gone within the first half-hour of the market, but I picked up cucumbers (the yellow ones are really good), zucchini, carrots, and a pepper from Urban Girls, corn (!) and a hot pepper from Shenk’s Berry Farm, gooseberries and plums and lentils from Margerum’s, and tomatillos from Pennypack.  There were also lots of peaches and tomatoes, for those of you who like such things, and still a lot of blueberries and both regular and Asian eggplant.

My kingdom for a gherkin

Sunday, July 06, 2008

July is a fantastic month to visit farmer’s markets.  There’s just so much available - tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini are coming into season, there’s tons of fruit, and everything is just beautiful.  A visit to the Headhouse Square Market this morning was too much to resist - and even though I had have a big CSA box full of gorgeous produce and fruit and I was able to get pretty much everything on my grocery list yesterday at Clark Park, I had to buy a few more things that I didn’t really need.

These West Indian Gherkins were available at two different stands, Culton Organics and Yoder’s Heirlooms (I think).  They were just too tempting to pass up, so about a dozen of them came home with me.  West Indian Gherkins are a completely foreign cucumber variety to most of us.  These tinies beauties must be picked before they reach about 1.5 inches long or else they will likely be bitter.  And they are super crisp and very sweet. 

There’s pretty much only one thing you can do with a West Indian Gherkin: pickle it.  I plan to use this recipe.

A multi-market report: Clark Park, Landsdowne, and Martindales

Saturday, July 05, 2008

While picking up my CSA share earlier today at Clark Park Farmers Market, I was shocked to see that Urban Girls had a basket full of spaghetti squash.  According to the woman at the stand, these little babies are in short supply so I grabbed a few.  I couldn’t believe my luck!  I don’t expect to see spaghetti squash for at least another month or two, but the Urban Girls put in a big supply of spaghetti squash seeds early in the season this year.  That’s great for me - spaghetti squash is a favorite of mine!

Urban Girls also had lots of greens, squash, and a few baskets of nice looking pearl onions.

I got to the market just a few minutes after it opened, so not everyone was there yet and many vendors hadn’t even finished setting up.  However, I saw some pretty heads of cauliflower at one stand, and one of the local high schools was selling some gorgeous carrots and greens.  Blueberries, summer squash, and corn were in wild abundance throughout the market.  And Landisdale Farm were selling some very nice beets and lacinato kale.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been buying a brownie from Better Together on my way out of the park.  In addition to having a booth at Clark Park, the Fair Food Farmstand has also started to sell these little bits of heaven.  You can also get them at the farmers market at City Hall.  B.T. brownies are organic, and many of the ingredients are locally grown.  And did I mention that they are outstanding?  Last week I bought one of the chocolate brownies with chocolate bits.  This week I bought a chocolate brownie topped with chocolate chip cookie topping.  So good.

The stand that normally sells tomatoes was not there yet, so I stopped at Lansdowne Farmers Market on my way home from Clark Park in the hopes I could get some tomatoes there.  Alas, no.  Most of the booths at Lansdowne Farmers Market don’t actually sell produce - many of them are art vendors or flower vendors, or merchants from the town.  Of the three that sell produce, there was nary a tomato to be found.  But there was great looking fruit from Fruitwood Farms (really lovely plums), a small selection from Farm Fresh Express, and corn, zucchini, and a bit of fruit from the vendor whose name I can’t remember.  From that stand I did manage to pick up some early green bell peppers.

And since I still needed tomatoes, I kept driving up Baltimore Pike until I hit Martindale’s.  I didn’t really expect to find locally grown tomatoes there - not all of their produce is sourced locally.  However, I was thrilled to see that they had both large heirloom varieties and yellow cherry tomatoes from Paradise Organics.  Hooray!  I could have spent the day there with my nose buried in the pile of tomatoes - they smelled amazing.

New Amsterdam Market

Monday, June 30, 2008

Yesterday I visited the third meeting of the New Amsterdam Market, a project to start a permanent public market in a building at the South St. Seaport.  I volunteered there at a table that was more or less a joint endeavor between Fair Food (with which I assume the readers of this blog are familiar) and Sweet Pea Nourishment (a new, small-scale catering company sourcing local, seasonal ingredients).  I’m happy and honored that I had the chance to go, and it was a fun adventure for the foodie in me—but it was also different than I expected, and the whole market scene made for a long and crazy madhouse day. 

The market was set up under an overpass in front of the Fulton St. fish market building—and I was happy for the steel above us when it started to downpour in the middle of the afternoon!  There was a wide variety of vendors—cheesemongers, animal farmers, many bread bakers, many chefs sampling food made from local ingredients, a few farms, a NYC brewery offering birch beer and ginger ale, the Bent Spoon ice cream makers from Princeton, even a foraging older couple from Vermont!  So while I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the variety of superb and tasty food at the market, like in other public markets the emphasis seemed to be on artisan food crafters rather than the farmers I’m more accustomed to seeing at the markets I visit every day.  The great thing about the New Amsterdam Market, though, is that all the artisan producers emphasized the local foundation and sources for their food! 

Also like other public markets—certainly like Reading Terminal Market when a big convention is in town—there were hordes of people simply sightseeing and interested in free samples.  I doubt those people knew what they were seeing, but Ann Karlen (who valiantly spent the entire day sampling and portioning the cheeses we brought) thought many of the people who bought cheese from her did seem educated about the opportunity they were being offered to find all this amazing food at one market. 

From the Philadelphia region, the blueberries (the only ones at the market) and cherries were snapped up; the cheese table was mobbed also, and cheeses like the Shellbark Hollow goat chevre, the Hendricks Gruyere, the Primavera Tome, and a cheddar similar to the PA Noble were especially popular.  I spent more time around the dry goods, and the samples we offered of Tait Farms’ strawberry rhubarb conserve and (of course!) Betty’s Tasty Buttons fudge sauce met with rave reviews! 

If anyone’s curious (oh, alright, I’m just boasting), I came away from the market with some wild ginger from VT, a bottle of riesling from Long Island, ‘thunder’ pickles with garlic and hot pepper from Katchkie Farm near Albany (owned by a nifty catering company!, an enormous loaf of crusty sourdough bread from the restaurant Daniel, and honey lavender shortbread from the Milk and Cookies bakery.

Oakmont Farmer’s Market

Friday, June 27, 2008

I’m just as guilty as anyone else of sticking to my normal routine and putting blinders on when it comes to discovering new stuff, particularly when it’s farmer’s market related.  I go to Clark Park and pick up my CSA share, sometimes I stop in at the Lansdowne or Swarthmore markets.  I stop in at the Fair Food Farmstand on my way home from work sometimes.  And that’s sort of it.

I recently discovered a farmer’s market just six miles from my house, though, thanks to my friend Janet.  Oakmont Farmer’s Market is in Havertown, and the vendor list looks great - North Star Orchards, Fruitwood Orchards, Wimer’s Organics, Blueberry Hill Farm, Schaeffer’s Flowers, Hillacres Pride, Great Harvest Bread Co., Lindenhof Farm, and (I’m super excited about this one) Backyard Bison.  Janet was good enough to write up a little something for us on the Oakmont market:

The Oakmont (Haverford Township) farmers market is a small but ‘growing’ venture, in its second year of operation. Located in the Oakmont municipal parking lot on Darby road at Eagle, it is open Wednesdays 3-7 p.m. through Labor Day, and 2-6 p.m. from Labor Day to November 21.  Despite it’s size, you will find a huge variety of products, from Bison to cheese to flowers. On a recent visit, I picked up a beautiful head of lettuce, strawberries at their peak, and a bison London Broil.  If you live in Havertown, Ardmore, Wynnewood, or are just passing through, check out the market.  They also have a great website at http://www.oakmontfarmersmarket.org.

And check it out: they have a blog!  With recipes!

South Philly garden update

Sunday, June 22, 2008

(Mints and sorrel)

(Patio tomato with raspberry in background)

(Another patio tomato with zinnias)

(Chard)
Considering the clay in my soil—amended with mighty but not nearly enough bags of leaf compost, mushroom soil, and vermiculite—I’m reasonably pleased with the progress. The patio tomatoes are fruiting and the others are flowering (Brandywine, Yellow Pear, and Mortgage Lifter), peppers are ready to flower, chard is happy, sorrel was unhappy in the ground and, alas, remains peevish in its own pot, all the herbs are gangbusters. This was the first year I bought plants at Greensgrow, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Next update: plants sprouted from Seed Savers Exchange.

Market report: Headhouse Square

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I had really good intentions today - I was going to get up, run over to the Headhouse Square Farmer’s Market, take lots of photos, and take copious notes about which vendors were selling what.  But then I got distracted by the amazing produce.  Considering my CSA share from yesterday is pretty good-sized, I had to stop myself from buying every single pretty green thing I saw!

The market was mobbed at 10am, another reason I didn’t take lots of photos or notes.  There was just enough room to navigate through with purchases.  Note taking was out of the question!

My main reason for hitting Headhouse was to see what Culton Organics was selling.  After Kevin’s post about finding local artichokes from Culton, I really wanted to check out what kinds of other things were being sold there.  The Culton stand did have a large supply of massive artichokes ($4 per huge choke), but I was really interested in an Spanish heirloom variety of turnips.  They sort of look like Hakurei turnips, but have a purple-ish cast and are little more squatty-shaped.  I have yet to give them a try.  I also picked up some cipollini onions and round summer squash while I was there.

I stopped in at the Weavers Way stand - they had gorgeous bunches of multi-colored beets.  I picked them up and put them down at least a half dozen times - I wanted them because they were so pretty, but I still have some beets in the freezer from last Fall!  Finally, common sense won out and I put them down for good.  But I did buy two gorgeous kholrabi for my husband.

The first of the local blueberries found their way into my bag, although I can’t for the life of me remember what stand that was.  Griggstown Quail Farm had duck breasts ($10 per breast), and I bought four lamb chops ($10) from Hillacres Pride.

I must rave about Wild Flour Bakery.  Their stand was incredibly pretty, and I wish I could have taken photos of the gorgeous displays.  As is, I felt compelled to buy a few things there.  They had big cracker sheets with different flavorings for $1 each.  I bought one with pink sea salt, one with red pepper and curry, and another with garlic.  And I had to try the potato bread pretzel ($2)!  It was genius!  I love potato rolls to be begin with, but with pretzel-y crust and lots of salt? Heaven!

My last stop was at the nursery that sells herb plants and flowers at the South end of the Shambles.  I bought three pots of parsley and a pot of Lettuce Leaf basil - big healthy plants!

All told, I spent less than $50 for all of that, most of which was spent on meat and plants.

Next week I can finally get back to hitting my local farmer’s market: the Lansdowne market on Saturday.  Woohoo!

Clark Park market report, 7 June

Saturday, June 07, 2008

The market is even fuller and busier than it has been, now that it’s June and there are a few more farmers coming, but the biggest, most exciting news from today is that the market has set up all the stands with credit-card machines.  The market is paying the credit fees, too, so method of payment shouldn’t make much difference to the farmers.  I’m inclined to think that it’ll help, actually, given the number of times I think, “Oh, I’d buy X, Y, and Z, but I forgot to get cash, so I can only get X and Y.”

Also exciting were the first zucchini, garlic scapes at a number of stands, and the continuing supply of strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, snap peas, and numerous varieties of green leafy things.  Farmers and bakers present today included Pennypack Farm, Eden Garden, Urban Girls, Keystone Farm, Landisdale Farm, the University City High School Gardens, Margerum’s, B.T.‘s baked goods, Slow Rise Bakery, and a couple others whose names I’ve forgotten.

(I came home with garlic scapes, spring onions, rhubarb, snap peas, and four-seed cookies.)

Clark Park market report, 5 June

Thursday, June 05, 2008

I’d completely forgotten that the Clark Park Thursday market started up today, but then I saw people walking up the street eating strawberries…and then I saw the tents.  There’re definitely fewer vendors than on Saturday mornings, so it’s an easier market to miss (if, say, you were driving by instead of walking), but there was still a good amount of variety.  For non-farm stands, there’s Betty’s Tasty Buttons (wonderful chocolate) and Big Sky Bakery (mostly bread, but I think they also do cinnamon rolls). 

The farms there today were Eden Grove farm, which had spring onions, lettuces, asparagus, and strawberries; Quaff Valley Farm, which had lettuces, strawberries, radishes, and eggs; Mountainview Poultry, with chicken, turkey, and various poultry products; Landisdale Farm, with strawberries, snap peas, shelling peas, lettuces, kales, pac choi, and their usual selection of eggs and dairy; and Backyard Bison, with various kinds of bison products.

(I bought hot bison jerky stick things and asparagus.) 

Opening Day at Swarthmore Farmers Market

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Today was opening day for the Swarthmore Farmer’s Market, located in the parking lot in front of the Swarthmore coop.  Even in the full swing of the season, the Swarthmore market is never very big - maybe a dozen vendors, about half of them selling trinkets, dog treats, or prepared foods.  The opening day was a little smaller than normal.

Forrest Acres Farm was there with a nice selection of meats, cheese, dairy products, and baked and canned goods.  Willing Hands Farm was selling some lovely looking mustard greens (which I purchased), radishes, and green onions.  Sadly, that was about it for fresh produce and meats.  Maybe this early in the season there isn’t too much produce on hand to sell?

The city of Swarthmore does expect most of their standard vendors to return this year.  I’ll be looking forward to more vendors!

Swarthmore Farmer’s Market is open Saturdays, 10-2.

A quick jaunt through Headhouse Square

Monday, May 12, 2008

Over the weekend I accidentally ended up at the Headhouse Square farmer’s market with two friends.  For a Spring market, the selection wasn’t bad at all!  Some rhubarb, tons of salad greens of all varieties, bok choy, radishes, spinach…and herb and vegetable plants.  Tons of them!  So if you’re looking for herb plants, head over next weekend - I picked up some super healthy-looking parsley, dill, rosemary, and tarragon from one of the vendors.  Yoder Heirlooms, in particular, had gorgeous looking produce. 

Aside from produce, the market had at least two vendors of locally made bread, as well as cakes and quick breads, jam, honey, artisan sausage and pepperoni, and cheese.  I saw a sign for boneless duck, and noticed two other meat vendors.  There were lots of great eggs available, too.

The real star, though, was asparagus.  Quite a few vendors had really gorgeous asparagus, and from what I’ve been hearing the asparagus crop is stellar this year and extra early.  Last night I made asparagus risotto with the bunch I picked up yesterday at Headhouse Square market - it was delicious!

I really like asparagus, and am always disappointed by the crappy, tasteless commercially grown stuff available in the Winter, so my plan is to buy at least a dozen bunches or so while it’s in season and preserve it for later…in a few different ways.

My favorite method is freezing - it’s the preservation method that saves the most nutrients.  Trim the asparagus ends, sort by thickness, and blanch them in boiling water - 2 minutes for thin spears, 3 minutes for medium, and 5 minutes for thick ones.  And then give them an ice bath, let them dry, and freeze them.  They can be frozen for eight or nine months.

Asparagus can also be canned in a pressure canner.  The texture does suffer a bit, so I usually don’t can them.  However, I do like the look of nice, canned asparagus spears.  Blanch them for about three minutes after you’ve trimmed the ends, and pack them into canning jars while the asparagus is still hot.  Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt and boiling water, leaving about 1 inch of headspace.  Close up your jars and process at 10 pounds of pressure for 25-30 minutes.

I also plan on making some asparagus ravioli for a rainy day. 
Freshly made ravioli freezes nicely - just don’t make huge and overstuff ravioli.  Arrange them on a layer of wax paper on a cookie sheet covered in corn meal, freeze them, and then pack them into freezer bags.  They can go right from the freezer into some boiling water when you’re ready to cook them.