Headhouse Market extended

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

After several weeks away, I finally got a chance to stop into the Headhouse Square Market this Sunday.  It’s been nearly a month since my last visit and I noticed a few changes.  A couple of farmers who products I had bought and enjoyed were absent.  The abundance of tomatoes was replaced by apples as far as the eye could see.  And the closing date of the market has been extended until the end of the year.  Oh happy day!  We now have until December 23rd to buy our meats, cheeses, breads and produce from the growers, makers and bakers. 

Market report: Haddonfield Farmer’s Market

Saturday, September 29, 2007

There’s nothing like putting things off until the very last minute!  Today, on the second to last day of the September Eat Local Challenge, I visited the Haddonfield, NJ Farmer’s Market.  I’ve never been there before and never purchased anything from any of the vendors present, so it counts toward trying one new resource.  The market is in the parking lot of the Haddonfield PATCO stop.  While small (I estimate about six or seven vendors selling food), there was a lovely selection of produce.  There are other vendors who regularly offer their products who were not there today, including Butcher Bloc and Red Barn.

I purchased scallions and the last leeks from the super friendly chicks from Flaim Family Farm.  They had at least a half dozen eggplant varieties, absolutely gorgeous carrots and beets, all manner of fresh herbs, beautiful salad greens, and a bevy of other vegetables and fruit.

Haynicz’s Orchard View Farms was selling a great array of apples and pears, as well as peach and apple cider.  My eyes lit up when I saw the peach cider.  I’ve never had it before, and it sounds wonderful!  It’s currently chilling in my refrigerator.

Triple Oaks Nursery was selling over half a dozen varieties of heirloom tomatoes, the only one of which I recognized was the Green Zebra.  They were all very pretty, though, and incredible-looking!  I also saw some fresh cut flowers for sale.

Busy Bee Farms was selling honey and soap.  I just purchased some buckwheat honey from Linvilla Orchards, so I didn’t really need more - but it was so tempting to just buy another jar.  It looked so good, and I overheard the vendor talking to a customer about his blueberry honey. Yum!

Versailles Bakery had a mouth-watering selection of locally made breads, bagels, and pastries.  The olive rolls were too good to pass up, and I walked away with two of them.

My husband purchased some dog treats from Cafe Woof.  While the ingredients are not locally sourced, they are locally made and my dog loved them!

The Haddonfield Farmer’s Market is open from 9am-1pm on Saturdays.  October 27 will be the last day for the market this season, and it’s easily accessible.  Only seven miles from Philadelphia, it’s a quick drive over the bridge or a quick train ride on PATCO.

Coincidentally, there’s another farmer’s market really close by, and also just as easily accessible via public transit.  That’s the Collingswood Farmer’s Market.  It’s also open on Saturdays, but from 8am until noon.  Better yet, Collingswood market is open until Thanksgiving.  The market offers locally grown and heirloom breed (free range, antiobiotic free) turkeys from Griggstown Quail Farm in Princeton, as well.

Taste test: Hardy Kiwi

Thursday, September 27, 2007

For many years I’ve been seeing the Hardy Kiwi in various gardening magazines, promising that it would happily grow for us here in the Northeast.  ‘Kiwis?’ I thought. “Here in Pennsylvania?  That’s just crazy talk!’

And so I didn’t give it a second thought.

Today, though, I was at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market where, lo and behold, there were a few quarts of these teeny tiny little green fruits being sold off.  The nice lady who works the stand gave me a taste.  Shockingly, they really do taste just like tropical kiwi.  The outside skin is smooth and shiny, rather than furry.  But inside is the same old kiwi look and taste.

As a rule, I’m not a huge eater of kiwi and mostly just bought them for the novelty.  I’m thinking, though, that I might try a little jam experiment this weekend…using these kiwi fruit and a different fruit I plan to forage from my backyard.  It might be interesting.

For Those Short on Space

Let’s face it, a lot of us in the city are operating in small kitchens that have limited shelf space and even more limited freezer space.  Canning and freezing fresh produce to use over the winter isn’t nearly as feasible under these conditions.  Still, you don’t want to be left out of the “eat local” revolution for six whole months until Mother Nature decides to dust off her chilly shawl.  Cooks in by-gone days solved a similar problem (their’s being more along the lines of “I have a fireplace and an ice box”) by drying much of their summer harvests.  Once vegetables are dry, they’ll keep for several months and can be used much as you would the fresh version once they’re reconstituted after a soak in hot water.  I’ll be trying my hand a various drying techniques over the next few weeks on www.straightfromthefarm.net.  Let’s start here with some corn since its season is winding down fast. 


DRIED CORN

Use fresh sweet corn, husked and silk removed with a brush.  Six ears will fill up one standard baking sheet and yield about 2 cups of dried corn.

Cut corn off the cob using a sharp knife and a shallow bowl or cutting board.  Be sure to cut as close the cob as you can to remove all the kernels and juice possible.  Line a baking sheet with foil and give it just a very light coat of nonstick spray.  Spread corn kernels out on the baking sheet into an even layer.

Turn oven onto 150 F and place tray on the middle rack.  The drying process will take several hours (up to 12, depending on the freshness and juiciness of your corn) so be sure to check on it every 2 hours or so, turning it and shaking the tray gently to loosen any kernels that are sticking together or to the tray.  You’ll begin to notice the kernels shrinking and eventually becoming much darker and hard.  When all the moisture appears to be out of the corn, remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool off completely.

By the way, if you don’t really feel like monitoring the stove for 12 hours straight, you can turn off the oven, letting the tray sit inside, for several hours and come back to it later.  Or, if you have an older gas stove with a large oven pilot light, you might not even have to turn the oven on - just leave the corn sit in there for a day or so to dry on its own.

When the dried corn is cool, place in a paper bag and hang in your kitchen to dry out any remaining moisture.  After about a week or so, transfer dried corn to a ziplock bag and store in your cupboards for use later this winter.

Pickled carrots

Friday, September 21, 2007

I feel a little silly about waxing poetic about a bunch of carrots, but the carrots I picked up yesterday at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market were absolutely gorgeous!  They were fat and bright orange and weirdly shaped and the greens were fresh and just lovely.  I’ll spare you the actual poetry, but they really were fabulous.  I had to have them!

And since putting food up for the Winter is the special focus of the September Eat Local Challenge, I could not resist making these little beauties (grown by Lancaster Farm Fresh) into pickles.

If you’re anything like me, anything other cucumber pickles is sort of scary.  For me, I should say ‘was scary’.  I’m not grossed out by other kinds of pickles anymore.  But I used to hear the word ‘pickled’ and think of my grandmother’s disgusting homemade bread and better pickles (sickeningly sweet) or the wretched pickled eggs my mother makes (just plain sickening).  And let’s not forget those nasty store-bought pickled beets!  Argh!  Just this Summer, though, I found out how good pickled vegetables can really be…and now I find I crave them.

The best thing about all this is that making pickled vegetables is a total snap, and some of the stuff I need can be found in my garden.  Dill and garlic, for instance.

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into small lengths
1/4 cup minced dill
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Blanch the carrots for 2 minutes in boiling water, then immerse them in cold water until they have cooled.

Pack the carrots and dill into a canning jar or two. In a saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Pour the liquid over the carrots. Cap the jar, and let it cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate the jar for 2 days or longer before eating the carrots. Refrigerated, they will keep for at least 2 months.

Alternatively, you can give these a water bath to seal.

This jar was made last night, and I tried a pickled carrot this morning - wonderful!!

Taste testing the pawpaw

Friday, September 14, 2007

Before scooping up my CSA share, I shopped a bit at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal.  I really wanted to buy a round of LeRaysville Cheese Factory‘s Sommelier cheese and a carton or two of brown figs, but was out of luck with the fruit.

While I was there I picked up a few packages of lamb chops from Bixby’s Farms and a few celery roots (which are destined to become tomorrow’s dinner).

The nice lady who works the stand on Thursday gave me a taste of the new pawpaws they got in from Green Meadow Farm.  I only recently learned that pawpaws are native to Pennsylvania, although I’ve never tasted one until today.  They sort of have the texture of avocado with a sort of tropical flavor.  I’m not entirely sure that I like them.  Still, I did get to wondering what something like pawpaw butter (you know, like apple butter) might taste like. 

A late Headhouse Square market report

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

This last Sunday, my friend Shay and I headed down to the Headhouse Square to be there at the beginning of the market.  I had learned my lesson from my previous trip when there hadn’t been much left in the final hour of the market.  At 10:15 am it was already crammed with people.  One thing that Shay pointed out that I hadn’t really noticed before was how most people patiently wait in line to be served at this market.  She said she had never seen anything like it before, and now that she mentions it, I realize she’s right.  Normally there’s more of a cluster effect at markets, as opposed to this peculiar lining up. 

It seemed like the vendors were a bit sparse as well.  I wonder if the fact that summer is over (at least in terms of our mental calendar) is keeping some folks away.  Despite all that, there was still lots of good stuff to be had.  I spent $19.60 and came home with many goodies. 

6 ears of corn
1 red pepper
2 green peppers
2 white eggplants (2 for a $1!)
1 bunch beets
2 gnarled heirloom tomatoes
1 dozen eggs
1 bag lemon balm
1 bunch of broccoli
1 bunch basil

The skinny on figs

Friday, September 07, 2007

I was delighted to see lots of figs when I picked up my CSA share yesterday at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal.  Of course, I snagged some of Becky’s famous figs (straight from the tree in her South Philly backyard).  They are green figs of an unidentifiable variety.  They’re much juicier than other varieties I’ve tried.  Normally, juicier would be better, but these seem watery rather than juicy.  Don’t get me wrong: these figs are good.  They just wouldn’t be the first figs I’d pick up.

There were also a few boxes of these figs.  I can’t for the life of me remember whose farm they came from, but I think they are organic or low spray or something.  These figs are amazing!  They’re about the size of a quarter or a little bigger and have a great taste.  They’re not any less juicy than the green figs, but they’re less watery.  That carton of figs did not last the night!

For the green figs, I may dry them and see how that goes.  It would be great to have some figs preserved!

I don’t give a fig

Friday, August 31, 2007

Figs are coming in hot and heavy at the farm stands around town, and I am overwhelmed with delight to see it.  I love fresh figs…so much so that I bought a couple of fig trees earlier this Summer (which are doing great in our USDA hardiness zone, I might add.  South Philly, in particular, is filled with little back yards overrun with fig trees).

My little trees may not be bearing fruit yet, but the Fair Food Farmstand has found a source for figs in South Philly - her name is Becky.  She plucks figs from her tree every week and delivers them to the stand on Wednesday morning.  Act quickly - as I found out yesterday, those babies don’t last long.  I was told by the woman on duty that the figs are gone by Wednesday afternoon.

Figs from some random woman’s tree in South Philly?  Yeah, that’s totally worth an extra stop into Reading Terminal Market.

It kind of reminds me of the Fallen Fruit initiative out of Los Angeles - residents are encouraged to contact city administrators to ask that fruit trees be planted in the city, rather than a tree that doesn’t produce anything.  The idea is that any person on the street can than feed themselves from public trees.  And not that I have any plans to stand outside Becky the Fig Woman’s house and hope for her fig trees to bear fruit on the street, but I like the idea of finding public and free sources of food.  It satisfies my inner forager.

Have you found any public fruit in the city or the surrounding areas?  Perhaps we start our own little mapping project.

Head to Headhouse and Make this Soup

Thursday, August 30, 2007

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)

Local produce report, 28 August

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

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.

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)

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.

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.

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