Round the Old Oak Tree

Monday, September 05, 2011

There are all sorts of nut trees in my neighborhood, but none so plentiful as oak trees . . . which produce acorns. You can’t drive down my street in the fall without getting pelted by these little nuggets. Despite their wide availability, you don’t really see acorn meats for sale at the grocery store—that doesn’t mean they’re not edible, though. They’re good for you, too: 1 oz. of dried acorns has only a small amount of saturated fat, and they’re a good source of copper and vitamin B-12.

Foraging for acorns is the tricky part—the ones on the ground without the caps are likely to be riddled with worms. And some varieties of oak produce acorns high in tannins, which makes them bitter. I won’t bore you with the details of which oak trees produce the best acorns. Other posts have already been written on the topic of what to look for, how to shell them, and the best way to dry them. The real question is this: after you’ve spent the time to gather and prep them, what the hell do you do with them?

Acorn stuffing
Acorn wine
Acorn bread
Acorn pancakes
Spiced picked acords
Acorn stew

All you have to do is beat the squirrels to the oak trees.

Packing Healthy School Lunches Year Round

Saturday, September 03, 2011

It’s September, and for a lot of us that means it’s back-to-school time. Pencils, erasers, notebooks, new clothes . . . it can get exhausting after a while! One of the things that you might not be thinking about is your child’s lunch box. And no, I don’t mean whether it should be Hannah Montana or Ben 10. Rather, I mean what you’re going to fill that designer tote with every day for the next several months.

Buying lunch at school every day is costly, and you won’t always know where that food is coming from. Even though schools are cracking down on nutrition for school lunches, cafeterias do not always place emphasis on locally grown produce. One way to ensure that your children are eating healthy foods grown locally is to pack their lunch yourself!

If your children are picky, as mine are, it can be tricky to find the fruits and veggies they crave year round. But getting them to eat seasonal selections doesn’t have to be a fight; it can be fun and full of adventurous eating. Here are a few tips to get your kids eating healthy options every day.

• Dip it! Kids love dipping just about everything from sweet fruits and crunchy veggies to breaded chicken or mozzarella sticks. Providing a “fingers only” lunch to your little one is a fun way to get them eating healthy options. Julienne your veggie selections and provide ranch dressing or hummus to dip with. Offer different cubed fruits and cheese with caramel dipping sauce. And, if your child likes chicken fingers, you can bread and bake enough small pieces of chicken for a week’s worth of lunches Sunday night. Cold chicken tastes just as yummy as warm and it’s easy to transport to school! Store your dips in reusable containers for easy cleaning and no-mess transportation.

• Pasta salad can be a great way to “hide” fresh veggies from picky eaters. Chop your fresh veggies teeny-tiny, almost small enough to make a slaw, and mix with whole wheat pasta, olive oil, and spices. Just a little bit of seasoning will turn a veggie salad into a new and flavorful food for your child.

• Tuna boats, anyone? Take a halved bell pepper and stuff with tuna salad. If you want to be creative, you can include a toothpick and a triangle-shaped wedge of cheese for your child to “raise the sail” on their boat. Little touches like these have kids clamoring for more!

• Is apple picking on your September agenda? Prepare in advance for the fresh fruit so that you can store and enjoy their fresh crispness for months at a time. Gather black and white newspaper pages (avoid colored print as these contain hazardous chemicals that could leech into the fruit) and quarter them. Wrap each apple individually so that when you store them, they won’t touch each other. You don’t have to exclude air from their environment; a slight twist of the newspaper at the top will do the trick. Store them in a cardboard box in a dark, cool area where the apples will not freeze. You could use an unheated basement or an enclosed porch. Taking these few extra steps will ensure that your apples stay fresh through February. Think of the happy smile when your child sees a crisp apple in the middle of winter.

These are just a few suggestions, but if you think about it, I’m certain you can come up with more inventive ideas on how to include local produce into your child’s lunch each day. Not only will it save you some much needed cash, you will be providing healthy, fun food choices for your children—which is always a bonus!

Become a Farm to Philly Contributor!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Ever wanted to write about your favorite farm? Share your best recipes that use local produce? Rant about legislation that affects the growers of the foods you eat? Now’s your chance!

Farm to Philly has been blogging since 2007 with a revolving group of writers dedicated to eating locally-grown foods and promoting the local foodshed. There are a few openings for writers, and we’d like you to join our team. No, there’s no pay in this gig, but there is satisfaction in knowing you’re reaching a diverse group of readers who care about the same things you do. We’ve had some exciting opportunities over the years, including having our writers and their recipes featured in articles in Grid, Philadelphia’s magazine about sustainable living.

There are some exciting things in the planning stages, so we hope you’ll sign up. This opportunity is open to residents of Philadelphia, the surrounding counties, and South Jersey. For questions or more information, email Nicole Wolverton, the founder of Farm to Philly.

NJ Heirloom Tomato Tasting

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

One of the amazing things about this time of year is the tomatoes. I dream about August in the dead of winter, imagining the flavor of heirloom varieties. I used to grow my own, but we’ve been having trouble with the squirrels and woodchucks decimating everything in the garden. Instead, I rely on the great local producers—thankfully, they’ve got me covered!

True, Hurricane Irene threw a wrench into the works—she did a number on crops. The good news: many local farms were able to bring in a good harvest prior to the deluge and winds. Part of that harvest is being showcased in Pittston, New Jersey tomorrow!

Head over to 21st Annual Great Tomato Tasting at the Rutgers NJAES Snyder Farm. From their email—

This year’s event includes the very popular tasting of both heirloom and hybrid tomatoes and wagon tours of the farm’s research plots.  The afternoon will also include tastings of honey, herbs, apples and peaches – all with the assistance and guidance of Rutgers NJAES Master Gardener volunteers.  The Melda C. Snyder Teaching Garden will showcase garden displays of deer tolerant ornamentals, plants that can attract native pollinators to your garden, the Rutgers holly and blueberry breeding programs, columnar varieties of fruit trees for the home landscape and daylilies.  Also, we welcome back chefs featuring tasty samples of tomato recipes.  Local residents will have professional advice offered by the Hunterdon County Board of Health Staff regarding stink bugs, mosquitoes and black flies; pesky insects near and dear to local residents.  For those who want small productive gardens, there will be square foot gardening demonstrations.

Things kick off three in the afternoon, closing at dusk. Cost is $7, although kids under the age of ten are free.

Sustainable Saturdays in University City

Monday, July 11, 2011

Foraging! Wine and Cheese! Local Honey! Farmers’ Market! Seed Bombs! Get in this great series of events this coming Saturday! Farm to Table in West Philadelphia.

PHS and Philly Homegrown Pop-Up Garden

In partnership with Philly Homegrown, PHS created a beautiful pop-up garden in the formerly empty lot at 20th and Market. Just look at all the beauty next to those boring skyscrapers! You’re welcome to pop-in on Wednesdays and Thursdays and spend some time in the garden. The garden will stay up until October, then come down for the winter and pop-up in a new location next Spring! I stopped by for a short workshop on vegetable growing. These Wednesday workshops are free and easy to squeeze in over your lunch hour:

• August 4: Gardening Odds and Ends — Fabulous Containers
• September 1: Edible Landscapes — Growing Beautiful Food
• September 22: Edible Landscape — Planting and Harvesting

And, if you’re feeling like a special lunch afterwards, you can visit one of six local hot spots – R2L, Square 1682, Table 31, Sampan, Barbuzzo, and Paradiso —who have agreed to use ingredients from the pop-up garden in special dishes whose proceeds benefit City Harvest, PHS’s program that provides fresh produce for underserved Philadelphia residents.

Foodtrust Night at the Phillies!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

The Phillies, already known for having one of the most eco-friendly and vegetarian-friendly stadiums around, is teaming up with The Food Trust for a special event!
Join Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park and ALL net proceeds from ticket sales benefit The Food Trust. Act fast! Tickets are limited and must be purchased before July 12th.

BUY TICKETS HERE

Cloud 9 Benefit BBQ

Have you heard about Cloud 9, yet? Located on a warehouse roof in West Philadelphia, Cloud 9 Farm is a burgeoning rooftop farm.  In addition to growing and selling organically grown produce locally, they aim to improve food security in the city by conducting research and providing educational programming on urban rooftop agriculture. They started a kickstarter campaign just a few weeks ago, and have already raised half of their start-up funds, so they are throwing a celebration BBQ fundraiser this weekend!

” We are thrilled to be the first rooftop farm in the city of Philadelphia, but are even more excited to pave the way for others to follow!”

Come eat delicious grilled items and drink yummy local concoctions at4909 Warrington Ave. on Saturday July 9th, starting at 7 pm.  A $7 donation at the door gets you a plate and a good time.

Time to Harvest: Garlic!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

If you forgot that garlic was due on Summer Solstice (like I did) it’s time to run out to your garden and pull-up your garlic! Some of my bulbs this year were huge, and they smell great. I braided them and hung them in my kitchen for immediate use, but if you’d like to keep yours for decoration (which means that you must have A LOT to part with any of it!) you can hang the stalks, bulbs attached, in a dark room for 6 weeks to “cure.”

Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA Share: June 13

1 Quart UNWASHED* New Red Potatoes - Certified Organic - Green Valley Organics

*A note on washing potatoes - Potatoes will store longer and retain maximum freshness if left unwashed. Your potatoes will arrive “dirty” to preserve their delicate skin. If you have any questions, please direct them to the CSA team.

1 Bunch Rainbow Chard - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

1 Bag Lettuce Mix - Certified Organic - Farmdale Organics

1 Bunch White Kohlrabi - Certified Organic - Friends Road Organics

1 Bunch Cilantro - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch White Scallions - Certified Organic - Railroad Organics

1 Head Broccoli - Certified Organic - Soaring Eagle Acres

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Autumn Blend Organics

1 Head Radicchio - Certified Organic - Bellview Organics

1 Head Green Romaine - Certified Organic - Bellview Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Beacon Hill Produce

Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA Share: June 20

The new potatoes make their first appearance…*A note on washing potatoes - Potatoes will store longer and retain maximum freshness if left unwashed. Your potatoes will arrive “dirty” to preserve their delicate skin. If you have any questions, please direct them to the CSA team.

1 Quart UNWASHED* New Red Potatoes - Certified Organic - Green Valley Organics

1 Bunch Rainbow Chard - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

1 Bag Lettuce Mix - Certified Organic - Farmdale Organics

1 Bunch White Kohlrabi - Certified Organic - Friends Road Organics

1 Bunch Cilantro - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch White Scallions - Certified Organic - Railroad Organics

1 Head Broccoli - Certified Organic - Soaring Eagle Acres

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Autumn Blend Organics

1 Head Radicchio - Certified Organic - Bellview Organics

1 Head Green Romaine - Certified Organic - Bellview Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Beacon Hill Produce

Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA Share: June 6th

I had just picked 30 pounds of strawberries earlier in the week.. but these were real beauties.

1 Head Green Endive - Certified Organic - Meadow Valley Organics

1 Bag Lettuce Mix - Certified Organic - Farmdale Organics

1 Bag Purple Mizuna - Certified Organic - Hillside Organics

1 Bunch Fresh Sweet Onions - Certified Organic - Liberty Branch Farm

1 Head Green Escarole - Certified Organic - Windy Hollow Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Coyote Run Organics

1 Bunch Spring Garlic OR 1 Bunch Kale - Certified Organic - Life Enhancing Acres

1 Bunch Cilantro - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch Collard Greens - Certified Organic - Soaring Eagle Acres

1 Package Portobello Mushroom Caps - Certified Organic - Mother Earth Organics

1 Package Cremini (Baby Bella) Mushrooms - Certified Organic - Mother Earth Organics

1 Pint Strawberries - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics or Healthy Harvest Organics

Red Earth Farm #2

Friday, June 17, 2011

This week’s partial share was my choice, a bag of endive, a bunch of beautiful Swiss Chard, a bunch of beets with greens, an Italian basil plant, Lacinato Kale, and several zucchinis. This was a fruit week and for my double share we got two pints of strawberries and two pint boxes of apricots.

We’re still working through last week’s share. We just can’t go through that much lettuce, despite eating lettuce wraps for dinner and lunch with the Boston Bibb and several salads with the greens, fruit, nuts and Hillacre’s Pride feta. The head of red leaf lettuce has held up well, but it’s on the agenda for tonight. Still have some green onions left too. Next week, for sure, I will take a picture of our box.

Red Earth Farm #1

Thursday, June 09, 2011

It’s the first delivery of the season! This box was farmer’s choice. My partial share had Boston Bibb lettuce, red leaf lettuce, scallions, garlic scapes, swiss chard, bok choy and a bag of salad greens. The cheese share, offered for the first time this year from Hillacres Pride,  included a fresh brined feta in a tub and a savory herb cheddar block. It’s also an egg delivery week. I decided to get a double egg share this year so I wouldn’t have to run to the store to buy eggs days before the next egg delivery. We’ll see how that works out. I may end up with a lot of eggs to go with my excessive (for this family) amounts of lettuce.

Red Earth has a bunch of new systems in place, including ordering through their website and email notifications when the box is delivered. The timing of the email was perfect. I was able to pick up the box early so the lettuce wouldn’t sit out all afternoon in the insane heat.

Walnut Hill Farm Stand Opens!

The farm that Erica and Nick from Philly Rooted (and Farm to Philly!) have been working so hard at has produced its first full crops and the farm stand, in cooperation with the Enterprise Center, is open for business!

The Walnut Hill Community Farm, in collaboration with Farm to City and Common Market, is operating two farm stands this season. The farm stands are operated by our Youth Growers, who learn business skills, tend the urban farm, and sell the fresh produce back to the community. One stand is located on-site at the Community Farm (4610 Market Street), supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It runs on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3:00-6:00 PM. A second farm stand is located on the concourse level of SEPTA’s offices (1234 Market Street). This stand operates every other Wednesday (next market day is June 15th from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM). For more information, please contact Bryan Fenstermaker at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 215-895-4020.