Get Asian pears now!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

North Star Orchard is in the midst of an Asian pear boom!  If you love Asian pears, now is the time to seek out at the Orchard’s various market locations - Clark Park, Rittenhouse Square, and Headhouse in Philadelphia, and a bunch of other suburban locations.

North Star is currently producing the following varieties of Asian pear: Hosui, Yoinashi, and Olympic.  The Hosui is slightly acidic but mild with a crisp, juicy, off-white flesh.  The Yoinashi has the highest sugar content of all Asian pears and is extremely juicy with a lovely butterscotch flavor.  The Olympic has an outstanding storage life and flavor actually improves with storage.  They’re sweet with an earthy flavor.

And don’t miss out on North Star’s apple harvest!  You can find Florina, Golden Russet, Stellar, and Sugar Snap apples at market. 

North Star Orchard is located in Coatesville, PA.

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. 

Hendricks Farm Parmesan

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

My refrigerator is awash in parmesan rinds.  I save them for use in flavoring soup stocks.  And I never run out because I use parmesan like it’s my job or something.  And that crappy sawdust-esque crap that comes in the shake can gives me the hives.  It’s good parmesan on everything!

I’ve heard rumors that I could get locally made parmesan, but up until recently I hadn’t seen it anywhere.  The other day, though, I found Hendrick’s Farm parmesan at Salumeria cheese shop at Reading Terminal Market.  It’s really more a snacking parmesan than a grating parmesan.  Granted, I used it grated over some pasta the other night and it was delicious!

Their parmesan is a full fat cheese, aged about one year.  It has a nice nuttiness to it.  A good, all around parmesan!

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.

Valley Shepherd Creamery Fairmount

Friday, September 28, 2007

The Fairmount cheese from Valley Shepherd Creamery has a strong Swiss cheese kind of taste and texture.  I suspect it would make a great fondue.  The Valley Shepherd site says it’s “definitely a mountain cheese with pasture and fresh mountain aroma”.  Fair enough.

Fairmount is a mixed milk cheese that is cave-aged 8-15 months.

There are several Valley Shepherd cheeses I am dying to try.  It seems as if the Ash Log is mimicking Morbier, with its line of ash separating cheese made from the morning and afternoon milkings.  And the Scent-sation cheese, which is apparently is pretty stanky.  The Ancient Shepherd also appeals.  I’ll be keeping an eye out for these. 

I bought the Fairmount at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal, but Valley Shepherd cheeses are available at a number of places.

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.

Slow Food Dinner Tonight at Marigold Kitchen

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

On Wednesday, September 26, 2007, Slow Food Philadelphia is sponsoring a five-course dinner at Marigold Kitchen inspired by chef Michael Solomonov’s recent trip through Turkey and Israel.

Amuse Bouche

First Course
Modern and Classic Mezze.  Eggplant salad, chopped Israeli salad with quail eggs and white anchovies, tuna carpaccio stuffed with tabouleh, and mussels cooked with spiced basmati rice.

Second Course
Braised swordfish with Shakshouka (classic tomato stew) and poached egg.

Third Course
Smoked loin of lamb with stewed prunes and flavored with Za’atar.

Dessert
Peach sorbet with peach salad, peach mousse, and peach cobbler with labneh ice cream.

$50 + tax and tip (the total price will be $65).  Reservations can be made through Open Table Philadelphia.

Slow Food USA is an educational organization dedicated to stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production; to the revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community, to the invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions. The members of the Philadelphia chapter come from a wide variety of professions and backgrounds. It organizes dinners, tastings, tours, lectures, and picnics, where members gather in a convivial setting to explore the richness of our area’s culinary heritage or the food and drink of other cultures around the world.

Marigold Kitchen
501 S. 45th St.
(215) 222-3699

Hendricks Farm Cow Pie

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I can’t think of a more unappetizing name for cheese than Cow Pie.  It gives me visions of cow manure and stanky odors.  However ill-advised the name is, the cheese is outstanding.  Cow Pie from Hendricks Farm and Dairy is a mild, creamy cheese made from raw cow milk (grassfed cows!).  It has a bloomy rind that is incredibly delicious.  At room temperature, the cheese becomes gooey and wonderful, like the Camembert Hendricks Farm modeled the cheese on.

Hendricks Farm makes their Cow Pie cheese using the cow’s evening milk, which is fattier.  And the fat makes the difference here.  It’s a great, rich cheese that I highly recommend.  In fact, I think Cow Pie just became my all time favorite locally made cheese.

Cow Pie is available at the Fair Food Farmstand and Salumeria at Reading Terminal Market, their farm store in Telford, Cheese! in Phoenixville, Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop in Philly, Bakers on Broad in Souderton, and, I’m told, Whole Foods.  You can also find it at Majolica in Phoenixville.

Hendricks Farm is located in Telford, PA.  They’ll be hosting their second annual Oktoberfest at the farm on October 26.

LeRaysville Cheese Factory Sommelier

Friday, September 21, 2007

It’s rare that my husband will eat cheese that I bring into the house.  I’m an artisanal cheese kind of a girl - the stinkier the better.  My husband is a Cracker Barrel block o’ cheese kind of a guy.  And not that there’s anything wrong with Cracker Barrel - I just wouldn’t sit down and snack on it.  But I digress!  What I’m trying to say is that the stars must be aligned because he ate the Sommelier cheese from LeRaysville Cheese Factory.

LeRaysville is a very small Amish cheese factory located in LeRaysville.  When I say ‘very small’, I mean it - there are just three employees.  They source their milk from local farmers (who pledge not to use rBGH) and specialize in raw milk cheddar.  Coincidentally, they also specialize in supporting family farms.  When milk prices are low, they they set their minimum price 15% above what the factory cheese joints are paying.  I’m told they also run cheesemaking workshops, so if you’re ever out in Bradford County you might want to check that out.

The Sommelier is a Havarti cheese and won the 2002 American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon.  It’s a semi-soft cow milk cheese with added cream.  It’s an absolutely mild, lovely cheese that comes in a one pound round.  It’s quite economical, as well - an entire round is just $7.50.  I’ve been eating it with water crackers, figs, and a glass of Reisling, but I suspect it would make a superb baked macaroni and cheese.

My husband thinks the Sommelier has a provolone-ish flavor, and I can sort of see why.  I find it much more buttery in flavor than a provolone, more swiss cheese than provolone.  In any case, it’s delicious and available at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market.

Pickled carrots

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!!

Shellbark Hollow Sharp Goat

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I absolutely love Shellbark Hollow sharp goat cheese.  Goat cheese had a pretty good tang to it to begin with, and this aged, sharp goat is super sassy!  It’s big flavor. It has a dry, sort of crumbly texture.

The sharp goat was a great addition to the roasted beet and goat cheese stacks I made last Friday.  Goat cheese is a natural paired with beets anyway, but this cheese stood up so well to the beets and the lemony zest of sorrel.  I’m thinking this would make an excellent cheese to stuff into some nice locally grown chicken breasts, as well.

The Shellbark Hollow sharp goat is available at DiBruno Bros. and the Fair Food Farmstand.

On the lamb

Saturday, September 15, 2007

We’re not big red meat eaters at my house.  When I do get the yen for red meat, though, it’s usually lamb.  For the last year I’ve been buying lamb from the Fair Food Farmstand.  They carry a few different vendors’ lamb, but I most often have the Bixby’s Farms lamb.  It’s absolutely delicious!  This week I bought two packages of loin chops.

The marinade I used for the chops is simple - 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary, 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme, 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a couple grinds of pepper.  It’s a great marinade mostly because the rosemary, thyme, and garlic are right out of my garden.  Marinade the chops for 1-4 hours, and you’re ready to go.  I like lamb pretty rare, so the chops get grilled on high for about 4 minutes per side.

As a side, I made mashed celery root, potato, and garlic - yum!  And all local, too!

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. 

Challenge meal week one

Thursday, September 13, 2007

For the first week of the September Challenge I wanted to make something simple. I’ve had some short ribs from Meadow Run Farms in the freezer so I figured what’s easier than braising some beef for a couple of hours. I found a couple of recipes and narrowed it down to the simplest. I set the meat out to defrost, decided I’d roast some potatoes to go with it and steam some green beans. I went out and bought a couple of bottles of local Cabernet. Then around 3.30 I got home and realized I’d lost the stupid recipe. I searched my browser history hoping it would turn up but it didn’t so I browsed my cookbooks and epicurious until I found a similar recipe and a good hour after I wanted to I got to work.

The biggest problem was that I didn’t RTFR. (thank you Smitten Kitchen for the perfect acronym.) I spent hours slaving over a hot stove in my un-air conditioned kitchen on a hot, humid Philadelphia summer day. The initial recipe called for all of the cooking on the stove top in a dutch oven, but the other recipes all called for the short ribs to braise in the oven. Never having made short ribs before I wasn’t willing to mess around. My dutch oven’s so large that cooking the potatoes in the oven was out so I decided to use my leeks and make mashed potatoes with leeks and thyme instead. Since I had a leek or two left over I found a recipe for swiss chard with leeks and made that instead of the green beans.

All of the cooking was extremely hands on and hot and by the time it was ready to eat I’d lost interest completely.  The worst part was that the ribs weren’t even all that good. The chard and potatoes were fantastic, but the ribs just weren’t as flavorful as I would have hoped. And seriously, braised short ribs with mashed potatoes would have been fine on a crisp, almost fall day like today, but it was not an appropriate meal for last Saturday’s stickiness.

At least my husband liked it.

Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine

Short ribs- Meadow Run Farms
Chicken stock- made from chicken from Meadow Run farms
Cabernet- Chadd’s Ford
Rosemary- my garden
basil (instead of sage)- my garden
Carrots- Lancaster, Pa via Farm to City farmer’s market
Onion- Red Earth Farm
Garlic Red Earth Farm
not local- salt, pepper, tomato paste, oil, bay leaf

Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Thyme

Potatoes- Red Earth Farm
Leeks- Red Earth Farm
Thyme- my garden
Milk- Merrymead Farm
not local-salt, pepper, butter

Seared Rainbow Chard with Leeks

Chard-Red Earth Farm
Leeks-Red Earth Farm
not local, butter, oil, salt, pepper