Green Halloween Celebration Tips From The Philadelphia Zoo

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." ~ Humphrey Bogart

When Humphrey Bogart spoke these words in the classic movie Casablanca I don’t think he had this in mind, but I certainly thought it. After waiting in the never ending line for the ladies room at the Philadelphia Zoo last weekend (Women will understand the joy of that) I saw a pumpkin cut-out on the bathroom mirror.

I stopped in my tracks and paused to read. There were several on the mirrors with green Halloween celebration tips. Tips included using real plates and cutlery at your Halloween festivities to avoid dumping more trash into landfills and buying your children reusable bags to collect their Halloween loot in as they trick-or-treat.

The tip that caught my eye was the one that will be of the most interest to the loyal readers of the Philly Food Feed. The suggestion was to purchase fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables from your local CSA. A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture collective that you buy into. This “subscription” of sorts allows the buyer to support local farms while partaking in great locally grown produce. Click the link for more information about what a CSA is.

I enjoyed this tip the best for two reasons. The first reason is that I love what Ben is supporting here with regards to supporting local farmers while enjoying food that is fresh and tastes great to boot. The second reason that I like it is because I see the need to eat in a way that is not just ecologically conscious but also healthier. The idea of serving food from a CSA, or your local farmer’s market for that matter, is so ripe with benefits. While I am not hosting a get-together this year for my favorite holiday I am certainly filing away this idea for future use.

Check out the link for more green tips from the Philadelphia Zoo.

From Guest Blogger - Susan Anderson

Beast Feast at the Philadelphia Zoo...Even The Animals Eat Locally Grown Food!

Last weekend I visited the Philadelphia Zoo with my family to take part in the Boo at the Zoo events. While I watched my two year old toddling up to various sponsors to get her jack-o-lantern bucket filled with treats I had a chance to see first hand how the Philadelphia Zoo is doing their part to encourage the buy and eat locally grown food campaign that our blog master Ben writes about.

Every weekend in October the zoo has hosted an event called Beast Feast. From 10 A.M. until 4 P.M. visitors are treated to the sight of the various cute critters chowing down on great produce. As a part of the Zoo’s “Buy Local” conservation program the animals are treated to fresh tasty seasonal produce grown on local farms!


This shows one visitor capturing the prairie dogs thoroughly enjoying a great locally grown pumpkin. While I was there I saw many pumpkins being enjoyed by various Zoo animals.

This Saturday is the last day you can visit and see Beast Feast in person. I hope you take the time to go with your family and see this great scene of animals enjoying what we all should…great fresh food locally grown. Don’t worry, the Phillies Game won’t start until later so you’ll have plenty of time to visit. Just make sure you wear your red gear proudly!

Please click this link for the scheduled feeding times and locations.

Where: Philadelphia Zoo

Price: Included in admission

When: 10:00am Sat 10/31/09

Guest Blogger - Susan Anderson

Sometimes Vegetarian Cannibalism is Acceptable

GO PHILLIES!!!

Thank Goodness for a little Common Sense

Over some FDA concerns, "Smart Choices", a food industry group created program will voluntarily halt its nutrition labeling program due to FDA concerns that the labels could mislead consumers. Wow, really? You mean to tell me that Fruit Loops and Cracker Jacks, among other highly processed, sugar laden foods aren't a "smart choice" for nutrition?
This started in August, with nine major food industry leaders, including General Mills, Kraft, and Kellogs, placing green labels on certain foods indicating to consumers that the items bearing the labels were "smart choices" for consumers concerned about the nutritional value of the foods they were purchasing. From Huff Po:

Smart Choices stood behind its nutritional criteria, saying the program's criteria are based on federal dietary guidelines and its efforts are a step in the right direction. Board member Richard Kahn said the group supports the FDA's effort.
"The impetus for the Smart Choices program was that there were and are too many systems," he said. "We applaud the concept of having one system nationwide."

In other words, because Frosted Flakes contains three grams of fiber, the processed sugars can be disregarded. This is a dangerous program that needed to be halted. It's false advertising at it's worst. Read the full article at the Huffington Post. 

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/24/smart-choices-food-labeli_n_332477.html?view=print

The "Phillie" Food Feed

I feel that I need to reprint this homage Ben Wenk from Three Springs Fruit Farm paid to his produce and the fightin' Phils! I wish I could take credit for this one -


Market Produce

• Honeycrisp - Ryan Howard, 1B - Your 2009 NLCS MVP is as vital to the Phils as the Honeycrisp are to our apple stand.  They are our MVP and, like Ryan, are large in stature and come up clutch when you need an apple (or a timely three run HR in his case).
• Gala - Shane Victorino, CF - Danke, Shane!  What else do you want the guy to do?  Hit for average?  Hit for power?  A little speed on the basepaths?  Chase down balls in the gap?  Just a great all around, reliable player much like Gala are a great go-to eating apple
• Jonagold - Jayson Werth, RF - Huge season for Jayson, huge season for Jonagold.  This was Werth's best year statiscally and this is the best crop of Jonagold we've had.  They are large (see Werth, Jayson) and are a huge part of our apple cornucopia.
• Fuji - Cliff Lee, SP - Fuji came to us from Japan.  Cliff came to us from the Cleveland Indians.  On arrival, we marvelled at the sweetness of both!  What's more, whether you need eight shutout innings or crispness at room temperature for months after harvest, both Fuji and Cliff Lee can go the distance!
• Staymen/Winesap - Carlos Ruiz, C - CHOOCH!  There's something about a firm, tart apple that says "catcher" to me.  Plus, Ruiz has set records for run production from the eighth spot in the order.  Staymen also ripen late... eh?  Works for me!
• Cortland - Joe Blanton, P - Coming in at 250lbs in your media guide, Blanton is a pretty big guy serving a pretty big role in your playoff rotation.  Between Pedro, A.J., and Blanton, skipper Charlie Manual can hand pick which starter is best suited for which matchup.  These Cortland are also huge and versitile.  Make them your starting salad apple or bring 'em out of the pen for a tasty homemade apple sauce!
• Nittany - Pedro Feliz, 3B - It's easy to overlook Nittany, what with such delicious eating apples as Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, and Fuji already lining the shelves.  However, Gold Glove caliber defense and a few timely hits are not to be overlooked.  Coming from Golden lineage (Golden Delicious, parent variety), Nittany, like Pedro Feliz, is not to be overlooked.  Very vital part of any successful fruit stand/Championship baseball team.
• Mutsu - Jimmy Rollins, SS - "J Roll" comes up huge when you need him and is noted for his speed on the bases... and also a great baserunning in general, for that matter.  Mutsu comes off the tree huge every time!  They just don't produce small fruit!  And, due to their popularity, they're "going fast"!  Same thing, right?!
• Golden Delicious - Pedro Martinez, SP - There's this apple I know that is a delicious eating apple.  It's been around a long time - been successful for many years yet, oddly, some people still take it for granted.  They underestimate it because other versions of this apple are old and mushy.  Guess the Dodgers won't make the same mistake with Pedro Martinez again, hmm?
• Red Delicious - The Phanatic, mascot - Red Delicious are the same color as the Phillies uniforms.
• Empire - Charlie Manual, "skipper" - Why is it geniuses from Bristol, CT think that anyone who talks with a southern accent is stupid, crotchedy or both.  Charlie has led the Phillies to back to back National League pennants which hasn't happened since '95-'96!  Wonder what these same folks would have to say if Charlie defeated their darlings in "The Evil Empire"?  (Empire apples, while discovered and researched in New York, do not possess the same evil qualities as the presumed AL champion New York Yankees)
• Rome Beauty - Paul Bako, C - Only so good for a "snacko", but terrific apples with which to Bako.  (read:  Bake-o... I know it's pronounced differently, Paul is a former Oriole afterall!)
• Cameo - Ben Francisco, OF - Usually coming off the bench to start a rally from the pitcher's spot in the lineup, Francisco's cameo appearances can help the Phils start one of their legendary late inning rallies.  When we need to rally in late apple season, the Cameo make an appearance to match Staymen as a dessert quality tart eating apple.
• Bartlett Pears - Eric Bruntlett, IF - He swears up and down that these fruit are named after him, but I'm not buying it.  Remember that time he recorded an unassisted triple play?  That was pretty cool.
• Bosc Pears - Matt Stairs, OF/PH - In case of emergency, use Pears. 

Huffington Post at it again!

This past summer, Huffington Post has been asking for pictures of local farmers' markets, local food dishes from restaurants and now, they want pictures of your local food dishes. From the Post:

We know many of our readers are avid cooks and eaters, in honor of No Impact Week we want to see the photos of the local, organic seasonal, sustainable or homegrown food dishes you've made. Send us your best photos with mouth-watering descriptions!

So come on people! Get out to the farmers' market, get some ingredients and get your cameras out! 

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Please note time change)

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

An Abundance of Info from the Food Trust

Six of The Food Trust farmers' markets will be open on Wednesday, November 25th, for all of your holiday dinner shopping needs:

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue

Cliveden Farmers' Market
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue

Haddington Farmers' Market
52nd Street and Haverford Avenue

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets

But if you plan to gobble-gobble up a local Thanksgiving feast this year, now is the time to place your advance orders with many of your farmers' market favorites.

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How cool is it that these markets will be open the day before Thanksgiving? Get some food, then get drunk. RIGHT ON!
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Turkey

Griggstown Quail Farm
Taking orders: At Sunday Headhouse or online
Pick up: At Headhouse, Wednesday, November 25th

Mountain View Poultry
Taking orders: At Sunday Headhouse or 267-230-4952
Pick up: At Headhouse, Wednesday, November 25th
 
Country Meadow Farms
Taking orders: At Fairmount and Thursday Clark Park or 717-786-7761
Pick up: Fairmount and Clark Park, Wednesday, November 25th

Breads

Ric's Bread
Items include: Cornbread, cinnamon swirl bread and other breads
Taking orders: Sunday Headhouse
Pick up: Headhouse, Sunday, November 22nd

Desserts

Betty's Tasty Buttons
Items include: Maple pie and squash blossom cupcakes
Taking orders: At Saturday Clark Park and Sunday Headhouse or 215-735-9060
Pick up: Headhouse and Clark Park, Wednesday, November 25th

Big Sky Bread
Items include: Pies (Plus: stuffing mix!)
Taking orders: At Thursday Clark Park and online
Pick up: Clark Park, Wednesday, November 25th

Griggstown Quail Farm
Items include: Pies and baked apples
Taking orders: At Sunday Headhouse or online
Pick up: At Headhouse, Wednesday, November 25th

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Gold Rush rush  Stake your claim to a share of North Star's harvest of amazing Gold Rush apples and varietal Gold Rush apple cider.  Gold Rush are sugary-tart, super-crisp, and make for amazing eating as well as prize-winning pies and sauce.  But North Star's Gold Rush apples and cider are available only by online pre-order. Pick up on specific dates at Clark Park and Headhouse.

It Just Comes Naturally

I have been remiss in my blogging as of late. What can I say? As John Lennon once said - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". Now with that being said, I could be posting more if I wasn't so used to living local. Huh? What does that mean? Well, it's like this. Pretty much every week my wife and I go to the farmers' market to buy produce and such for the upcoming week. Then, we have meals that, for the most part, include just the ingredients that we purchased from the market. Local, organic or near organic ingredients. I used to post about this all the time but now it's like part of our lives to the point where it's the norm. It would be more atypical not to eat that way. It's like, we're not even trying. Let me explain. I'm sitting here and saying to myself - I really should be writing something. I haven't really had an original post in a while and I'm racking my brain to come up with something. And then I'm like - "wait a minute, last night's dinner!"

Last night we had meatloaf. But it wasn't just any meatloaf. The meat was pastured and local from Natural Meadow's Farm. So were the two eggs I used in it. The parsley I minced and added was from Weaver's Way Co-op. I made mashed potatoes too. Those potatoes were purchased at the Headhouse Farmers' Market. I also steamed broccoli for a side dish. That broccoli came from Weaver's Way as well. I was feeling adventurous and I had a butternut squash purchased from the Headhouse Farmers' Market. I found an awesome recipe for it on All Recipes.Com submitted by Anita Bukowski, which I will share here. Even some of the ingredients in that dish were purchased from Weaver's Way.

As I said before, eating like this isn't unusual for my family anymore. We aren't rich (not by a looooooooooooong shot), but we are eating better, healthier, more environmentally sustainably, and with MORE TASTE. And it's the norm. Right now I have a chicken soup cooking downstairs with at least 75% of the ingredients being local. I used to think about it, but now it just comes naturally...no pun intended!

Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

	In a large bowl, combine the parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat.
	Transfer to an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market (Closed - THIS WEEK ONLY)
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

IRELAND GOES NON-GMO!

From the Official Site of the Institute for Responsible Technology:

DUBLIN — The Irish Government will ban the cultivation of all GM crops and introduce a voluntary GM-free label for food – including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy produce made without the use of GM animal feed.

The policy was adopted as part of the Renewed Programme for Government agreed between the two coalition partners, the centre-right Fianna Faíl and the Green Party, after the latter voted to support it on Saturday.

The agreement specifies that the Government will “Declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants”. The official text also states “To optimise Ireland’s competitive advantage as a GM-Free country, we will introduce a voluntary GM-Free logo for use in all relevant product labelling and advertising, similar to a scheme recently introduced in Germany.”

Back to Messages Edit Subscriptions

 

GM-free Ireland Network press release, 13 October 2009
http://www.gmfreeireland.org/press/GMFI45.pdf
 

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Schuylkill River Park Farmers' Market
25th and Spruce streets
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“How is food safety not the ultimate issue?”

I would be remiss if I didn't highlight an article written for Sunday's New York Times discussing the piss poor regulation of America's beef industry and it's effects on one woman who, after eating a tainted e.coli burger, is now paralyzed from the waist down. From what this article professes, it's as if you are practically taking your life in your hands if you want to eat ground beef in this country (unless you know the person who is raising the cows). Furthermore, even if you aren't eating an e.coli sandwich, you certainly aren't getting the "chef's choice". From the Times:

The frozen hamburgers...which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria.

Mmmmm...yummy! Nothing like fatty trimmings flavored with ammonia. I wonder what Chef is selecting these anyway? Chef Mengele? Anyway, what's even more galling is that these companies, the producers, the grinders, and so on, seemingly have no regulation. And what little regulation there is has no teeth. Read on:

“The meat industry treats much of its practices and the ingredients in ground beef as trade secrets. While the Department of Agriculture has inspectors posted in plants and has access to production records, it also guards those secrets. Federal records released by the department through the Freedom of Information Act blacked out details of Cargill’s grinding operation that could be learned only through copies of the documents obtained from other sources. Those documents illustrate the restrained approach to enforcement by a department whose missions include ensuring meat safety and promoting agriculture markets...In August 2008, the U.S.D.A. issued a draft guideline again urging, but not ordering, processors to test ingredients before grinding. “Optimally, every production lot should be sampled and tested before leaving the supplier and again before use at the receiver,” the draft guideline said. But the department received critical comments on the guideline, which has not been made official. Industry officials said that the cost of testing could unfairly burden small processors and that slaughterhouses already test. In an October 2008 letter to the department, the American Association of Meat Processors said the proposed guideline departed from U.S.D.A.’s strategy of allowing companies to devise their own safety programs, “thus returning to more of the agency’s ‘command and control’ mind-set.”

Urging, but not ordering. What a relief. Read on if you can:

Unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies. Slaughterhouses fear that one grinder’s discovery of E. coli will set off a recall of ingredients they sold to others...“The food safety officer at American Foodservice, which grinds 365 million pounds of hamburger a year, said it stopped testing trimmings a decade ago because of resistance from slaughterhouses. “They would not sell to us,” said Timothy P. Biela, the officer. “If I test and it’s positive, I put them in a regulatory situation. One, I have to tell the government, and two, the government will trace it back to them. So we don’t do that.”

So there you have it folks. Unreal. This is the food that we feed our children. Did I mention that the young lady who is now paralyzed from the waist down was a children's dance instructor? Nice. I have a good idea people. Go buy some pastured meat from a local producer. Sure, it may be five dollars a pound but take an Economics lesson. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
 

Speaking of Apples...

This recipe came to me via the North Star Orchards e-mail newsletter. Sounds delicious! I think after I re-up on apples this week, I'm going to give it a try. If anybody else out there in Philly Food Feed land tries this, or any other recipe using local ingredients, post here and let us know!

Breakfast Apple Cobbler
Serves 6-8

8 medium apples, cored and sliced
¼ c. sugar
Dash of cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
2 cups granola

Combine ingredients in slow cooker
Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours (while you sleep!), or on high for 2-3 hours (after you're up in the morning!)

The Sublime Honeycrisp Apple

I just want to take this opportunity to pay homage to what the New York Times called "the iPod of apples", the jewel of the fall farmers' market - the honeycrisp apple.Whether I am chopping them up and mixing them in my oatmeal (yes, that's what I do every morning. Give it a shot), or my wife is using them for apple crisp, this apple's virtually equal amounts of sweetness and tartness delight our taste buds. We pick ours up at the Three Springs Fruit Farm at the Headhouse Farmers' Market in Philadelphia and I look forward to it every weekend. If you have never had one, I'm telling you, you need to get off your ass and get to the farmers' market. And...GREAT NEWS!!! This apple has an unusually long shelf-life so get a bunch and enjoy them for at least two to four weeks at the bottom of your fridge.