Famers' Market Season So Far

I don't write much now as I work managing markets and have no time at this time of year. That's great for getting awesome food at markets but not so great for blog writing. Here are some photos of what's been going on so far this season -

Bok Choy from Taproot Farm

Various Treats from Green Aisle Grocery 

Asparagus from Rineer Family Farms

Cherries from Beechwood Orchards

Savoy Cabbage from Rambling Roots Farm

Blueberries from Beechwood Orchard

Tomatoes from Beechwood Orchards

Beets from Rambling Roots Farm

Peaches from Hands on the Earth Orchard

More Treats from Green Aisle Grocery 

Radishes from Rambling Roots Farm

Lettuce from Rambling Roots Farm

Heirloom Tomato from Rineer Family Farm 

Summer Squash from Z Food Farm

Rhubarb from Rineer Family Farm

A Rittenhouse Special

We came across ramps at the Rittenhouse Farmers' Market this past Saturday brought to us fresh by Down Home Acres out of Gilbertsville, PA. Since we already had purchased three bunches of asparagus from Rineer Family Farm on the other side of the market, we decided that we wanted to do something with asparagus and ramps together.

For those who are unfamiliar with ramps or have never had them, a ramp, which is sometimes referred to as a wild leek, is a wild onion native to North America. Although resembling a scallion, the beautiful flat, broad leaves signify the difference. The flavor and smell of ramps is a combination of onions and garlic so if you like those two aromatics, you'll love ramps.

We found a recipe online that incorporated the two along with a fried egg and multi-grain bread. We went with this recipe from Eats Well With Others because we had all of the main ingredients as proceeds from our Rittenhouse haul. How neat it would be to make the recipe with everything from one market. At least we thought it was neat...that's how we are here. 

Asparagus and Egg from Rineer Family Farm, Ramps from Down Home Acres, and a Yards Multi-Grain ESA Bread from Wild Flour Bakery - I call it a Rittenhouse Special

A Legend in Their Own Lunchtime

It has been some time since I have updated this blog. While I have been busy managing the Rittenhouse Farmers' Market and getting the Far Northeast's first Farmers' Market off the ground, there really is no excuse. I'm just a lazy locavore.

Last year Chef Andy Bates visited Philadelphia from across the pond and highlighted Philadelphia's local street food scene for an episode of his Food Network UK series - Andy Bates American Street Feasts. This episode, "Philadelphia - A Legend in Their Own Lunchtime", features many of our favorite local farmers and vendors including: Lucky Old Souls, Zea May's Kitchen, Weavers Way Farms and Sorbello Girls (at the Mt. Airy Village Farmers' Market) and even yours truly makes an appearance, albeit a brief one (16:15 if you are interested). Up until now, you could only view this in the UK so we called and got a DVD sent over.

Enjoy and tell us if you spot any of your friends!

The Chestnut Hill Growers Market - A Photo Exposé

Some of the bounty from Landisdale Farm 

Landisdale Farm Sweet Potatoes 

Kirby Cucumbers from Rineer Family Farms

Green Beans from Rineer Family Farms

Even more from the Rineer market table. 

Greens Galore from Taproot Farm 

Beets to the beat of the band from Taproot

Taproot Dandelions 

Taproot Peppers

Taproot Hebs

Another view of Taproot's table

Ravishing Radicchio

Fall is here

George from Taproot shows off some colossal Collards

Fresh & Local Fair Returns to Weavers Way Co-op Chestnut Hill, Saturday May 19

On Saturday, May 19, Weavers Way Co-op and their local vendors and farmers will celebrate the local growing season with our second annual Fresh & Local Fair, from noon to 4 p.m., in the backyard of Weavers Way Chestnut Hill, 8424 Germantown Avenue. In addition to Weavers Way Farms, we will have product samples and demos from: Iron Hill Brewery; Calkins Creamery; Moshe’s; Chung’s Sushi; Koch’s Deli; Bobbies Hummus; John & Kira’s Chocolates; Reanimator Coffee; Sun & Earth; My House Bakery; Real Pickles; Martin’s Sausage; D’Artagnan, and Philly Cow Share. Come by and enjoy some live music, sample lots of locally grown and prepared foods, and meet some of Weavers Way’s Farmers at this fun-filled event.

The Markets Are Back!!!

As you can probably tell by the lack of posts, the winter was boring and without much local fare to speak of. I guess I can't say it was boring. Plenty of things have happened to me over the winter, and I will insert them into posts as they become relevant. I know you will be waiting with baited breath and rightly so. For instance, take that picture up there, the radishes...the total access I have to them or some just like them can now only be described as unfettered. Five to seven days a week unfettered. So if you are into stuff like that, then I had a really good winter.

Enough about winter though, it's May and this past weekend the Feed stopped by two of Philadelphia's premiere farmers' markets to bask in the glory of all things local. On Saturday we visited the Chestnut Hill Growers' Market and on Sunday we made it out to the Headhouse Farmers' Market, the crown jewel of the Philly farmers' market scene. At both spots we saw more than a couple of old friends, met some new ones and came away with some of the freshest local bounty you can buy in Philadelphia. We also came away full which, lets face it, is pretty much the point. 

The aforementioned radishes are only some of the offerings we found at Chestnut Hill. They came courtesy of Taproot Farm out of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The fragrance which wafted from their farm stand as you passed by drew you in (I think the heirloom tomato plants were the culprit), and the vestiges of their vegetables kept you at bay while you decided how much of your current and future earnings you are going to deposit here. Makes me happy I have two jobs but a little unhappy that I don't have any more room in the raised bed for those heirloom tomato plants.


Taproot wasn't the only farm flexing farmer muscle. This army below marched in from the Rineer Family Farm which " is nestled in the rolling hills of southern Lancaster County along the banks of the Pequea Creek" (from their site). What a description...picturesque, really. You can almost hear the birds chirping, and see the creek cascading through the valley as you wolf down half the quart in the car on the way home. 

  

Remember when I said we came away full? This market also comes equipped with a food truck that if you have not heard about yet, you will. Well, of course you will because I'm going to write about it now but even if I wasn't, you would be hearing about them anyway. With burgers like what I had on Saturday, Lucky Old Souls will be on the tip of everyone's tongue from Mt. Airy to Society Hill (of course this is in part because they were at Headhouse this Sunday, but that doesn't detract from the food). 

Everything at Lucky Old Souls is housemade. Everything. The burgers? Of course, housemade. The bacon? Housemade. The ketchup? The mayo? Their L.O.S. sauce? Housemade. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a rubber tree in their back yard which they harvest for their truck tires. The ingredients are pretty much all local and the ground meat is grass-fed (from Rineer Farm - keeping it in the market - BOOYAH!). I got a burger with habenero cheese, fried onions and ketchup. The taste of yum still lingers and the only problem was I needed about three more. Glad I'm coming next week. 

There is much more to talk about regarding this market and I could go on, but there is a 100% guarantee that I will be returning and it's a long season. Trust me, everyone here will get their due and rightfully so. This is a great market.

Speaking of great markets, Sunday was kick-off day for the Headhouse and I needed to say hello to my friends from the Food Trust and farmers I have been frequenting for over three years now. Market manager Katy Wich was happy with the opening but thought that the crowd could have been a bit better. Considering that many of the healthy patrons who would normally frequent the market were running down Broad Street on Sunday, a smaller than expected crowd can be tolerated. However, those who didn't show up missed some beautiful beautiful food. Rather than bastardize the bounty with words, here is a small photo expose':

    

So there you have it. We are looking forward to an exciting season and hope you plan to enjoy it with us here at the Feed. If you have any suggestions for places to visit or recipes or anything at all, leave us a comment or shoot us an e-mail. See you at the market

Blueberry Pumpkin Muffins

I mentioned the other day how much my family loves pumpkins and how we have been using the proceeds of Fall's pumpkin bounty to make baked goods galore throughout these not-so-cold winter months. We found one of our favorite recipes on Allrecipes.Com and have tweaked it enough to make it a super healthy snack for the Philly Food Feed Family - Blueberry and Pumpkin Muffins. When I first found this recipe my wife thought it would be an odd combination but since we became blueberry freezing fanatics over the summer, we have an abundance of the blue buggers. I just typed in pumpkin and blueberry into Google and the first recipe that came up has been what we have been going with. I substituted part of the flour with wheat germ and add flax meal as well. Antioxidants (blueberries/flax), Fiber (pretty much all of the dry ingredients, and Beta Carotene (from the pumpkin) makes this recipe healthy as well as delicious. Here is the recipe we have been using - Enjoy!

1/4 Cup of Wheat Germ
1/2 Cup of All Purpose White Flour
3/4 Cup of Quick Cooking Oates
1/3 Cup of Flax Meal
1/2 Cup of White Sugar
2 tsp. of Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. of Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Cup of Pureed Pumpkin
1/2 Cup of Milk
1 Egg
1/4 Cup of Butter, melted
3/4 Cup of Blueberries

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2.Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl until evenly blended.
3.In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, egg, and butter.
4.Gradually stir in the flour mixture, just until all ingredients are moistened.
5.Fold in the blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling to the top.
6.Bake in preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.

If you make this, please let us know. If you take a picture, even better!