Headhouse and a New Spot for the Feed!

Wow, has it actually been a week since I posted anything here? Holy man, I need to be a bit more diligent around here. We are entering into peak season here for local food! As Ben Wenk states on his blog at Three Springs Fruit Farm:

If you're a locavore who goes out of his or her way to eat seasonally, then, all jokes aside, this really is the most wonderful time of the year! Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Peaches, Apples, Pears, Onions... Potatoes and Cider right around the corner... this is when so many of the things we all enjoy eating - things whose qualities are only best enjoyed in season... all of these things are ripe and in prime production!

So there you go. While I may have been remiss in my lack of posting, the Feed did make two market trips this weekend (We are counting Monday since Sarah took off for my birthday. My birthday was actually Friday, but I am sort of like Lincoln; I get a whole weekend. I think banks might have been closed. I digress…). On Sunday, we made out weekly appearance at the Headhouse Farmers’ Market in Philadelphia proper.

I had a discussion with Tom over at Blooming Glen Farm about heirloom tomatoes. I recently read The 64 Tomato by William Alexander. Tomato is one man’s existential journey through his gardening. I recommend it. Anyway, Alexander’s tomato is none other than the heirloom Brandywine tomato. I wanted to purchase said tomato and elicited Tom’s help in identifying and picking the best ones. There was also an almost neon green tomato in the bunch that intrigued me. Tom identified it as a Green Giant. I bought a couple of the Brandywines and a Green Giant. I used one Brandywine and a Green Giant for a Bruschetta I made. Both tomatoes were flavorful, my poor excuse for a Bruschetta not withstanding. Regardless of any kitchen bungles, being able to speak to the person who grew my tomato and him actually being able to tell me something about what I am eating rules. One time I asked a guy in the Acme where some tomatoes came from and he told me they were organic. Awesome.

I had to see Ben Wenk over at Three Springs. His description of the season’s bounty needed to be verified. I can now verify. Coming away with only pounds of Crestview Peaches and Gingergold Apples belies that there wasn’t a huge selection. It is only my budget that stopped me from purchasing heirloom tomatoes, yellow Bartlett pears, blackberries and a capital ETC. of other delectable delights. Incidentally, I had one of those Crestviews today and the juice ran down my arm. Nice.

On Monday, it was such a nice day, Sarah and I decided to take Ethan sightseeing around Delaware County. During this trip, we stumbled upon Pete’s Produce Farm. Nestled in Westtown, Pennsylvania, Pete’s Farm Stand is a locavore’s dream. Aisle after aisle of fruits and vegetables, 9 times out of ten labeled “grown here” “or “local”; they even had their own line of dressings, jams, ketchup…just tons of stuff. Pete’s takes their local pedigree seriously; they had literature on the walls detailing carbon footprints among other educational material pertaining to local produce. They even had free Buy Fresh, Buy Local bumper stickers…gratis. It will be much easier to spot my Camry in Wegmans' parking lot now, that’s for sure. And by the way, when you make your way to Pete’s, don’t forget to pick up some Natural By Nature, Certified Organic, Grass Fed, Cow’s Milk. Turns out, Natural By Nature is right out of West Grove, Pennsylvania and they have a full line of Certified Organic, Grass Fed, dairy products! They have a retail store in Avondale and I think soon Sarah, Ethan, and I will be taking a trip!