Three Springs Fruit Farm Announces Market Schedule

Ah, the beginning of spring. The birds in my backyard resemble some sort of avian retreat with their variety and by their shear amount. I looked out the window in the baby's room which faces our yard and saw five blue jays in one of the trees. Yes, we have three trees in our yard. Actually four if you count the side yard. My wife and I are avid bird enthusiasts, so we went and bought a feeder and Sarah got up on a ladder and hung it. Perhaps the feed we bought is sub-par or word-of-beak just hasn't translated into increased wing traffic because the feeder has been hanging, untouched, since Saturday...sans one Finch I saw there today. What does any of this have to do with the title of this blog? Not much except that when you start to hear the birds and the weather starts to get a little warmer and you walk out with a coat and end up sweating in it, you know that Farmers' Market season is just around the corner. And baseball. Anyway, speaking of the upcoming Market season (see that segue?) our friends from Three Springs Fruit Farm have announced this year's upcoming schedule. In case you are new to this blog, Three Springs is this bloggers favorite place to buy fruit for the family from during the market season. Sarah, Ethan, and I dined heavily on their donut peaches, pears, white peaches, and HONEYCRISP APPLES last year and we are counting the minutes...and  hooray, they are going to be at the Piazza at Schmidt's this season on Saturday as well as at the Headhouse on Sundays. Awesome. Here is a link to Ben Wenk's blog post. Enjoy!

Japanese Sweet Potatoes Get the Most Important Seal of Approval!

Last week I mentioned that we picked up some Japanese Sweet Potatoes from Landisdale Farms at the Piazza. Tonight I mashed them up and tested them on the most important critic - my son Ethan. Sarah peeled them and we boiled them up until they were soft. I used 5 little to medium potatoes. Unlike sweet potatoes I am accustomed to, the flesh of these were white to yellow. After I mashed them up, I added a tablespoon of butter and a half of a cup of milk. I thought they were delicious. They were sweet but more subtle than the sweet potatoes I am used to. Ethan went to town! I took some pictures to mark the occasion. He looks pretty satisfied to me, and Ethan is a finicky eater! These potatoes definitely have a place at our table from now on.

From The Consumerist...

Where is the socialist outcry? The government controlling the means of production to the detriment of the American Public.

Another Visit to the Piazza

Last Saturday we paid another visit to the Piazza at Schmidt's in order to procure some late winter fare from those fantastic farmers' market denizens brave enough and committed enough to sate us local food lovers through the cold months. I am walking pretty well lately and it's been too long since I have hobnobbed with fellow Philadelphia foodies. I'm really glad I made the trip, as usual.
This time around we met Dan from Landisdale Farms. We picked up some Japanese Sweet Potatoes which we have not tried yet but are eager to. Dan described them as a little dryer than the American version we are used to. After we try them, I'll be sure to let you all know.

No trip to the market would be complete without a visit with Mark Skinner from Natural Meadows Farm. This week we picked up 4 lbs of pastured ground meat and two dozen pastured eggs. My sister and her boyfriend were over for a weekend visit and I wanted them to try the eggs that my family has been enjoying ever since we first met Mark at the Headhouse last year. On Sunday morning I made the house an egg breakfast with these babies, adorned with some baby bella mushrooms from Highland Orchards, another Piazza favorite. The flavor of these mushrooms was so rich and the eggs so good. It was better than Shoney's at my house. I think I will be having house guests more often. This market is every weekend on Saturdays from 10-2. If you dig on local and organic foods and find them in short supply during the cold months, this place is for you.