Out of Hibernation

I'm watching the last inning of the Phillies game as I write this. They are a super, super team, of that there is no doubt. However, I would have liked to see them at least win two of three against the surging Atlanta Braves. Another division rival tomorrow in Florida against the Marlins. Ah, baseball chatter. Must be Spring...and Spring has certainly sprung for the The Philly Food Feed as we are back in blogging action for the 2011 farmers' market season. With the weather finally changing to bearable, the Food Feed family has been enjoying the kick-off of this year's farmers' market season at two of Philadelphia's premier markets - Clark Park Farmers' Market in West Philadelphia and the Headhouse Farmers' Market in Society Hill.

This season at the Food Feed we are offering those in the community the opportunity to contribute to this blog, whether it be an article, tip, recipe, picture, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that take awesome pictures of asparagus and would like a way to showcase them other than Facebook, or maybe you are a budding star of journalism looking to "make your bones". As you probably can tell from the use of food vernacular in the proceeding sentence, we only ask that your submission be food related and pertaining to the local food scene in the Philadelphia area, as well as pieces related to sustainable agriculture on the local and national level. We are gonna give this a shot. We already have added a correspondent this season! And his first "assignment" was the opening of Headhouse on the first Sunday in May. Stu Franks, rock star, movie maker, and now local food fancier was on the scene with his shopping list and video camera. Talk about commitment! I can barely remember the grocery bags and the baby when I go to Headhouse and more often then I want to admit, I end up forgetting the grocery bags. I would imagine that's better than the alternative. My wife would concur. Check out this interview Stu did with Ben Wenk of Three Springs Fruit Farm at last week's season opener at the Headhouse:

 

Moving on to West Philadelphia - Saturday marked the "unofficial" kick-off to the season at the Clark Park farmers' market although this market is open all year round. With the Spruce Hill May Fair going on right across the street and the return of Gina Humphreys of Urban Girls Produce, Fahnestock Fruit Farm, and the University City High School garden club to the farmers' market, foot traffic was at a level not seen since last summer. I asked Jon Glyn, Clark Park market manager and Food Trust stalwart about the turnout and his enthusiastic response said it all -  "As usual, the Spruce Hill May Fair was a wonderful, family-oriented event, full of great food and interesting music, local businesses and lots of sunshine and good cheer.  The turnout was amazing.  Everybody was in that spring mood.  Everybody was green and flowering inside."

I'm flowering inside just reading that. Lots of guys here flowering inside. I must be growing an entire garden in my stomach because after cooking what we bought from the purveyors at the park for Mother's Day, I look like I'm eating for two. Asparagus and Lettuce from Brogue Hydroponics, Onions and Potatoes and Eggs from Margerum's Herbs, Grass fed ground beef from Landisdale Farm...Mother's Day brunch and dinner at our house had a distinctive Clark Park flavor this year. For brunch, I made my lovely wife Sarah an egg bake with said Asparagus, Eggs, and Mushrooms which went over great. I will gladly include the recipe at the end of this post - I found it on the internet and made some adjustments per our personal tastes. It made enough that after brunch I was eating it cold for the rest of the day.  

We fired up the grill for Mother's Day Dinner and the aforementioned ground beef from Landisdale Farm did not disappoint. I made 12 burgers and I don't think there were any leftovers. We have a new grill with three burners which is awesome because I like my burgers mooing and my wife likes them char-broiled. Hers weren't as done as she would have liked but mine were spot-on. I guess I can't bring myself to scorch such delicious meat. There I go flowering again...

As promised, here is the recipe for the egg bake. Special thanks to the Perfect Pantry. Enjoy!

Asparagus Egg Bake

10 large eggs
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
10 asparagus spears, bottoms trimmed, sliced 1/8-inch thin
2 cups grated or shredded cheese
2 Tbsp light cream
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp Hungarian Paprika
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

Cooking spray (canola or olive oil)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

In a small frying pan, heat the oil, and add the onions and asparagus. Sauté until onions are translucent, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and set aside to cool for 2 minutes. Then, mix the onions and asparagus into the eggs along with all of the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.

Bake at 375F for 35 minutes, until the casserole is lightly browned and a bit puffy. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before eating.

(Can be made up to one day ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. To reheat, uncover and place in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes.)

Rabbit's Favorite Carrot Soup (And Maybe Yours Too)

Our son Ethan loves books. He is almost two and a half now and we have been taking him to the library to play in the kids section and to pick out books for us to take out and read to him at home. Anyway, we recently picked up a book for him called Carrot Soup, by John Segal. Essentially this Rabbit plants a carrot patch and patiently waits for it to grow so he can make his favorite dish, you guessed it, Carrot Soup. However, when he finally goes to pick the carrots for his soup, he finds they are all gone! I won't give away the ending, but suffices to say, its a children's book and the ending is a happy one. Ethan loves this book so
much that I think we have read it at least four times a day since we took it out. To anyone out there with a toddler, this book is a winner.

I bring this up here because on the very last page, Rabbit's recipe for Carrot Soup is listed. Now for those who frequent Margerum's Herbs, Etc. at Clark Park, you know that Noelle has the largest and most tastiest carrots in Philadelphia. Considering my easy access to these aforementioned carrots, of course we had to try Rabbit's recipe. The recipe is pretty basic and you can do whatever you want to it to suit your tastes, but in its most basic form I found it to be delicious. Sarah didn't though, which I think is more due to her personal tastes than anything wrong with the recipe. To test this hypothesis, I had my brother-in-law Stu and sister-in-law Emily give it a taste. Stu agreed with me that the soup was heavenly, but Emily wasn't so fond of it. Again, I chalked this up to her personal tastes (she is Sarah's sister...lol). Although it wasn't her bag, Emily gave me the most relevant criticism in that while it wasn't up her alley, it wasn't bad and it tasted like something she would have at a gourmet restaurant. Quite a rousing endorsement indeed. 

So here is the recipe. Give it a shot and let us know what you think. So far, its two and a half people for and one and a half against. And of course, if you need the carrots, see me on Saturday's at Margerum's Herbs at Clark Park. We shall see if there is any merit to Rabbit's recipe!

Rabbit's Favorite Carrot Soup -
2 Pounds of carrots - washed, peeled, and shredded
4 14-ounce cans chicken broth
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup of butter
salt and pepper to taste
5 sprigs of fresh dill or parsley, minced (or dried to taste)

1. Saute' the onion and celery in butter in a large covered pot until tender. Add the shredded carrots and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer with the pot covered for a half an hour.
3. Let cool slightly. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add dill or parsley (I used both). Serve. 

Happy New Year!

Better late than never right? I figured as long as I got this in before MLK day I would be okay. How is it going out there in Philly Food Feed land? Its pretty slow this time of year for farmers' markets, although there are a few that persevere through the winter time, one of which I work at. All are on Saturdays. 

Saturdays at Clark Park (10 am - 2 pm) - 

This is where you can find me on Saturdays. In fact, I was working there this past Saturday and it was cold. Really cold. Thank goodness we had a sunny day or else I was sure I was going to need a black top hat and a carrot nose. That would have been okay though because there were plenty of carrots to go 'round. 

Saturdays at the Piazza at Schmidt's (10 am - 2 pm) -

(From their site) - The Piazza Farmer’s Market is unmatched in size and variety with a contingent of more than 20 farmers. And—all of our farmers are one or more of the following: local, sustainably grown, ethically raised, free range, hormone free, pesticide free, organic, raw and/or grass fed. Products include vegetables and fruits, beef, raw milk, artisan cheeses, and heritage breed free range chicken eggs. Also featured are delicious prepared foods ready for shoppers to enjoy as they browse.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market (9am - 1 pm) - 

Located at 23rd and Pine in Philadelphia, this market runs the gambit with conventional and organic fruits, as well as meat, goat, dairy products, and baked goods. Yum. 

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market (10am - 2 pm) - 

Located at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, this market has a little bit of everything! Sustainable seafood, meat, vegetables, dairy products, mushrooms, chocolates...wow. If you have never made it out to this market, make it a point to check it out. 

Thanksgiving Eve at Clark Park

Some images from Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve. A chilly and windy day, but the farmers at Clark Park don't disappoint. Whether you needed turnips or parsnips, collard greens or blackeyed peas, or...well you get the point. We were there for ya!

                                                

Mukethe, our market manager,doesn't have time to pose for here adoring public

Lots to choose from...

Thanksgiving is Almost Here!

So Thursday is Thanksgiving, a day to celebrate all we are thankful for with a meal. There really is no better day to showcase local food than Thanksgiving and we here at the Feed are no exception. This year our table will have local broccoli, brussel sprouts, collard greens, carrots, onions, garlic, cranberry orange relish, fresh herbs, various potatoes and more. We love this holiday and might love the day after Thanksgiving even more; Black Friday is a day that has us lethargically loving leftovers. There isn't much to this post today, just anticipating our day of thanks, a regular locavorian luau.

Farmers' Market Marathon Mea Culpa

Yes we are still here! Wow, it has been a frightful long time since we at the Feed have posted anything on the blog. Let me tell you, it hasn't been from lack of thought, and it CERTAINLY hasn't been from lack of contact with the local foodshed. On the contrary, I am pretty much up to my potatoes with eyes...I mean up to my eyes with potatoes, apples, cabbage, turnips...the works. I have been working steady weekends with Noelle Margerum at Clark Park and the Headhouse and marketing the business via social networking during the week. I also started college again so I am doing that full time. And there is Ethan. So, needless to say, I didn't make it to all of the Farmers' Markets in the city this year. I am sorry to those who helped promote my failed quest but to them I say, there is always next year! I am learning much from my tutelage under Noelle, as well as other farmers, market managers, twitter friends who are in the scene. It has even given me an idea about starting some kind of marketing business for farmers coming to market who just don't have the time to spend social networking. So while you have not heard from us, it doesn't mean we have not been busy. So there you have it. So now the plugs -
Margerum's Herbs, Etc. Facebook
Margerum's on Twitter

Night Market A Rousing Success!!!

I mean, I don't have any official numbers or anything, but judging by the turnout (and the lines), I would deem the first Night Market Philadelphia a rousing success. You couldn't walk but two steps in any direction without finding someone trading a smile or eating or drinking or commiserating with a friend under the South Philly stars.