Winter Harvest Part 1

Hello reader! This post got long, so I'm breaking it into two parts. Because let's be honest, no one spends more than 5 minutes on a webpage...unless it's facebook, of course.

So it's almost spring, but there are still days in Philly when I could wear my winter jacket. And although my agricultural knowledge is sparse, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to see a single local berry, cucumber, tomato, or peach anytime soon. The picture below is my illustration of winter time. Does it work for you?


Stereotypically, winter harvest is SUPER un-sexy. Let's see... would you like some roots yanked out of the ground or some tough leafy greens that make squeaky rubber sounds when you chew? Well, I'm telling you that this is just the stereotype, and not the truth! Winter foods can actually be quite exotic and enticing. Don't roll your eyes. I saw that.

Below is a "blue potato". Can you believe that it's purple on the inside?!

I used it in this big, chunky soup and it carried a wonderful flavor. This soup also featured some heady carrots. I do solemnly swear never to eat another baby carrot again. Seriously, they're always slimey, too hard, require some sort of ranch dressing... and you know what? They're not really baby carrots... they're just shaped like that by a machine. Screw that. Check out these colorful, tender, non-slimey carrots below:



Next up, the little sweet potato. So, I've done an informal survey, and I've found a strange pattern. Most girls are crazy about sweet potatoes, but most dudes just could care less about the tater. So, for all the chicks out there... here are some sweet potatoes roasted with olive oil, garlic, fennel and cumin. This is the easiest thing in the world to make: just slice the potatoes, sprinkle your spice of choice on top, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake at 350 in a toaster oven (if it fits) for about 45 mins. Sorry dudes, you're missing out.

There's a lot of reasons why eating local, seasonal food is really good for you and area in which you live. And I try to support that. (I DO sometimes cheat and get citrus fruits, because let's face it, PA is just never going to grow a grapefruit. But Texas and California will be exporting them all year round.)

Anyway, I recommend trying the seasonal produce, but make sure it's from a local farm. Buying a super-sized potato from the supermarket WILL taste like nothing (without oodles of butter/sour cream/etc.) But try a small, sexy potato from the farmers' market, and I think you'll be surprised.
Next time: the squash and kale.

The Great Apple Sauce Give-Away

(See bottom to win a free jar)

Howdy. I attempted to make apple jelly. So I bought a bunch of apples. About 12 apples. I ate half of them the following week, had to buy more apples the next weekend, and then started making jelly. I used York apples (on right) and Fuji apples (left). I bought them from the Fair Food Philly stand in Reading Terminal Market. (read: from a local farm)

I cut up the apples. I ate some of the cores. Bonus!

Then I grated the peel of an orange, and measured out a teaspoon of cinnamon and about 8 cloves. Then I put them on this shiny metal hexagon for your viewing pleasure.

Well, in order to make apple jelly, you have to make apple juice first. So I put the apples and spices all in a big pot with some water, and boiled the apples until they were soft and floating in juice. Then I turned off the heat, and ran an errand. But when I came back, something wasn't quite right.

I mashed it around in a strainer for a bit, watching little drops of juice fall into a pan. And as I mashed, it dawned on me that it looked a lot like apple sauce.

Donde esta 'apple juice'?

Hey, life is full of unexpected surprises. I wanted some jelly for my toast, but there was no going back at this point. I guess when life gives you apple sauce, can it!

So I did.

Free give-away: See that little tiny jar on the right? I want to share with you how awesome local, fresh produce can taste without any additives other than some spices. I am willing to send to one lucky person -free of any costs or commitments whatsoever- this oops baby jar of applesauce. It's safely preserved through the canning process, so it can be shipped with no worries about spoilage.

I'll send it to the person who can find the funniest Google search auto fill-in phrase that begins with common words like "and" "if" "how", etc. Submit your entry by posting the link to your search in the comments section below.

For example, I typed "if you want t" in the google search bar.... and one of google's suggestions was this Ready? Go!

The Best Apple I Ever Ate

Dear readers,

The other week, I had the best apple of my life. Up until this point, the apple I ate at 13,000 ft on Mt. Beirdstadt was the best. Now, it falls to second.

It was a bright, cold Saturday afternoon. I careened through the January slush to my favorite farmer's market, the one at Clark Park. The farmer's were still there, stamping their feet and warming their hands . Kudos, farmers. (Some of you may be thinking, 'uh, stupid, farmers - that's why we invented "the store" and "the HVAC system".' I suppose one could debate about the validity of creature comforts for awhile.) Anyway, I knew I didn't have much cash so I skipped straight for the apple table. Picked out three 'York' apples - my favorite of the season- and put them on the scale to pay. Shoved my hand in my pocket for some dollar bills. Nope, not in that pocket. In my bag? Nope. Wait, I could've sworn I put that $7 in my pocket. I left my wallet at home. Ugh, what? No money, really?

I looked up at the Amish woman behind the scale to apologize and express my disappointment. In her genial Pennsylvania Dutch accent, she says, "oh, go on an take 'em anyway." My eyebrows shot up. I protested meekly. She insisted, "It's only three apples, anyway."

I thanked her energetically and hurried off with my treasures. Three free apples! Three free delicious organic local apples.

Now picture this scenario: You're in the checkout lane of Acme, SuperFresh, Kroger, Whole Foods... you're fumbling for your money. You look desperate. "Can I please just take these apples? I was really hoping to buy these apples today, but I forgot my money. Please." Now picture the look on the cashier's face.

These apples weren't good just because they were free. They were good because I figure that woman has something to do with the picking of the apples, and she has much more authority to decide if giving away some free apples is okay. Compare her to the cashier who just knows the prices of food.. the cashier who works for the supermarket because they need a job... the supermarket that employes many many people who know relatively nothing about what they are selling.. the supermarket that orders produce through a computer system... some corporate point person has a relationship with the farmer no doubt, but it's probably only on paper. The link between the cashier and the apple is about as long the railway between Pennsylvania and California. While both the Amish farmers and the Supermarkets need to make a profit to stay alive, at least the farmer sells with some credibility.

All this aside, it was a gentle reminder that paying for the real cost of food (paying more for local and organic things) has its perks. Like getting free apples on Saturday morning.