August 6 Share (Week 11)

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Butterhead Lettuce: Gehman Family Farm, Telford, PA
Basil: Flaim Farm, Vineland, NJ
Tomatoes: Sunny Harvest, Kirkwood, PA
Yellow Peaches: Three Springs Fruit Farm, Wenksville, PA
Spanish Eggplant: Flaim Farm, Vineland, NJ
Athena Canteloupe: Buzby Farm, Woodstown, NJ
Red Onion: Sunny Harvest, Kirkwood, PA
Fresh Pasta: Superior Pasta, South Philly, PA
Italian Table Loaf: A. Meyers Bread, Philly, PA
Fresh Mozzarella: Mancuso Cheese, South Philly, PA
Yogurt (2 6-oz): Pequea Valley Farm, Ronks, PA
Amish Butter: Hometown Provisions, Lancaster, PA

(the teacup of tomatoes are our little guys!)

This week Greensgrow held a Movie Night at the farm. Unfortunately it coincided with our summer vacation plane ride home. But I appreciate the recommendation. Next up on the "to-see" movie list: WHAT'S ORGANIC ABOUT "ORGANIC?"

"It's really important for us as citizens to understand the real cost of food. Add the environmental cost of the food, the production cost of the food... What the cost of the food is if all workers were in just and safe environments and if all animals in humane conditions."

New CSA Photos! - Week 11

Pine Street Garden Status 7/28

The tomatoes are starting to ripen. We picked small tomato varieties this year after sacrificing some fist sized beauties to the squirrels last season. The birds love to perch on our wire cones so here's hoping that they're not anticipating biting into their first juicy tomato of the season - just like us. Re: our tomatoes, the weird thing is that we planted two heirloom tomato starters this year and 4 tomato plants are coming up. Perennial tomato plants? Thanks Greensgrow. I think.
Check out our progress below. The tomato plants we actually planted are: Mini Charm and Elberta Peach. Our cucumber plant is an Armenian Cucumber variety. It's spreading like crazy but has only yielded one wrinkly, long, twisted, cucumber that seemed to grow overnight. And lastly we have a happy rainbow chard. Hopefully more to come!

Week 9 Results

Cucumber, Tomato, Onion and Feta Salad with Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil

Grilled Red and Golden Beets with Dill and Red Onion, Olive Oil and Vinegar

Eggplant Medallions with Herbed Tofu Ricotta Filling

Salt and drain the eggplant. Please don't forget to rinse eggplant before grilling or else it will be more salt than eggplant. Make vegan ricotta filing using recipe linked above.You can omit the additional basil and oregano if using herbed tofu. Place on bed of tomato sauce and cover with another layer. Bake at 375 for 20-ish minutes or until hot.

July 21 (Week 9)

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Organic Baby Spinach: Blue Moon Acres, Buckingham, PA
Dill: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Italian Eggplant: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Grape Tomatoes: John King, Kirkwood, PA
Nectarines: Beechwood Orchards, Biglerville, PA
Cucumbers: Lancaster County, PA

Aphrodite Cantaloupe: A.T. Buzby Farm, Woodstown, NJ
Yukon Gold Potatoes: Levi & Mary Stoltzfus, Christiana, PA
Cheese: Boltonfeta: Hidden Hills Dairy, Everett, PA (raw cow's milk)
Protein: Yogurt (2 6-oz): Pequea Valley Farm, Ronks, PA

Farmer Highlight:

Beechwood Orchards, Biglerville, PA

Beechwood Orchards is a fifth generation, family owned farm that has been operating in Adams County for over a century. Beechwood Orchards has always grown a large variety of tree fruits and has recently added more small fruits, vegetables, and herbs to diversify their crops and provide a larger selection for customers.

Week 7 Results

The Art of the Wedge:

Squash, carrot, garlic shoot stirfry with beet greens

Vegan sausage links, Corn on the cob, and Cilantro, tomato, and cheese toast

July 7 Share (Week 7)

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Baby Arugula, Baby Spinach, or Spring Mix: Blue Moon Acres, Buckingham, PA
Cilantro: Marolda Farm, Vineland, NJ
Peaches: Fifer Orchards, Camden-Wyoming, DE
Tomatoes: Viereck Farm, Swedesboro, NJ
Eggplant: Viereck Farm, Swedesboro, NJ
Sweet Corn: Fifer Orchards, Camden-Wyoming, DE
Red or Green Cabbage: Sunny Harvest, Lancaster, PA
Fresh Candy Onions: Sunny Harvest, Lancaster, PA
Cheese: Toma Primavera: Cherry Grove Farm, Lawrenceville, NJ
Protein: Seitan: Michael's Savory Seitan, Florence, NJ

Cherry Grove Farm - Check out these pics of Full Nettle Jack being made on their Facebook page. So that's how they do it!

Cherry Grove Farm

3200 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Hours : Mon - Sun: 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Cherry Grove Farm is a small diversified farm striving to produce fine farmstead cheese, meat and eggs using the most sustainable practices possible. We are a team of passionate farmers, chefs and family all working towards a common goal of amazing food. Farm Store Open Daily!
http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com

Week 5 results

Kirbies transformed to fresh dill pickles by slicing, adding pickling spices, dill, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup heated white vinegar

Buttered carrots, cubed firm tofu, and beet greens with toasted walnuts on top.

Chris likes to get in pictures.

Tart Cherry Syrup - Pits removed and thrown in the food processor for a few pulses. Simmer on stove (low heat) for 1/2 hour. Wisk in 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Once it cools, tart cherry jam! Voila.

June 23 Share (Week 5)

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Basil: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Organic Green or Red Russian Kale: Landisdale Farm, Jonestown, PA
Blueberries: Stoney Creek Farm, Hammonton, NJ
Sour Cherries: Beechwood Orchards, Biglerville, PA
Yellow or Green Squash: Cassaday Farm, Monroeville, NJ
Organic Candystripe or Gold Beets: Millwood Springs Organics or Sunrise Ridge Organics, Lancaster, PA
Carrots: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Cheese: Clover Creek Cheese Cellar, Williamsburg, PA (raw milk)
Protein: Yogurt (2 6-oz): Pequea Valley Farm, Ronks, PA

This Week's Cheese Producer: Clover Creek Cheese Cellar from Williamsburg, PA
Clover Creek Cheese Celler is part of Ojala Farm, a 126-acre family owned dairy farm in central Pennsylvania. Ojala boasts Grass-based raw milk, Artisan raw milk cheeses, and grass-based beef. Cows here are outside in the fresh air, eating grass and other fresh plants all summer; in the winter they eat hay and some grain. Clover Creek Cheese Cellar also sells grass-based beef and eggs from range-fed chickens.

"Our cheese is not another push button cheese." Here are their delicious cheese varieties: Galen's Good Old is a smooth, mild gouda-style; Royer Mountain is their Alpine-style variety, with a sharp, Romano-like flavor; Tussey Mountian is their take on nutty Emmenthal; their Cheddar is mild but bursting with flavor thanks to the special balance of fats and proteins from their mixed-breed herd; and Uncle Joe is a mild, washed-rind cheese washed with its namesake's homemade wine.

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.buylocalpa.org/

http://www.ourfarmersmarket.org

http://www.localharvest.org

Week 3 Results

I want to tell you about Twin Oaks Tofu. Their original and herbed flavor is the best I've had, in taste and consistency, and my Whole Foods now carries it. Did I mention I did my senior thesis paper on Twin Oaks? A cooperative and farm in central Virginia that believes in promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting local farmers.

They write:
“Twin OaksCommunity Foods is a worker-owned co-operative located on 400 acres in central Virginia. We have been in business producing quality Organic Extra-firm Tofu since 1991. Our co-operative began by providing easy-to-use meat alternatives to Charlottesville, Richmond and local vegetarian communities. Over the past decade, positive customer response has urged us to grow and we now provide organic soyfoods to an array of customers up and down the East Coast. We strive to provide premium soyfoods crafted using unbleached well water, organic non-GMO soybeans, and the highest quality organic herbs available. We play our part in supporting local agriculture by using only Virginia-grown soybeans, helping to reduce the use of fuel for transportation. The Twin Oaks Community Foods 30-person crew takes pride in making vegetarian products that are good for our families and yours.”

And they score "outstanding" on Cornucopia Institute's Soy Scorecard (great resource). Check it out

Results from this week:

Spinach salad with grilled beets, Twin Oaks herb tofu slices and crumbled feta

Beet greens, onions, garlic shoots, and shrimp stir-fry

June 9 Share (Week 3)

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Spring Mix: Blue Moon Acres, Buckingham, PA
Dill: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Pickles: Frank J. Fichera, Salem, NJ
Yellow Squash: Cassaday Farms, Monroeville, NJ
Carrots: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Beets: Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Organic Garlic Scapes: Life Enhancing Acres, Bird-in-Hand, PA
Wildflower Honey: Fruitwood Orchards, Monroeville, NJ
Cheese: Allegheny Chevre: Firefly Farms, Accident, MD (pasteurized)
Protein: Seitan: Michael's Savory Seitan, Florence, NJ


Life Enhancing Acres, Bird-in-Hand, PA. Doesn't that just sound like the idillic farm you'd want to take a trip to. Well it is, and you can, according to God Food: Farm Talk. Since a bunch of these small-scale rural Amish farmers have no website or contact information to speak of, I'm going to take her word for it AND take a field trip one of these days to see the happy pigs, sheep, cows, turkeys, horses, and their living conditions.
One thing I found very interesting is the CARE Program Life Enhancing Acres Farm is a part of. CARE is made up of 42 farmers and 5500 community members (as of 9/2010) and stands for Communities Alliance For Responsible Eco-Farming. Now that's something I could stand behind. These partnerships prove to me that more and more that community members are making a stand and that they don't want to get their apples from New Zealand- they want to support their community. The CARE program supports good farming practices through meetings, publications, mutual-inspections, etc. Maybe we can learn something from this.

Week 1 Results

Tried this recipe:
Lentil and Rhubarb Stew with Indian Spices
from The New York Times

(adapted slightly)
3 or 4 stalks rhubarb, strings removed, chopped
1 cup orange lentils, well washed
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 dried ancho or other mild chili, optional
Salt
Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger and heat, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except lentils, salt and cilantro and add 1 cup water and cook at a steady simmer for 10 minutes. Add rhubarb and continue cooking another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cloves and, if you like, cardamom pods. Add salt, then taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Other results from this week:

Fresh strawberry, blueberry and mango smoothie with unsweetened soy milk.

Strawberry pancakes

Grill stirfry with garlic shoots, carrots and balsamic-marinated portobella

Pine Street Flowers & Produce

Back Yard:

Front Yard: