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.