West Chester Winter Market Days
By Margaret Gilmour
Saturday was a balmy 45 degrees, which made the very first West Chester Winter Market even better. Forget the gloves and the hat: I headed out with my family in a warm coat unzipped a bit, and my bundle of canvas bags swinging alongside of me.
I knew to get to the market before 10:00 a.m., just before the vendors finished spreading out their goods to offer up everything for sale. Because when the bounty isn’t so plentiful, and the selections limited, winter market is all about quickly sizing up who’s selling what, and making menus up as you go along.
Here, like at the Phoenxville Winter Market, you need to make your purchases first (while supplies last), then hang out and visit with locals later.
I was happy to see that even in January the market had many of the loyal farmers and artisans that show up every Saturday during the growing season. What made me even happier was seeing one of my favorites—-Windy Acres Produce—selling chemical-free arugula picked Friday morning, bags of spring mix, radishes, mini-carrots and a mountain of sweet potatoes.
Just across from their table Oley Valley Mushrooms set out a showy display of exotic mushrooms with the smoky grey oyster mushrooms casting a pearly center stage.
winter market is all about quickly sizing up who’s selling what, and making menus up as you go along
Right there I decided dinner would be roasted mushroom and leek soup. My favorite recipe comes from Stonewall Kitchen’s Harvest, my well-read, favorite eat-in-season cookbook.
So owner Angela Evans bagged one and half pounds of the organically grown crimini mushrooms for me as she explained how to cook the white and wavy lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)—also called pom pom or bear’s head.
I’ve never tried the lion’s mane, but Angela says to sauté them, unwashed, in a little butter, and that they taste a lot like lobster. Perhaps I’ll give them a try another time. (more…)
Winter Harvest Still Available
By Margaret Gilmour
I’m not crazy about the super-cold weather.
Fireplaces, mittens and warm boots help me get through the colder months (along with hot cider).
And there’s another guaranteed pick-me-up: A visit to one of the winter markets, where you can bundle up and fill your sack with local goods all season long.
Last year I bought a plentiful supply of carrots and potatoes from the Phoenixville Winter Market, along with Birchrun Blue Cheese (absolutely one of my favorites). The root vegetables remained fresh up until the last frost (the blue cheese, though—lasted about a week. Too good to save).
This year we have more options to buy fresh, local food and artisan goods. Especially in December, when it feels good to spread Holiday cheer as you shop, and by chance, bump into a neighbor or two.
Here’s where to go:
Lancaster Farm Fresh’s 4 Season Harvest Program:
Inverbrook Farm is now a drop-off site for Lancaster Farm Fresh’s, 4- Season Harvest Program.
Lancaster farm Fresh is a local farmer-run, organic growers cooperative serving all of Eastern Pennsylvania, New York City, and most of the tri-state area to connect the farmer and the customer.
The drop-off begins Tuesday, November 17th and continues each Tuesday at least through Christmas. After that, it all depends on the weather: snow problems or very, very cold temperatures can mess up the delivery.
There’s no limit to how many 4-Season Harvest members can join.
Sign up through Lancaster Farm Fresh. Preorder online before pick up. Also, at Inverbrook are fresh eggs, frozen chickens and, as long as they continue to grow—delicious greens.
Pick up: Tuesdays, from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. from the farm.
(Food and Artists)
Next Market dates: December, 12 & 19, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Check out their calendar for a list of vendors: Click here
Phoenixville Winter Markets
2nd & 4th Saturdays, January through April:
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Bridge St. & Taylor Alley
Behind Family Dollar, Phoenixville, PA
Plenty of goods available:
3rd Saturday of every month from December through April.
Next Market date: December 19, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Corner of Church and Chestnut Streets
One Local Summer | Pot Luck
By Leslie Kedash
This week I went to the market with no recipe in mind. A longtime fan of Patricia Wells, I’ve enjoyed her stories about shopping for food, (in France, of course…) and planning her evening meal around what was available then and there, fresh and local, real raw materials. Friday afternoon, after a(nother) long week, I hit the Kennett farmers market and looked for something simple, easy, and fast.
What I got was ingredients for roasted new potatoes, sliced tomato, garlic scapes (the aboveground part of the plant), salad with pea shoots, and hamburgers. Garlic scapes were an unknown to me and I put them in with the roasting potatoes for the last ten minutes. Nice mild garlic flavor with great texture, crusty baby potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Good and simple.
The hamburger came from Country Meadows, purveyor of grass fed beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, and fresh eggs. The Quarryville farm raises naturally, without all that questionable “stuff.” The livestock is routinely rotated to fresh pasture. The garlic scapes and pea shoots were grown at Inverbrook Farm, - as always, fresh and interesting.
I picked up 3 smoked, unadulterated beef marrow bones from K-9 Kraving. They went over rather well, as illustrated here… I’ve been subtly urged to fetch more.
R-P Nurseries Opens Willowdale Farmers’ Market
By Margaret Gilmour
On June 3rd the Willowdale Farmers’ Market wrapped-up it’s first day with seasonal bounty and hand-made wares available from a few nearby farmers and artisans.
“We’re starting small,” says R-P Nursery co-owner Kathy Pratt, who organized the farmers’ market with husband Richard. The nursery, in business since 1866, has been owned and operated by the same family for over 145 years.
The two travel each summer to Maine where they enjoy a farmers’ market in the center of town that sells local goods twice during the week. They wanted to bring the same experience close to home.
“We’ve been talking about opening a farmers’ market at the nursery for a long time,” Kathy Pratt says. “And Willowdale is a great location, in the hub between Unionville and Kennett.”
The market, open Wednesday and Sundays, is the latest addition to Chester County Farmers’ Markets. Now farm-fresh goods are available to us everyday of the week from markets spread throughout our region.
On its first day, four tents shaded the sellers, who were happily awaiting customers in a garden setting filled with plants and creative architectural structures, all for sale.
Featured goods included home-made jams and jellies, honey and soap. There was also home-spun, hand-dyed yarn.
Of course there was also plenty of fresh strawberries (I bought a pound), rhubarb and asparagus. One farmer had eggs on hand, along with a freezer full of free-range poultry.
Within the next couple of weeks Talula’s Table will add their gourmet foods to the mix of delicious eatables available for purchase.
Also included will be Northbrook Market selling their famed apple cider donuts, and there will be a table for Shellbark Hollow Farm’s tasty goat cheese (my first sample was from the Phoenixville Winter Market—and I can’t wait to go back for more.)
For now, small is just fine. I made my purchases while my son visited the nursery’s resident chickens and rooster who runs around managing his brood.
And of course there’s “Turkey Boy,” a colorful wild gobbler who, if you ask him nicely, will puff up his body and spread his tail feathers.
Actually, it sort of feels like being on a farm.
Willowdale Farmers’ Market
R-P Nurseries, 649 Unionville Rd
Wednesdays, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
12 of Our Favorite Eat In-Season Cookbooks
We love the just-opened farmers’ markets that give us local food in abundance.
So we’re celebrating the bounty with our favorite eat-local cookbooks.
Some of these books are filled with gorgeous images that’ll trigger your senses with spreads of seasonal fare you just can’t resist.
Then there are the cookbooks stuffed with great recipes and thoughts on cooking simply, but without the photoplay.
Chester County Farmers’ Markets: When & Where
By Margaret Gilmour
By the end of this week, almost all of Pennsylvania farmers’ markets are officially open.
Now we can finally celebrate the arrival of local, farm-fresh produce, eggs and meat, along with artisanal goods (Chocolate! Cheese! Honey!), and hand-made or just-picked luxuries (Soap! Flowers! Herbs!).
There is even an ample selection of thirst-quenchers available at the markets too (Wine! Coffee! Juice!), and baked goods that you can nibble on as you browse or carry home for later.
I love shopping outdoors, bumping into a neighbor or two, and meeting the farmers, growers and craftspeople to learn about the food or product I am about to enjoy.
In fact, there’s nothing better than fresh fare sold by the hands that made it.
With that in mind, here are the farmers’ markets we’re lucky to have close-by, open to us on varied days and times. (more…)
A Taste of Summer Vinaigrette
By Margaret Gilmour
With warm days ahead, simple salads that include crisp, local greens in all varieties can become a healthy, one-dish meal.
We believe that you should select your lettuce as you would design your garden bed: use interesting textures, play with combinations, but nothing you place should overwhelm the others.
Then, after focusing on the leaves, the other main ingredient becomes the dressing.
Leslie has tried many combinations, ultimately creating a dressing she loves and uses almost nightly in the summertime.
So, I thought I’d give her thoughtfully seasoned vinaigrette a try, reviewing it for you to let you know what I think. After all, my main staple is salad, so I can be, at times, a merciless critic.
Leslie presented me with a large, wide bowl tossed with Belgian endive, Bibb lettuce, arugula, and watercress, all just-kissed with her vinaigrette.
I chose a small plate for my tasting, and sat alongside a round cutting board imparting a few black olives, some crusty bread, a wedge of aged parmesan and one or two halved cherry tomatoes. A perfect complement to my salad.
My first, small morsel of greens was delicious. The splash of vinegar did not overpower any of the other ingredients, and the hint of garlic added just enough zip to the creamy combination of mustard and mayonnaise that had the leaves clinging to the mixture.
I was in heaven. I finished every bite before dragging a slice of bread across my plate.
If she ever bottles it, I’ll let you know. For now, here’s the recipe, which gets five stars and tastes like summertime.
Leslie’s Simple Summer Vinaigrette
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
Ina suggests putting the dressing in the bottom of the bowl before adding leaves, then toss when ready. Serve in a wide bowl rather than in a deep one.
Root Cellars: Naturally Cool
By Margaret Gilmour
Ever since ancient times, root cellars have provided cultures with the means to store food throughout the seasons.
Nowadays they’re back in style, so to speak, their popularity due partly to our own desires to hold onto summer’s harvest as long as possible.
You can still locate root cellars in Chester County, many ranging in size from three to four feet square, to large domed spaces suitable for hoarding enough winter provisions for several families.
The revival of this old custom makes for healthier, more sustainable eating since the in-ground cellars make it possible to stockpile fresh foods purchased at local farms or farmers’ markets (if you aren’t growing your own).
They are also an energy-saving convenience providing easy access to our harvested ingredients–-there’s’ no need to jump in our cars and run to the food mart before preparing a meal.
In Chester County, root cellars have been around since the first settlers made this fertile region their home—that’s before William Penn established the area in 1682.
Since practical refrigerators weren’t introduced until 1915, and still not widely used for at least 15 years later in the ‘30s, root cellars were necessary household accessories until they were replace by the refrigerator. They provided natural, cold storage to successfully keep perishables intact.
The first root cellars weren’t made in basements. In fact, the earliest farmhouses had only dirt floors and no “foundation-room,” or basement, with the entire house resting directly on the ground.
But the root cellars were underground rooms, and placement varied; most were built within arm’s reach, or at least within close proximity to the house. The cellar had its own chimney that helped keep dampness out and the scent of fragrant, smoked meats and just-harvested foods in.
Cool, dry temperatures and lots of ventilation is needed to keep produce, canned food and cured meets fresh in the cellar. Some humidity, too, halts produce from drying up, and darkness keeping produce from sprouting.
There are three basic types of outdoor root cellars: Hillside, which were dug into a hillside to encourage natural drainage from the spring thaw or heavy rains, and lined with rocks and wood beams for support. Regular, well-insulated doors made for easy, walk-in access.
A hatch cellar is dug into the earth too. Most have dirt floors, a hatch door for entry, and a ladder or stairs leading the way down to the storage area.
The third type, an above ground cellar, can still be seen locally along the countryside. They look similar to spring houses, or a Hobbit house built with a frame of wood or stone, and topped with sod concealing it from above.
You can see how these underground rooms made for good hiding spaces for slaves, especially those eventually built in the basement of a home. Actually, many basement root cellars had escape routes leading through a shallow well built for this reason, and were commonly used a safe haven/stop over for slaves in Chester County’s Underground Railroad.
To build your own root cellar, this book is devoted entirely to the matter, and goes into great depth detailing the storage process, along with the best staples suited for in-ground storage.
Buy it here:
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
Taste of the local: Phoenixville Winter Market
By Margaret Gilmour
The Phoenixville Winter Market is open throughout the winter and offers locally grown, fresh food to any willing buyer.
And there are plenty of willing buyers.
Lots of locals come bundled up ready to bear the elements and tread over the snow-dusted ground for the short time the roadside market opens for business.
Here, farmers and artisans don hats and down coats to sell their goods for one hour, on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
This past weekend I stopped by for a visit and, like everyone around me, promptly lined up to make my purchases before making any conversation. That would come later.
You take along your tote to fill it up with last fall’s cellared root vegetables, cold weather greens, artisanal cheeses, organic fudge, specialty baked goods, grass fed meat products and other handcrafted wares.
Hot beverages are also for sale to sip as community members first buy their fill (before everything goes), then spend time catching up on local happenings.
Since 2000, the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market has been preserving the local agricultural heritage by providing farm-fresh food.
Equally important is the stronger community they have been building through weekly gatherings that take you outside to meet your neighbors, as well as those who grow or craft the goods you carry home. You’re not just shopping here, you’re visiting. The Market is a social occasion where the main attraction is the people you meet and the meal you’ll prepare later that day.
First to go in my sack was a container of Shellbark Hollow Farm’s sharp chevre II, recommended to me by Jill Deskiewicz, cheese prep and Nubian goat milker at Shellbark Hollow.
After spreading the sharp chevre II onto a cracker later that day, I decided it deserved the Best of Philly award it garnered in 2008 (in the cheese category). It’s smooth with just enough bite to distinguish it from other goat cheese, and it even boasts hints of Provolone.
I added more to my tote as I passed by each table, my favorite purchase being the curly endive (Cichorium endiva) from Charlestown Farm (I have been yearning for fresh greens). At home I whipped up a mustard vinaigrette and topped the salad with cracked pepper and shaved Parmesan. The greens held their own, were not bitter at all, and satisfied my craving (for a few days, at least).
As I filled my bag, my youngest son selected heart-shaped Linzer cookies with jam-filled centers baked by Whole Hearted Baking Company. His face was smeared red by the juicy fruit as he happily made his way over to sample the fudge offered by Betty’s Tasty Buttons. The perfect mouth-watering treat for my littlest Valentine.
Where: Bridge Street & Taylor Alley
When: February 28
Winter Market | 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
March 14 & 28
Winter Market | 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
April 11 & 25:
Winter Market | 10a.m. until 11a.m.
More info: Phoenixville Winter Market
(Top right photo: Melissa Ingaglio and Sue Decker of Charlestown Farm)
Blue Cheese Fans Rejoice
By Margaret Gilmour
If you’re a blue cheese fan, you’ll love the blue handcrafted by the Miller family at Birchrun Hills Farm in Chester Springs. It’s a raw milk (unpasteurized) cheese made from the milk of their well cared for, pastured Holstein cows.
The Miller’s have been making Birchun Blue for just a few years, which, according to Cheese Queen Ricki Carroll isn’t an easy feat. She says: ”In many ways a good homemade blue cheese is like a child: easy and fun to produce but difficult to bring to proper maturity.”
Well, it may not be a simple task, but the Miller’s succeeded in making a blue that is now one of my favorites.
I discovered the natural rind, semi-soft Birchrun Blue at the Down to Earth event at the Chester County Historical Society last weekend.
The absence of foil casings adds to the earthy flavors absorbed while cave-aging, and after a few months of daily turning in the ideal setting, it evolves into a creamy cheese with subtle blue flavors.
I like that it’s not too salty like many blues can be, nor is it too strong. The texture too, is satisfying, so I happily ate rind and all.
In fact, if they had sold the cheese at the event, I would’ve filled my bag. But since it was set out on a table spread with lots of other local edibles, I hung out and sampled my fill.
You can pick up Birchrun Blue at local farmer’s markets (opening in May), or order directly from the farm by contacting the Miller’s at saycheese@birchrunhillsfarm.com.
Until then, try this salad dressing with your favorite blue. Football fans, imagine how great your wings would taste smothered in this dip:
Yogurt, Garlic & Blue Cheese Dressing
1 cup (8 oz) plain yogurt
4 tbs crumbled blue cheese
2 tbs white vinegar
1 ½ tbs lemon juice
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
Salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, add the salt to taste, and blend until well mixed. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container.
Yield: 1 cup
Source: Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making
Buy it here:
Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses
