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Farmer's Market Coop of East Liberty Update

Posted 4/5/2013 9:53am by Val Kennedy.

Update for Saturday, April 6th

Hi everyone, the market will be open this Saturday as usual. Please see below for an update.

See you at the market- David Lagnese

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The Update....

J.L Kennedy Meat Stand

Special items for this week:

- PORK TENDERLOINS

- BONE-IN PORK LOIN...ROASTS OR CHOPS...can be cut to any thickness if called in Thursday eve or Friday morning during our business phone hour

- EYE OF ROUND BEEF ROAST

- ROUND STEAKS OR CUBE STEAKS

**next GOAT pick-up is sat April 20th.. please place order soon

**please keep phone call orders and any messages to ring in during our business hours of 9-9 mon-thurs and 9-6 on friday...

The number at the farm is 724-898-2316.

Greenawalt Farm

Greenawalt's offerings will be similar to last week with local Amish grown items such as potatoes (sweet, yukon gold and white), onions, turnips, and winter squash. Brian told me he is heading out to Somerset next week to meet with the Amish farmers and see what is growing. Hopefully they are getting things started in the high tunnels and we will have more locally grown items soon.

Brian still has the locally grown dried bean varieties include great northern and cranberry beans.

They also have shipped-in items including spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, pears, grapes and bananas.

One special item this week is local maple syrup products from Wagner Sugar Camp. They will have 2013 vintage syrup as well as maple sugar candy.

Stanton Milling products- These are locally grown and milled items from Stanton Milling Company in New Stanton, PA. Stanton Milling has been in operation since 1858. They offer:

- Buckwheat flour

- Buckwheat pancake mix

- Corn meal

- Pancake mix

For more information: http://www.stantonmilling.com

Greenawalt's always have fresh local eggs and many types of Amish canned items and dried beans. They also have some cured meat items from Lancaster County- bacon and kielbasa.

Kistaco Farm

Apples of course- Kistaco still has several varieties of locally grown apples. They are carefully stored at just the right temperature to keep them fresh. Varieties still available are:

- Red Delicious
- Golden Delicious
- Jonagold
- Empire
- Stayman Winesap

From Suzanne's Kitchen
- Donuts
- Corn Salsa
- Applesauce
- Corn Relish
- Onion Relish
- Spicy Dill Pickles

Other Goodies
- Snap Peas
- Asparagus
- New Red Potatoes
- Leaf Lettuce
- Brussels Sprouts
- Pears
- Citrus
- Bananas

- Wood Street Bread Co. (6-8 different breads)

And of course Cider- the best in Pittsburgh.

Zang's Greenhouse...Rick will have locally grown lettuces, spring mix and radishes from Harvest Valley Farm. These items were grown in high tunnels.

Shipped in items include brussel sprouts golden beets, spinach, kale, peppers, asparagus, garlic, onions, green beans, potatoes, and several varieties of tomatoes. Rapini is a possibility. Florida citrus is still going strong with several orange varieties available.

In the flower department- Rick will have some left-over Easter flowers. He was not sure if he will have cut daffodils.

Kew Park Coffee Bar- We have a fresh batch of beans that were roasted by Commonplace Coffee Roasters. Also, will have fresh squeezed grapefruit, tangerine, and orange juices.

Kallari Chocolate Update-

Last week we had sold some of the California dried fruit that was dipped n Kallari chocolate. It was a nice item to have for Easter. We plan to do that periodically in the future, but not every week. But we do plan to continue to sell the Kallari chocolate bars.

As way of background, Kallari chocolate was introduced to us by Kelsey Sheridan- she is here in Pittsburgh attending the Food Studies program at Chatham. She has been helping us out at the PA Made Cheese counter over the past few months. Kelsey has a special love for chocolate, and has a relationship with the Kallari chocolate growing coop in Ecuador. In 2009 Kelsey actually spent 3 months there living on the cocoa plantations.

Kallari is a farmer-owned cooperative chocolate company, grown in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The cocoa is made into chocolate in a facility that is only 4 hours away. There are 1000+ families involved in the cooperative, and most of the cocoa is grown on individual family plots. The benefit to this "tree-to-bar" production is that cocoa beans stay fresher longer, cocoa farmers (paid on average $500/year/family) receive 100% of the profits, this saves them from having to sell their land to oil companies, and it is more environmentally sustainable than shipping beans across the ocean. Plus, they are in the process of creating a LEED certified renewable chocolate factory even closer to the cocoa. They are one of a handful of companies like this in the world that is "tree-to-bar" (chocolate is produced near where cocoa beans are grown).

The chocolate also tastes delicious, and is certified organic. My daughter Maria Lagnese did the dipping- using apricots, nectarines, cherries, pears, almonds and walnuts. For more information on Kallari chocolate....

Here is the website:
http://kallari.com/chocolate.html

A New York Times article on Kallari:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/dining/05choc.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

A really interesting UTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLKQBS07JN4

PA Made Cheese-

I lot of people have been asking us for soft cheeses and also blue cheeses. So I have been searching for these types of cheeses that are made in Pennsylvania. On a recent trip to Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, I discovered Birchrun Hills Farm cheese. They are located in Chester Springs, PA in the eastern part of the state. They make a very nice Blue and a semi soft cheese called "Fat Cat." Like the other cheese makers we work with, they raise the animals and also make the cheese in a small creamery on the farm. Also like many other PA cheese makers, they got in to cheese making to save the dairy farm by making it more economically sustainable. I have been speaking with Sue MIller, the owner and cheese maker, and she is sending us a few wheels that should arrive today. Please stop buy and try some.

The Greek Gourmet- will have homemade spinach and meat pies at the market each week- in addition to 20+ flavors of hummus. Stop by and talk to Jack at the booth.

BANDY Woodworks will have children's toys and games, and great items for the home and office using local reclaimed and salvaged wood and non-toxic finishes. Cutting boards and wine racks make a great Valentine's gift for the foodie on your list! Their booth is on the right when you walk in the front door from N. Sheridan, directly across from Greenawalt's. Preview some of the items carried at the market by visiting www.bandywoodworks.etsy.com.

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Visit the market's website for information on the market and all the vendors. You can sign up for a weekly email update.

http://www.farmersmarketcooperativeofeastliberty.com/

Also, check out the video about the market produced by Ths folks at East Liberty Development (ELDI). It was directed and produced by local film maker Michael Pisano. So a great big thanks Michael and ELDI's Margaret Graham for producing the video. So please check out the video and share it with others.

Here's the link: vimeo.com/eastlibertypgh/farmersmarket.

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The Farmers' Market Cooperative of East Liberty is located at 344 North Sheridan Ave., adjacent to the Home Depot parking lot. The market operates year round- and is open from 5 AM until 12 noon every Saturday of the year.