News and blog

Update for Saturday, November 17th

This is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, which is always a big week at the Market.  I hope you got your meat orders in to the Kennedy's.  If you have not, please pick up the phone and call out to the farm as soon as possible. 

I expect the market to be fully stocked this Saturday with all your Thanksgiving holiday food needs. 

Please note that the market is also open this coming Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.  The Kennedy Meat Stand will be open for orders only from 5 to 10 am.  Other vendors will be open for lots of holiday items.  I will send a reminder out next Tuesday.

See you at the market!

David Lagnese

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The Update

We will have fresh beans that were roasted this week by  Commonplace Coffee Roasters.  Also, will have fresh cranberry juice as well as fresh squeezed tangerine, orange and grapfruit juices.

PA Made Cheese

I visited Riverview Dairy this week and participated in the making of a new sheep milk cheese.  It won't be ready for a while, but I do expect it to be very good. It was a very interesting process to watch.  I will share some additional information with you in a future message.  I brought back fresh chevre and feta, as well as 4 wheels of aged cheese.  I also got new shipments from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar and Hidden Hills Dairy.  The case is full of locally made cheese, so come and get some for the holidays.

California Connection

We have organicly grown dried fruit from Van Dyke Organic Ranch in Gilroy California.  Varieties include apricots, nectarines, pears, plums, and persimmons.  These are great items to add to stuffing or just serve for desert.

We also have organic walnuts and pistachios.

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.

Rebecca Plum Baked Goods- Rebecca will be there on Saturday with her usual assortment of baked goods.  I think she is also taking orders for Wednesday.

Please 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/

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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.

Update for Saturday, November 10th

Hello everyone.  Just a quick note to remind you that the market will be open this Saturday.  I have been pretty tied up this week and was not able to connect with the farmers to get an update.  Sorry about that, but I hope you will still stop by.  There will still be lots of locally grown items and well as some shipped-in ones.  Also, its important to get your holiday meat orders in, so please stop by and talk to the folks at the JL Kennedy Meat Stand.

See you Saturday.

David Lagnese

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Please 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/

*********************************************************

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.

Update for Saturday, November 3rd

We had a great market last week.  These was lots of good locally grown stuff.  In my last update, I talked about the wonderful fresh brussel sprouts available at the market.  Well last week I was impressed by all the locally grown root vegetables now available- beets, parsnips, turnips and carrots.  I was particularly impressed with the carrots that were of various colors and sizes.

I also noticed an article in the New York Times about how carrots are showing up as the star on plates of some fancy-schmancy New York City restaurants.  Check out the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/dining/carrots-gain-bigger-roles-at-some-restaurants.html

And check out these recipes for carrots and other root vegetables....

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/carrots/index.html

I tend to like keeping things pretty simple.  So I prepare carrots the way we did at Trattoria Alberto, a restaurant that I worked at in Washington, DC.  Simply peel the carrots and slice them into rounds about 1/4" thick.  Blanch them in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes.  Then saute them in a skillet in a 50/50 combination of olive oil and butter.  Cook them long enough so that they begin to brown slightly around the edges.  Season with salt, pepper and fresh chopped parsley.  Thats it!

Like I do with a lot of fresh vegetables, I do my cutting and blanching on Sunday when I have the time.  Then throughout the week, I pull them out of the fridge for the last minute saute.

Pancake Breakfast

I want to remind everyone about the Pancake Breakfast & Auction that is being held this Saturday from 8:00 am until 12:00 noon.  This is the 16th annual.  

Our friends at Pittsburgh East Rotary Club run the event.  Proceeds from the Pancake Breafkast & Auction will be used to feed hungry individuals and families in our East End communities and provide resources to at-risk children and youth.

You can enjoy an all-you-can-eat breakfast including pancakes and an egg bar!  In addition to breakfast, there will be fabulous raffle prizes, entertainment, mystery bags/boxes and a roving magician!

The event is held at Eastminster Presbyterian Church (250 N. Highland Avenue) which is walking distance from the market.  So you can stop by the market to get your food for the week and also enjoy the pancake breakafast.  Tickets are available at the door, and are $7 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

Please note that at the Kew Park Coffee Bar we will be introducing a new roast that was developed by Commonpalce Coffee Roasters.  The beans were roasted yesterday so are very fresh.  Please stop by and give them a try.  We will have brewed coffee and whole beans.

See you at the market!

David Lagnese

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The Update

We will debut our new roast of the Kew Park Estate beans.  I have been working with the folks from Commonplace Coffee Roasters to develop a roast that really highlights the unique characteristics of the beans.  Please stop by and give them a try.   We also have fresh squeezed tangerine, orange and grapfruit juices.

PA Made Cheese

We gave out free pickles last week, and still have a few to give out this week.  We just got a fresh shipment of cheese from God's Country Creamery in Potter County.  I love their wheels because they are massive- 20 pound plus.  We have the Havarti and the Luddington Lace Swiss.

California Connection

The organic dried fruit is going strong.  

Apricots
Nectarines
Pears
Plums
Persimmons

All are from Van Dyke Organic Ranch in Gilroy California.  We also have organic walnuts and pistachios.

A fresh crop of almonds, dates and raisins should be here soon.

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.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please 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/

*********************************************************

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.

Update for Saturday, October 27th

It is getting to the end of the home garden season. That makes me sad.  But I was cheered up when I read today's Mariam Rubin story in the Post-Gazette.  This was her last article of the year on her summer garden series.  The good news is that there are still opportunities to do some canning and preserving using things like green tomatoes.  

I recently went to a pickling event that was sponsored by Slow Food Pittsburgh where I tasted some really fabulous pickled vegetables, including pickled green tomatoes.  I was surprised at home much flavor they have.  So I was glad to see Miriam's article with the recipes.  

Last week I saw many baskets of green tomaoes at the market.  I expect to see more this weekend.  So don't be afraid to give it a try.  Check out the article.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/food/miriams-garden-our-columnist-winds-it-up-but-not-before-capturing-some-final-beautiful-bits-658967/

Also, to celebrate pickling, we will be giving out free home-made kosher dill pickles at the PA Made Cheese stand. 

The market had a great week last Saturday. It was jam packed with many great vegetables and fruit.  I thought the star of the show was the brussel sprouts, which appeared for the first week.  The sprouts at the market are the real thing- locally grown, freshly picked, still connected to a long stem.  I prepared them by both blanching them for a few minutes in boiling water, and also roasting them in the oven.  Either way, they are delicious.  Salt, pepper and olive oil is all you need to season them with.  I know a lot of people think they don't like them, but I believe its because they have never had fresh, tender sprouts.  So if you think you don't like them, please give brussel sprouts another try.

See you at the market!

David Lagnese

*****************************************************

The Update 

Greenawalt Farm

We will have freshly roasted Coffee.  In the juice department, this is the last week for fresh made grape juice that was made with Erie County Concords.  We also have fresh squeezed tangerine, orange and grapfruit juices.

PA Made Cheese

As mentioned we will be giving out free pickles on Saturday.  They go great will all the local cheese we have on hand.  

California Connection

The organic dried fruit is going strong.  

Apricots
Nectarines
Pears
Plums
Persimmons

All are from Van Dyke Organic Ranch in Gilroy California.  We also have organic walnuts and pistachios.

A fresh crop of almonds, dates and raisins should be here soon.

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.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please 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/

*********************************************************

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.

Update for Saturday, October 13th

As I have been saying over the past two weeks, we really are in the peak of apple season.  Its a time of year that I love- for the eating apples, the cooking apples, and the cider.  Leave it to Miriam Rubin from the Post-Gazette to write a timely article on apples with some great PG-tested recipes.  Check it out.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/food/time-is-ripe-for-tasty-applie-pies-tarts-and-more-656995/

Thanks Miriam!  I'm not much of a baker, but I plan to try the Simple Apple Nut Cake recipe.

So please make the East Liberty Coop Farmers Market your headquarters for all things apple.  Kistaco Farm specializes in apples.  They grow many varieties of apples on their Armstrong County farm.  This time of year they have 10 to 12 varitieties on hand, plus their fresh cider.  Greenawalt's get their apples from Amish farmers in Somerset County.  They have 4 or 5 varieties, including some huge Honeycrisps- which are my latest favorite eating apple.  

Prices are very reasonable, especially when you buy in bulk.  So buy a large quantity and share them with friends and neighbors.  I'm a hero when I take a large box into work and share them my co-workers.

See you at the market!

David Lagnese

*****************************************************

The Update 

Greenawalt Farm

Kew Park Coffee Bar

As mentioned last week, we will have fresh roasted beans that are roasted in the neighborhood by Commonplace Coffee.  In the juice department we have fresh made grape juice that was made with Erie County Concords.  We will only have Concord Grape juice for two more weeks and then its gone for the year.

To learn more about Commonplace Coffee, check out their website:  http://www.commonplacecoffee.com

California Connection

The organic dried fruit has arrived from Van Dyke Organic Farm in Gilroy, California.  People seemed very happy to have it back since we ran out of last year's crop a few months ago.  Selections include:

Apricots
Nectarines
Pears
Plums
Persimmons

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.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please 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/

*********************************************************

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.