News and blog

Update for Saturday March 31st

Easter weekend is upon us.  So lots of folks who celebrate Easter will be busy preparing their homes for the holiday.  Hopefully a trip to the farmers market this Saturday and next will help you prepare your table.  In my family, I am responsible for cooking the Easter dinner and we have about 20+ family members attend.  Lamb is always the star of our meal, so of course I put my lamb order into the Kennedy's a few weeks ago.  But I certainly plan to get my eggs from Greenawalts and other veggies and goodies from all the other stands.  So here is the update for this week.

Improvements at the Market

The improvements at the market are ongoing- replacing the roof, and installing a 3 bowl sink at the Kew Park Coffee Bar.  Both projects are progressing nicely and are nearing completion.  We expect them to be completed in the next 2 weeks.   These projects are critical to the future of the market, and represent a big commitment on the part of the coop owners to keep the market operating.

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ITEMS AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY

Zang's Greenhouse... Special items for this week include brussels sprouts, greens such as kale, collards and red swiss chard. Mini cucumbers.  In the flower department, fresh cut daffodils and a variety of Easter flowers.  You can also order Easter flowers for next Saturday.

A summary of fruits and vegetables available throughout the market from Zang's, Greenawalt and Kistaco stands is summarized below.  If you are interested in locally grown, please feel free to ask the farmers which items are local.

Veggies

• Potatoes (still locally grown at Greenawalt's)
• Mushrooms
• Squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Carrots and other root vegetables
• Onions
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Shallots
• Peppers- sweet and hot
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Green beans
• Turnips (locally grown at Greenawalts)
• Broccoli

• Apples
• Bananas
• Pears
• Florida Citrus such as lemons, oranges and tangerines
• Grapes
• Other fruit such as berries

Other vendors in the market will also be open.  These includes many locally made offerings such as hummus from the Greek Gourmet, fresh baked items from Rebecca Plum, and fresh made donuts from Better-Made Donuts.  Also, pasta from Fontana Pasta, and bread from Wood Street Bakery.  Local eggs as well as many Amish made prepared items are available at Greenawalts.

Good L'Oven Bakery will be back with fresh baked goods.

California Fruits and Nuts

Over the past few months I have been increasing the selection of organic dried fruits and nuts avaiable.  These new relationships are a result of contacts I made on my last trip to California.  I have two new offerings that just came in!

Organic Walnuts- grown on a family owned farm called Rancho La Vina- located in the Santa Rita Hills.  The trees range in age from about 15 to 40 years old.  The variety is called Coastal Paynes.  The nuts are certified organic and are raw (unroasted or pasturized)  They are really delicious with a rich, sweet taste.  They are great for baking or just plain eating.

Learn more: http://www.rancholavina.com/

Eco-Dynamic Dates- I personally have always loved dates, both raw and in baked goods.  Some people don't appreciate them, but I encourage folks to give them a try.  I always say that dried fruit and nuts are a great replacement for candy, and that is especially the case with dates.  But they are also very nutricious- packed full of protein and minerals.  They have been consumed by humans for thousands of years.

These particular dates are grown on a family owned farm called Flying Disc Ranch.  The farm was started by Robert Lower back in the 1970s.  He is recognized as a pioneer in cultivating dates in California.  The quality of these dates have been recoginized by many chefs and foodies.  They grow many varities of dates- we will offer 2 for sale at the market- Zahidi and Deglet Noor.

Learn more: http://flyingdiscranch.com/

PA Made Cheese

As I mentioned last week, sheep milk cheese has finally arrived!  This is the Pecorino Romano from Otterbein Acres Sheep Dairy.  The sheep are raised by, and the cheese is made by, the Fisher family of  Newburg, PA which is in Cumberland Coounty.  The flavor is strong and full, but not overbearing.  We will also have fresh curds and some fresh goat milk cheese from RIverview Dairy.

California Olive Oil

We have newly pressed oil that just arrived from California.  This time I ordered several single variety oils versus blends because they are so distinctive in their tastes.  The first container that I tapped into is a variety called Picual.  It is a golden yellow oil with a ton of flavor.

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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/

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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 March 17th

All the farm stands will be open this week, with similar offerings as last week.  The general fruit and vegetable offerings are listed below.  The weather report looks incredible for Saturday so please make that an excuse to visit if you have not been to the market for a while. Please see the bottom of this message for an upadate on Sheep's milk cheese.

Improvements at the Market

There are two capital improvement projects going on now at the market.  One is to replace the roof of the building.  Of course projects like these for a 100 year old building are never simple.  Once the project began they recognized some masonary work had to be done as well.  The masonary work has been going on this week, and is nearly done.  The scond project is the installation of a new three bowl sink in the Kew Park Coffee Bar area.  Work began yesterday and will take a few weeks to complete.  These projects are critical, and represent a big commitment on the part of the coop owners to keep the market operating.

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ITEMS AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY

Zang's Greenhouse... Special items for this week include brussels sprouts, greens such as kale, collards and swiss chard.  In the flower department, fresh cut daffodils and potted bulbs.

A summary of fruits and vegetables available throughout the market from Zang's, Greenawalt and Kistaco stands is summarized below.  If you are interested in locally grown, please feel free to ask the farmers which items are local.

Veggies

• Potatoes (still locally grown at Greenawalt's)
• Mushrooms
• Squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Carrots and other root vegetables
• Onions
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Shallots
• Peppers- sweet and hot
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Green beans
• Turnips (locally grown at Greenawalts)
• Broccoli

• Apples
• Bananas
• Pears
• Florida Citrus such as lemons, oranges and tangerines
• Grapes
• Other fruit such as berries

Other vendors in the market will also be open.  These includes many locally made offerings such as hummus from the Greek Gourmet, fresh baked items from Rebecca Plum, and fresh made donuts from Better-Made Donuts.  Also, pasta from Fontana Pasta, and bread from Wood Street Bakery.  Local eggs as well as many Amish made prepared items are available at Greenawalts.

Good L'Oven Bakery will be back with fresh baked goods.

PA Made Cheese

The sheep milk cheese has finally arived!  I have been searching for PA made sheeps milk cheese for a while.  I noticed that one made by Otterbein Acres Sheep Dairy was on the menu at Cure Restaurant in Lawrenceville.  So I tracked it down and spoke to Paul Fisher, who owns the farm and dairy with his family.  They are located in Newburg, PA which is in Cumberland Coounty.  The cheese is made on the farm in a small cheese house, and aged in their cheese cellar.

Sheep milk cheese is near and dear to my heart because I first discovered it while visiting my relatives in the Campania region of Italy.  Its the only kind of cheese that my unlce Benito Antonio wold eat.  He simply called it  "Pecorino", but I usually hear this style referred to as Pecorino Romano.   It is sharp and very flavorful cheese.  

Well the cheese arrived today and I cut open a wheel to start tasting it.  Otterbein calls it Ewe’s Dream. It is made from raw sheep’s milk that is organic (grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free). It has a thin rind and the interior color is pale yellow.   The cheese has a dense texture, but is softer than the pecorino's I had in Italy. The flavor is strong and full, but not overbearing.  I ate some plain and with bread, and also grated some onto Pasta pesto.  Yum.

California Olive Oil.

The olive oil that I ordered when I was out in Califoria a few weeks will be arriving tomorrow.  So I expect to have some available for sale on Saturday.  Several of the oils were pressed very recently, so I expect them to be stong and pungent.   Olive Oil becomes softer and more mellow as they age.  So if you are a fan of strong pungent oils, please make it a point to get some while they are at their best. 

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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 March 10th

All the farm stands will be open this week, with similar offerings as last week.  The general fruit and vegetable offerings are listed below, plus an update on a new vendor.

We will have a new vendor at the market which I would like to highlight.....

Good L'Oven Bakery

These baked goods are made by Deanna Soost.  I have known Deanna for years since she was a manager at my favorite watering hole the Sharp Edge.  You may know Deanna from the outdoor summer East Liberty Farmers Market.  We are so happy to have her join us at the Coop.

She will bringing  4-6 varieties of biscotti, and 8 kinds of cookies such as chocolate chip, gingersnaps, peanut butter, and sugar etc.  She also makes delicious granola bars.   She uses all natural and wholesome ingredients in her baked goods.

She will be set up in the first booth to the right of the front door. Please stop by and say hello to Deanna and try some of her goodies.

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ITEMS AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY

Zang's Greenhouse... will have fresh cut dafodils.

A summary of fruits and vegetables available throughout the market from Zang's, Greenawalt and Kistaco stands is summarized below.  If you are interested in locally grown, please feel free to ask the farmers which items are local.

Veggies

• Potatoes (still locally grown at Greenawalt's)
• Mushrooms
• Squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Carrots and other root vegetables
• Onions
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Shallots
• Peppers- sweet and hot
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Green beans
• Turnips (locally grown at Greenawalts)
• Broccoli

• Apples
• Bananas
• Pears
• Florida Citrus such as lemons, oranges and tangerines
• Grapes
• Other fruit such as berries

Other vendors in the market will also be open.  These includes many locally made offerings such as hummus from the Greek Gourmet, fresh baked items from Rebecca Plum, and fresh made donuts from Better-Made Donuts.  Also, pasta from Fontana Pasta, and bread from Wood Street Bakery.  Local eggs as well as many Amish made prepared items are available at Greenawalts.  Kistaco sells dried soup mixes which are easy to make and great during the cold weather months.

Kew Park Coffee Bar

We will have Kew Park beans roasted by 19 Coffee Roasters. 

PA Made Cheese

We have new shipments of cheese from God's Country (Swiss and Havarti), Common Folk Organics (Blue) and Arsenal Cheese (Curds).

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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 February 25th

All of the farm stands and other vendors will be open at the market.   Here is a summary of what will be available:

• J. L. Kennedy Meat Stand- As always, locally grown meat from the Kennedy's.  I got a late update that they will also have HICKORY SMOKED DOG BONES-aAt $3 each...from local certified beef cattle!!!

• Kistaco Farm continues to have locally raised apples.  Apple varieties this week include Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Rome, Empire Cameo and Idared.  Fresh pressed cider will also be available.  On the veggie side, snow peas, brussels sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach and leaf lettuce.

• Zang's will have many fresh fruits and vegetables.  Special items for this week include popcorn sprouts, micro arugala (both local), mini cukes, and asparagus.

A summary of fruits and vegetables available throughout the market from Zang's, Greenawalt and Kistaco stands is summarized below.  If you are interested in locally grown, please feel free to ask the farmers which items are local.

Veggies

• Potatoes (still locally grown at Greenawalt's)
• Mushrooms
• Squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Carrots and other root vegetables
• Onions
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Shallots
• Peppers- sweet and hot
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Green beans
• Turnips (locally grown at Greenawalts)
• Broccoli

• Apples
• Bananas
• Pears
• Florida Citrus such as lemons, oranges and tangerines
• Grapes
• Other fruit such as berries

Other vendors in the market will also be open.  These includes many locally made offerings such as hummus from the Greek Gourmet, fresh baked items from Rebecca Plum, and fresh made donuts from Better-Made Donuts.  Also, pasta from Fontana Pasta, and bread from Wood Street Bakery.  Local eggs as well as many Amish made prepared items are available at Greenawalts.  Kistaco sells dried soup mixes which are easy to make and great during the cold weather months.

Kew Park Coffee Bar

Last week David D'Orio from 19 Coffee Roasters visited the market and brought along the Kew Park beans that he test roasted for us.  David did a medium roast and a dark/medium roast.  I thought both roasts were excellent.  We will be brewing them again this Saturday so please stop by and let us know what you think.  

PA Made Cheese

We have a fresh batch of goat milk chevre and feta from Riverview Dairy.  Sam Byler says this batch is "extra creamy."  We also have fresh curds from Arsenal Cheese.  Finally, we got a shipment of Blue Cheese from Common Folk Organics.

California Olive Oil Connection

As I mentioned in last weeks update, I was in California, and visited Figueroa Farm in Sant Ynez.  I wrote up my notes from the visit and have attached them below, as well as uploaded the file to the web site.  Give them a read if you are interested.  I will bring the pictures of the farm to the market again this Saturday.

http://www.farmersmarketcooperativeofeastliberty.com/files

Raisins and Almonds

The raisins and almonds from Marian Farms in Fresno are in.  They are grown using biodynamic methods which is an even more intensive method than organic.  The almonds were just harvested a few weeks, flash pasturized and sent to us.  They are as fresh as it gets.

Since the almonds are raw (unroasted) they can be used to make things like fresh almond milk.  We will be serviing fresh made almond milk at the juice bar. We will also have a recipe and demonstrate how to make it.

To learn more about Marian Farms and biodynamic agriculture, please click on the link.

http://www.marianfarmsbiodynamic.com/

David

*********************************************************Figueroa Farm Visit- Santa Ynes, California

February, 13 2012

I have been buying Olive Oil from Figueroa Farm since I started selling Olive Oil at the market a year ago.  Shawn and Antoinette Addison, who are pioneers in the California Olive Oil industry, own the farm.

To get to the farm, I Traveled from LA on 101 to Santa Barbara.  At Santa Barbara, I then headed up Route 154 up in the Canyon towards Santa Ynez, California.

There was dramatic scenery from Santa Barbara on, as you travel up the San Marcos Pass, you enter the Los Padres National Forest.  The highlight is when you pass through the Lake Cachuma region.

I had to get top-secret directions for the final leg.  Most of the property in the area is medium size farms and most are fenced in, with lots of security gates.  I go the sense that the gates are both to control the movement of people and animals.  The farms varied, but most had horses, followed by grapes for wine and then olive orchards.

Upon entering the Figueroa Farm, the scenery is very dramatic as the farm is situated at the base of Figueroa Mountain just as it starts to slope up.

I met with the staff members Jose, Bianca, and John.  Jose manages the farm and the oil press, Bianca works in the office, and John manages the oil.  Owners Shawn and Antoinette were on vacation.  This is the slowest time of year for an olive farmer and operator of a press.  The pressing season has just ended and it is a very intense and exhausting process.

One of the reasons why I wanted to visit Figueroa, is because they own and operate an olive press (or mill as its called in the industry) that serves their farm as well as many others in the community.  The press is a Pieralisi from Italy- the best press in the world by my understanding.  It is a very expensive and complex piece of equipment.  Any one who owns and operates an olive press is an impressive and committed individual indeed!

Jose took me for a tour of the mill operation and the olive farm.  The farm is about 20 acres with 5,800 trees.  The trees were planted about 10 years ago.  They are now about 8 feet high.  They are very healthy looking.  They are meticulously cared for.  The biggest need is pruning, and some irrigation.  The orchard generally needs to be kept very clean to prevent insects and diseases from taking hold.  So all prunings must be removed, and weeds are wacked down with a weed wacker.  No chemicals are used as they run the farm organically.  The irrigation uses a very efficient drip system.

There are 7 varieties of olives on the farm, and they are all harvested at different times.  Shawn makes the final call on when a particular variety is ready to harvest and mill.  Timing is everything in choosing just the right time to harvest.  The mill must be ready, as the olives need to be processed very rapidly.  At the peak of harvest, the mill can be running 16 hours a day.

Harvest requires a crew of about 30 to 40 people to pick the fruit.  It’s a very intense and nerve wracking time since the folks at Figueroa need to worry about their own harvest and the scheduling of milling for other farmers.

In addition to running the farm organically, they employ a number of sustainable practices.  They have a well on the property to run the irrigation system.  They dug a hole and installed a 30,000 gallon cistern at the highest elevation point on the farm.  Then they run plastic tubing on the ground so the water directly penetrates the roots.  Once the water is in the cistern, it disperses by gravity, without the help of pumps.  They also have solar panels to generate electricity.  They use the pumice byproduct from oil making as a fertilizer and weed control on the orchard.

The farm was very beautiful.  It is situated a slope of Figueroa Mountain, but also across from a very large and high mountain range on the other side.  The houses and buildings on the property were very attractive, as were the buildings on other nearby farms.  It has a bit of a Tuscany look and feel.

I also toured the milling operation.  It is a very large machine with several distinct components to it.  It is kind of like a small assembly line as it starts with raw olives and at the other end, pure olive oil, and a pumice waste product, come out.  It takes about 1 hour for the entire process, start to finish.  Jose seemed very proud showing me the machine and talking about how it works.  Of course it would be better to visit during the milling season to see it in action.  Milling usually occurs in December and January, but some years goes on a little longer.

Well the bad news is, and I heard this from everyone I met, is that the 201112 harvest was terrible in terms of the yield.  I heard different theories, most weather related, but apparently olive yields can vary dramatically from year to year based on factors that are not well understood.  But everyone felt that 201213 was going to be a bumper crop.

The good news is (and this was a surprise to me), low yields do not mean that the quality of the oil is poor.  To the contrary, Jose thinks they pressed some excellent oil this season.  I could not get anyone to give me a reason as to why 2012 would be a good, year, especially since there is not even fruit on the trees yet.  They won’t flower for another few months.  I guess it just comes from the optimism that you must need to stay in this business.

I went to the mixing and storage room and John joined in to the conversation.  He manages the oils once they are pressed.  He was working on doing some blending and infusing some flavored oils.  John gave me 5 samples to take home and taste so I could prepare my order.  They all look beautiful in color, slightly cloudy due to their recent pressing.

I can’t wait to get them home and taste them, but I certainly expect to be ordering some of each.

David 

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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.