Headhouse Report

Despite the dreary rain and chilly day, I checked out the opening day of Headhouse Farmer's'Market this past Sunday, not just to purchase a few items, but to see if any vendors moved to the sidewalk or adopted the "room" style of setting up their stands like the pioneering Three Springs Fruit Farm did last year.

A little over a month ago, I wrote a post expressing my frustrations with the crowded and narrow market that recieved a few comments from similarly disgruntled market patrons. I was told the post was forwarded to The Food Trust, so was curious if any changes occurred -- not that I actually expect people to listen to me.

Short answer: yes and no.
The majority of the vendors still park their tables under the roof of the market. I did notice a few vendors moved their table as far back as they could, while still having their table under the roof, which is a nice effort, but only helps the congestion minimally.Dancing Hen Farm and Three Springs Fruit Farm

Three Springs Fruit Farm created a room this year, as they did last year. Dancing Hen Farm created a room, and I actually decided to purchase eggs from Dancing Hen Farm instead of the other two vendors offering eggs, just for that reason. Hurley's and Young's Garden

Hurley's, which sells potted plants, and Young's Garden, which sells potted plants and cut flowers, were set up outside of the market, as they normally are, and this is a good thing.

Perhaps the opening day was not the best day to judge whether or not vendors are moving out from underneath the Headhouse structure since is was raining. I understand not wanting to be wet and cold, but I simply can't believe any serious outdoor market vendor has not already invested in a tent for use in inclement weather.

I do like the Headhouse Market and all the vendors, and will continue to shop there, but think I'll make it my policy to purposely patronize vendors who get out from underneath the Headhouse roof, thus making my transactions more pleasant.

Headhouse Beef

As farmers' market season approaches here in Southeast Pennsylvania, I've got a longstanding gripe about one of Philadelphia's most popular markets - Headhouse Farmers' Market at Second and Lombard Streets - that I'd like to get off my chest.

For those unfamiliar with Headhouse Farmers' Market, it's housed under the historic Shambles structure, a building built for merchants to gather at and sell their wares. The Shambles is essentially a long, narrow, covered walkway.

Vendors at Headhouse Farmers' Market line their tables up inside the covered walkway along the outer edges with the front of their display facing towards the inside of the structure, making shopping only possible by walking down what is now, thanks to vendor's tables taking up room, an even narrower walkway.

It's frustrating and miserable to shop at Headhouse Farmer's Market with the throngs of distracted people with their overstuffed canvas shopping bags, toe-crunching baby strollers, and dogs underfoot, all stuffed in a narrow hallway. I've never visited a more tight, claustrophobic, ass-bumping farmer's market in my life!

Last year, I wanted to kiss the one vendor (forgot their name, but they sold lots of peaches and apples), Three Springs Fruit Farm, who moved their table out from underneath the walkway to the very spacious sidewalk just outside the Shambles' roof, and, essentially, formed a wide-open room to duck into from the narrow confines of the market. Finally, someone was thinking!

Please, please, please, Headhouse Farmers' Market manager, make the vendors get their asses out from underneath the narrow walkway.

Make "rooms" like the one vendor did, use the sidewalk, heck, why not even block traffic on the one block of Second St. between Lombard and Pine and use the street (they already block the northbound side, which only one or two lunch vendors make use of, but should block the southbound side, as well).

The Shambles is a beautiful building, but don't be confined by it.

Do this one thing for me, and I won't rant about the boutique produce prices.

What I Did On My Holiday Weekend

This Labor Day weekend was filled with a big ol' bunch of nothing to do -- except bake (three blackberry themed goodies), make ice cream (poured scalding milk on my hand), ride my bike (Delaware Greenway rocks!), and take liberal naps (I'm half cat). My only real outing of the weekend was a trip to the New Castle Farmer's Market just south of Wilmington in New Castle, Delaware.

Unless I'm going to the DMV, I never attempt to go immediately south of Wilmington. The traffic is atrocious at all hours of the day, and I just can't figure out why. How can an 8-lane highway be parked still just south of Wilmington (I-95 and Hwy 13)? Is it because everyone lives in lower Delaware, but works in Wilmington and Philly? Whatever the reason, it has kept me away.

Because I never go south of Wilmington, I've never seen the New Castle Farmer's Market until last weekend when coming back from the beach we detoured from the stopped traffic on 95 to hop onto the stopped traffic on 13 (can't win!). We passed a huge parking lot filled with hundreds of cars, a large building with "farmer's market" on the side, and an outdoor flea market. Being a sucker for flea markets, I put the New Castle Farmer's Market on my to-do list.

I started inside the building first. The building is long, but not very wide, so the size is a little deceiving from the road. Inside there are two large produce stands (one at each end, and not all local produce), various shops selling cheap knock-off goods, a Mexican grocery, candy shop, Amish bakery and butcher shop, Mexican restaurant, pizza joint, seafood restaurant, pretzel shop, ice cream shop, another meat counter, and a couple of other American burger and sandwich type places (I know I left some things out; I'm not a directory).My first stop was at Stoltzfus Amish Bakery. (Are all the Stoltzfus bakeries related, or is it just that every third Amish person is named Stotlzfus and owns a bakery? This is a serious question. Amish aren't keen on making websites, so the puter box reveled no answers.) Amish classics like shoofly pie and whoopie pies do not thrill me, so I went with a slice of red velvet roll. The cake was flavorless and tough, but perhaps the cake needs that tough texture in order to be rolled without cracking. Cream cheese frosting saved the day.
I had every intention of picking up lunch at the market, but nothing excited me. The thick stuffed pizzas were the most tempting, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat all that cheese (had a salad later at home which makes for bad food blogging, but saves calories).
The real fun is outside at the flea market where you get to riffle through people's collected crap in search of treasure. No flawless set of original Fiestaware was found, but I did pick up a pickling recipe book amid the hundreds of crockpot cookery and microwave cooking books. Do you think in 30 years well laugh at all the celebrity chef and special diet cookbooks we buy now that will end up at flea markets?I also got two Corelle cups that were the perfect size for the blackberry pudding I made (very pretty, but strange -- coming soon).

Despite the horrid traffic on 13, I will be back to the New Castle Farmer's Market for the flea market (love 'em!), but probably never back to the indoor section (it's not a true farmer's market, and I have no need for knock-off purses).

Pretty, Shiny Things

The prettiest tomato mix. Ever. (Freshfarm Market in D.C.)

I took advantage of my boyfriend’s corporate paid hotel room and made a long weekend out of DC. I’m supremely jealous of such perks that come with a corporate job, but, being self-employed, I can take a long weekend without asking for a day off. I guess it all evens out in the end.

We ran into a huge Farmer’s Market on Sunday near Dupont Circle. So many vendors were slicing up peaches and tomatoes for samples; we practically filled our bellies before heading to lunch.Surprisingly varied veggie sushi at Thai Chef. Asian pear and sun dried tomato were two new sushi ingredients for me.

‘Fishnet Stockings’ is my new favorite Coleus.(Smithsonian Butterfly Garden)

For pretty plants, don’t miss the gardens on the National Mall: U.S. Botanic Garden, National Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Butterfly Garden, Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, and the Enid A. Haupt Garden. All Free!

No matter how many times I’ve been, I have to stop by the gem and mineral collection at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Pretty and shiny.

What's For Dinner?

I don’t know about y’all, but this is what dinner has been looking like around here. With all of the fresh, local produce from weekend trips to Headhouse Farmers Market, the yields coming out of our own little urban plot, and baskets of fruit and vegetables from friends with gardens, I’m working overtime just to eat all the fresh food, but I’m not complaining one bit.

I’m not doing anything fancy with the bounty, because it’s all so fresh and tastes so good. I wouldn’t dare think of covering up the flavors with sauces and such; that’s what you do in the winter with grocery store produce. Minimal cooking (if even; it's too hot), and minimal seasoning (salt, pepper, and vinegar) is all I do to prepare the veggies for dinner.

I’m currently trying to eat my way through cabbage (I eat it like candy), corn (try it raw if it’s truly fresh), tomatoes (the king of fresh summer veggies), okra (slime is fun), beets (it does funny things to your poo), cucumbers (slice, add vinegar, and refrigerate), and yellow squash (ok, this one I like to make into a cheesy baked casserole).

Find Local Food

Since row homes aren’t conducive to vegetable gardens and I don’t see myself moving in the near future, I’m stuck without a garden. The few ornamental vegetables I sneak into my client’s gardens and one client’s abundance of apples – Who the hell plants an orchard at a residence they visit 20 days out of the year? – can’t replace the joy of having my own glut of produce.

Farmer’s markets are an option. The really close ones to me are during the week and have midday hours, which is great if you are unemployed! I can’t get there and I even work for myself and can do what ever I please! I'm more sensible than that, so I go to work.

I’ve been digging the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) option, thanks to the introduction and experiences at Café Cyan. If I’m invested in a farm then I have motivation to pick up my produce. Plus, CSA farms usually have convenient Saturday pick-ups for the employed.

I looked around on the computer for local CSA’s and came up short. I found some, but they were a little far away. Thanks to an article this week in City Paper (a local Philly rag) about eating locally, I found a good tool to locate CSA’s, farmer’s markets, food Co-ops, and U-pick farms across the nation. Well, wouldn’t you know it? There’s a CSA farm two miles from my house!! Here’s the tool.

Looking at the dot-density map, you’re shit out of luck if you live in the middle of Nevada, but the good news is that you don’t live there!

Borough Market - Pt. 2

Like a chipmunk, I stuff my cheeks with chutney at Borough Market. Thank god my cheeks aren’t ever expanding, or maybe…I should be cursing god for not giving me cheek pouches.


















































































Quince paste, aka Membrillo, is found amongst cheeses and pairs well with Manchego cheese.















The bf says this cider's some good shit. I can't vouch for it, as I prefer the hard stuff.

Borough Market - Pt. 1

I would kill kittens to have a market like Borough Market in London near me. Ok, maybe not kittens, but I would sacrifice something!

Borough Market is located in Southwark on the southern side of the Thames River in central London and specializes in wholesale and retail sales of fruits, vegetables, and fine foods. It has been in operation for 2000 years - yeah, that's three zeros - and covers 4.5 acres! It’s open for retail business Fridays 12-6 and Saturdays 9-4. It should be at the top of your tourist list if colorful displays of produce make you squeal and pitch a tent.

Summer + Fresh Vegetables = Farmer's Markets

Corn Photo by justinhenry
Just by chance my mom calls me yesterday and mentions her local farmer’s market. She has been visiting to pester the Master Gardener volunteers in hopes of being accepted into their training program. Then we start talking about her youth and farmer’s markets. I love being older and capable of having conversations with my parents.

My mom is the daughter of a farmer from South Carolina. As a little girl in the early 1950’she picked corn, tomatoes, butterbeans and other vegetables in the early morning and loaded up the truck to head for the open-air farmer’s market on the weekend. Her older brother drove her, dropped her off, and picked her up at the end of the day. She then picked vegetables until sundown in preparation for the market again. She was paid good money - $20 a day! She put this in perspective by adding that she made 90¢ an hour when she was working in college.

I have fond and vivid memories of shelling many butter beans with my mother. Fresh beans are so good. I miss them. I should take the time to shell some.

Fresh vegetables are one of the reasons that summer is so great. If you’re eating fresh, locally grown vegetables, don’t add too many seasonings to them. They don’t need it. Salt and pepper should be fine.

Butter Beans
Boil fresh butter beans 10 to 20 minutes in water seasoned with salt and pepper.
(Mom added a little hunk of fatback, but who does that anymore?)

Farmer's Market Guide

My Weekend In Amish Country

I’m back from a four-day wedding / family weekend – neither of them mine. The events were held out in Lancaster, PA, otherwise known as “Amish Country."

Those horse and buggies are scary. I know someone that had his car totaled by a spooked horse. The Amish are pleasant, but stinky due to not bathing daily and wearing clothes made from synthetic fibers.

Amish food sucks! It’s bland and generally overcooked. Don’t be lured by the quintessential Amish dessert, Shoo Fly Pie. This is a molasses pie that’s nothing to write home about. Have a bite to say you’ve “done it” and dump it in the trash. Don’t be fooled by the Whoopee Pies, either. Unless, of course, you like to eat a fist full of marshmallow fluff and vegetable shortening between deviled food cake.

Those Pennsylvania Dutch also brought you the soft pretzel. You can thank some woman from PA for bringing Auntie Anne’s to a mall near you. The soft pretzel is snack crack of PA.

Pennsylvania has a lot of old markets in large buildings. I’m not sure why. Where I grew up we had open markets where farmers just drove their trucks up. My guess is that it’s cold here half the year, so they set up shop inside. Anyhow, this is the Central Market in Lancaster and some of their wares.

The dog wasn't for sale, but dressed to match the building and truck. Smart dog!