Tag Archives: Balsam Farms

east goshen farmers market light coming to malvern in 2013

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File under taking the farmers market show on the road.

I love the East Goshen Farmers Market .  It is far better run than the Farm to City Markets I used to patronize because although not inexpensive, the price points at East Goshen’s market are a lot more attractive than the pricing I see some of the same vendors do in Bryn Mawr.  And there is a far greater variety of farms to choose from.  Also, the vibe is so awesome each week.  As someone settling into a new community after 30 plus years in another community, this is one of the little things that has helped my transition because although I do not know a lot of people out here yet, going to the market has helped be become comfortable with my new community.

East Goshen Farmers Market has so many terrific farmers, and I patronize all but one farm – the farming folk known as the Millers and Birchrun Hills Farm. Given the treatment people I know in West Vincent receive from Farmer-Supervisor Miller and the other supervisors in West Vincent, it is so unfortunate, but I just can’t patronize them.  To me it would be morally wrong to put jingle in their pockets. And that pains me, because no matter what I like to support local farmers whenever I can.

Mind you that opinion cost this blog being linked to the East Goshen Farmers Market site  (at their original request, not mine) and for the market manager Lisa O’Neill to treat me like I had a disease any time I tried to say hello.  She and her co-market manager Donna Levitsky are trying to be politically correct and  face it, I am not your average PTA mom…. and I am a blogger who doesn’t just blog about recipes and homemaking projects, so I get that, it’s cool.  I just don’t bother to say hi any longer. It is easier and makes them more comfortable – they are so busy on market days, I wouldn’t want to detract from what they have to do by saying hi, you know?

Anyway, Lisa has in all honesty produced a most fabulous market for East Goshen (I featured it in an article I wrote about farm markets and community gardens for Philly.com this summer) , and she is apparently taking her show on the road for 2013.  Malvern Patch is reporting that East Goshen’s market will be giving birth in the spring of 2013 to a mini version of itself in Malvern on Saturday mornings.  That is awesome, even if it is the exact same time and day I believe as the West Chester Growers Market which is quite simply amazing, as well as the market that is the original of all these local farm markets.

I am glad local farmers will be getting more exposure – this will be another producers only market.  That means to be there and sell, you grow it/you raise it.

One question, however.  East Goshen Farmers Market is sponsored by East Goshen Township and The Friends of East Goshen – and part of the money they say in their mission statement goes back to East Goshen Park.  So will part of the monies here go back to Burke Park in Malvern Borough where this will be held?  Who is sponsoring this market? Is the borough or is there another non-profit sponsor?  Or maybe they will start their own company or non-profit at this point? And what do Lisa O’Neill and her co-manager Donna Levitsky (one of the owners of Shellbark Hollow Farm which is a participating farm at East Goshen Farmers market) get out of this monetarily?  Not being mean, just being realistic.   A former neighbor is the market manager of the Bryn Mawr Farmers Market and I know the lady who manages the Collegeville Farmers Market. I know the incredible amount of time they put into running just one market.  Will they receive a salary for this Malvern market?  A profit-sharing slice of market profits?  Or is this all done in a volunteer capacity?  Either scenario is fine with me, I am not judging – I am merely curious how it all works.  Most markets I have come across, pay their market managers something for all their efforts. And running a Saturday morning market will sure mean more effort as they will be up with the roosters to ensure the market is set up by 9 a.m.

Here’s the update from Patch and I am looking forward to this market and Kimberton Whole Foods coming to Malvern!  I am still not a fan of the development occurring on East King Street, however, outside of Kimberton Whole Foods coming to town.  I think the development in the end will prove to be too dense and too much for the borough of Malvern to handle.

New Malvern Farmers Market Begins in Spring 2013

About 25 growers and vendors will set up shop in Burke Park on Saturdays.

ByPete Kennedy  Email the author  5:30 am

Malvern Borough will have a new, weekly farmers market in Burke Park starting Saturday, May 4, 2013.

The Malvern Farmers Market will be held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Burke Park. It will feature about 25 farmers and food artisans in its first year, some of whom will appear on a rotating basis.

“It will start as a producers-only market,” co-manager Lisa O’Neill said. “There will definitely be a meat vendor in there, farm fresh eggs, local cheeses, local bakeries.”

What about cupcakes, dog treats and other less typical items for sale?

“The, what I call, value-added products will be there, but we’ll introduce them to the market after we get a solid farmers market up and going,” she said.

O’Neill, who currently runs the East Goshen Farmers Market with co-manager Donna Levitski, presented the plan for a Malvern market at the Sept. 18 Borough Council meeting. She credits Borough manager Sandy Kelley with helping her see the potential in Malvern….

In an email, O’Neill said the market will boost the local economy:

 

 Malvern is the perfect community for a farmers market – a  walking town, with plenty of parking on a weekend morning, and just the perfect distance from existing Saturday markets. We think this will benefit the entire Malvern community – every Saturday shoppers will head to Malvern for the market – while they’re in Malvern they can visit with all of the other Malvern merchants – giving local businesses a big weekend boost – everybody wins.

 

Many farmers markets have popped up in and around Malvern in recent years, but few have demonstrated staying power. The fate of the East Goshen Farmers Market for 2013 is in the hands of township officials, and two other nearby farmers markets—Great Valley and Rushton Farm—did not return in 2012.

 

Lisa O’Neill is right – local communities do indeed benefit HUGELY from things like farmers markets.  It brings people to town who might never otherwise visit.  And Malvern is cute.  The Bryn Mawr Farmers Market (albeit expensive) has greatly benefited Bryn Mawr by giving it foot traffic on Saturdays, and things like First Friday Main Line and Clover Market have also similarly benefited main street Ardmore.  (and if you have never been to either First Friday Main Line or Clover Market, you should check them out!)

Final note – today’s photos are of the veggies from Balsam Farms in Amagansett, NY…a little slice of heaven much like Sugartown Strawberries around here.

Hey, it is the end of September so what farms are doing the best corn mazes and hay rides and pumpkin things this year?  Let me know!  You know how I love pumpkins!!!

fast and fresh tomato sauce

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Oh lordy I have so many tomatoes!  It’s “almost” pomodoro time – yep – simple and sweet.  And you slice the garlic, not chop.  Sautée some onions, add fresh herbs….it will be delicious…this is not quite a pomodoro and only “almost” because I have meat and do add a little tomato paste, but omit the meat and paste and it will be more traditional.

Simple, fast, fresh.

A few cloves of thin sliced garlic (today I used six)  

3 small onions sliced (3 little yellows from the farmers market in thin slices and then rings)

fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces, divided

tomatoes (I have half a pint of yellow cherry tomatoes and a bunch of ripe red)

fresh mozzarella (bought this crazy amazing mozzarella from the Hamptons  home)

salt

pepper

fresh oregano

fresh parsley

4 sausage patties (Italian sweet – they were in the freezer – or you can omit meat altogether)

a small amount of dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted in white wine

hot pepper

smoked paprika

tomato paste

olive oil

pasta of choice

Brown the sausage.  Remove from pan, drain out on paper towels.

Toss a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in pan and cook garlic and onions.  Until sort of starting to caramelize (a golden brown color but not burnt).

Add the reconstituted mushrooms, juice and all.

Add the tomatoes. (which have been chopped, except for cherries, which were halved)

Add basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, a dash or two of hot pepper flakes and a dash of smoked paprika

Cook down a bit.  Add some paste.  The smallest can is 6 oz – use one of those if you use paste.  Add cooked and now crumbled sausage back to sauce.

Cook your pasta.

When you put pasta and sauce together add chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano) and diced up fresh mozzarella.

Serve with a nice bottle of wine if you so choose, some crusty bread and a simple salad of arugula and romaine.

Enjoy

american pie

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In last September’s New York Times Magazine Mark Bittman wrote an article called Bye,Bye, American Pie. No it wasn’t the impetus for this post, but it is a good read.  This post takes inspiration from the farmers where I have been vacationing until a few hours ago: the farmers of Eastern Long Island, NY.  One farm in particular called Balsam Farms in Amagansett.

I feel like I have been cheating on my favorite Chester County Farmers, but I have to tell you the produce I bought while on vacation is truly amazing.   I think there is something with the fertile yet sandy soil that makes a difference.

Seriously, and it sounds like sacrilege, but the tomatoes I have had kick the rear of Jersey tomatoes.

And another interesting thing to note is in a lot of cases this organic produce I have been purchasing is less money than some of what I buy locally in Chester County.  I figure that is well worth mentioning since everything having to do with the Hamptons is equated with super expensive.

So this pie is all mine oh me oh my.  The recipe is not an exact science, and I am trying to get better with that.

Peach Apricot Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup oatmeal (Quaker quick oats will do – but PLAIN – no flavored stuff!!)

1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons sugar (white)

3 tablespoons of ice water

dash of cinnamon

dash of ginger

Mix all dry ingredients.  Cut in butter after cutting butter into teeny pieces.  Incorporate butter into dry ingredients until little crumbs are formed.  Add the water.  Bring it all together into a ball of dough that is not over-mixed, wrap well in plastic wrap so it is air-tight and refrigerate for  2 hours.

As you are getting ready to bring your dough out, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

After the crust is sufficiently chill, roll out between sheets of plastic wrap lightly dusted with flour.  Place crust carefully in a pie plate – I guess mine is a 9 inch – I have vintage glass pie plates and this was one that was shallow as opposed to deep crust.  Fix your edge of the crust by gently crimping with a fork and put crust in pan back in refrigerator to stay cool while you assemble the filling and streusel topping.

Filling:

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup of brown sugar

Peach Apricot or peach preserves

5 or 6 regular sized peaches

5-8 small apricots

lemon juice

Slice up the fruit into thin slices.  Sprinkle a little lemon juice over them to keep them from turning brown and toss gently with sugar, corn starch, flour, spices. Set aside.

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup oatmeal (same kind as above)

3 tablespoons of butter diced up

1/3 cup sugar (white and brown mixed together)

cinnamon and ginger to taste

Mix all the stuff together for the streusel topping in a small bowl until uniform crumbs are formed.  Set aside.

Remove crust from fridge and pour fruit gently and evenly into crust.   Dot fruit filling with dabs of preserves. You aren’t completely covering the top with preserves, you are dotting.   Evenly distribute streusel topping over this and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees depending upon your oven.  You may wish to create foil “hood” to cover crust edge so it doesn’t burn.

Cool pie before serving on a counter or table or wherever it can cool off unmolested by pets or humans.   Serve with whipped cream sweetened with honey and ginger or vanilla ice cream.  Refrigerate leftovers.