Chard is the new spinach. Didn't you hear? Nutritionally they're very similar - actually, spinach has slight advantages. Slight. And chard is so easy. I get it locally, six months out of the year, and it just goes with everything. That said, you could totally use spinach here, or another leafy green. I've been using chard more and more in "Mexican"-style foods. A little chard in your black bean egg roll? Sure. In your quesadilla, of course. And in my Italian and Thai foods too. Chard plays well with others. So we're thinking about dinner, and Sous Chef Brian says, "Mexican," and I say, "We don't have any beans ready, we don't have meat...." So butternut squash and chard it is. I had leftover butternut squash from one of those secret recipes, so I had frozen it in cubes. Once I figured out what was going in it, dinner came together in minutes. Wash a head of chard and chop it roughly (this photo is unchopped chard). Find some peppers. Not necessary, but nice. I had these little sweet cherry peppers and one serrano.  You could use a jalepeno and some bell pepper. Chop them up and add them and your chard to a frying pan with a bit of oil. I used avocado oil, but go with what you like. Saute until wilted and remove from heat. Meanwhile, get your squash set. In fact, if you're starting from fresh, you need to do this first. Steam or bake your squash, skin it and cube it. Let's imagine everyone has a freezer full of veg like I do. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Please ignore my freezer burn."][/caption] Take a cup and a half of cubed, cooked, frozen squash and defrost it. Microwave works, or an oven on 300. Once it's warm and defrosted, mash it with a fork.  At this point, we faced a minor setback. We discovered our flour tortillas in the fridge had turned. I sent Brian to the corner store for "more tortillas." That's what I said, "more tortillas." We have flour tortillas on hand all the time, for quick sandwiches, and quesadillas and we use them for tacos too. I have no idea why we use them for tacos, but we do. We always have. So when Brian came back with (local!) blue corn tortillas, I was disappointed. Then I realized that everyone else uses corn. We're the only fools making tacos in flour tortillas. So there's been a little bit of a taco revolution at Saturday's Mouse HQ. A spritz of oil in a frying pan, high heat, and a corn tortilla. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Ok, pre-cooked, these things looked (and felt) a bit too much like stonewashed denim."][/caption] 30 seconds, until they start to bubble a bit and get a few brown spots. Flip and do it again. We also cut up some scallions. Mix the chard and squash, taste - we were surprised, we didn't season them at this point. We also knew we were adding cheese. If you weren't going to use cheese, maybe a pinch of salt. Cheese is optional, I'm calling this vegan. Put that on a taco and you're all set. Silly me, I thought of restaurant orders of tacos on corn tortillas and put three on a plate. Three is quite a lot of taco. I'm going to say this recipe serves three, with two tacos each. I had some Hillacres Pride chipotle smoked cheddar, which was awesome, but another cheese would work here. A dash of hot sauce and you're set.  This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.  Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butternut Squash (cooked and cubed)
• 1 head chard (cleaned and chopped)
• 6 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup cheese (optional)
• 1.5 tbsp oil (avocado or whatever)
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, diced (or jalepeno)
• 1/4 cup sweet pepper, diced (cherry or bell)

Instructions

• Saute chard and peppers in 1 tbsp of oil until wilted.
• Mash cooked squash with a fork. Combine with chard and peppers.
• Heat a spritz of oil in a frying pan, add a corn tortilla, heat until bubbles form, flip, heat another 30 seconds, set aside, repeat.
• Fill tacos with chard and squash mixture, top with scallions and cheese (optional).

Details

• Prep time: 5 mins
• Cook time: 15 mins
• Total time: 20 mins
• Yield: 3 servings

(That's right. These reasons do go up to 11!) 11. Every dollar raised from this event puts us one step closer to having the funds needed to conduct our market analysis and draft our business plan. These are perhaps two of the biggest start-up costs we have and are VITAL in the process of securing financing from lenders and choosing the location that gives the Co-op the best chance to thrive. Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Check-in will begin at 10:30am on Saturday at Urban Jungle (1526 E. Passyunk) where you can also purchase tickets if you haven't gotten them by then. Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour! Our goal is to sell at least 100 tickets. We can only do this if you dig deep and pull out a twenty (or two) at one of the locations below and purchase a ticket. (Heck, the food and drink specials alone make it a worthwhile purchase.)

10. Hopefully you know about the after party by now but did you also know about all the food and drink specials that will be available from other businesses throughout the day? Tour participants can get a free homemade cookie from Black and Brew, a free small coffee or tea at Grindcore House, dollar off drafts and menu items at Second Street Brew House and half off drafts at P.O.P.E. And at least one of the gardens might be using the tour as a way to use all the mint he's been growing this year. Mint Juleps or Mojitos, anyone? Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour! Check-in will begin at 10:30am on Saturday at Urban Jungle (1526 E. Passyunk) where you can also purchase tickets if you haven't gotten them by then.

(Editor’s Note: Sarah’s Garden is one of the 20 featured gardens on our 1st Annual South Philly Garden Tour on Saturday, September 10 from 11am to 3pm.  20 AWESOME gardens. Food and drink specials at several local establishments. An after party at the Cantina from 3pm to 5pm. And all of this fun supports our efforts to bring a co-op to South Philly. Click here for information on where to buy tickets… including a link to buy online if you’re into that. Thanks!) Hello!  I am happy to report that my little garden survived the hurricane!  My palm tree fell over but that was it.  All the tomatoes are still going strong (lots of little flowers!) and the eggplant especially seems to be liking all the water: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Enjoy it, lovely"][/caption] The kale is also enjoying the extra water: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Yes, that's moss"][/caption] I was a little worried about the moss growing there, but little kale doesn't seem to mind...the moss was actually already growing in the potting soil when I planted the kale seeds but I needed all the soil I could get so I just left it.  As long as the kale continues to grow I'm not too worried about the moss.  Here's a closeup of the kale: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="babies"][/caption] The biggest ones have four leaves!  Guess it's time to transplant... I also made a trip to visit my parents and some old friends in western Massachusetts recently.  Back when I was overrun with tomato seedlings I gave some to my dad and he planted them in the garden.  And they're HUGE!  I'm a little jealous, actually, of these people who can plant things in the actual ground instead of containers.  Here are his beefsteaks: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="big'uns"][/caption] And check out his Beauty Queens!  I haven't even gotten any of these yet but his are huge: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="It's totally bigger than my hand"][/caption] We actually ate one Beauty Queen that had already turned yellow and it was delicious.  They really are beauty queens:  yellow with light green and orange stripes throughout.  Here are some more (sorry about the leaf): [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="camouflage"][/caption] I love how you can see the stripes already even though they're still green.  So pretty! But!  This is about my garden and I have some new specimens to show you.  First up:  Rex! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Welcome, Rex"][/caption] I call this guy Rex because he's a Rex Begonia and besides being awesomely jungle-like he also likes shade so his new home is under the tree.  Enjoy your dappled shade, Rex! And there is one more new addition, also of the crazy-jungle-exotic-looking variety:  a castor bean plant! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Hi there."][/caption] I love the color and shape of its leaves and the crazy spiky seedpods but this one is very poisonous and must be kept away from cats and the like.  The cats were never too interested in my little tomatoes when they were inside (they would sniff them and then back away) but this guy is apparently more attractive to kitties so I think when it gets too cold he'll be going on vacation in Massachusetts - inside, of course.  This one likes full sun so he's in a sea of basil for right now. There are a few more additions so stay tuned!  We're just full of excitement here in South Philly. Sarah DeGiorgis has lived in Philly for five years and is finally starting to feel like a true Philadelphian, though she still detests cheesesteaks.  She enjoys reading, watching bad tv, eating and cooking good food and digging in the dirt. Catch up with her continuing efforts to grow food in South Philly by clicking here.

9. You have a thing for the afterlife. One of the gardens on our tour used to be a cemetery. Freaky! And no, it wasn't some kind of cursed Native American burial ground so don't worry about the veggies making crudités out of you. Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour!

8. You forgot to get your mom a gift for Mother's Day. Or you want to get her a very early gift for next Mother's Day. Or someone has a birthday, anniversary, or some other special event to commemorate. The point is, tickets to the South Philly Garden Tour make a great gift and are a great way to spend the day with someone OR send them off to spend the day with us while you watch baseball. Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour!

7. Seriously, have you ever heard of someone having a kiwi vine in South Philly?  One of the gardens on our tour does. Find out what other crazy (but perfectly legal!) things are being cultivated in the fertile soil south of Washington Avenue. We're not just talkin' tomatoes here. Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour!

I had a lot of tomatoes. Not like, a lot of tomatoes, but several. Enough that I needed to take action before they went to waste, but not so many that I wanted to blanch and seed them and spend serious time fussing over them. I had like a pound and half of all sorts of tomatoes. I also had time. We had a bit of a storm here, you may have heard, and had prepared to not have power or water on Sunday. But we had power and water, and I had done all of the laundry and cleaned out the fridge and everything in advance of the storm so once it passed, I had nothing but time. Slow roasted tomato time. Slow roasted tomato sauce is rich and a little bit smoky. The vegetables caramelize a bit. It's a great sauce to freeze up for winter or a rainy fall day. Or the day after a hurricane. I use pretty much the same ingredients as I do for regular sauce, but in the oven, mostly. I dialed my oven up to 300 and spritzed a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Then I laid out my tomatoes. I had all sorts. Plums and cherries and grapes and funky looking heirlooms and such. The bigger ones got sliced, the smaller ones got halved. Skin on. Seeds in.  And I gathered the other stuff I add to sauce. Carrots, onions, garlic. Two onions, about one carrot (my carrots were illegitimate), and five cloves of garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Into the oven at 300 for a while. Like, definitely go do other things. Two hours? Three? Until things start to turn black around the edges. Then I put them into the blender with some water. How much water? How much do you need? Start with a little, and if it's too thick, keep going. I might have had a cup and a half of roasted veggies and used a quarter cup of water. Aim for fairly thick, this is a nice hearty sauce and it coats well. Put it in a saucepan to simmer for about as long as it takes to boil water and make pasta. I added the things I add to other sauces. Basil and a cheese rind.* Oregano and a little less than a quarter cup of Zinfandel. Stir together and simmer on low until the pasta is ready. Remove the cheese rind and you're all set. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Yeah, I don't separate rotini and penne in my jar of rotini and penne. So you get one, you get the other."][/caption] My pan of tomatoes made four hearty servings of sauce. Excellent on pizza or as a dipping sauce! *you know, the edge of the cheese that you cut off and save in a baggie in your freezer.  This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.  Stay tuned - tomorrow I'll post outtakes from today's recipe. Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds tomatoes, mixed
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 carrots, chunked or sliced
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 cheese rind (optional)
• 2 tablespoons basil
• 1 tablespoon oregano

Instructions

• Cut tomatoes. For big ones, into thick slices (1/2 inch) and for cherries and grapes, just cut in half.
• Heat oven to 300. Spritz or drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil (1 tbsp max)
• Arrange tomatoes on baking sheet in a single layer (or close). Top with sliced onion and wedge in garlic and carrot here and there.
• Drizzle or spritz top with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
• Cook in 300 degree oven 2-3 hours or until edges begin to blacken.
• Puree roasted vegetables (I used a stick blender, but you can use a regular blender or food processor) adding enough water to get the desired consistency. Go for thick sauce. Maybe 1/4 cup water?
• Put sauce in a saucepan with basil, oregano, wine and cheese rind (optional). Simmer low, 10-30 minutes, until ready to eat.

Details

• Prep time: 10 mins
• Cook time: 3 hour 20 mins
• Total time: 3 hour 30 mins
• Yield: 4 servings

Editor's Note: Anna has also been instrumental in organizing the South Philly Garden Tour. Through her efforts and the hard work of many others, the tour is up to 20 different gardens and is on track to be a great event and a unique experience. So for that, Anna becomes Reason #6 to do the South Philly Garden Tour... a lot of great, talented people have put in a lot of time to make this happen so you know it's going to be a good time. Click here for more info and a link to buy your tickets online. On which committee do you serve? Outreach What do you do for a living? I am currently the Volunteer and Internship Coordinator at WHYY, but will soon be a full time graduate student at UPenn focusing on urban greening efforts and non-profit management. How did you get involved with the food co-op? I heard about the effort through a few different grape vines, and was just thrilled to pieces.  I immediately wanted to contribute my time and knowledge to help in making the co-op a reality. Why do you want a food co-op in South Philly? I've been a co-op member in various places I've lived and have loved the whole experience - the food options as well as the people. Although Philadelphia as a whole is not devoid of co-ops, South Philly is definitely lacking. When I imagine South Philly having the stronger community that a co-op brings, as well as the local and organically grown produce and other products that it will stock, I get happy. Why should people join a food co-op? It's an investment in the overall health and vibrancy of our community and supports the local economy; with that, it combines two of my favorite things!  Food and people. What is your favorite meal to cook and why? Its summer time so beets and greens! Beets and greens! Beet and rainbow chard lasagne (smash up some sweet potatoes into that ricotta!) Also, less of a meal and more of a side but delicious all the same: Roasted Beet (red, golden and candy-striped beets) and herbed goat cheese tart). Holy delicious!

5. You can see the fig tree that Mayor Nutter planted. It's actually bearing fruit that is a much healthier snack than the stuff preferred by a certain previous Philadelphia mayor. (Though, to Rendell's credit, he has lost a lot of weight since leaving office.) Twenty (twenty!) gardens all throughout South Philadelphia have signed on to be on the Tour which goes from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 10. Gardens range from individual backyards to community gardens to parks. You can visit all the gardens or just target a few since they’re all in a 5-mile radius (perfect for walking or biking). Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online by clicking here.

Following the Tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for an after party from 3pm to 5pm. Anyone with their Garden Tour ticket will receive 20 percent off food and drinks. We’ll see you on the Tour!