Sick of doing laundry, but don't know how to explain it to your mom?  Our friends at Wash Cycle Laundry have sweetened their offer for coop members.  Check them out on the Shop South Philly page  or catch up with them between gardens during the second annual Garden Tour on September 8!

Hi, friends.  In the midst of all my packing and unpacking and painting I have still found time to procrastinate with tend to the garden at my new house.  The bathtub is moving along nicely:

little green things

That green stake on the left in the bathtub (am I ever going to not cringe when I type that??) is a metal tomato stake that is awesome:  there are three prongs so it's sturdy and you can keep adding more on the top as your plants grow.  Although looking at this one, I think I put it in upside down.  Oh well, still works!  Tomatoes are heavy and I always underestimate how many stakes I will need to hold the plants up.  In fact I only got three of the metal ones - on the left are two stacked and one is already being engulfed by plants on the right - because I couldn't imagine needing more than that when I ordered these in December.  Maybe someday I will learn.

And look!  Tomatoes!

The inside of my house is entirely this shade of blue and unfortunately it extends to the back steps as well[/caption]

These are Dr. Walters that I chose solely based on the name.  And...they were not so tasty.  They weren't sweet; in fact, they were almost sour.  Since when are tomatoes sour?  I don't know if sour is the right word, but when I tasted a slice my mouth kind of automatically puckered so sour it is.  My first thought was bitter or acrid but I think acrid is too strong a word.  They still tasted like tomatoes, just not sweet ones.  Anyway, these are both from the same plant, one that has had a hard time of being moved around and gotten quite dry - I'm actually surprised it survived the multiple moves.  All that to say that with my very unscientific method I'm not sure if the sourness is due to poor conditions or if that's just what Dr. Walters taste like.  I still have some Dr. Walters in the tub and also at my other garden in the ground and those plants are a lot healthier.  Once those ripen I'll have to see if they have the same pseudo-sour taste.

Bear with me while I pat myself on the back for planting things that are not vegetables.  On the other side of the broken concrete that I call my yard I planted some flowers.  Yes, flowers!  And not even edible ones!  Greensgrow is having their big summer sale - as are a lot of garden centers as they clear out the summer stock to make way for fall - and so I grabbed some pretty things for my garden.  I plan on planting fall vegetables like chard, kale, spinach and arugula and some bulbs for the spring but I'm still in the process of cleaning out all the overgrown foliage back here and wanted something nice to look at in the meantime.  Here they are!

mini flower garden

From left to right we have:  hibiscus, sunflowers that I started allllll the way back in May at the container garden workshop but just put in the ground a few weeks ago, daises, a butterfly bush, black-eyed susans and a little harebell.  The honeysuckle on the fence is my neighbors' but I'd like to plant some of my own, too.

This thing that I am battling with to clean out is wild morning glory, and I've dug up the little bed above at least three times pulling out morning glory's thick roots.  Wild morning glory is very different from the nice climbing morning glory:  the wild one is a horribly invasive weed.  It is TOUGH and the roots go on forever and have a horrible smell that I can now smell in my sleep I've spent so much time pulling them out.  Everything I've read says to just use a weed killer because THAT IS THE ONLY WAY but I'll battle the roots a bit more before I resort to that.  Maybe I'll take a picture of the huge pile of roots I pull out every other day if I'm not too defeated by the whole thing.

Mike Kaiser, Marketing and Communications Committee Member Contact: [email protected], 267-879-5318 Tuesday, August 7, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY SOUTH PHILLY FOOD CO-OP ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL FALL GARDEN TOUR FUNDRAISER WHO: The South Philly Food Co-op WHAT: The Second Annual South Philly Garden Tour – a self-guided ticketed event, featuring a new sampling of community and home gardens throughout South Philadelphia - a total of 20 gardens will be open for the tour. Ticket holders are invited to the Cantina (1651 East Passyunk Avenue) for an after-party with 20% off beverages. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the tour. All funds raised through this event will support the South Philly Food Co-op’s efforts to bring a member-owned grocery store where high-quality food and products, including locally sourced and organic, can be found for a fair price. WHERE: Gardens throughout South Philadelphia including private homes, public gardens, and community plots. Tickets are currently on sale at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th Street
• Ultimo Coffee Bar, 1900 S. 15th Street
• Online at: http://southphillygardentour.eventbrite.com/

WHEN: Saturday, September 8, 2012, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, check-in begins at Urban Jungle at 12:30 pm (Rain date: September 9) MORE INFO: http://southphillyfoodcoop.org/events/garden-tour/ About the South Philly Food Co-op: The South Philly Food Co-op initiative was started by a group of South Philadelphia community members dedicated to establishing a place where high-quality food and products, including locally sourced and organic, can be found for a fair price. We believe that it is vital that we choose food sources that are sustainable and support the local economy. We are also committed to building community and educating the community about making good food choices. Website: http://www.southphillyfoodcoop.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SouthPhillyFoodCoop Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SPFoodCoop

There are a handful of store bought condiments that are always in my pantry. No matter how easy it sounded when I read Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, I'm not making my own worcestershire sauce. I'm probably not even making my own mustard. There are always pickles, and sometimes they're things that I've just doused in vinegar and sugar and salt and other times they're store bought. And there are always jalapeños, which are very easy to make yourself.

We make a lot of tacos and burritos and nachos and such. It's pretty easy to throw together whatever veg and protein you have on hand, cover it in cheese and call it dinner. We typically add jalapeños to those meals. We make banh mi.* Jalapeños are important.

I had a big bowl of peppers, because my CSA announced it was pepper season and I asked my husband to buy all the peppers. Apparently, he was the rational one and he bought only one large bowl full. Good enough.

I sliced the jalapeños into standard nacho-style rings.

I had 9 jalapeños, which was quite a bit, all sliced up. I sliced but did not photograph about six cloves of garlic. You can leave these whole, and while they won't flavor the peppers that much, they're delicious pickled and not "garlicky" at all. Anyway, toss the garlic in with the peppers.

I also had three cherry peppers, which I chopped into narrow wedges.

Jars with good lids for both, and then the brine. I started Googling the recipes, because I tend to eyeball mine, but since I'm telling you about it, I thought it was best to make sure I was doing it "right."

The very first hit on Google is pretty close to what I do, it's just measured more precisely. Other recipes mix water and vinegar, some skip the turmeric, skip the garlic, add onions, so this is pretty flexible. The only hard part is making sure that you have the right amount of brine for your peppers, and that's going to vary each time you make a batch.

The brine trick --and I think I saw this attributed to Mark Bittman at some point, but I can't find a link-- is to put your jalapeños or whatever you're fridge-pickling into a jar, then fill the jar with liquid. Dump out the liquid and measure it, that's how much brine you need. What I do is significantly less elegant: make just about enough brine, and if it's not enough, add more vinegar.

So the brine is vinegar, salt and turmeric. I tend to do about two cups white vinegar and a teaspoon each of salt and turmeric, and then yeah, if it's not enough, more vinegar.

Bring your brine to a boil, then turn it off and pour it over your peppers.

Let it cool until it feels like your jars won't explode in the fridge, seal it and fridge it. It's food, so you can eat it immediately, but you'd rather wait a day, and if you can handle it, a week.

Here they are after four days. They're softer and more olive colored than on day one. They're a little bit milder, in terms of pure jalapeño heat, but they have that vinegar perkiness that picks up on flavor and amplifies it, so they're milder but still have a lot going on. They'll mellow a bit more in time.

My husband tried one on the world's least innovative nacho (below) and was surprised at their heat, but that's going to vary pepper to pepper and based on how long they've been fridged.

This is very vinegary and should keep for weeks, but if you notice it smells bad or looks fuzzy, it's no longer good.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

*About banh mi: Sure, they're easy to make, but a friend of mine brought me some pickled carrots and daikon from Fu Wah in West Philly, and now they're even easier. I had no idea they sold pre-pickled carrots and daikon, but that's the thing that keeps me from making banh mi every day, the pickling of the veg. They sell these little tubs and it's awesome, so if you're looking to make some banh mi, here's a shortcut.

 

(Refrigerator) Pickled Jalapeños

Ingredients

• 9 (or however many you have) Jalapeños


• 2 cups (or more for more, less for less) White Vinegar


• 1 teaspoon Turmeric


• 1 teaspon Sea Salt

Instructions

• Boil the brine ingredients, turn off.


• Slice the peppers and put in a jar with a good lid.


• Cover peppers in brine, let cool a bit, seal and put in fridge.


• Better after 24 hours, even better after a week, keeps for several weeks.

Details

• Prep time: 10 mins


• Total time: 10 mins

Concert at FDR Park

When: Friday, August 10, (rescheduled from Friday, July 27th). Two shifts: 6:30 – 8pm and 8 – 10pm
Where: FDR Park (1800 Pattison Ave near the Phillies & Eagles Stadiums)

Come join the Co-op at FDR Park for its amazing concert series! Just hang out, or, if you'd like to volunteer, you can help us with a Guerilla Gardening workshop. Volunteers will be making Seed Bombs, distributing Co-op information, telling others why you think South Philly needs a co-op, and taking applications. You will be paired with a committee member who can help to answer any questions that arise. We have two shifts for this event and need one volunteer at each. To volunteer, email [email protected].

Join the South Philly Food Co-op for our 2nd Annual South Philly Garden Tour! Help us celebrate your neighbors’ hardworking green thumbs and their efforts to make South Philly greener! Visit backyard gardens and community gardens all while supporting the Co-op! 2nd Annual South Philly Garden Tour Saturday, September 8, 2012 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Check-in begins at 12:30 pm at Urban Jungle (1526 East Passyunk Avenue) to pick up tour map. The Garden Tour is a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature 20 gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet you, show you around, and answer questions. Following the tour, participants are invited to the Cantina (East Passyunk Ave and Morris St.) for more socializing along with drink specials. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and can be purchased now at:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St., cash only
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.
• Online

If you need additional information, please email [email protected].

Summer must be coming to a close if there's only one more Gold Star Music in The Park event. On August 15, come out and enjoy the last days of summer with the music of East Coastamite, a good-time, get-down, instrumental four-piece preaching the word of 60s-inspired, soul, surf, and organ jazz. Course there will be food too--the Co-op is celebrating with a a potluck. Bring your favorite dish made with at least one local ingredient to share and don't forget to BYOB(lanket). Event begins at 7pm at Gold Star Park on Wharton between 6th and 7th. Sign up to become a member-owner that night and you'll receive $15 in gift cards for the Farm to City farmers markets. And if that's not enough of an incentive, the first 40 people who stop by our table will get a free Little Baby’s ice cream sandwich. See you there!

Once again South Philly Food Co-op is participating in The Energy Co-op's Referral Rewards program. This proved to be a very successful fund raising effort for us last year, earning us $20 for each household who switched their energy supplier over to The Energy Co-op. We also helped to turn dozens of people on to the benefits of a cooperatively owned energy supplier. (Full disclosure: one of those households was my own.) They Energy Co-op is a member-owned, nonprofit cooperative. (Sound familiar?) This means that they operate for the benefit their members, not outside stakeholders or investors. They consist of a member-elected board, paid staff and over 7600 consumers in the five-county area. This year they are opening up the Referral Rewards opportunity to 10 community organizations including your own South Philly Food Co-op. The program will be a little shorter - July and August - so you have a little less time to make your decision.  If you join The Energy Co-op during those months AND mention the South Philly Food Co-op as your referral, The Energy Co-op will donate $20 to us. So if you've already been considering making the switch, just wait a couple more days and be sure to mention us as your referral. And if you've never heard of The Energy Co-op or don't know what it means to switch your electricity supplier, check out their website for more info (but remember... the South Philly Food Co-op sent you there!).

We're kicking off a new Wednesday night series for South Philly Food Co-Op members! Paint your own one-of-a-kind pottery with fellow members and friends at this Shop South Philly partner business. You'll receive 15% off all purchases, with a portion of proceeds going to the Co-Op. Click here to learn more about The Expressive Hand. This is a great event for all ages! The Expressive Hand has two high chairs on location for the youngest Co-op members. The shop is BYOB, so bring your own snacks and drinks (especially if painting a little tipsy is your thing!) The event is free, but space is limited, so RSVP to secure your spot at the table!

It's almost August!  That means...

Dr. Walter I presume

Red tomatoes!  I actually do just presume in the caption above.  I've moved these poor tomatoes around so much that most of the labels are gone.  Oh well.  And if you look closely at the stem above the fruit you can see that it's broken - another casualty of moving.  It's hard to move large tomato plants, especially in a small car.  Let's just say the sunroof came in handy.

Unfortunately, when I was watering the garden today I found an interloper:

this thing was about the size of my index finger

I realize that it is hard to see a green caterpillar against green plants but that's how hard it is to spot these guys.  I only found this one because I was poking around for tomatoes - just goes to show that you should always check your plants under the leaves.  This is a tomato hornworm and it is alarmingly large, eats tomatoes (and eggplants and peppers) and will turn into a moth.  This was the only one I found on any of my plants so  I just pulled it off and threw it into the alley for the birds.

Lastly, I "liked" Greensgrow on Facebook and they told me the other day that it was time to plant carrots for the fall.  Okay!  My friend gave me some homegrown carrots as a housewarming gift and they were delicious.  I mean delicious - sweet and earthy and crunchy.  I just ate them plain and raw they were so good and I didn't want to mar the fresh taste with anything else.  Usually I dip carrots into hummus and they become more of a hummus vehicle but I think homegrown I could just eat them on their own.  I've had some "Little Finger" carrot seeds lying around for over a year now so I finally decided to give them a try.  Fall carrots would be nice!  I also found this helpful post on the Philadelphia County Master Gardeners blog all about what you can plant now for the fall.  I'm going to try a few of these as I figure out my back yard.  It's exciting that spring isn't the only planting time!