Hello friends!  My tomato harvest is still going strong:

 

 

And of course there are still more to come:

and more...

And my squash, eggplants, sunflowers and basils are still going strong (or not so strong, in the case of the eggplant, but I'm still holding out hope.)

But!  The time has come to think about the future...of my garden.  Right now so much space is being taken up by tomatoes that I can't do too much until they're done and I finally pull them out.  I'm going to start slowly reclaiming pots and sun space for the fall planting:  kale, rainbow chard, spinach, arugula and maybe some broccoli and carrots.  So things are going to start looking different around here!  But hopefully still nice.

Because I don't have too much else to show you, let's look at that weird tomato again!

 

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.

The blog has been a little quiet this summer (at least compared to our Facebook page... wow! 1007 fans!) but that doesn't mean we're not still working hard at getting this Co-op open. And thanks to our loyal corps of bloggers (Sarah, Rose and the crew) who keep the great content coming. We've been to a number of events this summer including Gold Star Park's Music in the Park summer concert series (where our awesome garden writer Sarah was among several volunteers staffing our table... thanks, Sarah and everyone else!). The first week we signed up five new members and then got a few at the two following weeks, all while hearing some great music and tasting some really great food. Last weekend we hung out on Passyunk Avenue in the blazing sun at the car show, an event I like to say "celebrates cars in one of the toughest neighborhoods to park in the whole city." We even got a new member there! (Thanks, Patrick!) And we're not done yet. There a number of events coming up that we are trying to get to (pending volunteer availability) and the first one is TONIGHT (I'll be there). If you are interested in helping out at our table at any of these events, you can email us at [email protected]. 1. August 4: We will have a table at Newbold Civic Association's Movie Night featuring Happy Feet. If you haven't become a member yet, bring your check book and get ready to climb on board! Guerin Rec Center at 16th and Jackson at 6pm. 2. August 15: The Transition movement grew out of the theory of permaculture and we happen to have a Transition group that meets in South Philadelphia. TransitionPhiladelphia's August public meeting will take place on Monday, 8/15/11 at the South Philadelphia Older Adult Center (E. Passyunk Ave and Dickinson St.).  This meeting will focus on the theme of community -- what's good, bad, changing, needs to improve in our communities. (Umm... more co-ops?) What anchors a community and creates the bond that makes it grow? How do communities keep members involved, accountable, and contributing? We hope to be able to have someone at this meeting to offer how the South Philly Food Co-op can answer a lot of the questions above. Please consider attending and giving your own feedback about why you have joined (or are considering joining) the co-op. 3. and 4. August 18 (ruh, roh... two events!): Gold Star Park is hosting the Music in the Park event that was rescheduled from July 7. We will be there again with our Bobby-Flay-style Throwdown pitting local, seasonal produce against conventional, who-knows-from-where produce. As I recall from when we did this last week, it wasn't much of a contest. On that same night, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association (LoMo) is having a Summertime Meet & Greet in Marconi. And it appears it will be a produce happy night since the theme of the event is tomato season. Guests are invited to bring some of their prize-winning backyard tomatoes to show off and snack on, or a tomato-inspired dish to share. LoMo Blue ribbons will be awarded. We hope to be there since this would seem like the perfect event to be selling tickets to our Fall Garden Tour. (Have you purchased a ticket yet?) And that's just some of the events. We're also trying to line-up a presence at a Community Appreciation Day in Point Breeze and September brings LoMo's Fall Flea Market & Community Fair. If you happen to see us at any of these events, please stop by and say hello. And if you haven't become a member yet, any one of these events is a perfect time to do so. (But really, what are you waiting for?! Mail it in. Our folks LOVE when they find a new membership in the P.O. Box.)

I had these poblanos, because I went to Headhouse for one poblano (and other things) and they were going for next to nothing by the pint. This is how I ended up with all those jalepenos that one time. But poblanos are nothing to worry about. They're a notch or two above a bell pepper, in terms of heat. But what to do with them? Luckily it rained.

Why is that lucky? Because poblanos do well roasted or baked. They get slightly sweet and tender and they just want to be cooked in the oven. And finally, we had a cool night. I mean right now, it's 72 degrees out. Quick, make a lasagna! Put on a sweater! We'll be back to the 90s tomorrow.

So late-ish in the evening, Sous Chef Brian and I were staring at the whiteboard in the kitchen, the one that lists all the stuff we have to use up. Damn if I can find a way to use fresh mozzarella without fresh basil or fresh tomatoes, so that was out. Carrots. Yeah, carrots. Yogurt. Blueberries. But I also had good local corn. So good that the corn salesguy (you know, the guy who sells you corn) said it'd be a waste to cook it, and that we should eat it raw. So corn it was. Note the cooked corn sacrifice.

So I got to Googling stuffed poblanos. Not that I can't put my own stuff inside a pepper, and I did, but I wanted to know what was out there. You know what's out there? One recipe. Everyone makes the same thing. It's from a Martha Stewart Cookbook, and seriously, there are a dozen re-creations out there. I'm no Martha fan, but that woman deserves royalties on this one.

I make the mistake of imagining everyone is exactly like me. I search recipes when I'm going to cook something new, to find out what others have learned before me. Do I really need to marinate it? Should I take off the lid towards the end? But in the end, I aggregate what I've read and what's in the fridge. If it's close, I cite the source (see Martha above), but unless it's something totally unfamiliar, I make stuff out of what I've got. And I write my blog imagining you do the same. Here's how I do it, now do it your way with your own fridge. But apparently this one was hot enough for lots of folks to replicate.

So I followed some of Martha's guidance. But mine has a peppery sauce and roasted corn and no cornmeal or cumin. Let's begin.

We started, of course, with the poblanos. Two each.

 Uncapped them.

And Sous Chef Brian hollowed them out.

 

Hollow them out carefully - one got slashed in the process, so we cut it up and set it aside. I had a backup, so we're still at two each.

I put an ear of that beautiful, fresh, eat-it-raw corn on the stove. Just on it. If you don't have a gas stove, use your grill, because a match would take forever.

I moved it around a few times, and then Sous Chef Brian un-cobbed it. Shucked it? I don't know. Set it free.

We also diced up a cippolini onion, because that's what we had, and set half aside and put the other half in a bowl with the corn.

I added just a few tablespoons of black beans. Soaked and cooked, canned, or even drained out of soup would work.

And some jarred jalepenos, because it's what I had, but fresh is best.

 And cheese. We had a fairly boring local cheddar, but I'd love to have used my favorite Hillacres Pride smoked cheddar. Or some pepperjack or something.

That all goes into the bowl with the corn and the beans and such, and we call it stuffing.
 Stuff the peppers.

More than that. Wedge it in there.

I used a chopstick to make sure it got all the way in.

Now the oven. Don't do this when it's 90 out. Dial it up to 450.

Ok, breathe a moment and make sauce.

I had nearly two cups of tomatoes without skins but with juice. You could use a 14oz can of whatever for this. Plus the reserved half an onion.

And the poblano from earlier that didn't make it. Seriously, buy five, and the one that suffers the most in the hollowing-out process gets added to the sauce. So worth it.

I also added half a can of these, but you could just roast your own red pepper, like the corn above. Pepper, stove, paper bag, 10 minutes, rinse. I used about 4oz of roasted pepper.

 And some terribly-photographed salt and pepper. 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp kosher salt.


And blend until smooth.

Then I searched my kitchen for the baking dish that would fit the peppers the tightest. I thought crowding the pan would keep them together and keep the sauce on top of them. This was the best I could do.



And sauce. Be sure to get sauce under the peppers as well.



And I had a bit more cheese on hand, so I added it now, but you'd do better to wait.

40 minutes covered, then cheese and 15 minutes uncovered. Note my burned cheese. Leaving it uncovered at the end helps the sauce thicken (thanks, Martha).



My sauce looks like it's had a rough day.



This would be good over rice, if you're rice-oriented. I am not. Four peppers served two pretty well (see the rice note). Might still be an ice cream night.

They were outstanding. I added no dried spices (ok, salt and pepper, but really) and they were bright and fresh tasting. Just cheesy enough. The jalepeno added just enough heat to start to hit the back of your throat, but not enough to send you for the milk.

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

Ingredients

• 5 poblano peppers


• 1 ear corn


• 1 small onion


• 3 tablespoons black beans, cooked


• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar


• 1 3/4 cups tomatoes, seedless, skinless in juice


• 2 tablespoons jalepeno, sliced


• 4 oz roasted red pepper


• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Hollow out four poblanos, and chop one and set aside. Reserve caps.


• Roast corn on gas stove or grill, turning regularly until charred. Remove kernels from corn with a sharp knife.


• For filling, dice an onion, reserve half and add half to filling bowl. Add corn, jalepeno, black beans and most of the shredded cheese to stuffing bowl.


• For sauce, Blend tomatoes, roasted pepper, reserved poblano, reserved onion and salt and pepper.


• Preheat oven to 450. Stuff poblanos with filling, using fingers, chopsticks, or whatever's necessary to get it to the bottom of the pepper. Use all the filling, if possible.


• Arrange poblanos in a small baking dish, and replace caps. Cover with sauce.


• Bake covered for 40 minutes at 450. Remove cover, add any remaining cheese and bake another 15 minutes.


• Serve with remaining sauce from pan.

Details

• Prep time: 20 mins


• Cook time: 1 hour


• Total time: 1 hour 20 mins


• Yield: 2 servings

The tomato harvest has started!  Here are some:

None of them are all that large:  here are the two largest in my hand for scale

These are the two biggest tomatoes I've gotten so far - all the earlier ones were smaller.  I'm not too worried about the size because we all know that fruit grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides is smaller, right?  Thought so.  And there are more tomatoes coming!

I realize that lots of the tomatoes in the above picture look like that perfect shade of tomato red but apparently (one of) the drawbacks of relying solely on the iPhone camera is that it does not pick up colors well.  I've noticed that lighting is really important to making my photos look good (I should say better) and natural light is best, which is why my pictures are always taken outside.  And for some reason a broad spectrum of red gets reduced down to a nice, bright cherry red instead of the nuanced, orangey colors it really is.  So while these tomatoes on the vine may look just as red and delicious as the ones I've already picked, I'm actually leaving them to ripen a bit longer so they can get reach full growth.

But!  Not everything is coming up roses.  This little guy, for instance, got pretty dry the other day and is now a bit wrinkly:

so we'll see how that goes.  On the whole, though, the crop looks pretty good - no more blossom end rot or rot of any kind (fingers crossed!) and only a few of them are having issues with the skin splitting.  And I'm still waiting on my Beauty Queens...

I know I keep saying this, but I am going to make some changes to the tomato set-up once it is, well, bearable to go out there again and I'm not at work.  In the meantime let's look at some other garden residents.  First up:  sunflowers!

You are some tall monsters, sunflowers!  They're probably over 6' now - the raised bed they're in is a little less than a foot tall but they are way taller than me and would be even without that extra foot.  And I'm 5'9"...

And Mr. Fig is also doing well I think:

I am particularly fond of Mr. Fig because I tried to grow one last year and after surviving the summer I put it in a cooler, dark place (as I was instructed) for the winter and all the leaves fell off.  Which was what they were supposed to do - figs need to be dormant in the winter to produce fruit (or something - I have a long list of meticulously-typed instructions on growing figs from some fig grower in Massachusetts but my eyes start glazing over every time I try to read it) so I didn't water it that often and when I did I felt a little silly because it looked like I had just stuck a dead twig in a pot of dirt and was misguidedly caring for it.  But then!  One day this spring!  When I was dutifully watering it along with many many tomato seedlings, I noticed a bud on the tip of the stem!  Amazing!  So I continued to water and the bud got bigger and greener and looked like it was about to open when...it just stopped growing.  I kept on watering it and even put it outside once all threat of frost was gone but alas the poor thing did not make it.  I thought it was particularly cruel that it started to come back but then apparently gave up.  Come on!

Fig #2 seems to be doing better but we'll see.  I even gave it a stake!

And lastly, my search for garden kitsch has taken me the seashell route...well maybe it was spending time on the beach.  But regardless, I now have shells!

Since I don't grow flowers in a bed frame (FLOWER BED, GET IT?) or a toilet or a sink or a tire or have one of those wooden things that looks like a person bent over (surprisingly a Google search of "garden butt" didn't turn up what I was thinking of...) I have to get my creative side out somewhere, right?  Shells all around!  I am also collecting donations of plastic or ceramic animals to live in my little jungle.  I'm sure I won't regret saying that nothing is too tasteless!  And some day I'll get one of those rocks that says "Sarah's Garden"...

See you next week, hopefully with a slightly more substantial post!

Are you a lover of farming, cycling, and the heat? If so, break out your bike, as many water bottles as you can, and head on up to Mt. Airy for tomorrow's Weaver's Way Co-op Urban Farm Bike Tour.

We’ve added lots of new farms this year, and will continue our tradition of hosting two rides: one for “beginners” without as much bike riding experience, or who prefer a shorter ride and one for more experienced riders who can manage a longer ride at a bit faster pace. Two rides, short and long, both rides begin and end at Weavers Way Co-op Farm in East Mt. Airy. See below for the route for each ride. And the party at the end will be a great reward for all your effort . Online registration is now available. Whether you plan on paying on the day of the ride $30, or in advance $25/Co-op members; $28/all others, you need to use the online registration form to sign in. You’ll be given the choice of paying by credit card using our PayPal processing account or selecting “pay at the door.” You’ll also be able to register and pay for up to 6 addition family and friends.

It's a great bike ride through Philadelphia's unique and vibrant neighborhoods; visiting several urban farms in Kensington, South Philly, North Philly, West Philly, Germantown, Roxborough & Mt. Airy; inspiring talks with Philadelphia's pioneering urban farmers; and an incredible feast of grilled foods and beer at the end. Ride starts and ends at Weavers Way Co-op's Mort Brooks Farm in E. Mt. Airy, 1011 E. Washington Lane, Phila, PA 19138. Registration for the long ride is at 8 AM with the ride to begin at 8:30. Registration for the short ride is at 8:45 am with the ride to begin at 9:15. UPDATE: Because of the excessive heat, both rides have been shortened to 18.5 miles for the short ride and 25 for the long ride. The ride should end by 2 pm and don't worry, plenty of water, gatorade and snacks will be provided.

July's final Music (and Food) in the Park event with Gold Star Park will take place next Thursday (7/28) at 7PM. Bring a blanket or chairs and enjoy the music of Railroad Fever. We'll also have a selection of local fruit and veggies for you to sample. The music and veggie/fruit tasting start at 7pm. Gold Star Park is located on Wharton Street, between 6th and 7th Streets. (Click here for a link to a map.) The Co-op will be providing samples of in-season fruits and vegetables for everyone to taste. Bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring your kids – this is a great way to become familiar with what is in-season in our region and maybe try something new. We will also feature a blind “Taste-Test” pitting Local/Organic versus conventional produce. Do you think you can tell the difference? (Hint: you probably can!) Special thanks to Friends of Goldstar Park for arranging the music, Pennsylvania Horticulture Society for providing the grant to purchase the produce, and to Birchtree Catering for sourcing and cutting up the veggies and fruit.

Hello again!  I took off last week for a much-needed vacation.  Because sometimes you just need to see something like this for a couple of days.  It was relaxing and lovely but I failed to mention to Dan that I did indeed have someone to water for me (thanks, roommate!) and she did a superb job so I came home to this:

but wouldn't it have been funny if I just let them all die?  Naw, I love my monkeys too much for that.  In fact, I bought them a brand new (ok, used actually) pot so some of the smaller eggplants can stretch their legs/roots a bit.  Buying a used pot at a thrift store is so much cheaper than buying one new and almost all thrift stores and flea markets have some even if they're kinda hidden under other things.

But on to the garden!  It's hothothot out there but with everyday watering the plants seem to be doing just fine.  My sunflowers have grown quite tall (about 5' now!) so hopefully there will be flowers soon:

And there are lots of tomatoes, including this nice yellowish one which has since turned orange:

and of course, lots of green tomatoes:

Next up is this little lovely:

The PHS women who came to judge my garden told me that this is blight.  Here's some more information about blight on tomato plants.  Since blight is fungal it's pretty common to get it on plants that are maybe a little too close together (cough cough my garden cough) so I'm not really surprised.  For now I've just snipped off all the leaves and branches that looked blighted and moved it away from the other plants to try to stop the spread of blight.  The tricky thing about blight is that since it is fungal you want to make sure not to compost any blighted plant parts because the fungus will continue to grow and contaminate the rest of your compost.  You also want to make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after touching blighted plants because it can be spread through touch, too.  Here is the plant in question sans blight (hopefully):

I still have it apart from the rest of the tomatoes until it can learn to play well with others...or until it looks nice and healthy again.  This weekend (if it's not too hot) I plan on trying to give all the tomatoes a little more space and trimming more leaves that look a little blight-y (like the leaves around that yellow tomato above.)

Lastly I wanted to tell you about something cool:  the South Philly Food Co-op is hosting its first annual Garden Tour and my lovely garden will be a stop on it!  Tickets cost $20 and will benefit the co-op.  It sounds pretty fun if you like peeking into people's private spaces (that sounded creepier than I planned, let's go with seeing what people do with their space) and it's self-guided, so you just get a map and can wander around without worrying about a big group.  I'll be at my garden all day and I'd love to meet some people who have maybe been reading this but have never seen my garden in person (all one or two of you?)  Anyway, all the details are here and I urge you all to come and hang out with me!  I'm fun, but I'm sure you've gathered that from all my posts, right?

Sorry this is kind of short; I'm still catching up from my vacation and also have some sort of weird sickness that enables me to sleep through people loudly playing music in the next room...oh wait, I do that anyway.  But I'll leave you with the promise that I'll do some garden work this weekend and a picture of some tomatoes I took after the brief rain the other day.  Beauties!

 

Calling all you Betty Crockers and pastry-chef wannabees, or just lovers of chocolate and all things dessert. Bring your best sweet creation to the Gold Star Park and enter to win the first ever SPFC Dessert Throw Down - you could go down in history. A prize worthy of dessert awesomeness will be awarded. The prize is $25 gift certificate to Fante's. Even if you don't win best of show, going home with a belly full of yummy treats is a good consolation prize! We will also have volunteers available to answer your questions about our progress and accept new member-owners (so bring your checkbook). Five people joined up at least week's event. Let's see if we can get five more! For your listening enjoyment Gold Star Park welcomes The Knife & Fork Band (according to their website: Too unpredictable for “folk,” too loud for “acoustic,” too unpretentious for “indie,” too complicated for “punk,” too rough for “chamber-pop,” and more band than “singer-songwriter”). Dessert-judging (and tasting) and the music get started at 7 PM. Remember to stay hydrated!

Join the South Philly Food Co-op for its 1st Annual South Philly Garden Tour! Help us celebrate all the hard work of some of your neighbors, enjoy some the greening efforts in South Philly, AND support the Co-op all at the same time!

1st Annual South Philly Garden Tour Saturday, September 10, 2011 (Raindate September 11, 2011) 11:00am-3:00pm

Check-in begins at 10:30am at Urban Jungle (1526 East Passyunk Avenue) to pick up tour map and details. The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 18 public and private 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.  Local businesses will provide refreshments stops throughout the day. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of, and 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

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds necessary for conducting a market analysis, and eventually opening a storefront here in South Philly. Help us make it a success - buy tickets for yourself, your friends, and your family! If you need additional information, please email [email protected].

Adam Forbes at the Nationalities Service Center's Refugee Urban Farm Project sent put out a request for donations (of produce) that we are happy to pass along. NSC is setting up a loose gleaning/food distribution network for our refugee families in South Philadelphia. The Growing Home Community Gardens are a great community space and have provided a lot of fresh food to the Bhutanese and Burmese refugees. (To read more about them and to see a picture of the garden at 700 Emily Street in action check out this South Philly Review article from a few weeks ago). Unfortunately, they can only grow so much produce on their small lots and the families are desperate for more produce. If any of you urban farmers or gardeners out there happen to end up with a lot of extra produce that you can't sell or donate - please consider donating it to the Bhutanese and Burmese families! They already gleaned some holey greens, turnips, extra squash and hot peppers from other farms and it has gone very well. Please contact Adam at forbesfarmer (at) yahoo.com if you have any questions or would ever be willing to donate produce that you grew. He could arrange to come pick it up from you. The Growing Home Garden is among the many gardens we are in conversations with to be part of the South Philly Food Co-op 2011 Garden Tour on September 10 (mark your calendar... more info to follow). Please consider supporting them any way you can.