Please join us on TOMORROW, June 29, 2011 at 7:00PM for the first ever General Membership Meeting of the South Philly Food Co-op where we will be electing the Inaugural Board of Directors. With membership now open to the public it is time to elect the first group of people who will guide and mold the personality and character of what the South Philly Food Co-op will become. While you must be a member-owner to vote in the elections, it's not too late to pay at least $25 toward your $200 equity and be considered a member-owner in good standing. In fact, if you show up to the meeting with your checkbook or five 5-dollar bills or a 20-dollar bill and a... (you get the picture), you can become a member in good standing right then and there. Much more information such as directions on how to vote and who is eligible are available on the Board Elections page. Below you can find the candidate statements of all those currently nominated for the board.

• Alison Fritz
• Amy Henson
• Cassie Plummer
• Erika Owens
• Jay Tarlecki
• Joseph F. Marino
• John C. Raezer
• Josh Richards
• Julia Koprak
• Maria Camoratto
• Mary Beth Hertz
• Shani Ferguson
• Stephanie Rupertus

Directions to the meeting (held in the offices of East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association who were kind enough to lend us their space for the evening) are here. In the words of our Election Committee:

In twenty years many of you may still be around and will probably still remember this first meeting and election. Take part, join the co-op today and become eligible to vote and have a say in how this local food cooperative will be run.

(Editor’s Note: Due to an unavailable editor AGAIN, Sarah’s column is appearing a day later than its usual Thursday slot. Enjoy – DP)

I can't believe how fast these squash grew.  Seems like just yesterday they only had two little leaves each and now look at all these flowers!

And the sunflowers, which I planted at the same time, are now a couple of feet high:

I actually ate a squash blossom salad a few days ago because I knew I was going to be getting a lot of blossoms soon and wanted to see if I liked them.  The verdict was that they are delicious but they were also deep fried and stuffed with cheese and isn't anything that's deep fried and stuffed with cheese delicious?  They did have a nice delicate squash taste, but I think I'll leave mine on the plants and wait for the squash.  These are crook-neck yellow summer squash, by the way.

And other exciting things are happening!  Good thing I compulsively take pictures, because now I can show you the progression this past week:

 

 

 

I don't think it's quite ripe enough yet to pick, but I am eagerly awaiting my first taste of homegrown tomato.  And don't for a second think that I'm going to cut it up and put it in a salad or on a sandwich or - heaven forbid - cook it...I'm going to bite into that thing like an apple and let the juice run down my chin just like I did when I was a kid.  Mmm.

Anyway!  There are lots more tomatoes, all green and all different sizes.  Some are getting pretty big and some are still just pea-sized.  Here's a particularly cute pea-sized one:

And a few larger ones:

The same time that I tried squash blossoms I also tried some fried green tomatoes.  I've had fried green tomatoes before and never really liked them, but I would like to like them so I always give them another try.  Now apparently I might not appreciate them since I didn't grow up with them and also I've never had them in the South where they are a true delicacy but seriously they just taste like unripe tomatoes to me.  And I love tomatoes so much I can't fathom why someone would pick them early to get something that tastes worse but, again, I didn't grow up with them.  I should add that these foods were all consumed at Prohibition which has great food and lots of specials for in-season stuff (hence the squash blossom salad and fried green tomatoes.)  I will also add that one of my favorite sandwiches in this city (don't ask me to choose one favorite, there are so many!) is the fried tomato special at Chickie's, which is fried red tomatoes instead of green and infinitely better, in my opinion.

But I digress.  One last thing I wanted to touch on was pest control.  My plants have seemed largely pest-free but I do see holes in the leaves where little bugs have munched.  That's okay!  The main reason I'm doing this whole gardening thing organically is that one of the best things about nature is the balance:  sure, bugs eat plants but bugs also eat other bugs and I'd rather let nature take care of the pests than try to interfere.  I don't know if this is that relevant around here, but growing up our neighbors had a bug zapper (or that's what I always called it...one of those bright lights that attracts bugs to it and then kills them with a satisfying zap.)  Living in the woods there are lots of mosquitoes so in theory a bug zapper makes sense.  Only it doesn't:  turns out mosquitoes usually avoid those lights because the lights are ultraviolet and mosquitoes don't care about that.  They are more attracted to carbon dioxide and human smells.  But slightly bigger bugs - the same ones that live off a steady diet of mosquitoes - are attracted to ultraviolet light and are the main casualty of those lights.  So then you end up with more mosquitoes because their natural predators are reduced!  Here's an article that explains it a little more scientifically and gives some real evidence.  But basically a lot of pest control just ends up disrupting the balance and giving us more pests in the end.  My approach has its drawbacks, though:  a few days ago I found one of my basil leaves half eaten.  I turned over the leaf and there was a caterpillar, munching away.  Look, it got a good two-thirds of the leaf:

before I took it rudely away from its snack and threw it over my fence into the alley.  But not before taking a picture of the little culprit:

Upon closer inspection, that caterpillar looks like the tent caterpillar kind that I found on our tree last year.  Those are no good and kill trees so I probably should have killed it but hopefully it made a nice snack for some bird.  We don't seem to have a ton of birds in our yard, so I don't feel too bad about doing the birds' job and killing things like tent caterpillars and - my nemesis - slugs.  I have kind of a hatred of slugs (they are ugly and huge here and leave gross trails) and I do not want them anywhere near me.  If I were a better person I would probably make myself love them but until that happens I will continue to leave out saucers of beer for them to fall into and drown.  Hey, drowning in beer can't be that bad a death, right?

One last thing:  my parents came down this past weekend and gave me a great present:  water in my garden!

After exploring the dark, scary basement which is accessible by ladder my father found a pipe leading out back with running water!  And because he's good with things like this, he attached a spigot to the water pipe outside (I won't go into details on how suffice it to say it involved a blow torch) and that awesome hose was in the basement.  Success!  Now it is a lot easier to water the plants and I'm sure I'll be spraying myself when it gets really hot out there.  Thanks again!

This was longer than planned (isn't that always the way?) but here's a shot of the garden this morning:

See you next week!

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.

July is cooking up to be full of great music and good food at Gold Star Park. The park, located at 6th and Wharton, underwent major transformation this spring and now has a fabulous green space perfect for Thursday night picnics and listening to music! The South Philly Food Co-op is partnering to bring food fun to the well-established summer music series organized by Friends of Gold Star Park. We’ll also have membership applications and volunteers on-hand to answer questions. Bring your checkbook or your credit card and join the co-op on the spot! Every Thursday in July at 7pm join South Philly Food Co-op, Gold Star Park, and your neighbors for the following food and music events. July 7 - Local Fruit and Veggie Tasting Music: Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA) Youth Latin Jazz Ensemble We'll be providing samples of in-season fruits and vegetables for everyone to sample. 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? Special thanks to Pennsylvania Horticulture Society for providing the grant to purchase the produce, and to Birchtree Catering for sourcing and cutting up the veggies and fruit. July 14 - Picnic Potluck Music: The Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra Bring something tasty to share - meet and mingle with your neighbors and like-minded folks interested in food, community, and music. July 21 - Dessert Bake-Off Music: The Knife & Fork Band 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. Even if you don't win best of show, going home with a belly full of yummy treats is a good consolation prize! July 28 - Local Fruit and Veggie Tasting Music: Railroad Fever We'll be providing another tasting in-season fruits and vegetables for everyone to sample. What will be in season 3 weeks later? You'll have come out to Gold Star Park and find out. Special thanks to PHS for providing the grant to purchase the produce, and to Birchtree Catering for cutting up the veggies and fruit.

 

Last summer I bought an $80 Cuisinart Home Ice Cream maker at William’s Sonoma because I had a coupon for 40% off. At the time I thought it could end up being another underutilized kitchen gadget that I bought on an impulse. Little did I know that a year later I would be opening up a small batch, artisanal ice cream business.

I have read pretty much every homemade ice cream book and done a whole lot of experimenting. Making ice cream at home is incredibly fun. It’s limitless and even the clumsiest of home cooks can give it a whirl. Think of it as anti-cooking.

The beauty of ice cream is that with a simple ratio and some guiding principles you can get started with a store bought machine with a very good likelihood for success.

Here’s my basic ratio for your traditional 2-3 quart home ice cream machine. All you need to remember is 4-2-1-1/2 for a custard base.

-------------
4 egg yolks (farm fresh and bright orange, egg yolks are an amazing natural emulsifier, the thing that binds fats and water together making frozen ice crystals taste smooth and creamy – you can bump this up to 6 if you have a lot of other ingredients like rich chocolate or peanut butter)

2 cups cream (the higher the fat content the better 36% is good 40% is better)

1 cup milk (whole is preferable)

½ cup sugar (there are many things that can make things sweeter so start with a half cup only)

The only two techniques you need to consider:

1) The trick to a custard is to temper the egg yolks. Put the 4 egg yolks and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. The sugar will help break up the yolks. Bring cream and milk up to a simmer in a pot (don’t boil, don’t microwave). Very slowly drip the hot dairy into the egg yolk while whisking. If you pour too fast then you get scrambled eggs. Pour out about half the pot then return to heat. Then pour the eggs from the bowl back into the pot – very slowly while whisking – that’s called tempering the eggs.

Simmer on low while continually stirring until you get a thick almost pudding like consistency that coats the back of a spoon. This could take up to 10 minutes.

Now that you know how to do this you can do crème catalan, crème brulee, real homemade pudding and a ton of other stuff.

2) Ice cream is a frozen foam. The idea is to freeze air in fat and water. At home you’re limited to how much air and coldness you can treat the custard mix to by the limitations of commercial machines for home use. In other words not much air and not too cold. When you’ve made your custard it must get as cold as possible overnight in a refrigerator. Whisking, blending or immersion blending might add a little bit of air but not much. Basically just stir to make sure everything is consistent before pouring, get that bowl as cold as possible right from the freezer before you start your batch, let it do its thing in the machine for about 20 minutes and get everything in the coldest part of the freezer to harden for a good couple of hours or overnight. From this point on, the ice cream should only get warmer right before you eat it. The more you take it in and out of the freezer the icier it gets. Please don’t ever put ice cream in the microwave or leave it out on the counter. If you’re going to be serving it slowly over the course of the evening leave it in the refrigerator if you need it to be a little softer, just don’t forget to get it back in the freezer as soon as possible.

Tips

-It doesn’t hurt to add a little vanilla extract to everything (even chocolate). Spend the money and buy a real vanilla extract like Nielsen-Massey Bourbon Vanilla.

-Want your ice cream to be softer after hardening? Add sugar or alcohol – both raise the freezing point.

-Honey, agave and anything that’s not sugar is usually sweeter than sugar and may make things too sweet and too soft. So use to taste rather than any prescribed quantity.

-Leave salt out of it. I don’t think it really enhances anything, even chocolates. If you want to go for a saltier, more savory flavor think about something else. Peanut butter and chocolate both usually have some salt in them.

-Steep: you can cold steep teas, coffees, cereals, your favorite candies, vegetables, bubble gum, whatever you want. Put it in some milk for a couple of hours and see what it tastes like, too long and you might start growing something that only scientists would find interesting.

-Inclusions: the best part about homemade machines is you can dump whatever you want into the mix. Just make sure to do it in about the last 30 seconds. Otherwise those cookies or brownies or whatever will get so cold the whole thing will turn into a cement mix and break your machine.

-Acid and dairy don’t mix: almost any fruit juice, even apple juice will make dairy curdle. For acidic fruit flavors look up online how to mix (usually a recommended heat temperature where the two will play along with each other.)

-More water means more ice crystals: generally something you want to avoid. So if you add 2 cups of watermelon juice to your mix don’t expect it to be as smooth and creamy as adding caramel.

-Nuts and chocolates will make things harder so think about something to go with them or add more sugar or a splash of alcohol.

-There are a million and one recipes online but you should really experiment on your own. You’re never going to be able to make Haagen-Daaz style ice cream at home so don’t bother – go straight for animal crackers and figs or whatever else your imagination can think of.

Martin Brown is a musician and arts administrator currently venturing into the ice cream business with Little Baby’s Ice Cream (www.littlebabysicecream.com). Being a Maryland transplant his favorite food is crabs, as a South Philly homeowner his favorite food is anything he grills in his backyard.

Have you switched your energy supplier yet? Now when you switch to The Energy Cooperative and list South Philly Co-op as your referral source, The Energy Co-op will give South Philly Food Co-op $20. With PECO’s rates continuing to increase, now is a great time to make the switch with the added bonus of supporting the South Philly Food Co-op. The Energy Co-op offers members renewable electricity at affordable rates, plus, all of the renewable power is purchased in PA. If interested, go to www.theenergy.coop or call 215-413-2122 for more information. When you fill out your application for The Energy Co-op, please list "South Philly Food Co-op" when you are asked "How did you hear about us?" Please pass this on to your friends, and ask them to help support our effort to open a community grocery store. Anyone who switches to The Energy Co-op can list us as a referral. Additional information about The Energy Co-op

• All renewable power is purchased in PA, which means improved air quality for your community and more local jobs.
• This is an effort to encourage more participation in the cooperative movement, as well as a way for cooperatives to collaborate in the Philadelphia area.
• Referral program ends September 30, 2011. Please make the switch before then!

On which committee do you serve?

Legal and Finance.

What do you do for a living?

Nonprofit management (aka intellectual do-goodery)

How did you get involved with the food co-op?

I moved to the neighborhood less than two years ago with a commitment to becoming involved in some way. I attended a PSCA meeting, at which the co-op organizers presented. Having written about co-ops historically and dreamed for years of being involved with the creation of one, I had to get involved.

Why do you want a food co-op in South Philly?

We're pretty lucky in South Philly with the variety of food that exists in the area--from the Italian Market to the Asian grocery stores. But a co-op to me is much more than a place to buy food. It's about forging community. Back in the 1970s, people thought co-ops would eliminate capitalism. They definitely overestimated their influence, but they had a vision of a less consumerist, more connective lifestyle that is extremely appealing to me and that more people should be aware of.

Why should people join a food co-op?

To get involved in their neighborhood through one of the most basic and powerful human activities--eating!

What is your favorite meal to cook and why?

My cooking exploits occur in phases. While I was in college, I baked and decorated cakes like a madwoman. A couple years ago, I started making bread and was determined to cook my way through Rose Levy Beranbaum's Bread Bible--I've stalled, unfortunately. Lately, I've been doing quick (pesco)vegetarian meals, like asian salmon burgers with slaw or brussel sprout salad with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts (if you want the recipe it's at: http://eatingreading.wordpress.com/brussel-sprout-salad-recipe/ ). But, truly, with so much amazing food to eat in Philadelphia, it's hard to justify cooking..

(Editor's Note: Due to an unavailable editor, Sarah's column is appearing a day later than its usual Thursday slot. Enjoy... and get out in your garden this weekend! - DP)

This is getting fun!  (And I don't mean writing...that's always fun.)  I mean this gardening thing!  Up until the last few weeks I'd been worrying so much...what if everything died?  What if everything got eaten by bugs or, worse, I missed a day of watering and I killed all the plants?  I was away the first really hot weekend here (Memorial Day) and I was a mess on the drive home, picturing piles of dead, brown plants awaiting me.  But after doing this garden thing for a while now - 2 months if we count from the time I've been writing about it - I've realized that I don't have to be quite so nervous.  Plants grow.  It's what they do.  As long as they have dirt and sun and water they're going to grow pretty much no matter what.  In fact, the other day I saw some of the little basil that I had thrown in the compost bucket had found some dirt and was growing!  It's actually harder to keep something from growing than to grow it, which makes a lot of sense from a biological perspective but for some reason I was worried that wouldn't be the case.

When I first started this I also thought it would be chore to tend to the garden almost every day.  Not so!  I actually look forward to my time in the garden every day (or almost every day - as long as it's not too hot I can skip a day and not freak out about it) because I can watch my little monkeys grow and remember once that they were all just seeds.  It probably helps that green is my favorite color so seeing so much green is nice, especially in the city.  Weeding can definitely be a little tedious, but I like going around and checking each plant, making sure the ties aren't too tight around the stalks and moving the ties up as the plants get taller.  The tomato plants all smell like tomatoes, the eggplant leaves are surprisingly soft to the touch and the sunflowers, squash and mint constantly surprise me by how fast they grow.

All this is just to say that this has been a lot more fun than I was expecting and it's nice that I trust my plants enough now to not be too worried when I see things like this:

This little tomato is in a particularly bright spot, probably the brightest in the backyard since the white door reflects light.  It's looking dry and droopy because the pot is too shallow - it doesn't hold a lot of dirt so it dries out quickly and the roots get really hot and dry since there's no deeper place for them to go, where the soil would be cooler.  By that same token I can't water it too much because the soil just doesn't hold that much water and I don't want to wash all the nutrients out.  Basically I need to move it to a less bright spot or repot it.  And that's the project for this weekend:  repot this and a few other tomatoes that are outgrowing their little pots.

This past weekend I repotted some other things:

 

You may have forgotten about my feverfew...I did!  It was just sitting in the front window growing along.  I would dump some water on it when I remembered to, probably a few times a week.  Last weekend was the time to deal with it.  I thought about just thinning it out but, again, I find it very hard to just throw out little plants (those little basils I found growing in my compost?  Yeah, I planted them because I figured they deserved it if they were willing to grow in a compost bucket.)  At the same time, I've pretty much filled all the space in our backyard that gets sun with my other pots, so I was kind of stuck.  But!  Then I took the little feverfews and planted them in some of the bigger tomato and sunflower pots, and I have one pot that's just feverfew.  I know I always say this, but the roots were insane!  I mean, seriously:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="the roots actually continue on past the bottom of the picture"]

Wow, little monkeys!  After I planted as many feverfews as I could fit, I may have gone out front and planted the rest around a tree that the city just planted in front of our house a month or so ago.  But I'm not sure if that's entirely legal so I won't tell you for sure.

I'm pretty happy with the basil:

...mostly because anytime I buy a little pot of basil in the supermarket (this has happened at least three times in the last five years) I always manage to kill it.  Rationally I know that the pots are small and I probably forgot to water them that often, but somehow I think that when you grow things from seed you are kind of more in tune to when they're looking healthy or thirsty or too wet.  I don't want to get too far into vibes or anything, but it's definitely true that plants have a rhythm and I think you need to understand that to feel like you know your plants.  I can't believe I just used the word "vibes."  Forgive me! In reality these basils are probably just healthier plants than anything you'd buy at a grocery store, but I like my seed theory.

Finally, here are some sunflowers:

Some of them are almost two feet tall.  I can't wait for them to grow up against the fence.  And here's some squash looking remarkably squash-like:

The tomatoes are all growing along, but all of the actual tomatoes are all still green so nothing too exciting yet.  We'll see what next week brings!

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.

Please join us on Wednesday June 29, 2011 at 7:00PM for the first ever General Membership Meeting of the South Philly Food Co-op where we will be electing the Inaugural Board of Directors. With membership now open to the public it is time to elect the first group of people who will guide and mold the personality and character of what the South Philly Food Co-op will become. While you must be a member-owner to vote in the elections, it's not too late to pay at least $25 toward your $200 equity and be considered a member-owner in good standing. Much more information such as directions on how to vote and who is eligible are available on the Board Elections page. Below you can find the candidate statements of all those currently nominated for the board.

• Alison Fritz
• Amy Henson
• Cassie Plummer
• Erika Owens
• Jay Tarlecki
• Joseph F. Marino
• John C. Raezer
• Josh Richards
• Julia Koprak
• Maria Camoratto
• Mary Beth Hertz
• Shani Ferguson
• Stephanie Rupertus

Directions to the meeting (held in the offices of East Passyunk Crossing) are here. In the words of our Election Committee:

In twenty years many of you may still be around and will probably still remember this first meeting and election. Take part, join the co-op today and become eligible to vote and have a say in how this local food cooperative will be run.

Garlic scapes come around for this brief window in June before garlic is harvested. When they're here, they seem to be everywhere, and then they vanish, not to be seen for another year. I showed up an hour too late to the farm market two weeks ago to find one scape for sale. Like one scallion. One radish. One sad scape. Because when they're here, they're in demand.

Scapes are milder than straight up garlic but stick pack a serious punch when you bite into them raw. They're easy to saute the same way you'd do up green beans or asparagus, and cooking them tones down their flavor dramatically.

Raw, they're a great addition to salads, and in the past couple of weeks I've chopped them into every salad I've eaten. I've actually used them in just about everything I've cooked lately. I was lucky enough to get enough scapes in my farmshare this week to use them in everything and even give some away.

But since they are in our lives and meals for just a few short weeks, it makes sense to try to extend their stay, if just for a little while. My answer to that is scape pesto.

Scape pesto goes on sandwiches, serves as the only topping on seasonal garlic bread, blends up nicely with oil and vinegar for scape vinaigrette, and acts as a very flavorful pasta sauce. It's a dip, a spread, a sauce, and it freezes.

I actually have a small bit of last year's scape pesto left in the freezer. That's not ideal - it loses it's flavor over time, but it holds up for a few months very well.

What I made last night is a fairly thick pesto, better as a spread. Add more oil to make it a sauce.

 I started with a bundle of scapes - I think it was about 7 -but the length of your scapes will vary - and I cut them into small pieces.

This ended up being about a cup and a half of scapes.

Sous Chef Brian was busy shredding up some parmesan, so I put the scapes and a handful of walnuts into my mini chopper. I ended up needing to do this in two batches, which worked fine. You could use a blender as well.

 

I whirred the scapes and walnuts together for a bit until they were chopped up fairly small.

 

And then drizzled in a bit of olive oil until it was fairly smooth. Then we added shredded parmesan and a bit of salt and pepper and gave it a final whirr.

Once everything was smooth and combined, we were all set. About two and a half cups of scape pesto, plenty for dressings, sauces and spreads.

 

This will keep covered in the fridge for most of a week, but go ahead and freeze some so you have something scapy available once the fleeting scape season has passed.

 

Sous Chef Brian immediately spread a bit on some Italian bread. Pungent and delicious.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.  We're having a blog milestone and giving away a prize later this week, so come join the celebration.


Ingredients

•  1.5 cups chopped garlic scapes


• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts


• 1/2 cup grated parmesan


• 1/3 cup olive oil


• dash kosher salt


• dash black pepper

Instructions

Whirr scapes and walnuts in food processor until finely chopped. Slowly stream in olive oil, pulsing as you go, until texture is smooth. Add cheese, salt and pepper and whirr to combine.

Details

• Prep time: 10 mins


• Yield: 2.5 cups

Due to the hot weather and the beautiful rain showers your herbs and vegetables might be exploding. This recipe is a good dish to use your basil, oregano and thyme.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 2 tbsp chopped Oregano
• 2 tbsp chopped Basil
• 2 tbsp chopped Garlic
• thyme, rosemary (other herbs if desired)
• 3 lbs cut into 1"cubes Sweet Potatoes (I mixed them with regular unpeeled potatoes)
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients. Pour potatoes onto baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 10 minutes until golden brown and fork tender.

I served it with sour creme. Enjoy!!

You can follow Katrin Bahr at her blog (which is in German) or on Twitter (in English).