With a year of organizing and planning under our belts, we’re pleased to announce that we have completed the incorporation process and are now able to accept member-owner applications and equity investments! This is a huge milestone for SPFC and the result of a lot of time, hard work, volunteer hours, and dedication. Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way. Join us for the next stage of the journey by becoming a member-owner today! As a member-owner you are the bedrock of the co-op. You will form the vision for what goods and services the co-op offers because you own the store – quite literally. So the most important thing you can do to get this co-op open is demonstrate your support by becoming a member-owner. Your equity investment will convince banks and other funders that this is a viable business worthy of financing. Join now by downloading the application on our website. Bring it, along with your equity investment, to one of our committee or volunteer meetings, community events, or mail both to: South Philly Food Co-op, P.O. Box 31506, Philadelphia, PA 19147. Member-Owner Investment Our membership investment is set at $200 (for your entire household) which can be paid in full or installments with a minimum initial payment of $25. This is not a fee, or a donation, it’s a one-time investment in the store. If you are able to contribute your full $200 equity up front, we strongly encourage you to do so. Member Benefits As a member owner RIGHT NOW, you are entitled to:

• The opportunity to run and vote for the Board of Directors
• One vote on items up for general vote at all co-op general meetings
• Ability to petition for policy changes
• Educational Classes, Workshops
• Discounts at participating local businesses (coming soon!)

In addition, you WILL be entitled to these once the store opens:

• Member-only specials and sales
• Have a say in the variety of products offered
• May receive yearly rebates based on total household purchases and the profits made by the store - these rebates, often referred to as “patronage refunds,” are issued at the discretion of the Board of Directors
• And, of course, we will continue to keep you well informed of our progress through regular emails and on our website so you know exactly how your investment is being used.

Please join the co-op today.

Finally, some sun!

And what goes with sun?  Sunflowers!

I started these sunflowers inside because I didn't want the rain to hurt them.  But it turns out that sunflowers are pretty strong and I probably could have just planted them in the ground ("ground" being my raised bed.)  Oh well.  Just look at their nice roots!

Along with the sunflowers I also started some summer squash inside.  Again, it probably could have been sown directly in the ground but I like to baby my little seedlings.  Like the sunflowers, these little ones seem pretty hardy and the leaves are a nice shade of dark green.

I don't have too much space left for plants outside (or at least space that is sunny) so here's where the sunflowers and some squash will go:

The rest of the squash is going to the right of that picture, to compete with the mint (just kidding, I'll help the squash out until it gets big enough to fight for itself.)

Here are some droopy, newly-planted sunflowers with a few squash:

And here's the rest of the squash

It's a little late to be planting squash (probably should have done it about a month ago) but I think the growing season here is long enough that it shouldn't matter too much.  Here's the squash again, this time with my new little rosemary I bought at Urban Jungle on Passyunk Ave.

The rosemary was so cute and looked nice and healthy and I couldn't resist, even though I have rosemary seeds.  But I would have had to have waited to plant the seeds in the fall and I wanted rosemary now, dammit.  What can I say, I am prone to impatience.

Oh, hey.  While I was prepping the raised bed for the squash and sunflowers (basically grabbing handfuls of dirt and worms and mixing some compost it) I found something interesting:

Hmm.  Not a rock!

Some little animal skull!  My picture is sadly not too great but those front teeth mean business.  I probably should have mounted it on a stick as a warning to all other animals Lord of the Flies-style but it kinda freaked me out so I threw it out.  I know, I know.  Or I could have just kept it in there and let it fertilize the soil and decompose on its own - do skulls even do that? - but I didn't really want to come across it again.  I might have screamed when I found it.  Maybe.

That was the excitement for this week!  Still lots of flowers on the tomatoes:

And, well, lots of tomato plants:

My grandmother warned me that some of the flowers might fall off the tomatoes without any fruit but I think that's okay because there are many, many flowers now.

I'm going away this weekend so I'm kind of hoping it rains here a bit.  If not, though, I've got a backup waterer.  Thank you!

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.

No doubt about it, market season is here, and sign-up deadlines are fast-approaching for community produce shares. CSA, or Community-Supported Agriculture, is a model of food distribution where community members pledge their support to a local farm by purchasing a share. Boxes of produce are picked up weekly or every other week by customers, and usually contain a variety of in-season vegetables, fruit, herbs, and in some cases, dairy and meat products. Participation in CSAs not only boosts the local economy, but also saves the consumer money on produce in the long run, according to research from the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite these benefits, many are still hesitant to sign up for CSAs for fear of wasting precious produce they feel they might not be able to eat within a week’s time. Below are some ideas that will help you use up all your weekly goodies before your next pick-up. Kebab night - This is something I used to do when I was new to farmers market shopping. The night before going to the farmers market was reserved for kebabs, so I could use all the leftover produce on hand. Slice up any extra squash, onion, pepper, really any produce will do, and skewer them up. Cover the assembled kebabs in whatever seasoning suits your fancy (I usually sprinkle on some cayenne pepper for a kick), line them up on the grill, or place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast on 350 for 10-15 minutes, rotating periodically. You can vary this recipe by adding pieces of chicken, shrimp, or other meats. Now, you’re clean out of produce and ready to stock up at the stand the next day. Crock-pot - Truth be told, I was a little afraid of the crock-pot until recently. Being a vegetarian, I assumed this was a kitchen appliance reserved for slow-cooking meat dishes, but a little research proved me quite wrong. Stews and soups can be slow-cooked in the crock pot with any starchy vegetables, like potatoes, and greens that will add density and flavor, such as cabbage, leeks, and onions. Below are two crock pot recipes that are quick and easy. Crock-pot recipes usually yield a lot of servings, so put a few portions in the fridge, pack up the rest in Tupperware, and freeze it until you’re ready to eat. One of my favorite crock-pot recipes is Sweet Potato Lentil Stew. Here’s another for Easy Italian Chicken. Smoothies - Smoothies aren’t usually the first thing to come to mind when you’re pondering what to do with your leftover spinach and kale, but it really is a tasty way to get your daily dose of greens. Adding fruit masks the taste of the greens, and you’re getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals to boot! A favorite recipe: In the blender add:

• 1 banana, cut into 4 or 5 pieces—I find it blends easier this way
• A few handfuls of whatever frozen fruit you desire—try mango, pineapple, or berries
• Several leaves of kale (no stems), or handfuls of spinach, or both
• Sprinkling of coconut
• Blend

Here is a variation on the kale smoothie from Anna! Salad - When I’m looking to finish off any leftover produce, I make what I like to call a dump salad. Seriously, nowhere near as disgusting as it sounds. It’s pretty simple, really, just chop up all leftover produce (fruit included!), and dump it over a bed of greens. You can even incorporate leftovers from dinner, like a cold pasta dish or rice. My latest salad included spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers goat cheese, leftover veggie burger, quinoa, dried cranberries, and was covered in homemade vinaigrette. Below is the recipe I use. These measurements are for one serving. 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 ½ teaspoons of balsamic vinegar 1 tsp. Dijon mustard ½ tsp. of honey or agave nectar Salt and pepper to taste Chopped cilantro (optional) Whisk together until emulsified either by hand or in a blender or food processor. Drizzle over salad. For another homemade dressing variation, see Becca’s recipe for Balsamic Lemongrette. Soup - This is the simplest soup recipe for leftover squash. Any type of squash will do, acorn, butternut, even a pumpkin! Slice the squash into pieces and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool, and by this time the squash should be soft enough to pull the rinds off. Toss the squash into a food processor or blender with: 1 ½ cups of veggie broth ¼ cup of cream 1 tsp. curry powder a sprinkling of cayenne a pinch of salt. Blend and eat. Simple and delicious. Tips for herbs: For those of you who commit to the full CSA share, you will likely receive a few bunches of herbs in each box. It’s not always easy to use them up before they go bad. When the bunches begin to look like they’re wilting, I always think pasta. Heat some pasta sauce or tomatoes over the stove and cook in the leftover herbs. Serve over pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza, or freeze it for later. For big batches of leftover basil, pesto is always a great option. Freeze in ice cube trays, covered in plastic wrap. When you’re ready to use, pop out a few cubes and melt into your cooked pasta. You can also wash and dry your herbs. Cut open your grocery store paper bags and lay them flat on a table, and spread out your herbs. Once dry, store them in emptied spice jars on your spice rack until you need them. See Becca’s herb garden post from last summer for more inspiration! Please don’t hesitate to sign up for a CSA this year. Mega-Agribusiness destroys the environment by wasting precious resources, and is harmful to human health as a result of their overuse of toxic pesticides. Supporting local farms means you are supporting sustainable business practices, biodiversity and your local economy, as well as protecting the environment and your health. Here are some of Philadelphia Magazine’s picks for the best CSA programs in the area. Find a pick-up location near you!

The Food For All Collective (TFFAC) is "a collectively-run bulk food buying club that seeks to make humane and sustainable choices accessible to everyone." Some of the Co-op organizers have been involved with TFFAC for a while and have participated in their bulk food orders. In our household, for example, Alison often orders from them and we are currently enjoying, among other items, several pounds of organic, fair trade coffee beans through TFFAC.

TFFAC is different from a Co-op in many ways but philosophically we're all in tune with the desire to bring good food to as many people as possible.

To that end, they are hosting their first ever Spring Potluck on Sunday, May 29 from 1pm to 4pm at Jefferson Square Park (Washington Ave between 3rd and 4th Street). Rain date will be announced if necessary.

Please visit the Facebook event page for the potluck to RSVP and for more information.

Here a simple and tasty kind of Mediterranean recipe. Try it and the sun will shine for you - at least in your belly. :)

Tomato-Rice-Feta dish (for 2 people)

You need:

• 1/2 onion

 

• 2-3 tomatoes

 

• 6 mushrooms

 

• vegetable or chicken broth

 

• 1 cup of rice (basmati works the best)

 

• feta cheese (Trader Joes-Israeli feta)

 

• cilantro

Preparation:

• Cook rice.

 

• Cut the onions and fry them in a pan.

 

• Add tomatoes and mushroom, cook for 5 min, add broth and let simmer for another 5 min.

 

• Add rice and cook on low for 5 min.

 

• Cut feta cheese into little blocks and stick them into the rice mixture. Cover the pan so the feta cheese can get soft; let it sim for another 10 minutes.

 

• For decoration add cilantro or parsley.

Dish can be served with cold home made peppermint tea. Enjoy!!

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

A few years ago I became really interested in making my own bread. I received this beautiful book from a friend and was compelled to try every recipe, well, except for puff pastry.  But the cinnamon rolls, challah, and dark pumpernickel-raisin bread - they were delicious and I was hooked.  There is something so satisfying about the end result.

But homemade bread is a lot of work and when life picks up and I don't have time to wait on several rounds of rising dough, I turn to "No-Knead" bread.  I'm sure you've heard about it by now, the master recipe was written up years ago in the New York Times and featured over and over again on the internet and Mother Earth News magazine (which is where I discovered it). But if you haven't actually tried making it yet, I highly recommend it.  It's tasty and rewarding, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside.  And the best part is that it's easy.  Here's the recipe and what I do.

Recipe: No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

(Around 9 or 10 pm at night) 1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

(The next day when we get home from work, around 4pm) 2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

(Around 6pm) 4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that's O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.

Let it cool on a wire rack - if you can wait (I usually can't).

My favorite summer dinner - a salad and homemade bread with butter, radishes and sea salt.

If you are intrigued by this no-knead method, but aren't a fan of white flour, I highly recommend buying Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François’s book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day because they provide healthy recipes made with less white flour, lower refined sugars and gluten free options.  I should also mention that the Fair Food Farm Stand in the Terminal Market sells a variety of different flours.

Try it this weekend!

Hello again!  There has been exciting progress this past week.  First, here's the garden:

And now...flowers!

 

Those are both from the same plant, my monster beefsteak that has always been the biggest one.  (I think it needs a name...Beefy?)  But the other beefsteaks are getting flowers, too!

Flowers are exciting because flowers mean fruit.  Hopefully good-tasting fruit.  Gotta wait and see!

It's been raining since Saturday so I haven't had to water at all and I'm hoping for some sunny days this weekend so everything doesn't get too waterlogged.  But the rain has been, for the most part, light and frequent which is how watering should work anyway, so I'm actually kind of thankful for it.

I realize I've been focusing largely on the beefsteak tomatoes because they're the biggest, but the beauty queens are getting larger and I'll do a closer look at them in the coming weeks.  The eggplants are still pretty small but I think it's still a bit cold for them.  They apparently do well in hot weather, so once we actually start getting summerish weather I think they'll be happier.

On Sunday the rain gave us a bit of a break, so I went outside and retied some of the tomatoes to their stakes and did some weeding.  Now containers usually don't need too much weeding since you use new soil each time, but my big metal planter has had soil in in for a while and look!  Little weeds:

So I pulled those little buggers out, trying to get as many of the roots as possible.

And now my tomatoes and eggplants can grow undisturbed (you hear that, eggplant?)

While I was weeding, I debated whether I should take the little lower branches and the suckers (that's the actual term, I'm not making stuff up this time) off some of the larger tomato plants.  Suckers are the little shoots that grow from the intersection of the main stem and branches of the tomato plant, and I've been told both to prune them and to leave them on.  Basically it comes down the this:  if you do take those suckers off (ha), the remaining branches get more nutrients and therefore produce bigger fruit.  But if you leave them on you'll get more fruit, though it might be smaller.  If you have a short growing season you probably want to take them off since they'll take nutrients from the rest of the plant and probably not mature in time to produce fruit.  They also tend to make the plant top-heavy, so if you're growing in a small space (yup) they might get too unwieldy.  What to do??  I eventually compromised by pruning some plants and leaving the others undisturbed.  Since then I've decided that I'm going to leave the majority of them on since it's only May and the growing season here is quite long.  If things get too top-heavy then I'll reassess.

The plan for this weekend is to plant some of the basil outside, since it's getting quite crowded in its little indoors pot:

I know it hasn't reached the two-sets-of-leaves phase, so maybe I'll just thin it out a bit since I actually don't need 40+ basil plants.  Maybe one of my dedicated readers wants some?  Let me know!

One little basil also somehow crept in to my feverfew...

Don't know how that happened.

As always, I'll be back 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.

It's getting to be the end of oven season, but of course, I've said that before.  It's actually chilly and rainy now, but for two weeks, every other day Sous Chef Brian has been planning on setting up the air conditioner in the bedroom, and then by nighttime it's no longer a priority.  The weather is iffy.  But soon oven season will be over.   So let's bake up some dinner.

It's not quite time for these veg in our part of the world, but when it is time, it's also not oven time.  I get so adamant about not buying tomatoes until they're here (oh, and they're here) but when Sous Chef Brian came home from the grocery store with eggplant and summer squash, I just accepted it and decided to bake this up.   Of course it'd be better in July.

Take veg, slice thin, coat in panko, bake, layer with sauce and cheese and bake.  There, we're done.

Ooh, two bakes in there.  Yeah, this takes a minute.

I started with an eggplant, a small yellow squash and a zucchini.  I cut them into discs with the mandoline, but a knife works too.  I feel like the mandoline is safer for thin slices, but I also gave myself a bit of an accidental manicure in the process.  The yellow squash was actually cut into longer slices, not discs.  I like having different shapes to fill a pan without the gaps left by circles.   I also thought I had way too much veg - this was four baking sheets worth, and I figured I'd be freezing some, but that was not the case.

Preheat the oven to 400.  Get some sauce going, or get ready to open a jar.  This is my go-to red sauce, when I don't have a bounty of tomatoes to work with.

Beat up a couple eggs in some milk.   I  used two eggs and just enough milk to almost cover them.  This was plenty for my eggplant and two squashes, so if you're using less, you can get away with one egg.

Set out the breadcrumbs in a flat dish - I use a pie pan.

I'm a believer in panko but other breadcrumbs are fine.   I typically either make my own or use panko, and my freezer supply of bread ends is too short to make breadcrumbs right now.  I started with about 2.5 cups of breadcrumbs, but kept adding, I think I used a total of four cups or so. Sprinkle in the types of seasonings you'd use in Italian food - I went with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and dried oregano and basil.

Fork that together so the spices are mixed in. Dip veg in egg, shake it off, press it into the bread crumbs, flip it, press it in again, and throw it on a baking sheet.

Repeat.  Like I said, I had four baking sheets worth, which for my oven, is two rounds of baking.

Put the veg in the oven for 10 minutes and flip, then about 10 minutes more.  The aim here is crispy.  You can oil your pan, or spritz your coated veg with oil, if you want them to get pretty and golden, but I'm not in it for looks.

And these are fairly golden sans oil.

At this point, we have a dilemma.  Use a big baking dish, or eat a ton of them and use a smaller one.  Also, if you want to eat now, you can cover them with cheese, set them under the broiler to melt it and serve them on top of pasta.  Or just eat them.  But let's go on and make a casserole. Coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce, and then layer them - sauce, parmesan, veg, repeat.

I'm missing a cheese shot here - sorry, but I imagine you know what "sprinkle with cheese" looks like. Use the various shapes to fill in holes, or if you're using all eggplant or all zucchini or something, layer it a bit to avoid gaps.

I had three veg layers. Top with cheese, tent with foil and into the oven for 30 minutes.  Take the foil off for the last 10 to let it brown a bit on top.

Yeah, like that.

This makes many servings, 12-15?  And it freezes very well.  I cut individual servings, wrap in foil, label and freeze.

The cat doesn't believe there's no meat in our dinner.

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

Veggie Parmesan Recipe
Yield 12 servings, very scalable.

• 1 Eggplant, sliced thin


• 1 Zucchini, sliced thin


• 1 Yellow Squash, sliced thin


• 4 cups Panko breadcrumbs


• 3 cups Pasta sauce


• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated


• 2 Eggs


• 1/4 cup Milk


• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes


• 1 teaspoon dried oregano


• 1 teaspoon dried basil


• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400.


• Beat eggs together with milk (Non-dairy milk is fine here, as long as it's unsweetened). Prepare breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.  Mix with herbs.


• Dip sliced veggies into egg, shake to remove excess and then coat in breadcrumbs.


• Lay on baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, or covered with foil or parchment.


• Bake 20 minutes at 400, flipping once midway through. Aim for crispy and somewhat golden.


• Turn oven down to 350.


• Coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce.


• Add a layer of breaded veggies, arranging for complete coverage without gaps.


• Top with cheese and sauce, layer again.


• The top layer should be breaded veg covered in cheese.  Tent with foil.


• Bake 25 minutes at 350.


• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to melt cheese.

Every 3rd Monday of the month, the group Transition Philadelphia (the local arm of "a movement of people making their communities more resilient in the face of peak oil, climate change and plain old economic hard times") hosts educational events that seek to inform about how to prepare our homes and neighborhoods for the end of cheap fossil fuels. Tonight's event is about permaculture or, as their website puts it:

...learning to modify natural, self-contained ecosystems to produce a yield for us to eat while at the same time continually enhancing soil fertility and biodiversity, and managing food forests of perennial plants, familiar and new

Go to Transition Philadelphia's website for more info on the program (a short film with a guest speaker) and how to RSVP. Event begins at 6:30pm with a potluck dinner and main program starts at 7. I've actually just started learning about permaculture over the past few weeks and am therefore a bit disappointed that I can't make it tonight at the South Philly Older Adults Center (northwest corner of E. Passyunk Ave. and Dickinson Street). In fact, not to tread on Sarah's beat, Alison and I finished planting our garden this weekend taking special care to include plenty of flowering annuals and some perennials (a new butterfly bush, for example) that will, in theory, attract pollinators and predators to fertilize our tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini while protecting them from the white flies, black flies and worms that we had last year. And, unlike last year when our garden was almost all green, we have some great purples, reds and yellows going on (pictures to follow if everything we planted actually takes hold and thrives). Though not exactly permaculture since we didn't plant in such a way to keep us from having to add nutrients to our soil from compost, it is an ecosystem in the making. (Now, if only those good bugs can find their way to us!) So if you're interested in figuring out how to take that bare patch of concrete behind your house and turn it into a self-supporting ecosystem, tonight's event is for you.

Come on out for another Sunday evening at Philly Community Wellness (1241 Carpenter Street) on May 22nd from 6 pm to 9 pm. This week we'll be catching up on co-op news as well as having some cookbook fun. Did you miss the Spring Community Forum and want to learn more about the South Philly Food Co-op? Looking to trade in some of your tired neglected cookbooks for some new-to-you dish descriptions? Want to meet your neighbors who are also interested in bringing more local, healthy food options to South Philly? Come to our May Community Event: we'll give an update on our progress thus far, talk about our next steps, and then have a cookbook swap (participation in the swap isn't a requirement for attending). If you like, bring 1-3 cookbooks and we'll swap them out Yankee Swap style. Make a trip to your local used bookstores if you don't have any cookbooks that you are willing to part with. Please RSVP on our Facebook page or email [email protected].