On which committee do you serve?

Steering Committee.

What do you do for a living?

Associate Relationship Manager within PNC Bank's Commercial Banking Group in Philadelphia.

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

I met Glenn and Ned from Weavers Way through work and told them that they should open a store in South Philly so I could be a member. They informed me about the South Philly Food Co-Op and told me that the co-op is always looking for help. I met with Cassie and Alison and began getting involved.

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

To have access to better quality food and to help bring the community together.

Why should people join a food co-op?

People should join a food co-op for the reasons I described above. In addition, people should care about what they eat because it effects their health and ultimately their quality of life.

What is your favorite meal to cook and why?

I love to cook period but my signature dish is definitely spicy homefries with onion, peppers and bacon with over easy eggs on top. Yum.

I found my first tomato!

It's really only a little bigger than my thumb:

but that's okay.  It's from the first flowers; actually, these here:

that I wrote about two weeks ago.  Neat!  They're on the biggest beefsteak plant which is over 5' tall.  It's the one in the corner that's, well, the tallest.

So yeah, that wall's about 5' tall, maybe a little taller.  I must say, I wasn't expecting such tall plants but hey, I'm not complaining.  They smell GREAT - just like fresh tomatoes.  And the stalks are really thick!  Here is one, not the plant with all the tomatoes, but another beefsteak:

Now I need to admit something.  When I moved all the tomatoes outside, I didn't bother to label which were beefsteaks and which were beauty queens (a smaller - thank god - heirloom variety) because I was all like "I know all these plants as intimately as my [non-existent] children, of course I will be able to tell which is which!  Pshaw, I don't need labels."  Well maybe I didn't think exactly that, but I definitely figured that I would be able to tell the plants apart at the very least by where I placed each pot.  There's only so much room, ya know?  Well, that was a month ago; since then I've moved the pots around so much trying to get them all enough sun and water that beyond the 4 or 5 biggest beefsteaks and two pots that I remember are beauty queens, I actually can't tell the rest apart.  So:  label your plants even if you are sure you'll remember!

But hey, I do have other plants besides tomatoes.  Here's one of the eggplant, with a weird shot of my hand and arm that was supposed to be for scale but kind of just looks weird:

I heard and read that eggplants are really picky and hard to grow and compared to everything else I've planted I'd say that is definitely true.  They apparently need very warm soil to actually grow, which is why they didn't do much the first few weeks I had them outside.  I had to take them inside or cover them outside because apparently temperatures under 50 degrees can kill them.  This black container is all eggplant:

and, even though I took that about a week ago, that's pretty much what they still look like.  The ones in the bigger containers are definitely doing better (or at least are bigger) so this weekend I'm going to repot the smaller eggplants in much larger pots to give their roots lots of room.  Hopefully I won't kill them.  Fingers crossed.

I am really impressed with how fast the sunflowers and squash are growing.  Here's the squash now large enough to hold its own (hopefully) against the mint:

And here are the sunflowers and a few more squash growing nicely:

I like that with the squash you can still see the two original leaves at the bottom of each stem.  Hopefully the sunflowers will be tall enough that the squash can grow on the ground around them and they can both live in harmony. That's right, my garden will be harmonious.

This weekend the plan is to move things in smaller pots to larger ones so that I don't freak out as much when I can't get home to water them and it's 95 degrees and sunny.  Right now I'm watering everything twice a day since it's been so hot and the smallest pots are still completely dry by the afternoon.  That said, they survived the hot Memorial Day weekend with only being watered Friday afternoon, Sunday and Monday night when I got home and everything was fine.  I am thankful for my raised bed, though, since it takes a while for that to dry out and the roots can go nice and deep.

I'm leaving you with a picture of the second tomato, which is so cute I couldn't help but take a picture of it.

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.

Yesterday, I posted the faux-tandoori chicken from last night's dinner, as well as the greens, up on Saturday's Mouse.  Here's the garlic naan side dish that became the star of the show.

There are a ton of naan recipes floating around there, with wide-ranging ingredients and prep methods. I read a lot of them. Some call for just flour and water, others are more complicated. They're cooked in frying pans and on pizza stones, over open flames, etc. The goal is fast high heat.

I started with two tablespoons of warm water and a teaspoon of honey, mixed together until well incorporated and then swished in a tablespoon of yeast and waited for it to get fluffy.



Then I added a half cup of whole wheat flour, a cup of white all purpose flour, two tablespoons of yogurt, a half a cup of milk, a pinch of salt and a half teaspoon of garlic powder. And turned on the machine.



It was sticky. Shapeless. Un-ballable. I added a dusting of additional flour. And another dusting. I used close to two cups here, in total. It was really sticky. It was a very hot and humid day. I rolled it into a sticky and imperfect ball, covered it and left it t rise for two hours.



I don't have a picture of the risen ball, but it fluffed up nicely. We divided it into five balls (aimed for six, got distracted).



The dough was still super sticky at this point, so the naan-balls went on a baking sheet spritzed with olive oil and covered with a towel.

We preheated a cast iron stove-top grill to medium-high, and rolled the balls out flat. I also melted some butter with grated garlic to brush on top of these mid-way through cooking. I spritzed the grill with olive oil and laid on the naan. It sizzled immediately, and began to bubble.



After about two minutes, I flipped them over. The first side had nice grill marks and the whole bread was starting to feel firm. Of course, this will vary based on your cooking technique and temperature.



After both sides have light grill marks and it feels like cooked bread, brush on the garlic butter, flip the bread butter side down and grill another 30 seconds or so...flip again, brush again, flip garlic side down and give it another 30 seconds. You want the bread to be white overall with grill marks.



Mmm. Naan. This was super-soft and fluffy inside with the right amount of crisp on the surface and a decent chewiness.

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

 Garlic Naan

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast


• 2 tablespoons warm water


• 1 teaspoon honey


• 2 tablespoons low fat yogurt


• 1/2 cup skim milk


• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour


• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (divided)


• 1 teaspoon garlic powder


• dash kosher salt


• 2 cloves garlic (minced)


• 2 tablespoons butter (melted)

Instructions

• Mix water and honey until well incorporated. Add yeast and let proof 10 minutes or until foamy.


• Add in all other ingredients - being cautious with the AP flour. Start with 1 cup AP flour and add more if needed.


• Knead by hand 10 minutes or in mixer for 5-7. Form into a ball. If too sticky, add more flour.


• Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours until doubled. Mix butter and garlic, and warm.


• Divide into 6 or so balls. Roll out flat, to about a quarter inch thicknesss.


• Preheat stove top grill (or actual grill). Grease grill lightly.


• Grill each flatbread for 2 minutes or so until firm with grill marks. Flip over and grill other side. Then brush each with garlic butter and grill each side for another 30 seconds or so, until soft but crispy.

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.