Now that we have completely skipped over spring and it seems that summer is firmly in place,  it is time for my summertime beverage of choice. For the last two years it has been 21st Amendment Brewery's Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer.  It is the perfect beer to quench your thirst on a hot summer day because of its light refreshing taste. You have to try this for your next BBQ.

We're raising money for a market analysis, feasibility study, incorporation costs and insurance! Our next fundraiser is TONIGHT from 5pm to 7:30pm. Come enjoy an appetizer tasting happy hour at Hawthorne's Beer Boutique and Gourmet Eatery (738 S. 11th Street). Meet fellow co-op supporters and enjoy a sampling of Hawthorne’s tasty appetizers as well as $5 off growlers and $1 off drafts. The suggested donation at the door is $15 and includes butlered appetizers and drink specials. This event does not require the purchase of the growler container. Loaner growlers (about 4 pints per growler) will be available for on-site consumption. To make it easier for our host, this will be a cash only event. Please be sure to visit an ATM machine before you arrive. The menu for tonight's Happy Hour is as follows: Smoked Salmon with cream cheese on crostinis Pulled pork on slider rolls Roasted red pepper hummus on Pita Pico on tortilla chip Bruschetta on Baguette Tuna tartar on won ton BBQ chicken quesadillas Oven-roasted turkey on multigrain with sauerkraut and poblano aoili And we have some awesome door prizes. Come out for a chance to win: Gift certificates for Calm Massage, Yoga, and Reiki Studio Gift certificate for Zipcar 4 pack of tickets to Eastern State Penitentiary You can RSVP at our Facebook event page or just show up!

On Saturday, April 30, teams of volunteers from the South Philly Food Co-op will be at a couple events to answer questions about the Co-op, hand out brochures, and just get to meet people who may have only had contact with us through email or Facebook. At the LoMo event we will be reprising one of our most fun fund raisers with a bake sale supplied by our many supporters. So if you're reading this, please stop by one of the two events below (both are GREAT events) and say hi. We'll also be administering surveys which are a vital part of the planning process and will be used during for our feasibility study and market analysis. Below are details about Flavors of the Avenue and the LoMo Spring Market and Community Fair. Flavors of the Avenue Saturday, April 30, noon-5pm East Passyunk Avenue, between Dickinson and Morris East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District invites you to enjoy a true taste of East Passyunk Avenue from its award-winning restaurants, all offering samples of their signature dishes and drinks under the cover of a big top tent, making the event rain or shine!  Outside of the Flavors tent, enjoy a free street festival with live music and a craft market hosted by Crafty Balboa at the Fountain. Noon-1pm: VIP Hour - $50* ticket includes specialty cocktails and first tastes of premium menu items with limited attendance 1-5pm: General Admission - $30* ticket includes wine and beer Tickets will be limited and on-line ordering ends at midnight on April 27 or when the event sells out. After Flavors, East Passyunk Avenue’s boutiques and salons will be holding a Flavors Fashion Crawl, complete with trunk shows, sales, demonstrations, refreshments and other special events and The Bottle Shop will host a Beer Tasting block party between Moore & Mifflin Streets.  Both events are from 5-8pm and are free! For more info and to purchase your tickets, go to: www.visiteastpassyunk.com/flavors.. LoMo’s Spring Market & Community Fair Saturday, April 30, 2011 9 am – 3 pm (rain date: Saturday, May 7). Vendor spaces will be set up along the highly-trafficked area on Broad Street between Snyder Avenue & Jackson Street (streetside in front of South Philadelphia High School).

Back on March 27, the South Philly Food Co-op hosted one of our monthly educational events and welcomed Marie Winters, ND, of Two Rivers Naturopathy who taught about the benefits and medicinal properties of everyday fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. Marie discussed how eating seasonally helps to keep the body naturally healthy. That point cleared up a concern (at least a concern that I had) that strictly trying to eat local might cause deficiencies if we don't get, say, bananas or citrus fruit which don't grow locally. Not so. All of the nutrients we need, during the seasons we need them, can be found in locally grown foods. The nutrients we need in winter are found in the foods that grow around here in winter and so forth for the other seasons. Nature seems to have figured out what it's doing. Here's one last plug for Marie: her Two Rivers Naturopathy just recently moved into a space at South Philadelphia Acupuncture at 1532 East Passyunk Avenue. One of the goals of the Co-op as stated in its mission is to provide affordable, nutritious and locally sourced food. But it's also important to remember the Co-op's role in educating people in the community about the benefits of buying and eating those types of food. We hope to invite Marie back for more information sessions once the Co-op opens its doors. Eating local has a twofold benefit of supporting local and regional businesses, especially farms that use sustainable practices that try to minimize or eliminate damage to the land AND it improves public health. But it's a battle. Advocates for these practices are up against a system that has vast amounts of resources aimed literally changing people's palettes through marketing. When it's education and common sense vs. flashy commercials and messages and images that appeal to our subconscious, education and common sense aren't going to be able to put up much of a fight. But we press on. And you can help by spreading the word about the Co-op and getting your friends and neighbors in South Philadelphia excited for it. In fact, please direct all of your Facebook friends to "Like" us on Facebook. It might not seem like much, but it'll make it a lot easier for us to communicate with our most loyal fans when it comes time to appeal to them (and you) to become member-owners. In the meantime, here's another take on the benefits of eating locally and naturally from a blog that I've recently started following (and listening to their podcasts) - The Socio Capitalist:

At your local grocery store, think about where that fruit came from. Unless you live in Florida or California, chances are it’s not from around the corner. Is that natural? Of course not. We all know that fruit and vegetables are shipped all over the country, covered in chemicals, and no one wants to eat anything covered in chemicals. But what we don’t realize,is that more importantly than the chemicals (they wash right off anyway), is our food is losing its nutritional value before it even reaches us. What can you do? Buy local. The quality of the fruit and vegetables that are locally sourced – farmers markets are a good option, if you’re lucky there may be a local farm somewhere near you like this one – is markedly better. When you bite into a banana that was grown less than 20 miles away, the difference is immediately apparent, and the cause of that glorious taste is nutrients.

Just a reminder about our event this weekend. See you there! Ayurvedic Cooking: Demystifying Spices Sunday, April 24 · 6:00pm - 7:30pm Philly Community Wellness 1241 Carpenter Street Join Shruthi for a fun evening discovering key spices used in Ayurvedic Indian dishes. Together, we will discuss the nature of essential spices, what spices are best for specific constitutions, and different preparation methods such as frying, dry roasting, and making a masala. The event will also include: a written questionnaire to determine your Ayurvedic constitution, tips for mindful eating, and a hands-on cooking demonstration using fresh Springtime ingredients. www.cardamomkitchen.net Suggested donation to cover the cost of food: $5 You can RSVP via our Facebook event page.

It's getting to be the end of soup season.  A hot bowl of soup is so comforting right when the weather starts to get chilly and then through the winter, but as soon as there's a hint of a warm day here or there, soups can start to seem so heavy, so warm... still appropriate for a rainy day, but burdensome when the sun is shining.

But April showers, right?  We still have a couple more weeks.  Pretty soon we'll be trading leeks for scallions - until then, we have potato leek soup.

---

This is a very straightforward soup, with a short ingredient list.  Leeks, potatoes, stock, salt, white pepper (red if it's what you have), and olive oil.  And a blender.   I've done this with a friend's immersion blender, which works spectacularly, or in batches in my own blender.

To make a stockpile of soup, use two leeks and six russet potatoes.

stored in jars for freezing and distribution, not canned

To serve 4-6, use three potatoes and one leek.

Start by cooking the potatoes.   I scrubbed them, then scored the equator of the potato and then dropped it in boiling water until tender.   Once tender, I used tongs to remove the potato to a large bowl of cold water.  After they've cooled a bit, you can peel them with your hands.

Peel and cut into manageable chunks.

Coarsely chop the leek(s).  Remember everything will be blended in the end.  Add two tablespoons of oil to a soup pot (one tablespoon for one leek, two for two) and set to medium.  Add the leek(s) and cook until they smell great.

Add vegetable stock.  Mine is frozen in cubes (the color reflects the amount of red cabbage in the stock this time).  I think this is about three cups, but really, you want enough stock to cover your leeks and potatoes.  I like my soup fairly thick, but the amount of liquid you add is very flexible - less liquid, thicker soup.

Add the potatoes to the leek(s) and stock with white pepper and salt - one tablespoon of white pepper per leek, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt per leek.  Simmer 10 minutes or so.

Blend the soup - either in batches in the blender or with an immersion blender, until you get a smooth puree.

Serve the soup hot, with maybe a few croutons or a sprinkle of red pepper flake (not pictured).

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

Potato Leek Soup (4-6 servings)

• 1 large leek, sliced up (white and green)


• 3 russet potatoes, cooked until tender, peeled and chunked


• 1.5 cups vegetable stock


• 1 tablespoon white pepper


• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Saute the leek with the oil, add stock and potatoes, salt and pepper and simmer together 10 minutes.  Puree with immersion blender, or in batches in regular blender.

The SPFC crew at the Mid-Atlantic Conference for Start-up Food Co-ops at Lutheran Theological Seminary.

On which committee do you serve?

I serve on the Outreach committee and am currently helping to recruit and organize people to contribute to our blog and other social media outlets. Through this we hope to stay regularly connected to potential members and shoppers, build a community of co-op supporters, give frequent updates on our progress and generally keep the co-op on everyone's radar until we have a physical presence to go along with the virtual one.

What do you do for a living?

Advertising/marketing for Democratic political candidates.

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

I married into it (or actually, the co-op married into me). Alison Fritz, chair of the steering committee, is my wife and inspiration. At first I came on board to help out because the project was so important to her. Since then I've seen how this local, food-related effort really ties into many of the issues that I'm very personally interested in (sustainability, awareness of the environment, responsible capitalism, energy conservation) and which I hope to move toward professionally as well.

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

Economics 101 (or Ec 10 as it was called in college). I'm not a foodie in particular, though I would love to learn how to cook. I am, however, keenly aware of waste and inefficiency and have been turned onto the amount of waste, inefficiency, inequity and just general badness that exists in our current industrial food system. I'd like there to be a place where I can go and KNOW that everything I pick up was carefully selected to be on that shelf because it was locally grown, sustainably raised or harvested and produced in such a manner that doesn't exploit the humans or animals who worked to make it - truly guilt-free meals.

Why should people join a food co-op?

Everyone will have their own reason and the people who hear the term "co-op" and think "I know what that is. Awesome. Sign me up" probably don't need me to tell them why they should join. However, for folks who are less familiar and might not otherwise be inclined to do so, I would appeal to their pride in their community and their neighborhood - South Philadelphia. There are plenty of folks who go way back in these neighborhoods and who have plenty of reason to be proud of the area. A locally-owned, community-owned food store (and one that we hope is wildly successful) will not only bring and keep more wealth into the community, it will also be yet another reason for people to think of this area as progressive, forward thinking and part of the solution.

What is your favorite meal to cook and why?

I love rolling out the dough and making a nice pizza with extra cheese, kalamata olives, and artichoke hearts. It's my favorite food to eat and I can never quite get it as well as my favorite pizza place in the city (FrancoLuigi's at 13th and Tasker) but I love to try. Plus a badly made pizza can beat most well made dishes any day of the week so I can't really go wrong.

Please join us Wednesday, April 27 from 5pm - 7:30pm at Hawthorne’s Beer Boutique (738 S. 11th Street) for our next fundraiser: an appetizer tasting and growler happy hour. Meet your fellow co-op supporters and enjoy a sampling of Hawthorne’s tasty appetizers as well as $5 off growlers and $1 off drafts for our event. This event does not require the purchase of the growler container and growlers can be consumed on-site (about 4 pints per growler). So grab some friends and come out and partake in this fun happy hour event. Loaner growler containers will be available for on-site consumption. The suggested donation for this event is $15 and includes butlered appetizers. To make it easier for our host, this will be a CASH ONLY event. Please be sure to visit an ATM machine before you arrive. For more information and to RSVP please visit Facebook or contact [email protected].

If you are like me, at the end of a long day you love to kick back with a beverage. With the warm weather peeking its head up every few days, a cool refreshing drink is certainly in order.  Root has created a great drink for those hot summer days that are just around the corner. This Raspberry Lemonade is a wonderful way to cool down.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon raspberry jam


• 1 1/2 cups soda water


• The juice of 2 lemons


• Several lemon slices


• 1 handful of fresh, chopped mint


• 4 parts ROOT


• Ice cubes

Directions:
Muddle the jam, lemon juice, and mint in the bottom of a large jar. Fill the jar halfway with ice cubes. Add ROOT and soda water. Stir vigorously. Top with lemon slices and more fresh mint, to taste.
Makes 4 servings.