If you missed our Wine & Cheese Pairing Party with Madame Fromage, or if you just want to relive all the cheesy goodness, we've got photos and details on the cheeses you tasted.

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After months of committee meetings with hopefully a dozen people attending, it was truly a delight to walk into the EPX office last week for our first general member-owner meeting and see the room full of unfamiliar faces.

Alison introduced the meeting and asked everyone who was a committee member to raise their hand. Plenty of hands went up, though even more were in the air for a show of members-owners and even more again for those who were attending their first SPFC event.

It wasn't just those that had already become member-owners who voted last week. Nearly a dozen of our new member-owners joined that night by filling out their application and submitting their first equity payment to make them eligible to vote. Patty and Maria sat at the front the whole night talking to those that were interested and taking payments from those who had decided to take that all-important step.

Come 8 pm the ballots had all been submitted and after some exhaustive counting and collating by members of our Election Committee, David Woo happily announced the results of the first election.

Sadly several newly elected board members were not still present, but as the evening wrapped up I did manage to gather our new board together.

SPFC Inaugural Board
L to R: Jay Tarlecki, Julia Koprak, Cassie Plummer, Joe Marino, Mary Beth Hertz, Alison Fritz, Maria Camoratto. Not pictured: Erika Owens, John Raezer, Josh Richards, Stephanie Rupertus.

Thanks again to all who came out last week including those who were just interested and especially our new member-owners. Remember, it's never too late to become a member-owner yourself.

After months of committee meetings with hopefully a dozen people attending, it was truly a delight to walk into the EPX office last week for our first general member-owner meeting and see the room full of unfamiliar faces. Alison introduced the meeting and asked everyone who was a committee member to raise their hand. Plenty of hands went up, though even more were in the air for a show of members-owners and even more again for those who were attending their first SPFC event. It wasn't just those that had already become member-owners who voted last week. Nearly a dozen of our new member-owners joined that night by filling out their application and submitting their first equity payment to make them eligible to vote. Patty and Maria sat at the front the whole night talking to those that were interested and taking payments from those who had decided to take that all-important step. Come 8 pm the ballots had all been submitted and after some exhaustive counting and collating by members of our Election Committee, David Woo happily announced the results of the first election. Sadly several newly elected board members were not still present, but as the evening wrapped up I did manage to gather our new board together. SPFC Inaugural Board L to R: Jay Tarlecki, Julia Koprak, Cassie Plummer, Joe Marino, Mary Beth Hertz, Alison Fritz, Maria Camoratto. Not pictured: Erika Owens, John Raezer, Josh Richards, Stephanie Rupertus. Thanks again to all who came out last week including those who were just interested and especially our new member-owners. Remember, it's never too late to become a member-owner yourself.

I just wanted to show off some of this amazing swiss chard we got in our CSA box.  It's almost too beautiful to eat.

Friday night dinners around our house lately consists of homemade pizza.  I usually pick up some whole wheat dough at the Fair Food Farm Stand and we top it off with some vegetables from our CSA share.  This week we used swiss chard, pancetta and provolone cheese.

I just wanted to show off some of this amazing swiss chard we got in our CSA box.  It's almost too beautiful to eat. Friday night dinners around our house lately consists of homemade pizza.  I usually pick up some whole wheat dough at the Fair Food Farm Stand and we top it off with some vegetables from our CSA share.  This week we used swiss chard, pancetta and provolone cheese.

Dan and I had some friends over for recently for dinner, and while that’s usually an excuse for me start ripping through cookbooks and narrowing down the endless list of recipes I’ve been meaning to try, all I wanted to eat was pizza.  I’d been sick all week, had just spent the morning at those not-to-be-named big box home supply stores on South Philly picking out bathroom tile and shower heads, and it was a cold Saturday night.  I wanted pizza.  Totally fair, right?  But could I order up a couple of pies from Marra’s or FrancoLuigi’s and not feel like I was shirking my hostess responsibilities?   Was that totally lame?  How do I reconcile my pizza passion with wanting to provide a fun, tasty, home-cooked meal for my guests?   The answer came to me in a cloud of Theraflu and gray floor tiles: Make-your-own pizza party. Brilliant.  It would be fun, creative, and delicious – totally perfect for a Saturday night with friends. To start, roll out some dough – store bought or hand made – into personal sized pizzas.  We pre-baked ours on a pizza stone at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. [caption id="attachment_516" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bakin' some dough"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_517" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cooling and waiting for toppings"][/caption] The toppings are the real fun part – so use what you like.  Based on what was hanging around in our cupboards, we laid out: heart of palm, crispy tempeh bacon, red onions, kalamata olives, steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, tomato sauce, pea shoot and walnut pesto (vegan, see below) and mozzarella cheese (of both the whole milk and vegan varieties).   We didn’t have any on hand, but roasted brussels sprouts would have been a slammin’ addition to the topping bar.  I love them on a pizza mixed with a little veggie bacon. [caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A color palette"][/caption] When guests arrive, invite them to take a pizza shell, add desired toppings, and put back in the oven for 10 – 15 (we did up to 20 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your crust). [caption id="attachment_573" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pizza with salad gets thumbs up"][/caption] We served the pizza with a green salad, (though in this case, I think the salad was just an excuse to toast up some gigantic croutons) and some cookies and cream (vegan) cupcakes. [caption id="attachment_512" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Really just a crouton vehicle"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_513" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Icing the cupcakes (and, of course, Dan got to lick the spatula)"][/caption] And the recipes: Pea shoot and walnut pesto:In a food processor or blender combine pea shoots (roughly 2 handfuls), basil (again, 'bout 2 handfuls), garlic (2-4 cloves) and pulse until roughly combined.  Add toasted walnuts (I used about half a cup) and pulse until walnuts are just chopped and incorporated.  With motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil; blend until well combined. Scrape pesto into a bowl. [caption id="attachment_575" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Vegan pesto"][/caption] Green salad with roasted tomatoes and croutons For the Dressing

• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 -3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. mustard
• ½ tsp. sugar
• Large pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil

For the Salad

• 5 or 6 slices good bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used focacia)
• Olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Good balsamic vinegar
• 12 tomatoes – cherry, strawberry, or roma
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 12 basil leaves, julienned or torn
• 3-4 handfuls lettuce leaves
• ½ cup ricotta salata or feta broken into big crumbles (optional)

Make the Dressing Mix shallot, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper in a wide mouth jar or other salad dressing making vessel.  Add the olive oil to taste.  Cover and shake or mix like hell with a whisk or fork.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Make the Salad Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Place the bread cubes on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a large pinch of salt over top and a few grinds of black pepper.  Toss well with your hands.  Place in the oven and bake until starting to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to give time to firm up a bit. Turn the oven up to 425ºF.  Slice each tomato in half.  Set aside a few of them of them and seed the others (though I didn’t take the time to seed mine and it was just fine…).  Place on small baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sugar (to help with caramelization), salt and a couple grinds of pepper.  Toss gently with your hands.  Carefully drizzle on just a bit of balsamic vinegar.  Bake until dark, caramelized and slightly collapsed, about 25 minutes.  Remove and set aside. Place the croutons in a salad bowl.  Scrape the tomatoes and any juices over top.  Chop up the raw tomatoes and add them to the bowl along with the basil and the lettuce.  If using cheese, scatter it over top.  Dress the salad according to your taste, and toss carefully.  Add more dressing as needed. Recipe for the vegan cookies and cream cupcakes can be found at the Peas & Thank You blog, a great resource for all kinds of vegan ideas. In fact, here I am with the computer on the kitchen island following that recipe: [caption id="attachment_574" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A work in progress"][/caption]

Dan and I had some friends over for recently for dinner, and while that’s usually an excuse for me start ripping through cookbooks and narrowing down the endless list of recipes I’ve been meaning to try, all I wanted to eat was pizza.  I’d been sick all week, had just spent the morning at those not-to-be-named big box home supply stores on South Philly picking out bathroom tile and shower heads, and it was a cold Saturday night.  I wanted pizza.  Totally fair, right?  But could I order up a couple of pies from Marra’s or FrancoLuigi’s and not feel like I was shirking my hostess responsibilities?   Was that totally lame?  How do I reconcile my pizza passion with wanting to provide a fun, tasty, home-cooked meal for my guests?   The answer came to me in a cloud of Theraflu and gray floor tiles: Make-your-own pizza party.

Brilliant.  It would be fun, creative, and delicious – totally perfect for a Saturday night with friends.

To start, roll out some dough – store bought or hand made – into personal sized pizzas.  We pre-baked ours on a pizza stone at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

 

The toppings are the real fun part – so use what you like.  Based on what was hanging around in our cupboards, we laid out: heart of palm, crispy tempeh bacon, red onions, kalamata olives, steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, tomato sauce, pea shoot and walnut pesto (vegan, see below) and mozzarella cheese (of both the whole milk and vegan varieties).   We didn’t have any on hand, but roasted brussels sprouts would have been a slammin’ addition to the topping bar.  I love them on a pizza mixed with a little veggie bacon.

When guests arrive, invite them to take a pizza shell, add desired toppings, and put back in the oven for 10 – 15 (we did up to 20 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your crust).

We served the pizza with a green salad, (though in this case, I think the salad was just an excuse to toast up some gigantic croutons) and some cookies and cream (vegan) cupcakes.

 

And the recipes:

Pea shoot and walnut pesto:In a food processor or blender combine pea shoots (roughly 2 handfuls), basil (again, 'bout 2 handfuls), garlic (2-4 cloves) and pulse until roughly combined.  Add toasted walnuts (I used about half a cup) and pulse until walnuts are just chopped and incorporated.  With motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil; blend until well combined. Scrape pesto into a bowl.

Green salad with roasted tomatoes and croutons

For the Dressing

• 1 small shallot, minced

 

• 2 -3 tbsp. lemon juice

 

• 2 tsp. mustard

 

• ½ tsp. sugar

 

• Large pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

• olive oil

For the Salad

• 5 or 6 slices good bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used focacia)

 

• Olive oil

 

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

• Good balsamic vinegar

 

• 12 tomatoes – cherry, strawberry, or roma

 

• 1 tsp. sugar

 

• 12 basil leaves, julienned or torn

 

• 3-4 handfuls lettuce leaves

 

• ½ cup ricotta salata or feta broken into big crumbles (optional)

Make the Dressing
Mix shallot, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper in a wide mouth jar or other salad dressing making vessel.  Add the olive oil to taste.  Cover and shake or mix like hell with a whisk or fork.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Make the Salad
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Place the bread cubes on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a large pinch of salt over top and a few grinds of black pepper.  Toss well with your hands.  Place in the oven and bake until starting to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to give time to firm up a bit.

Turn the oven up to 425ºF.  Slice each tomato in half.  Set aside a few of them of them and seed the others (though I didn’t take the time to seed mine and it was just fine…).  Place on small baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sugar (to help with caramelization), salt and a couple grinds of pepper.  Toss gently with your hands.  Carefully drizzle on just a bit of balsamic vinegar.  Bake until dark, caramelized and slightly collapsed, about 25 minutes.  Remove and set aside.

Place the croutons in a salad bowl.  Scrape the tomatoes and any juices over top.  Chop up the raw tomatoes and add them to the bowl along with the basil and the lettuce.  If using cheese, scatter it over top.  Dress the salad according to your taste, and toss carefully.  Add more dressing as needed.

Recipe for the vegan cookies and cream cupcakes can be found at the Peas & Thank You blog, a great resource for all kinds of vegan ideas. In fact, here I am with the computer on the kitchen island following that recipe:

A few snaps from my New Year's Eve meal. Along with Maine lobsters and Beau Soleil oysters from New Brunswick (that would be Canada, not New Jersey) we also had all-natural filet picked up at the Reading Terminal Market's Giunta's Prime Shop.

What did you eat this New Year's and where did it come from?

A few snaps from my New Year's Eve meal. Along with Maine lobsters and Beau Soleil oysters from New Brunswick (that would be Canada, not New Jersey) we also had all-natural filet picked up at the Reading Terminal Market's Giunta's Prime Shop. What did you eat this New Year's and where did it come from?