Archive | Farm Fresh Friday RSS feed for this section

Farm Fresh Farewell

26 Aug
Happy Friday!  Welcome to the last Farm Fresh Friday of the summer!  I debated continuing my fresh food posts into  September considering summer isn’t technically over until then but I decided it just made the most sense to end it today, on the last Friday of the month.  Besides, everyone is starting to have fall (<3) on the brain anyway.
If you haven’t read my Farm Fresh Friday posts this summer here is a chance to catch up:
Collingswood Farmers Market
Duffield’s Farm
Cherry Grove Farm
DeHarts Farm Market
Honor System
Roadside Farm Stand
Candy Box
Moods Farm Market
Woodbury Farmers Market
Haddonfield Farmers Market
Philly Homegrown

027

Reading Terminal Market, established in 1893, is not only a historical site, but a tasty one.  It is a farmers market unlike any other I have ever been to.  Within the indoor market area you will find a wide variety of goods from meat, fish, bakery goods and homemade soaps to homemade canned goods and crafts.
Inside of the open air market are over 80 merchants who bring in more than 100,000 customers each week, both tourists and locals alike.
028
When you walk into the market you feel cozy and at home, no matter what time of the year it is.  Glorious smells surround you and every corner you turn is another unique shop.

031032035037038039055054

Whether you want a great deli sandwich or a soft, bakery cookie, Reading Terminal Market has it.  And if you want something more unique such as sushi, vegetarian dishes, Cajun food, middle eastern food or Thai food, they have it.

033040

065052

And speaking of Farm Fresh Friday, there is  plenty of fresh produce to be found at the market at well.070
043044046047048049051059060061
The Reading Terminal Market is such a fun and interesting place!  You could really spend a whole afternoon just wandering around, tasting and exploring what each vendor has to offer.  And trust me, I have done this.
I couldn’t think of a better way to end Farm Fresh Friday and it was the perfect way to go out with a bang, at the best farmers market I know of.  If you’re a local reader I hope I’ve inspired you to check out some of the great markets I’ve visited.  Or maybe you’ve been motivated to see what you’re local markets have where you live.  Either way, I appreciate you reading my weekly farm posts and obsessive produce photos.
Most importantly, I wanted to spread the word about eating local and eating fresh.  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing! 

Tags: , ,

FFF in a box.

19 Aug
Happy Friday!
Would you believe me if I said that this week’s Farm Fresh Friday came out of a box?  Indeed, it is true.
003
Philly Homegrown, a food movement that focuses on fresh, local, and delicious food sent me a box filled with a wide variety of goodies.  And while these products didn’t exactly come from a vine, the ingredients used to make them are as fresh as it gets.

011

This may come as a surprise to some. That Philadelphia, a city known for cheese steaks and soft pretzels is actually filled with restaurants that cook with local foods, markets that carry what is grown close to home, and people that are passionate about eating “real local flavor”.
004
Some interesting facts about the local Philadelphia food scene:
•Philadelphia has 500 community gardens and 226 are food-producing.
•Reading Terminal Market is one of America’s oldest farmers’ markets.
•The area where the food is grown, produced and shared is spread over 100 miles from “Amish Country to the Atlantic Ocean”!
•There is even local beer in Philly!
What can you do to get more involved?:
•Eat at restaurants that use local products such as Garces Trading Company, Fork, and Talula’s Garden.  To find more visit Food Finder.
•Pick your own produce!
•Check out a farmers market.
•Go on a food tour!
When my farm in a box arrived at my front door I immediately tore it open and delicious smells wafted through the kitchen.

008

016
Garces Trading Company Coffee, Gilda’s Biscotti, Metropolitan Bakery Granola, and Mind Your Own Beeswax Honey.
024
Stepped-In-What Tomato  Sauce, Greensgrow House-Made Pickles and Tait Farm Jam.
029
The Mushroom Cap Dried Mushrooms and Snack N Shrooms Mushroom Chips.
035
North/South Meatery & Canning Co. Pancetta and PA Noble Cheese, Cave Aged Cheddar.
039
Victory Brewing Company’s Summer Love Ale.
As you can guess, this box was pure foodie heaven.  Even better that I knew exactly where each product came from and their exact ingredients.  And then the obvious happened and I started thinking about what I could do with the products.  Aside from just digging in and eating them individually of course.
On Monday I am going to share what I created using these fantastic ingredients and I promise it is a great recipe.  How could it not be?!  And better yet, I want to give you some of the products.
It wouldn’t be fair if I flaunted all of this great information and then kept everything for myself!  Although I am serious, it was a really tough decision to share!
To win a product all you have to do is:
Like my page on Facebook (All I Eat Food) and leave a comment saying which of the following products you would enjoy most:
Garces Trading Company Coffee
Gilda’s Biscotti
Metropolitan Bakery Granola
The Mushroom Cap Dried Mushrooms
Mind Your Own Beeswax Honey
You have  until Sunday night, at 11:59 EST.  I will pick 5 random winners out of a hat and announce it on Monday’s post!
I hope that everyone can get excited about Philly Homegrown and enjoy all that the area has to offer whether you are a local or come for a visit.

005

Dear Fresh Veggies,
Never knew grass existed in the city. Thanks for sharing your goods.
With Love,
Allieatfood

XoXo

Tags: , , , , ,

Tropical Farm Fresh Friday

12 Aug
Okay, so I’ll be honest.  The only thing tropical about this post is that I am on vacation in Punta Cana and I’m sharing a post about my latest farmers market experience.
But veggies are almost as good as a tropical island. Almost?
001
This farmers market is located in Haddonfield, NJ, at Kings Court, 150 Kings Highway East.  It takes place every Saturday through October 8, rain or shine!

026

While I have visited this cute, quaint town many times, it was the first time that I was actually visiting the farmers market.

005006

There are those white eggplants again!

007

008

It was fairly small but there were a ton of great products to look at.

010

014

015017

018

019

020

 

And everything looked really fresh and there were many varieties of fruits and veggies.

022

024

025

033
I found these mushrooms the most interesting.  It seemed a little unusual to see oyster mushrooms at a farmers market but I loved that they are available.

 

011

039  038

I was also able to try some of this long bean salad, which was amazing.  (Made with the long beans pictured above.)  It tasted a little spicy and there was definitely some basil in there.  Why didn’t I ask for the recipe?!

029031

This market was especially fun because there were so many other vendors and stores that set up tents and tables along the street that you could wander around all morning checking out the different items.  Kind of a two for one deal.
And if you’re ever visiting the Collingswood farmers market, you should definitely check out this one!  Or vice versa.  They are so very close but unique in their own way.
Enjoy your weekend while I bask in the sun!

Tags: , , ,

Farm Fresh Friday–Unexpected Treasure

5 Aug
All summer I have been hearing about Woodbury’s Farmers Market.  Each Friday this market is held on Cooper Street & Railroad Avenue by train station parking lot in Woodbury, NJ from 2pm-6pm. 
007
While this farmers market has been going on Friday after Friday, summer after summer, since 2003, it was the first time I have stopped by.  And while I have wanted to visit practically every Friday this summer, it was the first time I was able to check out this unique hidden gem.
008
036
009010
011012019013
014018
023027
My favorite stop was this little organic stand, where the woman said she and her husband grow everything.  When I asked if they had a farm that you could visit she told me that they actually just intended to eat what they grew but there too much so whatever they couldn’t eat they sold at the market.
034
029 030
031
033
See the whitish/green eggplant on the bottom?  I never knew this but she told me that that was how eggplant was first grown, in the shape of an egg and it had a white color. As she held it in her hand it made perfect sense!  Why had I never questioned this before!?  I always just accepted that a big, purple vegetable was called eggplant.
037
After snapping some photos and capturing some photos I was so glad that I finally visited this unexpected treasure that I had always heard about.  In fact, I loved it so much… I’m going back today  Smile

Tags: , ,

Farm Fresh Friday: Mood’s Farm Market

29 Jul
Have you ever visited a farm early in the day when the sun hasn’t reached its highest heat and the grass is still dewy? 034
A few weeks ago Wendy and I took a visit to Mood’s Farm Market, a place where you can not only buy produce and homemade goods, but also pick your own fruit!

008

And you can buy corn, but by all means do not shuck it there!
001
Of course there were some essential rules.  And no, this does not mean you get to  pick which rules you want to follow Smile
Before you pick you decide what fruit you will be picking.  There is a list which also includes pricing.  You then pay for a permit to pick in the respective area, purchase a cardboard container and begin!
009
We started picking blueberries first.
010 012
If you have never picked blueberries before let me tell you that it is not easy!  I was definitely confused when I thought it would be a simple task.  But there are a lot of berries that aren’t ripe, some that are bruised or wrinkly and others were just downright gross looking!  So you’re trying to be quick but careful at the same time and it winds up taking a lot longer than you’d expect.
 016
013
Wendy and I kept asking each other how we were doing and we knew that we were making progress once we weren’t hitting cardboard anymore.  In other words, we had filled the bottom of the box completely and were actually getting somewhere.  This made me laugh as we were picking.  I think we should coin the term “hitting cardboard” don’t you think!?
Next, we headed to pick peaches.

017

This might have been the biggest peach I ever saw!

019 020

024

We were warned that they were extremely ripe and they really were!  Most were so ripe that you’d touch them and they would turn to mush.  And their juices were dripping out of them begging to be eaten.  While it was hard to find some that were okay to take home, the few that we did take were so delicious and sweet.
After we were finished picking our fresh fruit we headed back, paid for our goods and were on our merry way.  In a few short hours we were able to experience what goes into picking fruit and bring home some juicy berries and peaches.  I’d call that a successful summer mornin’.
Enjoy the last weekend of July!

Tags: ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 631 other followers