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Pennypack Pickings
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August 21, 2010
Volume 8, Issue 20
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| Weekly Harvest |
Peppers
Scallions
Okra
Eggplant
Carrots
Lettuce
Potatoes
Tomatoes
U-pick
Tomatillos
Edamame
Cherry Tomatoes
Hot Peppers
Green Beans
Raspberries
Blackberries
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| Labor Day |
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The farm will be closed on Monday, September 6th
due to the Holiday.
Pick-up will be held on
TUESDAY September 7th from 2:30pm-7:30pm.
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We Need You
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Volunteers are needed for this year's Harvest Festival, Saturday, October 2,
11AM - 5PM.
Help is needed
with such activities as: Food Sales, Guides, Parking assistant, set-up, water table, hay ride ticket takers, kids activites, bakers and more.
Please contact Jocelyn Crosby at ppfharvestfest@gmail.com to volunteer.
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| Whitemarsh Residents |
Do You Live in Whitemarsh?
Let us know very soon if you reside in Whitemarsh Township. We are gathering supporters to help us lease Hope Lodge. Call or email Susan Curry, 215-591-1551, suscurry@comcast.net.
Leave your name, phone, street and email. |
Plastic Bags Needed
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We have run out of plastic bags. Please bring your own and extras to share.
If we need to purchase more bags, we will need start charging.
We apologize for the inconvenience and strongly encourage you to plan ahead and bring recycled bags!
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Winter Shares!
It is that time of the year again!!
Winter share sales will begin on Monday Aug 23rd.
Last year they were sold out in 2 weeks!
New this year: Pickup day will be Wednesdays from 2:30-7:30pm
More pickups! 17 (last year only 15)
Price this year is $395
The winter share is a great opportunity to eat seasonally throughout the winter/spring months. The season begins when the summer season ends in mid-November, goes weekly through December and then continues on a twice monthly basis through April and weekly in May.
 The 6 unit share consists of hardy greens that can be grown in the winter months such as kale, spinach, swiss chard, collards, cabbage, asian greens, and broccoli raab as well as storage crops including sweet potatoes.
Open to all (Current members and waitlist)
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Finding Your Voice and
Following Your Dreams
Last week I attended a 4-day retreat in the Lehigh Valley as an Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) Fellow. The 15 fellows from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland all ranged in age, race, education levels, and professional background. Connected by our passion for environmental and social change, we immediately hit it off and shared stories of challenge, triumph, and dreams. The retreat was an opportunity to reflect on our personal and professional selves, while networking and developing our unique leadership styles. A large component of this particular retreat was embracing diversity, and understanding our lenses/filters that guide us through life. I have been deeply touched by this experience and I am looking forward to the remaining two retreats.
We each have a voice, and it does count,
Take a moment to listen... we all have something to share.
~Raina
Farm Educator
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Vendors Needed for Harvest Festival
We are looking for vendors of sustainable goods for the Harvest Festival which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2 from 11 AM to 5 PM.
The Pennypack Farm Harvest Festival is an annual community event to celebrate the season's harvest featuring children's activities, crafts, food, live music and vendors of locally produced and sustainable goods and services. Last year we had over 500 attendees that stopped to sign our log book. The majority of the attendees are families with young children.
Table space is available for $25.
Please contact Jocelyn Crosby at ppfharvestfest@gmail.com for more information.
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The Dirt on Education
For information on all upcoming classes for children and adults click here.
 Permaculture Design Workshop
Saturday September 11th, 10am-2pm
$35/person
Register Here
Melissa Miles of the Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild will lead a Permaculture workshop at Pennypack Farm! Permaculture is the science of designing sustainable human settlements and agriculture based on natural ecological systems. Learn the theories behind permaculture design, and put your newfound knowledge to use in our Edible Classroom. Participants will have the opportunity to install a fruit tree guild while learning sheet mulching, plant guilds, and system stability. Bring a Lunch!
 Preparing your Garden for Winter
Tuesday September 14th, 7pm-8pm
$10/person
Register Here
Farmer Andy will teach you how to put your garden bed to rest for winter and which plants need to be planted now to ensure a spring harvest.
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PFEC Raffles to Support the Tractor Fund
Starting Monday, August 23
Tense? Stressed-out? How does a nice massage sound or a delicious dinner or relaxing weekend at the beach?
For just $5.00 you could be a lucky winner of the Pennypack Farm Raffle.
At your next pick-up, buy a ticket and drop it into the container for the prize of your choice.
Winners will be chosen on September 13th.
The more times you enter, the better chance you'll have of winning! Tickets - $5.00 per ticket or 5 for $20.00.
Prizes include:
- Shiatzu Massage
- Esalen Massage
- Two $50 Gift Certificates to San Marco Restaurant
- Little Sprouts - one week class
- Little Seeds - one week class
- Weekend in Cape May
See the greeters at the Harvest House on your pickup day.
All proceeds go to the Tractor Fund.
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Tomato Tasting
The Tomato Tasting event was so much fun.
Despite the rain, over 60 turned out for a great potluck!
 Who knew that we grow over 20 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. We all know the sungold cherry tomatoes,
but did you know that we grow: verde puebla,speckled roman,cherokee purple, pineapple, golden king of siberia and even yellow mortgage lifter.
Thank you to our volunteers and a
special thanks to Gigglehead for great music.
The event raised $279 for the tractor fund.
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Meet the Recipe Team, cont.
Jayne Bahrenburg - A self-taught cook and self-proclaimed foodie, Jayne's interest in cooking was sparked in college by the gift of a Betty Crocker cookbook. Many cookbooks later and more than 12 years as a retail manager (of kitchen stores, of course), Jayne is still fascinated by the endless number of ways to cook, flavor and combine foods that her family--95% of the time--will eat. She still gets a kick out of exchanging food tips and recipes, and you may find her at Williams-Sonoma doing that part-time. Raised in rural western Pa., surrounded by farmland, she is thrilled to be a first-year shareholder at Pennypack, where she can again, "go to the farm."
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Gazpacho
Submitted by Jayne Bahrenburg / a compilation and adaptation of several recipes
Once described as "summertime on a spoon," gazpacho is not only a refreshing cold soup, it is a tasty way to use those tomatoes, cukes, peppers & onions that are at their peak now. It is also a forgiving recipe you can play "fast and loose" with--adjusting quantities, adding or deleting ingredients to suit your taste or mood. It will probably still turn out fabulous. Just keep in the essence of the dish: the olive oil, sherry vinegar (or good red wine vinegar) and tomatoes. The fridge time it needs is not only to chill it completely, but to meld the flavors. It's even better the next day!
1 three-inch piece of day-old french bread baguette, crusts cut off; OR 1/2 cup panko
2-3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, extraneous seeds removed
1 cup chopped green or yellow pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 English or 1 large garden cucumber, peeled, if desired, halved lengthwise, de-seeded and chopped.
1/2 cup chopped red onion
up to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups (or less) low-sodium beef broth or vegetable broth (optional)
1/4 cup good sherry wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
1 tsp. dried oregano
1-2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Pepper, coarsely ground
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 or more cups of bottled tomato juice
1 tsp. sugar, if needed
Tabasco, to taste
Garnish (optional): chopped parsley, minced red onion, chopped cucumber or red pepper
On a cutting board make a paste by mincing the garlic and mashing the kosher salt into it repeatedly with the flat of the knife.
In a food processor or blender, combine chopped tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, broth (optional), and garlic-salt paste. (To prevent overflow while operating your blender/processor, two or more batches may be necessary to process everything.) Pulse or blend to a about a 1/4-inch chop. If desired, you may want to process one batch to a smooth puree and leave the other at the fine chop for texture. Combine all batches into a large bowl.
In a separate small bowl, crumble or cube the bread. Add about 1/2 cup of tomato juice or water and let sit for a few minutes to create a slurry. This adds a little body to the soup.
Add slurry to the processed vegetables in the large bowl, along with the tomato juice, sherry vinegar, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and freshly ground pepper.
Stir the mixture thoroughly.
Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste. If tomatoes are quite acidic, add a little sugar a pinch at a time. Cover and chill overnight--or at least 4 hours--before serving. Garnish with finely chopped parsley, minced red onion, and chopped peppers or cucumbers. Or top with creme fraiche if you have it.
Serves between 8 to 12, depending on serving size.
Variation: Go a Latin direction by substituting cilantro for the parsley, lime juice for the lemon, and adding 1/2 tsp. of ground cumin, one finely diced jalapeno (minus core and seeds) and 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika.
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Hosted by the College Settlement of Philadelphia
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