Fresh Picks - The Lansdowne Farmers Market Newsletter

Market News for This Saturday, July 3

Swept Away But Not Kept Away
Within a couple of hours of last week's e-newsletter's mailing out, a storm hit Lansdowne that will likely be talked about for years. Apparently it wasn't an actual tornado since the winds were straight-line rather than spiraling, which seems a minor technicality when they are forced against hundred-year-old trees. The effect was about the same: in most cases, the winds won and the trees lost -- leaves, limbs, branches, themselves. And down came wires and fences and pieces of homes to boot. Our immediate Delco neighbors were hit badly too and our sympathies go out to them, but it is the oaks and elms and pines of Lansdowne that we will miss most acutely and the cleanup and inconvenience that we will recall long into the future. But, as always seems the case, such trying times bring out the best in us, as neighbors worked together to check and secure properties, stash food, offer sleeping and showering arrangements, pick up debris, clear driveways, get quotes, whatever it took, and it took quite a bit. Last week's Farmers Market offered one of the soonest opportunities for normalcy after Thursday's events, and many of you took advantage of the chance to get together and swap storm stories while stocking up for the week and meeting the cheery and determined Community Day participants. We spend a lot of space in this newsletter thanking shoppers and vendors and volunteers, and this seems like as good a time as any to acknowledge you all again for your fortitude, dedication, and determination and to offer a special word of encouragement as you recover from what we can only hope will be the only summer storm of 2010 that gets remembered.

Happy 3rd of July!
Oh look -- it's July! How'd that happen? More importantly, it's the eve of the Independence Day holiday weekend, and since July 4 is a Sunday, the borough's patriotic special events -- from parade through all-star games to rock concert and fireworks -- will all take place on Saturday the 3rd, leaving you plenty of time on Sunday to party on or just relax. Saturday is going to be a doozy though. Let's just state right now that the Farmers Market is on as usual -- 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the parking lot, all the regular vendors in place and ready to roll, plus a new one we're introducing this week (more on that in a second). There will be corn and tomatoes and berries and greens and breads and rolls and meat and and and and. So, the Market -- it's happening. Never fear.

Meanwhile, setting forth at 9:00 am from the corner of Greenwood and Wycombe Avenues is Lansdowne's famous Fourth (Third!) of July parade, in which anyone can participate, its being perhaps the most inclusive and welcoming parade known to humankind. Also one of the most fun to march or ride in or just watch from the sidelines. People, if you are new to Lansdowne, you MUST go to the parade. You are not a true 'Downe Towner until you have waved little flags, collected a pile of papers, toys, and candies thrown at you by parade participants, and cheered and clapped for neighbors and strangers as they make their herky-jerky way past. It is a procession of fits and starts featuring bicycles and wagons, bagpipes and school bands, streamers and tinsel, old trucks and fire engines; in other words, a perfect small-town parade. Its route is West Greenwood to south on Wycombe to west on Stewart to north on Lansdowne (with the spot in front of the Presbyterian Church serving as Macy's -- ie, the "performance" locale for dancers and bands and participants with a show to put on, so not a bad spot to drop a folding chair) to east on Essex and then into the school yard for speeches, awards, Italian ices, foot races, feats of strength, parting of seas -- the usual. Midday, ballgames take the spotlight, then at dusk is the world's most adorable fireworks show, which is preceded by a rock concert. All of these "Let Freedom Ring!" events are sponsored by the Union Athletic Association, and they will be happy to sell you a ticket to get onto the school grounds for the fireworks that night if you haven't gotten one yet.

Market News
Please welcome this week a new vendor, Wentworth Dairy from Quarryville, PA, just over the Lancaster/Chester county line. Bonnie will be bringing blocks of aged raw milk Cheddar cheese made from the milk of their Ayrshire and Jersey cows, all of which they raise from birth and who have names. She may also have some fresh butter, which we're hopeful about because of the fresh corn we're counting on from our farmers. Later in the season, Colby cheese will be available. The Wentworths have a permit to sell their raw milk at their farm, but they're not allowed to take it to markets, so if you're looking for raw milk, talk with Bonnie about making a trip out to their farmstand. It's a pretty ride. The Wentwoth Dairy has signed on for basically every other week, with a few exceptions, so check the vendor schedule to know when you'll be able to find their cheese in Lansdowne.

Two other changes have been made to the online vendor schedule. First, Turning Roots Farm had such a great first week that they're going to be with us every other week, starting next Saturday, July 10. That's great news for our organic produce lovers and for the Market in general, as we love to support the small local growers and producers, squeezing them in around the edges as best we can. Second, Cupcake Dreams is cutting back to every other week, starting this Saturday. Julia will still take orders for the in-between weeks that you can pick up in Center City, and she says that her little cakes freeze beautifully, but you'll only be able to get her cupcakes at the Market about twice a month from now on. So stock up.

A few products deserve special mention this week. Provisions will have loads of pies at the Market -- cherry, blueberry, and peach -- plus peach-blueberry crisp. If you're headed to a party or picnic, a pie is always welcome. (Really, when is a pie not welcome?) Harvest Local Foods is also grooving on the party and holiday vibe by offering fresh mozzarella for pairing with the tomatoes (get to the Market early for tomatoes!) plus plenty of ground beef, hot dogs, mustard, bread and butter pickles, sauerkraut, dips, and chips. Bonnie's Wondergardens is coming to the rescue of the heat and hail stricken with 6-inch pots of showy annuals to rejuvenate weary flower beds and planters. She'll also have red, white, and blue arrangements and bouquets for a quick lift for the party area or picnic blanket.

Natural Meadows Farm has been sneaking frozen chicken potpies made by Amish ladies to the Market for the past few weeks. We say sneaking because you had to be digging in a cooler for something else to find them. Mark says he may have a few of the small ones ($6) still available this week. If you're interested, definitely ask.

The food section of yesterday's New York Times included another of food columnist Mark Bittman's lists of 101 quick ideas, this time for grilling, and it covers everything from shrimp to guacamole. No kidding -- grilled guac. He also charms and convinces that grilling is actually the way to go with "grilled" cheese in this short video. The Market has all the stuff you'll need to make this twist on an old favorite except the canned tomatoes, and he's pretty flexible on that point.

Because of technical difficulties (including a trip to the ER), LFM T-shirts were not available for sale at last week's Market as planned. Oh well, stuff happens, right? At this point, we're going to hold off selling any more shirts until the second printing is ready, around mid to late July. We're also not going to beg you to vote for the LFM as your favorite farmers market in the whole wide world this week. We're just going to include this little link in case you feel like wandering over there on your own and voting, and this here other little link to the map (hint: 19050) so you can see how many votes we've gotten. This week, subtle is the word. But hold on to your hats come August.

Get a Market Buck this week by showing up at the Market Manager tent in full parade regalia. If you marched, show us, since chances are that we were minding the Market and missed the parade. (Oh, the sacrifices we make.)

TV Time
We hope you saw local duo Minas on On Canvas last evening on PBS. If you missed it, set your Tivo or DVR to record the show's next airing, on Sunday, July 4, at 2:00 pm. Minas performed at the Market just last week, and it's a thrill to have such a talented group in town.

Another talented Lansdowne twosome is also on television this weekend -- Kyle and Jaynel Hollis of The Greenwood Kitchen. They will be featured on the "Art of Food" segment of Friday Arts, a half-hour video magazine out of Philadelphia that focuses on local people and businesses making waves in the arts, food, and entertainment. Their piece will discuss the ideas behind The Greenwood Kitchen and why and how they create their line of vegan and gluten-free foods, including interviews with Jaynel and Kyle, a "behind the scenes" in their own kitchen, and an in-store demo in a local health food store, Martindale's Natural Foods in Springfield. The program airs the first Friday of each month (ie, tomorrow night) at 8:30 pm on WHYY (channel 12), with some reruns as shown here.

MAP The Lansdowne Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the parking lot next to 28 North Lansdowne Avenue, rain or shine.

Visit our sister market, the Oakmont Farmers Market, Wednesday afternoons in Havertown for more local produce, bread, meat, and other products.