Philly Foodist Favorites - Some New Discoveries; Some Old Stand Bys

Hello Everyone!  Happy Spring!
What a wonderful time of year for Real Food folks, Growers, and all who treasure what's in season!
Admittedly, this Blog has been awfully long in coming and my apologies for that.  All I can say is that sometimes the universe seems to want to keep challenging us at every turn and we’ve had about three weeks of that experience. And, to be clear, not all of the events and challenges were negative and some were professional and some were personal. The problem was that they were just way too numerous; life was way too "busy" there for awhile. 

But as can be expected, thank goodness, things have settled back into what passes for us as "normal".  

I've developed a habit of always maintaining a running list of new local discoveries that I have made, or of products or producers that I have been using that I really want you all to know about because they are excellent, a good resource, and are owned by good people.

So, as of late Spring 2018, here are some of my recent favorites:

Riverwards Produce  - (1906 East Norris St.  Philadelphia PA 19125) - Many of us were surprised, and frankly, worried when we learned that our source of local, seasonal  food, Fair Food Farmstand (FFF), was closing.  We got started immediately putting together a list of the products that we use regularly that we couldn’t get anywhere but FFF and started contacting some of our local independents to see if we could source from those products from them. In the meantime, we began communicating with Vincent Finazzo, the Founder and Owner of Riverwards Produce and we are very happy to say to former Fair Food Farmstand shoppers, you have a wonderful new place to shop.  Riverwards offers a variety of groceries, a wide array of fresh/organic of local produce, Primal Supply eggs, meats and poultry, Otolith Seafood, vegetarian products, a good local cheese collection, and packaged foods and breads.  The Staff persons are great and helpful and the store is wonderfully laid out, including an entire wall of dry goods (nuts, cereals, flours, etc.) that allows you to serve yourself into containers that you bring from home. 

NOTE:  Green Aisle Grocery (1618 Passyunk Avenue and 2241 Grays Ferry Avenue) is also a good resource for local, seasonal items that you may not be able to find elsewhere.   The Green Aisle stores are smaller but manage to carry an impressive array of products and the service is always excellent. 

Good Salt - Recently, I had the opportunity to have some discussions with good home cooks about salt.  I was surprised to learn that some folks were still using what is commonly known as “table salt” for everything.  I really want to encourage all who take their cooking seriously to use at least two types of salt:  Kosher Salt for cooking and Sea Salt for finishing dishes. I also want to encourage that everyone get rid of the blue container with the cute kid on the front.  It’s full of additives, including iodine, and it is not helping out flavor enhancement with your dishes - you will never see the blue container in a serious kitchen.  We put Maldon Sea Salt (widely available and very good) on the dining table and we use Diamond Kosher Salt for cooking.  A caution:  You will see Morton’s Kosher Salt - nope, you don’t want that.  You want Diamond.  And go ahead and experiment with different types of salts - Himalayan PInk salt, Black salt, and Smoked salt - all can bring interesting flavor to dishes.  Get yourself a small amount of these salts and try them out. But always have that Diamond Kosher and the good Sea Salt at hand. 

Morganics Family Farm Oats (morganicsfamilyfarm.com) - This is a family owned farm who by its own definition is, “taking part in the revitalization of the local grainshed”. We get their incredible Oats at Head House Farmers Market and wow are they delicious!  I made their oatmeal during the winter months and now am starting to make a Summer Oats recipe as listed on their website.  Visit them at Head House Market or go to their website.  If you use oats, if you enjoy good oats, you will notice the difference!

Sweet Nina’s (Reading Terminal Market) When you want to treat yourself - and I mean really treat yourself - stop at Sweet Nina’s Day Cart.  Start with the original Vanilla Banana Pudding and work your way through the flavors.  The folks at the stand will be happy to let you taste. I know at the end of doing each shopping trip, I will be taking myself over the Sweet Nina’s for my luscious reward.  You will too.

AP24 Whitening Toothpaste from Nu Skin (Contact Corinne Zoscak at czoscak@gmail.com; 484-319-3255)  - Toothpaste is not the type of product that I am usually talking about here, but I just have to let folks know about AP24.  I drink a lot of tea.  A lot of tea.  Recently, I noticed that it was affecting the finish on my teeth.  I tried some other “whitening” pastes and was not happy at all with the results.  Then a friend, Corinne Zoscak, turned me on to AP24.  It works! It tastes great and it has no peroxides or harsh chemicals. If you been disappointed by whitening tooth pastes, please contact Corinne and give AP24 a try.  I am betting that you will be really pleased with the results, and it will become, as it has for me, your everyday toothpaste. 

Our Farmers Markets - Now is the Time! The best season for fresh, local food has begun!  If you live in the tri-state area and you are buying produce and other food products from the supermarket, Stop! Find out the schedules for Farmers Markets in your area, get yourself some good shopping bags, and head to the markets!  This is our time to support independently owned family farms and farmers, and to eat wonderful fresh food.  If you follow my posts you know that I am constantly urging everyone to be aware of the factory food business’ war on independent farms and small producers. We support them by purchasing their products! The Farmers Markets are our best, most reliable and trustworthy source of Real Food, Clean Food, and Humanely Raised, and Seasonal Food.  See you at the Farmers Markets!

FOLLOW URBAN HOMESTEADING PRINCIPLES

EAT REAL FOOD.  EAT TOGETHER.