Corduroy Orange

I got a very sad email the other day from Don Kretschmann, the farmer who runs the CSA I belong to:

“Late blight is here and is devestating the tomatoes just as we are making the first major picking of our largest field.  the slightly smaller second field is now also showing signs of phytophthora infestans.  We’ve experienced late blight before, but never this early in the season.  It’s very discouraging to look forward toa  nearly tomato-less season.  But we are not alone.  the wet 2009 season has provided nearly perfect conditions for the fungus….”

What exactly is this fungus?  If  I’d been paying closer attention to the Post-Gazette on July 11, I would have seen this column by Sandy Feather and I would already have known that “the fungus Phytopthora infestans, late blight[,] is highly contagious and can wipe out tomato and potato crops in short order. It is the disease responsible for the potato famine in Ireland in the mid-1800s.”

Scary stuff, especially since “During moist weather, the spores can survive and be transported up to 50 miles on air currents to infect other plantings of tomatoes and potatoes. During favorable weather conditions, unprotected foliage can be infected in three to six hours; symptoms can appear within a week. Those symptoms can expand rapidly during cool, wet weather and cause entire plantings to die within two weeks of infection.”

Unfortunately, the only foolproof way to fight it, according to Ms. Feather, is fungicide application, a procedure that I will not institute in my garden. I suppose I should take Ms. Feather’s advice and both trim and bury any infected portions I discover on my plants; though I wonder how burying the leaves will necessarily be any safer than sending them to the landfill: I’m just as likely to dig up that spot in my yard at some point in the future to garden there.

I suppose it’s too late to hope for hot and dry weather this year.  I guess I’ll just play defense and hope to get a few more tomatoes from my yard, even if I won’t be making any huge batches of soup.

I have an email in to Ms. Feather and anotehr in to Don Kretschmann asking if either can suggest some more sustainable measures than fungicide applications to control the disease; in the meantime, if anyone else has some tips to help us get the most out of our gardens, please let us know!

Do you know where I can find a COMPLETE list of local farmers’ markets? Citiparks only has the citiparks markets. . . For example, I know there’s one in Oakland on Fridays and one at Phipps on Wednesdays that aren’t listed. I’m wondering if there’s another one today (besides South Side).
—Cindy

Cindy—

A couple of options that might help you:

PASA’s Buy Fresh/ Buy Local program publishes a comprehensive bookmark that they distribute at Phipps on Wednesdays, Market Square on Thursdays, and elsewhere/when that lists the markets alphabetically.  Glancing at it now, I can tell you that on Tuesdays, one can find farmers’ markets in: Bethel Park, Blairsville, Canonsburg, Farrell, Greensburg, Indiana, Latrobe, Meadville, Moon Park, Mt. Washington, Natrona Heights, the South Side, and White Oak.

A guide on the Buy Fresh / Buy Local website will narrow down options by radius for you, but would then require you to click on each option to get its days and times.  This interactive map on the Post-Gazette website will be of more use to someone looking for a market on a specific day.  Each market is flagged with a different color “pin” to indicate which day of the week it operates on.

I hope this helps!  Now, go out and support your local farmers and enjoy the tastiest and freshest meats, eggs, and produce available.  If you need any ideas on how to prepare something, just let me know!

Walking downtown today, I noticed a familiar logo in the window of the storefront next door to the Harris Theater (on Liberty, near the corner of Wood/ across the street from Strawberry Way): Dozen Bakeshop is preparing to open a third location.

It’s going to be retail only, with no baking done on site.  Andrew reports that there are still a few details to be worked out, but that they plan to open mid-July.

Happy summer!  I hope everyone is making the most of the season and getting fresh foods from local farmers.  If you’re in Pittsburgh, there are farmers’ markets options around the city, every day but Sunday.  This interactive map from the Post-Gazette can help you locate an option convenient for you.  If you can, visit a couple options so you can increase your range of options–not all markets have the same vendors!

Last week, I was lucky enough to be hosted by PASA to cook at Farmers at Phipps, the Wednesday market at Phipps Conservatory in Oakland.

I won’t be at the farmers’ market this week, but will return on July 1, so please come out and support your farmers if you can.  I’ll be on hand to give tips on using ingredients you might not be totally familiar with, and samples of whatever I can concoct from the ingredients the farmers have on hand (the mystery basket: I won’t know what’s in it until it’s presented to me).

Last week, I made several different dishes with the ingredients that were on hand, but this was perhaps my favorite: a sweet rhubarb and goat cheese omelette.

Don’t let the ingredients scare you—there was one guy who stopped by the tent to see what I was cooking.  When he heard, he started walking away.  “That’s way too cultured for me,” he said, “I don’t know that I’d like it.”

“I can’t guarantee you you’ll like it,” I agreed.  “But I can guarantee that if you don’t taste it, you’ll never know if you like it or not.”  He tasted.  He liked it.  Maybe you will too.  But, feel free to substitute flavors.  I used rhubarb because that’s what was available.  But we’re in raspberry season by now, with blackberries and blueberries to follow.  Either of those would make great substitutions for rhubarb though they would need to be cooked much less.  If you don’t have goat cheese, cream cheese would work.  But a local goat cheese would make it that much better.

One ingredient you shouldn’t compromise on is eggs.  There are so many more local egg options I’ve seen on the market today as compared with even three or four years ago.  What had been an item on the fringe is starting to seem a little more mainstream, which is a great development.  Get some local eggs, your taste buds will thank you for it.

Sweet Rhubarb and Goat Cheese Omelette

* 1 stalk fresh rhubarb, diced to approximately 1/4-inch pieces

* 2 local eggs

* brown sugar, to taste

* vanilla (optional)

* 1-2 tablespoons goat cheese

* oil or butter to cook in

Get two pans hot: one a cast iron or non-stick pan for creating the omelette, the other a good saute pan for cooking the rhubarb.

Saute the rhubarb in a small amount of oil or butter.  As it softens, add a sprinkle of brown sugar—maybe a couple of teaspoons or so.

Beat the eggs lightly with a very small pinch of salt, just a touch of brown sugar, and about 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, if you’re using it.  Add oil or butter to the omelette pan and let the fat get hot.  Pour the eggs around the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.  As the omelette approaches doneness, add the rubarb filling and dot the surface with goat cheese.  As the egg just barely reaches the point where it is set, roll the omelette out of the pan onto a plate.  Garnish with fresh berries if desired and serve immediately.

Variations: If using fresh berries, add the sugar into the butter or oil, and then add about half of the berries you intend for the omelette.  The juice they release will combine with the sugar and prevent it from turning into hard candy in the bottom of your pan.  When adding this filling to the omelette, add in the other half of the berries and let them heat up with the omelette (if using strawberries, cut large berries in 1/2 or 1/4).

Not too many people realize that the Frick Park Lawn Bowls Club exists (for those of you who don’t know, the club is located in the 7300 block of Reynolds Street, off of Penn Avenue in Point Breeze).  And of the people who do know of the club’s existence, only a small fraction take advantage of it.  The club is trying to change that.

That’s why they’re bribing you with free food to go out and bowl a few ends.  On Saturday, May 23, from 1 - 4 pm, the club will host an open house.  The day will feature lessons, games, a raffle for door prizes, and a light buffet.  “We ask people to come in and bowl with us all the time,” shrugs past FPLBC president Hank Luba as he laughs.  “We’re hoping that if we say there’s free food, it might bring a few more people in the gates.”

The buffet will feature fresh fruit, artisan cheeses, locally-baked breads, Enrico’s biscotti, iced La Prima coffee, and more.  The raffle will feature a $25 gift certificate to Parma Sausage as one of the prizes.

All the club is asking is that you give bowling a chance.  “It’s a fun way to get outside,” says Luba.  “We’ve found that most people who try the game really enjoy it.  We just want more people to give it a shot.”  Those who enjoy the game are invited to return—hopefully as members.  “We’d love for even ten more people to join the club–but we’d love for it to be fifty!” grins Hank.

In order to help plan enough food for all who show up, please RSVP by email to Hank Luba if you plan to attend.

Full disclosure: I’m an active member of the Lawn Bowling club and I’m helping to plan the event.

Hey, Pittsburghers!  Pirates season is starting soon (the home opener is on April 13).  With the same team on the field as last year, I don’t think anyone really has expectations for better results than the bucs have been posting for the past fifteen seasons—but there’s a silver lining to that cloud of losering that hovers over our beloved hometown team: according to CNBC, the Pirates offer the lowest beer prices in the major leagues.

Not that anyone should interpret that as meaning ‘inexpensive;’ a 21-ounce beer (from a major brewery) will cost $4.75—almost $0.25 per ounce.  A call to the Pirates did not yield any word on what a beer from Penn Brewery will be going for at the park this season.

But, take heart—outfield grandstand seats are still just $9 a ticket, and, according to PNC Park policy, “Guests are permitted to bring bottled water and food that may fit into a 16″ X 16″ X 8″ soft-sided bag. Water bottles should not exceed 24 ounces in size, and must be clear, plastic, sealed and disposable.”–so except for a couple of beers, once you’re in the park, a fan on a budget need not purchase any other concessions to enjoy a meal at the game.

I recommend roasted vegetable salsa and a bag of tortilla chips as a tasty way to enjoy some nachos.

Or make some pulled pork barbecue (season, sear, and cook a pork shoulder at 300 F in a cast iron dutch oven for 3-4 hours, shred it, and toss with your favorite barbecue sauce) and pack the meat, cole slaw, and buns in separate containers to assemble your own barbecue sandwiches at your seat.

I’m not a big fan of luke-warm or cold- dogs; (in fact the only way I can really enjoy a hot dog is by smothering it with so much mustard that’s all that I taste), so packing frankfurters into the park doesn’t really make much sense.   But thinly sliced hot sopresatta would be a great ballpark snack.

If you’re looking for something a little more healthful, summer is a great time to enjoy a salad made with local greens.  Pine nuts, crumbled blue cheese, and a mix of dried cranberries and montmorency cherries creates a blend that goes great with a spritz of fresh lemon juice—thereby eliminating the need to carry a bottle of salad dressing or to wilt your lettuce by dressing it ahead of time—just cut a couple wedges of lemons and put them in the same container as the salad.

Cookies always make a great portable dessert.  And nothing makes you friends faster than passing around a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Unless it’s passing around a tin of homemade chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips—now there’s a tasty confection!  Plus, having at least one component of the meal that you can share will help alleviate the dirty looks you’ll get from your neighbors who are shelling out hard cash for food that’s not as good as what you packed in.

Tell you what—you buy the tickets (make sure you get one for Aurora, too—I’m sure she’d want to come) and I’ll make the food.  If you really want a game day feast, I recommend getting something in sections 9-13.  I’d cook a nice meal for tickets like that.

Way back in May, I read in the Post-Gazette that Piper’s Pub on the south side had started to serve ale from firkins.  Though I didn’t know that word until I read the article, I was familiar with the concept: this is ale which is carbonated by active yeast in the kegs and is hand pumped into the glass: draught beer the natural way.

As I was curious to try the ale, and as Piper’s Pub is hands-down my favorite casual dining restaurant in the city (I highly recommend the lamb-and-chestnut shepherd’s pie above all else; and if your dining companions suggest splitting an order of scotch eggs, the correct response is ‘don’t mind if I do’), I was certain that I would try it within a matter of a couple of weeks.

As it turns out, i just finally got out there again last week; but I did have a firkined ale, and it was definitely worth a mention.  It’s not anywhere near as carbonated as we’re accustomed to having our beers; but it’s definitely not flat, either.  And it’s not ‘ice cold’ the way many Americans think beer ought to be served, but because it has such an enjoyable flavor, it’s actually better warm because more of the complexity comes out.

So, if you enjoy a good beer and you appreciate a fine British ale, I suggest checking out what Piper’s has in their casks and trying a pint of whatever it might be.

Piper’s Pub is located at 1828 East Carson Street in Pittsburgh; (412) 381-3977.

In Cabot, PA, 3.5 miles off of Route 356, John Ricchuito makes wine from purchased juice. His Winfield Winery is only a couple of years old, but the quality of his wines makes his operation well worth a visit.

Less than an hour from Pittsburgh, Winfield Winery has an unassuming facade. Truth be told, I rolled my eyes as I drove up the gravel drive that leads to the winery’s rear entrance. I felt like I was approaching somebody’s basement, and I expected that perhaps this would be one of those awkward winery tastings where, at the end of it, I purchased a bottle out of embarrassment in order to avoid telling the vintner what I really thought of their work.

Instead, I was intrigued from my first sip. The Traminette is pleasantly crisp, striking your tongue front and center and rolling toward the back of the mouth with hints of citrus. Its full body and bold flazor would make it a natural accompaniment to roasted pork, especially if the pork were finished with a fruit sauce. The Pinot Grigio was somewhat more subtle, but was dry and refreshing; I expect that it would match nicely with poultry or white fish. The Seyval was a bit sweet for my tastes, but offered a hint of peaches that I can see how some people would enjoy.

The Cabernet Franc was the best of the red wines that I tasted. A hint of pepper in the finish would make it a natural choice for beef or lamb. Mrs. Ricchuito, who was pouring the wine, said she prefers their Noiret as a steak wine, proclaiming that she tastes pepper in it. I found the Noiret to be more tanniny than peppery, but thought it was sufficiently complex to buy a bottle. Their Chambourcin was soft and fruity with hints of black raspberry. Though quite pleasant, it tasted a bit young to me. I have a feeling that it will improve with the benefit of a little bit of time in the bottle. Of all the wines I tasted, there was only one that I did not prefer. the Merlot finished with a strong and detrimental acidity that erased any sort of pleasantness it offered on the front half.

Though small of stature, Winfield Winery has more offerings than many larger places. Their full list of offerings includes 10 reds, 9 whites, 3 blush wines, and 9 fruit wines. The obvious competence with which the wines I tasted were crafted bodes well for the rest of their offerings; and the breadth of choices means that they should have something to everyone’s liking… except for champagne drinkers.

• Winfield Winery is located at 1026 Winfield Road, Cabot, PA 16023. http://www.winfieldwinery.com

On Saturday, July 26, you can visit thirteen local farms and find out more about what they grow, how they do it, and why they do things the way they do as part of the PASA Buy Fresh Buy Local Summer Farm Tour.  The cost is $10 per car, payable to the first farm you visit.  That farm will provide you with a pass that will admit you to events at all other participating farms.

If you’d like to see a list of all the farms participating, and find out a little bit of background information about each of them before you embark on the tour, check out this map.

Around the time I visited Turner Dairy, I noticed an announcement from Giant Eagle that all milk sold under their brand name was sourced from farmers who certify that they do not use rBGH (aka rBST) in their milk production—which is fantastic; anyone who has read descriptions of the udder sores and infections that cows given the hormone suffer must realize that there is a price to be paid for the 10% increased milk production the hormone causes. While the FDA says that there is no significant difference between milk from cows given the hormones and milk from cows not given the hormones, I’d disagree—even if the two substances appear the same in laboratory tests, the comfort and well-being f the animal providing the milk is of definite concern to me.

I also like to buy my foodstuffs from as local of a source as possible, which led me to ask, where does Giant Eagle milk come from? I finally heard back about where Giant Eagle milk comes from: Dean Dairy. I got a phone call from Annie at Dean, who reported that the processing plant for the milk is in Sharpsville, PA; and that 85-90% of it comes from farms in Pennsylvania, with the balance being sourced from Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She says that there is no difference between milk sold under the Giant Eagle label and the milk sold under the Dean label—Dean just acts as the provider for Giant Eagle’s store brand.

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