If I can, you can too!

42 Pints of Black Plum and San Marzano tomatoes

Last year I started canning with a bushel (about 50 pounds) of tomatoes and the help of a good friend. I was amazed by how easy it was to can, and how much better my canned tomatoes tasted compared to what I can get at the store.  I purchased heirloom varieties of tomatoes; black plum and san marzanos from Mott Family Farm.  The black plum tomatoes are incredibly flavorful, meaty, and great for sauces. Despite their ugly color, the black plums are my favorite canned tomatoes. The san marzanos are also a fleshy variety, prized in Italy for sauces, and a great canning tomato.

This year my friend and I canned about 70 pounds of tomatoes, since we loved them so much last year. For large batch canning like this I use recipes from Ball's Blue Book (see below).

Earlier this year I decided to try making jam.  To save a little bit of money my husband and I went to pick our own berries at Reilly’s Summer Seat Farm.   Making jam was so easy!  All you do is add sugar to fruit and boil it.  If you want to use less sugar you can add pectin. The berry flavor of homemade jam is wonderfully intense. I used recipes from The Complete Book of Small Batch Canning (see below) since I only had 4 pints each of raspberries and blueberries.  That book has been great for small quantities of produce that I get in my CSA or at the farmers market.  Using that book I also made dill pickles from 3 pounds of pickling cucumbers from Dillner Family Farm, they turned out crisp and tasty.

Berries picked at Reilly’s Summer Seat Farm

Raspberry and blueberry jam

Dill Pickles

Dinner with the Farm Kings

Yesterday I had dinner hosted by the stars of an upcoming reality TV show Farm Kings.  The King family includes 9 sons, 1 daughter (Elizabeth) and their mom (Lisa). The 3 oldest sons, Joe, Tim and Pete, own Freedom Farms and the reality show will feature the family as they try to make their living as farmers. This reality show is a great way for people to learn more about where their food comes from and encourage people to support local farmers.

The King family hosted dinner at their new store; The Market @ New Ken. I was joined by writers from Patch, Pittsburgh Magazine and EatPGH. We sat at a table in the middle of their pristine store around lovely centerpieces of fresh cut flowers from the farm. Lisa and Elizabeth cooked dinner, with contributions from Joe.  Pete and Tim served the dinner and ate with us when they weren't helping in the kitchen.

The first course was a salad of baby spinach and nectarines sprinkled with blue cheese and walnuts and topped with a sesame dressing.  On the side of the salad was a mini tomato basil pie, which was my favorite part of the meal.  The pie crust was flaky and rich, and the tomatoes and basil were smothered with cheese, which made the pie rich and savory.  The second course featured half of a chicken with a wonderfully crispy skin, but a suberbly moist interior. The chicken was paired with a side of ratatouille and mashed potatoes.  For dessert we were served a hearty slice of apple pie with a side of chantilly cream and creamy brown sugar sauce.  I was impressed with how much the apple slices had absorbed a cinnamon flavor while maintaining a crisp texture.

The King family was warm and outgoing and I really enjoyed their company.  I had a great chat with Lisa about canning, and with Pete about heritage chicken breeds.  Despite the self-consciousness I experienced while being filmed eating, I had a very enjoyable evening.  I felt energized and hopeful about the awareness Farm Kings will bring to local farmers.  Eating food produced by people we can actually meet helps us appreciate the food that takes so much effort for people like the Kings to produce.  Fresh local food is also so beneficial for our bodies, our local economies and for small farm families.  I hope this reality show will encourage more people to start eating local!

Locavore Friendly Restaurants in Pittsburgh

Dinner at Legume Bistro

I am thrilled to see that Pittsburgh resaturants are embracing the local food movement.  Although I don't eat out often, I am more frequently seeing menu items sourced from local farms.  One of my favorite resaturants in Pittsburgh is Legume Bistro (featured in the photo). Every time I've been to Legume the menu is different and includes a variety of local seasonal foods, and every choice is delicious. I also had a fantastic meal at Root 174, which sources locally.  I had perfectly done local lamb at Casbah.  Yesterday I had a delicious four course dinner at Toast! which sources from One Woman Farm and Crested Duck Charcuterie.  I also highly recommend trying the Crested Duck Charcuterie; they make phenomenal cured meats sourced locally. Other restaurants that I have not yet had the opportunity to try that source from local farms include:

• Habitat gets their beef from Burns Angus (which is where I get my beef too)
• Dinette has a rooftop garden
• Six Penn Kitchen sources from Penn's Corner Farm Alliance among others
• Franktuary serves the locavore hotdog made with organic beef from Ron Gargasz
• Big Burrito Restaurant Group (including Eleven, Casbah, Mad Mex, and Kaya) list a number of local farmers they source from including the Penn's Corner Farm Alliance
• Cafe Phipps sources locally and is located in a very eco-friendly building
• Cure features meat cured in house form local sources
• Bona Terra sources from local farms including the Penn's Corner Farm Alliance

Mott Family Farm Dinner in the Fields

I received a great suggestion that I start writing about my experiences at local farms.  I love knowing where my food is coming from, so I like to take opportunities to visit local farmers. Last year I had a wonderful evening at the Mott Family Farm Dinner in the Fields. They hired a professional chef to prepare a many course meal for about 30 people.  I enjoyed local cheeses and fresh heirloom tomatoes, artisan bread and homemade butter, an incredible squash soup, beet salad, tender grass-fed meat atop turnip puree with braised arugla, and dessert.  Everyone sat at a long table and I met lots of people who shared many similar interests.  We talked about what we do with all the extra veggies we get from our CSAs, brewing our own beer, making bread, and our excitement that the locavore movement is gaining so much momentum.  The guests also had opportunities to explore the farm.  Before dinner I milked an adorable blonde jersey cow and enjoyed the milk while it was still warm (it was amazing- that’s what I’m holding in the picture)! After dinner I wandered around the fields, snacking on the many varieties of heirloom vegetables as I went.  I had a great time, and I highly recommend visiting local farms and enjoying a meal of the season's bounty.  Here is the link for upcoming Mott Family Farm events (including their dinner party):

http://mottfamilyfarm.com/events-for-2012

In November local farms are bringing their food to the city of Pittsburgh in this Farm to Table Harvest Tasting:

http://farmtotablepa.com/farm-to-table-harvest-tasting