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Saturday, September 4th , 2010
9am to 1pm
In This Issue
What's new?
This Week...
Producer of the Week...
Recipe...
Looking Ahead...

What's New....

Run for the Border is our special guest this week.  They will be providing 3 varieties of salsa and a bruschetta (perfect for your baguette!).  All of their products are made with fresh ingredients and no preservatives.  The mild salsa is a great way to get veggies into your kids diet and all of them add a nice zip to grilled meats and veggies. 

Artisan's Cafe announces:  
Free! Stone Soup at Historic Yellow Springs - An Empty Bowl Initiative
September 11, 2010 - 12 to 5pm

As the story goes, hungry travelers make a glorious soup from a stone. How'd they do it? By engaging a whole community to do what they can! Join us for an afternoon of bowl making in our Ceramics Studio, as part of the Empty Bowl Initiative. Our goal is to make 100 bowls to donate to the Phoenixville Empty Bowls Project, taking place on November 12th at the Artisan Cafe in Phoenixville. This event benefits PACS, a local organization that provides food and other services to over 400 people in need each month. Come make a bowl (or more) with us. Soup and bread will be provided. This is a free event, but requires pre-registers ration by emailing Heidi Brett at [email protected]
 

Birchrun Hills Farm will have a fresh mozzarella and their new farm cheese.  The farm cheese is unlike any other, with its incredibly fresh sweet flavor and salty undertones it is a perfect addition to pasta, bruschetta, salad, etc!

Charlestown Farm will feature 'Red, White, and Blue' Potatoes and Cayenne Peppers for drying.  The fresh Cayenne peppers are tied to a string so you can hang them in a pantry to dry. They're beautiful! They'll also have arugula, chard, perpetual spinach, edamame, onions, tomatoes and lots of peppers.

ICED by Betsy will have her fabulous cupcakes, and for the sake of saving space, the flavors of the week are listed here.  Their new flavors this month are Black & Blue, Cocoberry, and Pieces of Reeses.

John and Kiras has been busy this summer!  They have a new line of chocolates for the fall that can her viewed here.

North Star Orchard will feature apple and Asian pear cider! They'll be pressing the first batch this week, and they always go fast...hope you get some! If you miss the cider this week, no worries - they plan to have some available every week from here on out. (Note to Gold Rush fans: Gold Rush varietal cider will come along in mid-November as usual....stay tuned!)
Hosui Asian pears are juicier and sweeter than ever this year! They'll have plenty at the market this weekend - they'd be a great addition to your holiday picnics!

Penns Woods Winery will be back this week!








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The Phoenixville Farmers' Market is a producer/grower market committed to providing locally grown, fresh food; to preserving our agricultural heritage; and to building community.
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Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Saturdays
 9am-1pm
Under the Gay Street Bridge
Accessed from Taylor Alley
Behind Family Dollar
Phoenixville, PA
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 on Second Saturdays
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by Phoenixville Hospital
on Third Saturdays


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Hello Market Shoppers,

We have lots going on at the market this week.  In case you missed her fabulous demo in July, Chef Steph will be back at the market making a delicious stir fry.
Run for the Border, a local company that specializes in salsa made from local ingredients is a special guest this week.

John and Kiras is back after a hot summer break and Forks Farm is back with beef and other products.

This week is our monthly Food Drive to support the Good Samaritan homeless shelter in Phoenixville.  They cook all of their own meals and appreciate both perishable and dry good donations.  You can bring your donations to the information table.  Thank you!

BFBL Logo
This Week...
Music:  Joe Willson
Activities:
Go
Massage:

Back to Health

Producers:
  (click on the names to read about them)

Artisans' Gallery & Cafe
Backyard Bison
Birchrun Hills Farm
Birchrun on a Roll
Charlestown Farm
Country Time Farm
Cressley's Greenhouse
Dolly's Dish
Forks Farm
Handcrafted Cookie Co.
Hoagland Farm
The Hungry Puppy
Iced by Betsy
Jack's Farm
John and Kira's Chocolates
Mountain View Poultry
Northstar Orchard
Oley Valley Mushroom
Peachbottom Farm
Penns Woods Winery
Quarryville Orchards
Saint Peter's Bakery
Shellbark Hollow Farm
Soap by Pat
Sweetwater Baking Company

Producer of the Week
Birchrun Hills Farm

I had a lot of fun visiting Sue Miller in her cheese making room this week.  If you haven't yet seen the video that was on NBC this week check it out!
Birchrun Hills on NBC

The video gives a nice snapshot of Birchrun Hills, but as one might expect, there is so much more to what goes on there! 
Sue is very passionate about respecting the milk and mothering the animals that produce it.  The cows produce milk 6-10 months out of the year and then they become pregnant again.  Unlike other larger dairies, Birchrun Hills works with they cows even if they take longer to have calves which is why the average life of a cow on their farm is 8 years, whereas the national average is 3.  What is really eye opening is that the cows take 2 years before they can even have a calf!
The calves spend a couple days with their mom, and then they are separated.  Sue explains that that is when her family steps in and mothers the calves.  They are petted, fed well, nurtured and treated with love and respect.  And that caring, she shares, directly effects the product.

A glimpse of the cheesemaking process:



In the morning the cows are milked, the milk goes directly into milk cans, and then they are immediately brought to the milk vat (shown above).  Specific cultures are added to determine the type of cheese, the same cultures are already naturally present in the milk.  These enzymes fully permeate the milk and after a 1/2 hour rennet is added.
This coagulates the milk.  It is done when a knife inserted shows a clean break (above photo). 



Here the curds and whey are separated and they are stirred with a harp.  This helps to dry the cheese.  Sue is making Birchrun Blue on this day which has more moisture than the other cheeses. 

The entire Miller family has embraced their farm life.  Ken Miller knew as a child that he wanted to be a farmer and saw to it that this dream came true by befriending neighboring farmers and raising crops himself as early as possible.  Sue and Ken have been farming at Birchrun Hills for over 20 years.  It is very encouraging to see that her two sons love being a part of the farm and her oldest is studying animal studies at Cornell.  It says a lot when your kids joyously follow in your footsteps!
This week Birchrun will have their top quality veal (served at Restaurant Alba), cheese, bokwurst, hot dogs, and two special cheeses mozzerella and The Best Farm Cheese!


Recipe
Sue Miller's Veal Stuffed Mushrooms

1 lb of Birchrun Hills Farm's ground veal
5 Oley Valley portabello mushrooms, stems removed
Zucchini, halved and sliced
onion, cut into thin 1/2 moons
tomato chopped
fresh herbs
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
honey
sea salt
Birchrun Hills Equinox cheese, shredded

Whisk the vinegar, honey, sea salt, and olive oil in a bowl and marinate the mushrooms for at least 1 hour.
Brown the veal in a pan and then add the onion and garlic and saute until onions are soft.  Add the zucchini and cook for about 10 minutes.
Grill or bake the portabellos
Spoon the veal and veggie mixture into the mushrooms and sprinkle the Equinox on top.  Enjoy!

birchrun hills farm
Looking Ahead

Next week is 2nd Saturday and we will be welcoming several of the areas talented artists.  Market favorite, Kevin McConnel, will be playing with accompaniment.  Also, Stargazers Vineyard will be returning to the market.