The opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the people who wrote them, and do not represent the views of WPSU or Penn State University.

Local Food Journey

Not too late to get plants in the garden

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 06/28 at 12:36 PM

Oh, man! A rabbit ate half your annual bed…your tomato plants got trashed by a storm…the neighbor’s dog dug up your favorite herb plant…too late to plant something new now, right? Actually, that’s not the case. You can can still plant flowers, vegetables, herbs, etc. and still get beauty and flavor from your 2013 garden.

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Video: The Cheese Shoppe—Locally roasted coffee beans from afar

Posted by Jessica Paholsky on 06/28 at 10:55 AM

Bill Clarke talks about the importance of understanding the process of coffee production, from the country where beans grow to the coffee mug. The Cheese Shoppe, named after its original product, allows customers to see the roasting process while serving themselves to a selection of flavors from around the world.

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Local Food Journey

Water your garden the right way during next dry spell

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 06/26 at 01:57 PM

Despite last night’s deluge that soaked many a garden and farm around the area and a forecast for a lot more rain, summer almost always has at least a few dry spells. Those are the days when the sun bakes the soil to a crispy golden brown dry, and your plants sometimes do things in desperate self-defense, like curl up leaves in the case of corn. You really have no other alternative but to give your plants the life that only good old water can give them.

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Local Food Journey

Guaranteed local at the Bellefonte Grower’s Farmers Market

Posted by Local Food Journey on 06/25 at 10:20 AM

Post by Nick Benard

Living in Bellefonte, I love tracking the progress of spring to summer with the Bellefonte Growers Farmer’s Market. Located in the Gamble Mill Parking Lot at 160 Dunlap St, the market runs every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. This market is akin to a self-regulated cooperative, ensuring that the people you buy your food from are the ones who actually grow it. Did you ever wonder why some farmers markets will be flush with corn and beefsteak tomatoes for Memorial Day, even while our PA gardens are just taking root at the end of May? Chances are they’re buying from farms in the South and California.

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Local Food Journey

Learning Kitchen #1 at the Boalsburg Farmers Market June 25

Posted by James Eisenstein on 06/24 at 10:59 AM

Three local chefs will demonstrate how to prepare dishes using fresh ingredients obtained at the Boalsburg Farmers Market Tuesday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. Mark Johnson, head chef at the Elk Creek Cafe, will showcase dinner ideas for entertaining friends and family, while Sc’Eric Horner and Chris Young (master cocktailians from the Fuji & Jade Garden restaurant) will demonstrate making “Cocktails from the Garden” using garden-fresh and local ingredients to create exciting summer drinks.

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Local Food Journey

Thoughts on raw milk

Posted by Brad Yeckley on 06/24 at 06:59 AM

I grew up drinking raw whole milk from a dairy farm that was literally a stone’s throw away from my childhood home. On occasion I was annoying enough to garner the attention of the farm workers. On these days I was able to help in the entire milking process. At the time, I had no idea what raw meant and even if I did I’m not sure it would have mattered. My habits changed over time and I became a skim only kind of guy. Recently however, I have made the switch back to raw milk as a result of some research that I’ve been doing.

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Video: The Yard—Taking honey and pollinated products to the market

Posted by Jessica Paholsky on 06/21 at 08:59 AM

Heather Emminger talks about the uses of bees and their honey. The Yard is Emminger’s part-time job through which she takes honey, vegetables, and cut flowers to the Bellefonte Farmers Market.

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Local Food Journey

Strawberry fields producing now

Posted by James Sechrengost on 06/21 at 07:29 AM

It’s getting to be that time of year. You know that time when you are out hiking and you’re keeping your eyes peeled for them, or waiting patiently at your local farmers market for them to arrive. It’s that time that strawberries can be found.

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Local Food Journey

Interview with Kim Tait on Summer Solstice Celebration, local food economy

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 06/20 at 12:28 PM

This Saturday, June 22, Tait Farm Foods will hold a Summer Solstice Celebration out at the farm to benefit the Centre County Farmland Trust. On a beautiful day last Saturday I went out to Tait Farm to talk to Kim about this event, and why farming and supporting our local farms is a vital to our community. To listen, click on the “play button” below.

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Our Town

Our Town: Williamsburg Seeking More Stories…

Posted by Whitney on 06/20 at 10:36 AM

Last night’s community meeting in Williamsburg, PA for the 73rd installment of “Our Town” was a great success. Members of the Williamsburg community are working on stories about local sports, the town bicentennial celebration, St. Josef’s Catholic Church, U.S. Envelope, the Alumni Band, a walking tour of town, the Chad Edmondson Memorial, an overview of local schools, the Women’s Civic Club, Williamsburg founders, local agriculture, Dorothy Koontz documentary, Royer Mansion, the Paper Mill, the library and more for the program. There is still room for more stories and WPSU welcomes Williamsburg area volunteers to join the project — no experience is required, just ENTHUSIASM!

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Video: Chef Harrison demonstrates his tasty skills during Happy Valley Culinary Week

Posted by Jessica Paholsky on 06/19 at 09:25 AM

During this first annual Happy Valley Culinary Week, chefs demonstrate and celebrate the art of cooking local food. Chef Harrison Schailey of Harrison’s Wine Grill and Catering demonstrated how to make gazpacho during the event. His restaurant, Harrison’s Wine Grill and Catering, was one of several in State College and Bellefonte to offer a discounted, fixed-price menu that featured local options.

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Local Food Journey

How to make your own scrapple

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 06/18 at 10:15 AM

Editor’s Note: Nick Benard of Bellefonte is a new writer with Local Food Journey. Nick has a local food blog called the Culinary Pen, and is interested in home cheese making with local raw milk, curing meat from local farms, gardening, and home butchering. With this post, he talks about his love of a real Pennsylvania food, scrapple, and offers a recipe to make your own.

I love scrapple. Not just for the savory taste, but also for what it represents: a need to use up every part of an animal and stretch the meat as far as possible.  For the uninitiated, scrapple is a mixture of cereal grains cooked in broth with pork meat. The grains can vary, depending on the region. The Philadelphia region is famous for buckwheat scrapple, oats are preferred in Ohio, and rice is traditional in the Carolinas.  For me, I prefer the classic Pennsylvania Dutch use of dried corn, particularly Brisner’s Best, which is traditionally dried, roasted corn milled in Pennsylvania.

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Video: Cottage Confectioner

Posted by Jessica Paholsky on 06/14 at 10:23 AM

Owner and baker of Cottage Confectioner Samantha Doan talks about how her artistic background has helped her as an entrepreneur. Trends toward veganism inspire Doan to incorporate her creativity into making tea cookies.

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Video: Kid’s Day at Boalsburg Farmer’s Market

Posted by Jessica Paholsky on 06/13 at 09:17 AM

Children watched Tony Sapia of Gemelli Bakers demonstrate how to prepare local food at the Boalsburg Farmer’s Market during Tuesday’s Kid’s Day. They share their favorite food and other experiences at the farmer’s market.

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Local Food Journey

Morel madness!

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 06/12 at 09:41 AM

Editor’s Note: This story is by one of our new Local Food Journey bloggers, Jim Sechrengost, a Penn State employee who prior to entering the tech world was a chef in restaurants ranging from diners to Chinese places in Southern CA. He grew up in the Somerset/Johnstown area so he has a lot of local recipes from all types of ethnic backgrounds, and will be sharing them with us in the months to come.

When I was young I lived in Somerset County and my uncle introduced me to camping and all the wonders of nature at an early age. We used to go camping as much as his work would allow and he showed me how to live off the land hunting and gathering edible plants. When I joined the military I carried this love of the outdoors with me and every chance I got I would explore and find the new plants that were edible where ever I happened to be. This turned into a love of cooking and trying to find new ways to prepare some of these edible delights. I have cooked in almost every type of restaurant you can think of from Mom and Pop Diners to Chinese.

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