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.

Events

WPSU presents Cat-a-palooza!

Posted by Mike D on 09/30 at 11:20 AM

WPSU’s Open House will be the cat’s meow! Come out and welcome our special PBS Kids’s guests… Peg+Cat, Daniel Tiger, and the Cat In The Hat! 

There will be hands-on science experiments, cat rescue organizations, and ames and activities. Free PBS Kids book, Dairy Queen coupon, and other WPSU goodies for kids attending, ages 9 and under.

FREE EVENT – Sunday, October 12 – 1-4 p.m. – WPSU Studios

Click here for more about Cat-a-palooza!

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Local Food Journey

Recipe: Swiss steak makes for a delicious “retro” meal

Posted by James Sechrengost on 09/30 at 08:22 AM

Way back when, Swiss steak was a great way for people to use inexpensive cuts of beef to make a great meal. This seemed to be mainly a Pennsylvania thing back in the day as when I got to California I never saw it on any menus. I got a hankering for it one day and made up a batch which I took to work with me for lunch the next day. When I was heating it up in the microwave, yes we had them even back then, my colleagues came wandering in to find out where that heavenly aroma was coming from.

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Local Food Journey

Bakery focuses on gluten-free options for desserts, pasta

Posted by Local Food Journey on 09/25 at 08:15 AM

By Anna Lombardo

Do you have to avoid gluten? You no longer have to fear pasta.

One of central Pennsylvania’s renowned pasta makers, Fasta & Ravioli Co., recently teamed up with another local food business, Good Seed Baking Co.—exclusive producer of gluten-free items—to begin a new line of their freshly made pastas that cater to those individuals whose gluten allergies likely prevent them from gobbling down plates of spaghetti on a weekly basis like the rest of us do (oh—that’s just me?...okay).

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Local Food Journey

Now is the time to plant garlic

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 09/23 at 07:28 AM

While you can plant garlic in the very early spring, between now and late October is the best time to get your garlic bulbs in the ground. By planting garlic now, you can get bigger, better quality bulbs next summer.

There are several basic types of garlic:

- Softneck: This variety of garlic generally does not produce scapes, those delicious edible flower stalks, but is great for braiding. You have to be cautious when selecting a variety with softneck types as not all varieties can handle our cold climate.

- Hardneck: These do produce scapes, and generally handle our cold climate well. One of my favorite types of garlic, the purple stripe variety, is a hardneck garlic.

- Elephant: This variety of garlic is related to leeks, and is famous for its large, mild cloves. Does need a mulch to make it through the winter.

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Programming Events

American Graduate Day - September 27, noon-5pm

Posted by Mike D on 09/22 at 01:17 PM

Penn State Public Media, WPSU will celebrate American Graduate Day 2014 on Sept. 27 with an afternoon of national and local programming, live interviews and performances. The multiplatform event airs from noon to 5 p.m. on WPSU-TV.

American Graduate Day 2014 celebrates the exceptional work of individuals and groups across the country who help local youth stay on track to college and career success.

Penn State Public Media will spotlight three people in the WPSU-TV viewing area who are helping kids stay in school until graduation: Ryan Devlin of Brockway, Jefferson County; Ann Mead of Warren County and Danielle Yoder of Penns Valley, Centre County.

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Local Food Journey

Recipe: Roasted tomatoes offer a tasty way to say farewell to summer

Posted by Local Food Journey on 09/18 at 11:09 AM

By LaCreta Holland

Summer is still producing my favorite veggies, but with a nip in the air, not for much longer! I shopped at the Tuesday Farmers Market in Boalsburg this week and found very good prices on the last tomatoes of the summer. I don’t look forward to winter, so a basket of tomatoes right now really makes me smile. There are lots of ways I want to use them, now and in the future.

I like to use them fresh in pasta dishes. This angel hair pasta is mixed with grilled shrimp. Garlic and tomatoes sauteed in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil are added and a handful of julienne basil are mixed in. A very fresh tasting pasta for the end of the summer.

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Local Food Journey

Beyond yellow: ‘Big Al’ takes mustard to another level

Posted by Local Food Journey on 09/16 at 10:50 AM

Editor’s note: This is the first of our new Local Food Intern Anna Lombardo’s articles on the local food scene in Central Pennsylvania.

Next time you’re jonesing for that familiar kick of mustard on your hot dog or seeking out a dip for your big neighborhood shindig, set down the Heinz bottle and look no further than a locally brewed and packaged concoction: a jar of Big Al’s Sweet and Spicy Mustards.

You’ll know you have the right product when you find two adorably animated peppers—one yellow, one red—embracing each other as they beam and wave at you from the packaging. Inside the jar, things only get better. Big Al—also known as Allen Weimert, a retired schoolteacher, who makes the mustard right out of his Stormstown home alongside his wife, Maryann—uses only locally grown ingredients, many of which he grows in his own backyard. For example, the red, yellow, and orange peppers you find delectably strewn throughout the brew have most likely been cultivated at the hands of the Weimerts. What they can’t grow, they buy from local vendors. Al tells me that his business both flourishes and is dependent upon the availability of fresh, local foods grown in central Pennsylvania. He says that part of the reason that he and Maryann have been “blessed” with this project is because they have the local resources to do so.

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Notes for Sept. 12

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 09/12 at 08:12 AM

For this week’s Local Food Notes….honeycrisp apples are back, your chance to meet a sheep at the Millheim Farmers Market, Tait Farms Foods introduces a fall flavored shrub, and how to store that winter squash purchase you made at farmers market.

- Honeycrisp apples are back: Honeycrisp apples are a much-loved variety, due to their crisp texture, sweet flavor, and juicy mouth-feel. They are back now, and can be found at various Central Pennsylvania orchards, such as Harner Farm and Way Fruit Farm. Get them before the rest of the Honeyheads end up eating them all.

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Events

Costumes of Downton Abbey - Day Excursion

Posted by Mike D on 09/09 at 12:09 PM

Ring up your best friends and join WPSU for a bus trip to see the Costumes of Downton Abbey, at the Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware - Tuesday, October 28!

$150 Inclusive Package

Your day’s outing includes brunch, high tea, dinner, your museum ticket and your Fullington bus ticket — all for a package of $150 with proceeds to benefit your community public television station WPSU.

Click here for more information about the trip and how you can register.

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Local Food Journey

Five local food fantastic fall flavors

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 09/09 at 07:42 AM

As the leaves turn and the weather cools, our palates start to turn towards more hearty fare. Here’s five outstanding local food items that you can find in the area that are sure to warm you up when those first chilly winds of autumn start blowing…

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Local Food Journey

Local Food Notes for September 5

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 09/05 at 08:22 AM

September is here, the kids are back to school, and there’s even a bit of color showing up on the trees. Despite our summery heat and humidity this week, cooler days are just around the corner, and fall is a great time for local food. Here’s some quick updates on the local food scene:

- If you are going to the Friday Downtown State College Farmers Market, please keep in mind that you can get up to 30 minutes of parking validated. Please visit Janet at her Piper’s Peck stand to get your parking validated.

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Local Food Journey

Good Intent makes great cider

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 09/04 at 10:15 AM

There’s a cider boom going on in America right now. The proof is in the fact that sales of cider (the alcoholic kind) reached $600 million last year, more than tripling sales from 2007, according to research firm IBISWorld.

Adam Redding is getting in on this explosion by founding Good Intent Cider, a new cidery out of both Gettysburg and Bellefonte. Cider making seems to be in Adam’s blood, something that has become a bit more than just a hobby to relax with after his day job as a scientist. “When I was in college we used to make cider in our dorm room. That was pretty rough stuff that we made back then, not anything you’d want to sell,” Redding said. “I didn’t really get back into it until years later. I saw that Cornell offered a cider making course at their ag extension in Geneva, so I talked to my wife about it.”

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Local Food Journey

Boalsburg Farmers Market to Sponsor Its Third Annual “Plow to Plate” Harvest Dinner on Sept. 10

Posted by James Eisenstein on 09/02 at 07:39 AM

Fall in Central Pennsylvania brings the bounty, beauty, and variety of the late summer and fall harvest. To celebrate it, the Boalsburg Farmers Market in cooperation with the Mount Nittany Winery is sponsoring its “Plow to Plate Harvest Dinner” featuring the vegetables and fruits that ripen as the last of summer’s crops are replaced by those that thrive in the fall. Some of the best chefs in Happy Valley will prepare main dishes from sustainably produced local meat and poultry, soups and side dishes from tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, okra, garlic, onions, melons, acorn and butternut squash, pumpkins, kale, spinach, lettuce, fall greens, and apples. Guests will also enjoy a variety of wonderful deserts.

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