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Stories and Events in the WPSU Community

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

Strawberry time is just around the corner

Posted by LacCreta Holland on 05/29 at 07:59 AM

You scream, I scream, we all scream for…STRAWBERRIES! Yes, it is almost that time of year again! One of the greatest aspects of living in Centre County is all the fantastic fresh fruit and vegetables we can get all summer long. And it starts with strawberries.

There are strawberries we can pick at a U-pick farm such as Way Fruit Farm in Port Matilda. They are expecting their berries to be ripe anytime from June 1 to June 8 this year. A fun family activity is picking berries together—-make it a game and find out who can pick the biggest bucketful. Call Way to find out specific dates, or better yet, sign up for their emails at http://www.wayfruitfarm.com/mail.php.

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Local Food Journey

Lemony-garlic flavored recipe for all those CSA greens you just got

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/28 at 07:58 AM

Many CSA’s across the area are ramping up production, with plenty of boxes filled with the best spring produce our area can offer. This includes spring onions, radishes, and of course, spring greens.

Greens are a fantastic dish to add to any spring meal, whether it’s a family cookout or a weeknight dinner. They are good for you, and there are lots of ways to cook them, including ways that will even make the most finicky greens-hating member of your family love eating well.

This recipe is makes a nice side dish for an evening dinner on the patio. It’s quite simple to make and combines two things that makes the flavor of greens really pop: garlic and lemon.

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Local Food Journey

Here’s your chance to be a food blogger! Write for PSU’s Local Food Journey

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/25 at 08:58 PM

WPSU’s Local Food Journey is looking for volunteer food writers who have a passion for local food, and would love to share that passion in the form of recipes, views on local food issues, stories about local food businesses, personal local food experiences, restaurant reviews, and more. Here are some examples of what you could write:

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Local Food Journey

Frost a possiblity for Saturday morning: here’s how to protect your garden

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/20 at 08:15 AM

We live in Central Pennsylvania, where the weather can go from July to October in less than a day. This morning, under slate gray skies, a chilly wind blows and it feels more like we are getting close to Halloween than Memorial Day.

As can be the case with these late spring cold snaps, frost is a possibility. Right now, looks like Saturday morning is the best chance for it. This might be bad news for your garden. However, you can take steps to avoid a frost catastrophe that could cause you to replant.

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Local Food Journey

Recipe: Asparagus, Garlic, and Parmesan Cheese Pizza

Posted by LacCreta Holland on 05/18 at 07:59 AM

As spring is quickly making way for summer, there is still wonderful asparagus at the farmers markets. You may have already been using asparagus in many ways: in salads, as a side veggie (grilled is especially yummy!), or in delicious pasta dishes like Pasta Primavera.

Here is a new way I discovered to use asparagus.

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Local Food Journey

DIY hipster-style artisan grilled cheese

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/12 at 08:21 AM

The comic Eddie Pepitone has a bit where he is complaining about how the hipsters have taken over his beloved Brooklyn, and laments that there’s places like artisan peanut butter and jelly and artisan toasted cheese restaurants. After ranting about ridiculous the concept of artisan kid’s food is, the punchline is that they’re just so delicious.

While State College doesn’t have an artisan toasted cheese cafe (yet), you can get your hipster on at home with a local food version of grilled cheese that is definitely not kids stuff. Think of it as grilled cheese, grown up. All the ingredients can be found at local farmers markets.

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Local Food Journey

One great local food weekend on the way

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/08 at 07:40 AM

With the weather looking downright summery and generally sunny, this weekend looks to be a great time to get out and about to sample some of the best local food in our area. Here are some ideas:

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Local Food Journey

Five fantastic farmers market finds

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/06 at 09:55 AM

As more and more farmers markets are opening outdoors for the season, many of us head out to sample the best each farmers market has to offer from the variety of vendors. Each of us have our favorites, and here are five of mine:

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Local Food Journey

Mobile app to help local diners find healthy options

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 05/04 at 08:04 AM

This morning WPSU ran a story by Megan Caldwell about an interesting new app, Undressed Foods, being developed by a Penn State alum that helps people who want to watch what they eat navigate the tricky nutritional seas of restaurant menus.

Jennifer Swistock has worked on developing the app over the last several years, pulling together a wealth of nutritional information on the various places to eat in the State College area. While the app is focused on student diets (along with restaurants it features items found at the Penn State dining halls), since it has a fairly exhaustive rundown of dishes at State College restaurants, it can be useful for everyone in Happy Valley. From the story:

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