Millheim Oktoberfest to be held Saturday Oct. 11

By Anna Lombardo

Free up your schedule, folks—the second annual Millheim Oktoberfest, presented by Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks to benefit the Millheim fire company, is just around the corner. On Saturday, Oct. 11, starting at 11:00 a.m. and lasting until 7:00 p.m., the Millheim fire company grounds will host this family friendly, all-weather event, where they plan to offer traditional German food, drink, music, and dancing—in the spirit of community involvement and kinship. 

Oktoberfest, I learn from Elk Creek Cafe head brewer Tim Yarrington (I was pitiably uninformed about the event), dates back to Germany in the early 1800s, when a party was thrown for a young Prince Ludwig, in honor of his marriage. The entire town of Munich, Germany, was invited, and thus Ludwig’s marriage party set epic proportions for this tradition, which would inspire subsequent celebrations all over the world every year for the next several hundred years.

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Tags: Oktoberfest | Millheim | ElkCreekCafe |

Friends & Farmers to hold inaugural membership meeting Oct. 11

Friends & Farmers Cooperative, which is opening a member-owned grocery store that will specialize in local, sustainably-produced products, is holding its inaugural membership meeting this Saturday, Oct. 11, at the State College High School South cafeteria at 2:00 p.m.

The co-op, nearly 300 members strong, will elect a permanent board of directors; hear an update on its progress and future plans, including the upcoming launch of the Friends & Farmers online farmers market; and answer members’ questions.

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Recipe: Roasted tomatillo salsa verde

Salsa verde is a delicious twist on its red cousin, regular salsa. While regular salsa gets its red color from tomatoes, the classic Mexican salsa verde gets its green color from tomatillos (“verde” means “green” in Spanish). Salsa verde gets its tangy-sweet flavor from tomatillos.

If you are not familiar with tomatillos, they are a fruit that’s in the nightshade family. While many hear “nightshade” and think “poison”, other members of the nightshade family include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and ground cherries, all things that are both tasty and good for you. Like ground cherries, tomatillos grow inside thin husks. You may have seen them at grocery stores around the Hispanic produce, but they are also sometimes offered at farmers market. They are simple to grow and do surprisingly well in our climate. Think of them as similar to growing peppers or tomatoes. They offer some pretty spectacular yields.

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Tags: recipe | tomatillos | salsa | Mexican |

Friends & Farmers Co-op to Launch Online Marketplace

At the Sept. 3 Friends & Farmers board meeting, the directors reviewed the results of the recent survey and the information gathered by the online market task group, and unanimously voted to launch Friends & Farmers Online as a stepping stone to a brick and mortar store. The task group will determine the operating details and report on progress to the Board monthly, and is authorized to spend up to $6,000 to establish and operate the market for one year. In October 2015 the board will then evaluate the project and determine next steps. The Friends & Farmers Online task group is open to board members, co-op members, and producers; if you’re interested in joining the group to help launch the market, please contact Jim Eisenstein at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). In the near future, we will have more about this on Local Food Journey so stay tuned…

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Tags: FriendsandFarmers |