Happy Friday!
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Happy Friday! It's been a beautiful September week in PA with cool nights and warm days: a perfect way to celebrate summer's end. While we're still in the midst of sports practices and flag football games, we always take an opportunity for one more evening fire and s'mores any chance we get. Things are starting to look more golden, more like fall every single day, though. So we're cherishing this in-the-middle space between summer and fall, hoping it lasts all month!
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The apples are starting to really ripen and fall around the farm, and we're all excited for the local apples to fill the shoppe. This week, we're bringing back HONEYCRISP!! The crisp, tart and sweet flavor of the honeycrisp apple can't be beat and we're so glad to have it back in the shoppe. We added Cortland: the most famous pie apple, but also a delicious, tart eater. And we have an early gold variety- perfect for eating (though soft) and baking. I've made several rounds of homemade applesauce and we all give it 10/10 (my recipe: peeled apples, water, 1-2 cinnamon sticks: cook on low, adding more water as needed for 1-2 hours). We also have local peaches and pears in the farm shoppe this weekend: the best way to bring early Autumn into your home!
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Our gelato is making its seasonal shift, too. From the fresh fruit flavors of summer to pumpkin and apple for fall, we're moving in the Autumn direction in the gelato freezer! Our spiced pumpkin gelato is a cinnamon/chai-spiced, pumpkin filled gelato that is creamy and spicy and so good: just like a bite of pumpkin pie with ice cream! And our apple cheesecake is the perfect fruity/appley base with a creamy ginger finish. Both gelato are fully stocked at the farm shoppe this weekend, and though definitely unique, each has so much fall flavor!
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We hope to see you in our fall-themed shoppe this Saturday (and every Saturday) 10am until 2pm! And remember: we've got a great selection of locally raised beef (steaks, roasts, ground beef, short ribs, soup bones) to get your freezer stocked for chili/soup season!
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This week's links + finds:
- On local apple picking: such a nostalgic fall activity, yet tough to find! We've picked from Rocky Ridge Orchard in Kane (usually starting October) and we always enjoy a trip to Keller's Greenhouse in Kersey for their unbeatable fresh-pressed apple cider and huge local apple selection! We're putting Steffenino Orchard on our fall bucket list this year, located in Homer City, for you-pick honey crisp! I'd love to hear your favorite you-pick sites locally!
- I'm excited to try a two-beef chili recipe this season.
- Most of our purchases this month have been baby-related (just a few weeks until our 4th is due!), but we've all enjoyed these realistic battery-operated taper candles in the evenings. I love lighting candles, but in the busyness of this season, a safer option is perfect for us!
- We made a rookie mistake this week and inadvertently placed a strawberry pint label in the chocolate pint label box, which means we didn't realize we were out of chocolate pint labels until today. That being said, you may notice some less-than-ideal quality labels on the chocolate milk pints these next two weeks while we await our reorder, but rest assured: the chocolate milk is the same and the quality labels will be back in no time! We appreciate your patience as we navigate better organization in the creamery...
- I loved this article on accidental farming (I must be stuck in an apple orchard theme). Farming, in any capacity, quickly gets a grasp on you, in a way that's so difficult to explain. But tales like these of accidental farmers always make me smile.
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Agriculture is key to keeping local communities viable, not only from the economic perspective but also from the social perspective. —Les Gilman, Ruby Habitat Foundation
Have the best weekend,
Lisa