Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A Small Taste of the Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers' Market Preview


 OK, here's my plan for the Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers' Market preview being held this Sunday, 9/23/12 from 9am to 2pm.  I've pretty much planned on not eating after midnight tonight so I can stuff my face with all the goodies that will be available on Sunday. I will also be stocking up on as much as I can to hold me over til the next festival on 10/14/12.

Here's a preview of what's coming! Tune in tomorrow for more information on our vendors!

Produce 


Stern Farms and Grateful Acres Farms are bringing all the produce they can carry for your eating pleasure. The following is a true story about an experience I had with buying farmers' market produce. My kids are wild about blueberries. Usually I can't keep a container more than a couple of days. However, you know how kids are, one week they can't get enough of something, another week you're trying to feed them the exact same thing and they act like you're giving them rat poison. So of course the week my kids decided to be PIA's I had bought a HUGE carton of blueberries at a farmers' market.  I washed them, put them in the fridge and my kids refused to eat them (Gah!! Ingrates!). I literally ate blueberries every other day and close to 2 weeks after, when my kids decided they again loved blueberries, what I had leftover didn't have a spot of mold on them or any sign of rot. I was floored. Most of the stuff that is coming in from the farmers' markets was picked a couple of days ago or possibly the day before. You aren't getting anything fresher unless you go pick it yourself.

Stock up and enjoy the bounty of these 2 local farmers;

Stern Farms is based out of Cream Ridge, NJ which is not to far from Hamilton Township, NJ. Stern Farms is truly a family farm. I  originally spoke with Judy Stern about joining us and she passed along the information to her daughter, Julie. Julie and her husband will be bringing primarily tomatoes and all kinds of peppers and possibly some melons if they still have any left, homemade baked goods, homemade tomato sauces, potted mums, and other farm goodies. They also do Christmas trees on their farm and will be bringing a sample of those as well (because it WILL be here before you know it!!).


Alex Archambaultto and Grateful Acres Farms are Pennsylvania based and huge supporters of the "slow food movement" (opposite of the fast food movement--I'm serious!) and are regulars at the Rittenhouse Square Farm Market. They strive to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourage the farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. They deal with sustainable foods and the promotion of local small businesses (perfect for Mayfair!) and they believe that supporting a local farm makes a contribution to keeping the environment greener by reducing transportation of foods by as much as 1,000 miles. They don't use any synthetic chemicals or fertilizers either. Here's their Facebook page if you want to check them out. Grateful Acres. Update: Alex will also be bringing 30 half-pound bags of fair trade/organic coffee from Kutztown's own Global Libations coffee shop!!

Artisan Bread and baked goods


Wild Flour Bakery is Northeast Philly based and they make the most ridiculously good croissants that are about as big as your head and some of the best artisan bread around. They are THE bakers for some of the fanciest restaurants downtown and are Headhouse Square regulars. Their breads are SO GOOD I'm sure there have probably been several murders committed to obtain it...alright maybe not murder but at least a couple of wicked slap fights, a noogie or two, and possible Indian burns (that ish hurts!). You can bet your buns (puns! teehee) that I'll be picking up stuff to consume during the week and possibly freeze to last me til the next fall festival on 10/14 because they only deal directly with restaurants and farmers' markets---they have no storefront which is honestly probably a good thing for my diet (or lack thereof). Here is Wild Flour's Facebook page. Wild Flour Bakery.




Flowers

Although we are bringing several vendors in from outside of our general area, we wanted to focus on supporting our local small businesses as well. Many of the owners of Mayfair businesses live right here in Mayfair or in the surrounding neighborhoods and are members of the Mayfair Business Association who are very active in the community.  Antoniette at Torresdale Flowers is one of them and has been planning and will be providing beautiful market bouquets for you to take home and enjoy! I can't wait to see what colorful creations she's come up with! Here's Torresdale Flower's website if you want to get a preview of what Antoniette can do! Torresdale Flowers






 Come back over the next couple of days leading up to Sunday for more about our other vendors!

Mill Creek Apiary
Philly Dog Biscuit Company
Sinful Cupcake & Cafe
Stan's Health Foods
Mayfair Shop N Bag
The Grey Lodge Pub
Yo! Philly Ice
Art by HQ
and Lil' Dan's Gourmet Lunch Truck from the Philly Mobile Food Association


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