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It’s hard to believe the next time I track down a frugal find it will be September. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I can’t begin to count the things I’m looking forward to. Before the leaves turn and I wake up to that first chilly day, there are a few late-summer traditions I don’t want to pass up — which is where the Fountain Farmers’ Market comes into play.
I remember driving by Passyunk Avenue and Tasker Street earlier this year and seeing the white canopied stands with produce bursting forth from the tables underneath. I made a mental note to go back on another Wednesday, when they are open from 3 to 7 p.m. through Oct. 24. It’s operated by Farm to City, an organization that supports about 30 Pennsylvania and New Jersey farms through 15 neighborhood markets, including City Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through November and Rittenhouse from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 22.
Having grown up deep in Pennsylvania — 40 miles from any major interstate — I can definitely appreciate locally grown and farmed fare. I was lucky enough to live close to a large Amish population we would buy from. You can imagine my delight, then, to see one of the stands being operated by the Amish of Lancaster County.
I walked to the other tables around the fountain before making a full circle back to the Amish stand where it seemed they had the making for a perfect summertime dinner. I picked up a pound of ground beef ($6), a small package — I’m guessing a half-pound — of pepper jack cheese ($4.50), two ears of sweet corn ($1 for both), a jar of sweet dill pickles ($4), a quart of blackberries ($4) and a small loaf of banana bread ($3). I made my selections quickly because I couldn’t wait to get cooking, but there were a great deal of other products for sale — vegetables, eggs, lamb sausages, pork chops and baked goods like oatmeal peanut butter cookies.
The real adventure came in the kitchen. I decided I want to grill the corn and hamburgers — which would later be topped with the cheese and pickles — for my best friend, Jena. Being that it was the first time I’d fired up her grill, I decided the patties were challenging enough and made the corn the old-fashioned way — on the stove.
With every bite, we swore up and down it was the best we’d had in a long time (she’s from my hometown and enjoyed the same kind of country dinners growing up). The meal brought back childhood memories of shucking ears of corn on my front steps before indulging in a big meal at our backyard picnic table.
If it weren’t enough to end the night with a stomach full of home-cooked goodness, the bread and berries greeted us the next morning for breakfast.
I’m still anxious for the rich flavors of fall, but glad I relished in the sweet tastes of late August at a fraction of the price it’d take to venture home.
Found a deal you just can’t keep to yourself? Let C. Henderson in on your secret at chenderson@southphillyreview.com.
