New Apples

McConnells' Farm Driveway

The "goal" of the mid-week stop today at McConnells' Farm was to get some peppers & onions for a batch of stuffed peppers.  Mission accomplished.  We also added sweet corn, nectarines, Brunton Dairy ice cream, and apples to the cart.   "Golden Supreme" is an apple variety that was new to LFLF, but they looked great, so we grabbed a bag to try them out.

McConnells' Farm - Golden Supreme Apples

They are exactly what the sign says - crisp & firm fleshed.  Very tasty.  See the blue ribbon in the background?  That was from the Gala apple entry by McConnells' Farm at the local Hookstown Fair last week ...

McConnells' Farm - Blue Ribbon For Gala Apples!

Stuffed Peppers ......

Pan Of Stuffed Peppers! 

LFLF has been working on this pan of stuffed peppers all week.  There were 2 more full sized peppers in another smaller pan & they were the first to go!  This is the kind of food that tastes better when it's re-heated.   Tricks to this recipe?  It calls for tomato sauce - substitute spaghetti sauce.  It calls for rice - substitute spanish rice.  Spanish rice calls for chopped tomatoes - substitute stewed tomatoes.  It calls for mozerella cheese - substitute specialty Italian cheese blend!  :)  We'll be on the prowl for more local sweet peppers this weekend.
Looking for local meat?  Check out the Beaver County 4-H Stockman's Club 39th Annual Livestock Market Auction tonight at the Hookstown Fair!

Hookstown Fair - Pork Cuts Chart!

If you miss this one, there's always the 4-H Auction next week at the Big Knob Grange Fair.

Local Food Delivered

LFLF just had 3 chickens delivered tonight!  Now these chickens are "freezer ready", the 4-H'ers send the birds out to be processed and then deliver them.  We were successful bidders on a pen of 4-H poultry at the Hookstown Fair 4-H Livestock Auction on Friday night.  We really enjoyed the birds that we got last year and decided to do it again. 
The champion birds went for $22 - $24/lb. Businesses buy them to advertise their support for the 4-H youth programs. 

Local Food Goes to the Fair!

Local food is "happening" all around us at this time of the year. LFLF went to the Hookstown Fair Friday night determined to bring home some chicken! This is the 1st year that the Beaver County 4-H Stockmans Club/ sponsored a Market Poultry Pen class. We've been waiting for this to come to our local fair for some time. These 4-H projects are good "short time" projects for busy kids & you don't need a lot of money to get started. The 4-H'ers buy chicks in a group of 25 from the "Chick Pool"! Chick Pool chicks are sourced from a certified hatchery. Each 4-H poultry project member can then exhibit 1 meat pen of 3 birds at the fair.

At the livestock auction Friday evening, we successfully bid on these chickens! The pen of 3 weighed 22 pounds, so we'll see how much that is after they dress out. Can't wait for a nice chicken dinner this fall!

Local Farms Support the Fair!

Two of our local farms have been big supporters of the Hookstown Fair over the years. You can support these farms too and buy their products here in Beaver & Allegheny counties.

The first is Janoski's Farm in Clinton, PA. http://janoskis.com/ What a great display they had at the fair! There has to be a story behind that truck. If you visit their farm market & greenhouses on US Route 30, you'll see that they mark their own home grown veggies & fruit as "Our Own". They have also been big supporters of the 4H livestock aution over the years.

Another local farm with a nice display was Brunton Dairy. The cows were there too ..... http://bruntondairy.com/brunton_about_us.php Brunton Dairy still does home delivery in the Aliquippa area. You are likely to find their milk and ice cream in some of the local convenience stores. (I also saw their milk in the Kaufmann Family Marketplace on Rt 18 just outside of Burgettstown. http://www.kauffmanmarketplace.com/ <---- worth a stop for bulk foods and Amish meat & deli products from the Holmes County, Ohio area.)

Support our local farmers!