As summer begins to wind down, a local native fruit is only just beginning to show signs of ripening. You may not have ever heard of our somewhat obscure resident fruit tree, Asimina Triloba. It’s a fruit that goes by many names: Banango, Asimoya, Indian Banana, Poor Man’s Banana, Prairie Banana, Hoosier Banana, Hillbilly Mango, Quaker Delight, and (most commonly) Pawpaw.
Does the thought of "making applesauce" conjur images of a huge pot on the stove, a (who ones one??) Foley Food Mill, and crazy amounts of time peeling and slicing? Well...fear no more! This method is so easy you hardly have to think about it, yet will end up with a delicious sauce you'll be wanting to make over and over again (and it makes the house smell SO good in the process!):
As August comes to a close, we find ourselves knee-deep in the midst of the growing season. Produce just keeps rolling in: ripe tomatoes straight off of the vine, sweet and pungent onions, earthy carrots and beets, creamy potatoes, crunchy peppers, fragrant basil, and the first sugary bites of winter squash.
Hello! Zoe here again...
Hello! This is Zoe again. I have returned from attending the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, from whence I come a new and, I believe, better person. 
Hi!
"How to pick a peach" depends upon who’s picking it: the commercial farmer, the grocery store shopper, the local small farmer, and the farmers’ market shopper. Let’s take a look at all of them!
When you walk up to the farm store at North Star Orchard, you are first greeted by some beautiful scenery here in Chester County, PA. A gorgeous blue barn from the 1860’s with large white stars high on the end walls stands, proud and welcoming.
Thinning fruit was a difficult process for me to get behind. For some reason, we have to cut fruit off of our trees? It seems like a waste, if you ask me. We only have so many, so shouldn’t we be trying to milk them for all they’ve got? Had we just left them alone, every peach you see on the ground there could have been food…right?