I finally began to appreciate some of my Pennsylvania Dutch (technically German) heritage a few years ago through some culinary exploring. My favorite dive into this subculture of food quickly resulted in corn pie made with in-season, locally grown sweet…
When you’re new to gardening, it’s all too easy to be a dreamer about what you grow. Anyone who already knows this scenario understands how it’s likely to over-plant through well-intended optimism. But then you don’t know what to do…
It has been 11 years since my mom passed away, and I miss her more than I ever imagined I would, not knowing much about grief-stirring loss when I last knew her, shortly before I turned 21. One way I…
Being too busy to live nowadays, which is often a norm in our culture, means that we don’t always have time or energy to make meals that take a lot of effort. Many jobs requiring employees to do the workloads of…
Even though winter is just around the corner, that doesn’t mean gardens can’t have value during the cold season. In fact, several Wolff’s Apple House employees attended the Independent Garden Center Show East in Baltimore, Md., last year and heard Martha…
One especially worthwhile perk of investing energy in gardening is the freebies which sometimes reward you the next season. This can happen without much effort on your part thanks to seeds of certain flowers dispersing and finding their way into…
With the first day of summer starting this week, it’s the season of succulents. Nan Reinert’s background in operating Chubby Pickle Farm in Robeson Township, Berks County, means she is plenty versed in succulents. Through the farm, which is her…
When the night sky shines bright light down into your backyard, it’s a wordless hint that a moon garden just might be a good fit for the space. Holly Cusumano of Phoenixville is the chairman of the Philadelphia Unit of the Herb Society of…
Despite chilly, rainy days in the recent weeks of early spring, May will soon be showing us the brighter and warmer days which are perfect for planting garden greens. When it comes to cultivating different kinds of leafy greens to…
With Christmas and New Year’s Eve festivities just around the corner, here are some recipes for party foods that are known to be devoured in no time. An empty dish versus food that sits around and gets cold is a…
While watering plants may seem basic enough as a task in spring, summer and autumn months, it’s often the case that people mean well but don’t know they’re watering incorrectly. As the farm femme behind B & H Organic Produce…
This week in June is a good time to think about what plants to add to backyard gardens after you’re ready to take out what you might have planted at the end of April or the beginning of May—likely radishes,…
Adding plants with beautiful colors, textures and shapes to flowerbeds and garden space always makes sense, but joining permanent edible landscape plants to your yard is another bright idea that can benefit your family at the kitchen table. Anne-Marie McMahon,…
A few weeks ago while outside with my dog as he enjoyed a piddle break, I found myself standing close to my garden, suddenly compelled to cut off pieces of my Trumpet Vine plant’s branches. It was the dried, broken…
Speaking is often something done without words, though we sometimes don’t realize it. The same can be said for the Victorian language of flowers, which lets us communicate to those in our lives through something as simple as flowers we…
Nan Reinert of Chubby Pickle Farm in Robeson Township, Berks County, is always happy to help others learn about smarter and more efficient ways to garden, knowing quite well just how stressful this therapeutic effort can become if you take…
With much respect given to what farms are to us, director and producer Richard Power Hoffmann is proud to bring the premiere of his film Watermelon Magic to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. this week. The Hoffmann…
Spicy appetizers and herb-savvy drinks for jazzing your way into the New Year are right at your fingertips with a few of Phoebe Canakis’ New Year’s Eve recipes. Canakis is the name behind Phoebe’s Pure Food, where she celebrates local…
Greenery known so well in December is ready to become cozily arranged local decor in your home. Wolff’s Apple House can help with that, especially if you’re looking for Christmas trees with the best quality and Pennsylvania-growing in the history…
Soups and other prepared foods are something you can easily pick up at Wolff’s Apple House to suit colder-season temperatures as they make their way into chillier months. And these are also great around holidays, thankfully. Wolff’s own chef, Chuck…
In the month of all things turkey, Wolff’s Apple House carries fresh farm-raised turkeys from Esbenshade Turkey Farm in Paradise, Lancaster County. The Esbenshade Family has been raising turkeys since 1858 and with that fact in mind is the oldest…
Pumpkins are wonderfully alluring in autumn, but repurposing makes them interesting on a whole other level aside from how we often look at them as Jack-O-Lantern-bound or warmly baked into pie, bread or pumpkin roll (but we’ll let the anticipation…
As the farm femme behind B & H Organic Produce in Caernarvon Township in Lancaster County, Erica Bowers Lavdanski has a great admiration for every last winter squash she grows. “I love lots of things about winter squash. I love…
The pumpkin supply is bursting from all corners of Wolff’s Apple House. Roswell Henderson, the assistant manager for Frecon Farms in Boyertown, Berks County, has a great affinity for turning pumpkins into the unexpected and amusingly surprising outside of homes.…
Broccoli has a lot of possibilities per bite, and Phoebe Canakis of Phoebe’s Pure Food in Lancaster County has a simple, palate-rich recipe of Roasted Broccoli that works great with broccoli available at Wolff’s Apple House in autumn. The pairing…
Stayman-Winesap apples are now ready for the charming delight of chomping at Wolff’s Apple House. In its historical context, the Stayman-Winesap apple is usually deemed a seedling of the heirloom Winesap apple, taking its introduction from Dr. Joseph Stayman in…
The great lure of neck pumpkins is under way at Wolff’s Apple House. Their curiously elongated shapes and lighter hues compared to traditional pumpkins make them an easy game of I Spy for the eyes. Neck pumpkins are an ancestor…
Reminders of autumn are rich in the air when jug after jug of apple cider spans the storefront of Wolff’s Apple House. The seasonal lure with this sipping factor stems from the efforts of Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown, Berks County,…
The possibilities of fall gardening and decorating are now under way; the colors of autumn so iconic to the outside of homes as the weather cools down after summer beckon easily for the eyes at Wolff’s Apple House. Bloom-boasting hardy…
As a fitting segue in saying adieu to the heat of August while saying hello to September, a Fresh Indian Summer Salsa crafted from ingredients at Wolff’s Apple House is a great food-geared introduction to this autumn. The recipe, put…
While Fran, Pete and Ashley Wolff work every Labor Day, they’re grateful for the opportunity to help people appreciate their goodbye to summer with great foods and ideas for good spots for picnics. And they like that they close at…
Wolff’s Apple House sells some of its selection of peaches from Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown, Berks County. And its owner, Ed Weaver, has plenty of peach smarts regularly on the mind from growing them each year. He raises 15 acres…
Wolff’s Apple House’s marketing consultant, Rachel VanDuzer, recently shared a Spicy Fresh Corn Soup recipe with her family and had the new puppy in her parents’ home revved up vocally for it as well, with a humorous story tied into…
Since August is known as the time for local produce, especially tomatoes, a homemade tomato pie recipe from Phoebe Canakis pleases the palate and complements plentiful tomatoes perfectly. Canakis of Phoebe’s Pure Food lives in Lancaster County and spends much…
The marriage of melons and deli-ready meats is a great August meal add-on, especially with Wolff’s Apple House offering plenty of honeydew, canary cantaloupe, sugar baby watermelon, seedless watermelon and yellow watermelon right now. Di Bruno Bros., a vendor of…
As the face behind Global Vertical Farms based in Glenmoore, Chester County, Janice Kelsey and her whole food nutrition approaches keep summer recipes easily in the future: think Zesty Watermelon Gazpacho. “I prefer to use a smaller seedless watermelon,” Kelsey…
Wolff’s Apple House Chef Chuck Smith crafts a Peach Oat Crisp recipe that brings one of summer’s most notable local fruits into the picture with an easily enticing want-worthy factor. “You could use any peach (white or yellow) and range…
Jillian Prout of Prout’s Jollyview Farm in the Oley Valley of Berks County enjoys the heirloom tomatoes she grows, but it might be fair to say she enjoys a good salsa from them even more. Heirloom tomatoes, known as…
As the dairy manager of Wholesome Dairy Farms in Yellow House, Berks County, Rebecca Seidel handles most of the food production at the raw milk operation, and having grown up on a farm, knows how to appreciate sweet corn in…
Phoebe Canakis’ Berry Topped-Pavlova is a perfectly red, white and blue dessert to suit July 4th celebrations. Canakis lives in Lancaster County and is the food-mind behind inspiring seasonally chic, seductively wholesome, garden-to-plate eats through her blogs, magazine, catering and…
Caprese is an Italian-inspired summer dish that riles mouth-watering factors with ease. It has a lot of possibilities in variation but usually involves slices of freshly picked tomatoes, basil leaves from the garden, cuts of mozzarella cheese and either drizzles…
The kitchen smarts and culinary lure of canning have seen quite a comeback in recent years—and with good reason. Not only is canning useful and resourceful, but it’s a rewarding opportunity to support your own chomp factor from home. And…
Greens deserve a lot more credit in our dietary lineup than they often receive. Not only do they go swimmingly with many summer meals, but they are some the most nutrition-savvy add-ons we can join into our munching minutes. With…
With so many chemical fertilizers on the market today, it’s nice to know that there are plenty of natural versions of fertilizers and soil amendment possibilities right at home when you’re ready to feed the tomato plants you’ve purchased from…
Rosemary is known for bringing out the impeccable flavors in Mediterranean cuisine, but it’s also quite a perk to skin. Not only does it help to shrink the appearance of capillaries, but it also acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, so it…
