Thanks to advances in hydroponic farming, cold storage and more, we can now enjoy local produce all winter long here at Wolff’s Apple House! Here’s the latest from our local farmers!! Celery & Fennel! Purple Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard &…
You might think I’m crazy, but apples are my favorite fruit. Don’t get me wrong, I love peaches, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, plums, oranges, and, well, almost all fruit (it’s a very long list.) But I love apples the most for…
Why Eat Local? Ask Fran Wolff. As the 4th generation owner of Wolff’s Apple House and someone who grew up in a farming family, Fran is uniquely positioned to talk about this issue in a straightforward, common-sense way. I recently…
When I visit my parents during the summer, no meal is complete without corn on the cob. Preparing it is a chance to sit and catch up with siblings or other relatives as we wrench the husks off the corn…
“Discard the woody ends.” That’s the first rule any cook learns about cooking with asparagus. But, as the many kind people who have helped me move six times in the past eleven years can attest, I hate to throw anything…
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…
With the exception of one favorite coffee mug, the entire contents of my kitchen have been in storage for the past year while my husband and I have been living with his parents. Soon, I hope, I will get to…
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…
Put our gorgeous fall broccoli to good use with this recipe adapted from cookbook author Mark Bittman’s chicken stir fry recipe—not too complicated, very healthy and super delicious!
Last summer, I visited a grocery store in Chicago that was selling boatloads of peaches labeled “southern peaches.” They were tiny, mealy, flavorless little waifs. Lack of local produce at supermarkets frustrates me in general, but I found the lack of local…
This was adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe to make use of our fresh spring snap peas and Wolff’s Own sliced ham!
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…
This recipe is super easy, refreshing, delicious and it does not involve many ingredients. It accompanies many dishes quite well. It’s not necessary, but it is helpful to use a mandolin to slice the cucumbers uniformly very thin.
I’ve been told that men tend to gain a lot of weight in their thirties. I keep hoping that will happen to me. I could stand to gain a pound or two. But all I’ve gotten so far is lactose intolerance, and…
Has it ever happened to you that two things enter your life at the same time, and forever after it’s nearly impossible to think of one without also thinking of the other? It happened to me about twelve years ago. It…
Right about now the Mums begin rolling into Wolff’s and taking over the place like some kind of bizarre alien invasion. It seems like every day more cloudbursts of color are added to the expanding floral grid. Their arrival coincides with…
Some things take a long time to learn about oneself, while other things take none at all. After scaling, gutting, and prepping fish for a brief stint at a small Greek restaurant in Federal Hill, Baltimore, I had a pretty good idea of…
The single memory from my childhood of eating watermelon centers more upon the large, black, unpleasant, inedible seeds than it does the deliciously sweet and totally consumable flesh. It is a memory which speaks volumes about the kind of person I am. It’s no secret how I…
I’m fully allowed to taste the produce at Wolff’s Apple House. As their resident chef, it’s part of my job. Nevertheless, there is always a moment (right about the time I lift the fruit from the display) when it feels criminal. Like I’m getting away with something.…
Some heirloom tomato varieties hardly resemble tomatoes at all. That’s what one might think, anyway. The truth is that only in the last hundred years did tomatoes become so uniformly round, and red, and (Let’s admit it!) often flavorless. That’s all changed, of course.…
Perhaps you marveled at our huge selection of tomato plants when the weather was just warming up and local produce season had barely started. Now, in the heart of tomato season, you can feast your eyes on the magical, beautiful…
Whether whores first invented puttanesca is no concern of mine. The sauce is bright, flavorful, pungent, and goes with just about anything you can scrounge together. Including the ubiquitous green bean. Literally translated, alla puttanesca means “in the style of a prostitute.” It is…
As a child of the 1980’s, I have been familiar with cabbage from a young age. After all, as a three-year-old, what did I want more than a Cabbage Patch Kid? My great-aunt Lynne, a professional ballet dancer…
I might as well mark my calendar. Every three to six months, the urge to make empanadas hits me. Usually some excuse or inspiration materializes: a friend is visiting from out of town, we’re about to watch a Spanish film…
When my sister mentioned earlier this week that chicken cacciatore means “The Hunter’s Meal,” I knew I had to try making it again. I’d first tried my hand at it when I was 22, a grad student freshly uprooted from…
I am pretty sure the first time I ever ate rice pudding was at camp, as a counselor, at around age 17. That the adults in charge let 17-year-olds be camp counselors is one of the mysteries of my adult…
I first discovered frittatas a few years ago when I needed to use up some fresh sage. Sage, with its leaves like Lamb’s-Ear, seemed fancy enough for Martha Stewart, so I turned to Martha Stewart’s Healthy Quick Cook, a treasure…
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…
It looks like March will be going out like a lamb after all, although I can’t help but think most of the lambs in the Delaware Valley will be huddled under shelters away from the rain instead of chowing down…
I have to admit, it’s been a long while since I’ve felt like sunbathing, and I feel like I’m running low on Vitamin D, that vitamin so renowned for strengthening bones as it helps the body absorb calcium. If you…
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…
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…
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…
Last night, I dreamed I had a vegetable garden again this year. I did last year, when my husband and I lived with my parents on their 20 acres. Now that we’re on a more independent footing, our lifestyle is…
It’s true, we have locally grown organic produce all winter long! We source it from two local farmers: Enos Stoltzfus and David King (both located in Oxford, PA – only 32 miles away) About their organic farming practices: Sustainable, chemical-free…
As the new year is almost upon us, it’s important to focus on the highlights of the previous year and hope that a new year will bring. While I take time to reflect on the past year, I can’t…
For weeks Steve Rosazza has been delivering some very delicious acorn squash. This variety, along with Butternut, Spaghetti, and Festival, are just some of the winter squash available locally at Wolff’s. Years ago, while working on a small farm in…
The Stayman-Winesap crosses the Stayman and Winesap apples and has become a local favorite here in the Delaware Valley. It’s an apple with firm roots in the soil of American history. Even though people distinguish the Winesap apple from the…
If you’ve spent much time with the Wolff family, one thing is pretty clear: they intimately know the products they sell, and they put a lot of effort into making sure their customers know as much about their products as…
If you told me to find the most popular apple we sell just by looks, I would probably search for an apple that had all the right features – bright red or green in color, uniform shape, shiny skin, etc.…
Never heard of Seckel Pears? Well, you’re not alone. The Seckel Pear is relatively unknown across the country, but it’s one of the Delaware Valley’s hidden treasures. It was developed here in the Southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1800’s by a farmer named Mr.…
Mid-August is a magical time: a twilight season. Just like twilight is the hour to enjoy the beauty of the day before nightfall, August is the month to enjoy the best of both summer and early fall. In August, all…
A few summers ago, someone sent me a recipe for a simple cucumber and peach salad. This was a recipe that combined two ingredients I never thought would like each other. Didn’t one belong atop lettuce, and the other beneath…
Fran Wolff calls corn, peaches and tomatoes “the Big Three,” because when it comes to local produce, these are the fruits and vegetables that everyone around loves and looks forward to. And there is just no denying it: local varieties…
Pies, cobblers and crisps are the locavore’s best friend when dessert-making time rolls around. Why? Because all season long, bakers can walk straight from the field or farm market to the kitchen, modify only a few ingredients, and make a…
When it comes to produce, I’m kind of a snob. Produce items – like corn and peaches – that I eat in the summer as if they were the only food that existed pretty much have no place in my…
One of my favorite photos on the Wolff’s Apple House Web site is the picture that tops the “Recipes” page. It depicts Kenneth and Gennie Wolff, the third generation owners of Wolff’s Apple House, in Spring 1955. On a blanket…
I’ve always wanted to be a farmer, or at least a gardener. My parents were raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia and New Jersey and always dreamed of having a place to raise their kids where they could actually see the…
This time of year, I often can’t resist making apple crisps or apple pies, even though the holidays have passed. I surround tender apple slices with layers of flaky pastry or oats, like a fortress of sweetness. Last night…
There’s this sandwich my grandmother makes. It’s easy to build and very delicious. It starts with perfectly ripe tomatoes. When the summer heat first yields vine ripe tomatoes in earnest, you simply slice them, lightly salt them, and stuff them…
Did you know Pennsylvania produce has its own month? At Wolff’s Apple House every month is a month to celebrate produce, but in August it’s official! This year is the sixth year running that the Commonwealth has designated August as…
It’s peach season right now at Wolff’s Apple House! Beginning in early July, our store manager, Brian Bednarz, begins to hand-select the best New Jersey peaches available from local farms. New Jersey is famous for its peach orchards, and since…
Edward Behr, author of The Artful Eater, believes that the best apple you will ever eat is a stolen one. In my case, the best peach I have ever eaten was stolen from a neighbor’s fruit tree on a hot July evening in 1992.…
If you’ve visited wolfsapplehouse.com in the past, no doubt you’ve noticed our new look! On July 15, 2011 we launched our new website, which reflects the authentic beauty of our century old store, makes it easy to find quality information…
