Reflections from Fran: Farming, Fishing, and Family

By Fran WolffApril 3, 2018April 3, 2018 Featured

I was going through old photos when I came across this one of my grandfather Frank Wolff (left). It immediately caught my eye because I LOVE fishing. (Personally, I call fishing my “yoga”, it’s a release. My body, mind and soul truly rejuvenate with any opportunity to fish.) So, needless to say, I was delighted…

What to Plant When: A Fruit & Vegetable Planting Guide from Our Garden Center

By rebeccatalbotMarch 28, 2018March 28, 2018 Featured, Gardening Advice: Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs

It’s been a cold, snowy March in southeastern Pennsylvania. For some, this means we’re daydreaming even more about warm, sunny days and the vegetable gardens that come along with that. While you’re waiting to get your garden started, check out what Amy Lang, plant manager in the Wolff’s Apple House garden center, says about choosing…

Reflections from Fran: One Last Time

By Fran WolffMarch 26, 2018March 28, 2018 Featured

I was talking to my mom recently. She was telling me about a gentleman that worked with us at the orchard several years ago back in the 1940’s. His name was James Hopkins, but she said he always went by Kersey. It’s an interesting and heartwarming story. She explained to me how he worked with…

Reflections from Fran: Goin’ Down the Shore

By Fran WolffMarch 19, 2018March 22, 2018 Featured

Everyone born and raised in the Philadelphia area uses or has at least heard the phrase “Goin down the shore.” Translated for non-natives, it means “Going down TO any of several beach towns along the ocean in Southern New Jersey”. In going through old photos, I found this picture of my grandfather and his brother…

Slow-cooked Pulled Chicken Burritos

By recipesMarch 15, 2018April 21, 2023 Featured, Recipes

This recipe gives you a very basic burrito to build on. Feel free to add fresh corn, sautéed mushrooms, cooked greens, onions, or whatever you like in your burritos! Your favorite salsa and hot sauce are also perfect additions, of course. Total cooking time: about 6 hours, largely unattended.

Reflections from Fran: Is it Halloween Yet?

By Fran WolffMarch 13, 2018March 13, 2018 Featured

It’s March 15 and it was William Shakespeare who warned “Beware the Ides of March”. And, I’m no history buff, but I’m pretty sure he was warning everyone about old Halloween pictures, because that’s what this week’s post is!! A favorite time at Wolff’s among family and staff has always been “Halloween Costume Weekend.”…

Meet Our Beekeepers and Honey Vendors!

By rebeccatalbotMarch 8, 2018March 9, 2018 Featured, Vendors

When you’re looking for honey at Wolff’s, you’ll notice that it comes from several different apiaries. But one thing all our honey has in common: it’s raw. Customers say that their seasonal allergies have gotten better after using raw honey. Since raw honey contains small amounts of local pollen, it can help people build up…

Reflections from Fran: What’s in a name?

By Fran WolffMarch 4, 2018March 6, 2018 Featured

Being the youngest of 8 kids, especially with 3 older brothers, I grew up answering to practically anything. There were several years as a kid when I thought my name was “Nate, um, Pete, no wait FRAN” because that’s what my mom always called me. And it’s funny, here at the store, it actually hasn’t…

Reflections from Fran: Whether or Not There’s Weather or Not

By Fran WolffFebruary 27, 2018February 27, 2018 Featured

Soon after my wife Kim and I first met, she remarked “Wow, your family really talks about the weather a lot!” And she is absolutely right. (See Kim, I CAN admit that.) When you grow up on a farm, your life tends to revolve around the weather. Farmers definitely rely heavily on the weather to…

Penn State Master Gardeners Are Helping to Bring Back Victory Gardens

By rebeccatalbotFebruary 22, 2018February 22, 2018 Featured, Gardening Advice: Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs

A hundred years ago, Europe was facing a severe food shortage as World War I turned farmers into soldiers and their farmland into battlegrounds. The United States began to encourage civilians to start “Victory Gardens” wherever they could: schools, parks, backyards, vacant lots, or even unused land that private businesses would allow them to use….

Reflections from Fran: Tractors and Horsepower

By Fran WolffFebruary 20, 2018February 21, 2018 Featured

Take a moment and picture a farmer in a field working… What did you picture? …Straw hat? Of course! …Overalls? Probably …Possibly holding a pitchfork, or is the farmer on a tractor? Ah, the tractor! There are few things more emblematic to modern farming than the tractor. It’s right up there with the barn and…

Reflections from Fran: Thank You, Thank You!

By Fran WolffFebruary 14, 2018February 15, 2018 Farm History, Featured

I want to take a moment to say thank you to a great group of people at our market… YOU, our customers! All of us here at Wolff’s feel so blessed to have such incredible customers. It absolutely fills me with pride to be a local business in this wonderful community! Throughout the years we…

4 Ways to Attract More Birds to Your Backyard This Winter

By rebeccatalbotFebruary 8, 2018February 8, 2018 Gardening Advice: Flowers, Gardening Advice: Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs

When I visited my parents’ home in rural Berks County last month, all I wanted to do was look out the windows. I was plugging away at various writing projects in the upstairs bedroom that doubled as my office, but a cheerful flutter outside the picture windows kept attracting my notice. It was so peaceful to stare…

Reflections from Fran: The Legend of Leon’s Pies

By Fran WolffFebruary 6, 2018February 6, 2018 Farm History, Featured

What was the name of that older gentleman that made pies for Wolff’s back in the day? That is a question I still get to this day; I actually had a customer just ask me that about two weeks ago. The answer: Leon Garnet. And this usually leads to some fairly standard follow up questions:…

Philly Cheesesteaks with Chipsteak

By rachelvanduzerFebruary 6, 2018April 21, 2023 Featured, Free Range Meats, Main-Dishes, Recipes

A delicious recipe for Philly Cheesesteaks with Lone Star Farm Chipsteak, courtesy of Lone Star Farm.

Reflections from Fran: Family & Business

By Fran WolffJanuary 30, 2018February 14, 2018 Farm History, Featured

Reflections from Fran I’ve always said the two most important things in a family business are family and business, and in that order. Ups and downs in the family can’t help but create ups and downs in the business. The last few years have seen some challenges for the Wolff Family. Most notably, my brother…

Chuck’s Citrus Salad

By recipesJanuary 25, 2018April 21, 2023 Featured, Salads

Wolff’s chef Chuck Smith dreamed up this salad while he was on his honeymoon in California, and the lemons and oranges came right off a backyard tree! He says it’s still his go-to recipe when citrus is at its peak.

Reflections from Fran: Apples, Bees, Mother Nature & Youth

By recipesJanuary 25, 2018February 14, 2018 Farm History, Featured

As a kid growing up on a 50-acre fruit orchard, I had no idea that that was something unique or special. I spent my childhood running up and down rows and rows of fruit trees…McIntosh Apples, Bartlett Pears, Red Haven Peaches, and Stanley Plums. All the while, I simply assumed that’s what every other kid…

Classic Fluffy Scones with Spreadable Fruit & Whipped Butter

By rachelvanduzerJanuary 25, 2018April 21, 2023 Breakfast, Desserts, Featured, Recipes

The first time I ate “real” British scones, I admit I was quite surprised, as they differ from American scones on many levels. Generally, British scones are – Either plain or have dried fruit in them, and serve as an excuse for jam and clotted cream (like a whipped butter) to eat with a cup…

Super Citrus Salad with Chicken

By rebeccatalbotJanuary 11, 2018January 10, 2024 Featured, Main-Dishes, Recipes, Seasonal

I visited Wolff’s Apple House on New Year’s Eve and came home with four different kinds of citrus. The weather outside was frigid. The ground was covered with layer of snow. But once I had cut open the grapefruit, Cara Cara orange, tangerine and blood orange, the kitchen looked a whole lot brighter. Even the…