story by Bernard BrownOne nice thing about snorkeling in Philadelphia rivers is that you generally don’t have to think about sharks (the occasional, adventurous bull shark notwithstanding). But carp scare me, or at least startle me. More than once I have been nearly shocked out of my flippers by carp (which
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story by Jennifer Rezelli | contributions and edits by Summer RezeliThe inspiration for the great gelato caper naturally began during a trip to Italy with my twin brother, sister-in-law and niece. Among the highlights of our trip was a particularly rugged hike, during which my niece, who was nine years old
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story by Tenaya Darlington, madamefromageblog.comThis spring, Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm debuted a new cheese he calls Maysiola—a moon pie of pasteurized goat’s milk named after Masie, one of his favorite Nubian goats, and with nods to robiola, an Italian cheese. Maysiola has a grassy scent and custardy innards, and
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story by Lucas HardisonThe night brings respite from the assaults of the day, and we celebrate with glass tulips of cloudy dark amber ale brewed on the banks of the Schuylkill in nearby Manayunk. Nocturnum boasts a malty, fruity flavor of plum/fig/blackberry with a spicy Belgian bite. While there’s only the
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Organic waste in University City can now stay local thanks to the opening of The Dirt Factory, a neighborhood composting center. With help from a local property owner and the University of Pennsylvania’s donation of two Earth Tub composting systems, residents will have a place to bring their organic waste and,
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story by Dana HenryAlmost 10 years ago, Sandor Katz, the self-proclaimed fermentation fetishist, wrote and published the ‘zine-turned-book, Wild Fermentation, a DIY bible for making food with healthful bacteria. After a second book and years of touring, educating and meddling with microbes, Katz is back with his third and most comprehensive text
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There’s a new renewable energy source in town and it’s coming from a surprising place: our sewage. In April, NovaThermal Energy, a Philadelphia-based company, installed a wastewater geothermal system at the Philadelphia Water Department’s Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant. This is the first facility in the country to have a system of this kind.
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Image via takebackvacantland.orgLast month, we wrote about Pennsylvania’s land bank bill and Philadelphia’s own efforts to bring the “bank” to our city. Good news! The City recently acquired the “front door” to their land bank. After a year and a half, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority has launched new processes in acquiring property and maintaining vacant
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story by Liz Pacheco | photo by Neal SantosTo increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables in Philadelphia neighborhoods, a farmers market is often the ideal solution. But for parts of West Philadelphia, the model proved inefficient.
“[It] didn’t really work for us,” says Ryan Kuck, a former farmer at Greensgrow Farms
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You’ve heard of rooftop agriculture, but what about basement farming? The Partnership CDC, a 17-year-old community development organization, is raising peppers, collard greens, tomatoes and tilapia, all in the basement and first floor of their building on 60th Street. By using an aquaponics system, where fish are raised and produce grown
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