Homegrown Happy Valley

The long wait for Tana Asian Café is finally over. A big red ribbon on the door welcomed customers a few weeks ago for the grand opening on 454 E. College Ave.

The layout and appearance is similar to what used to be Cozy Thai Bistro, which is owned by the same people and moved to its new location at 232 S. Allen. Wooden tables and chairs are surrounded by elephant statues and illuminated by round orange and white lights. Soft music plays in the background keeping the atmosphere peaceful but popping.

If you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of excited about Sugar on Top, the new cupcake cafe opening soon around the corner from Rita’s at 121 1/2 Beaver Avenue. (Read our recent post about the shop here.) So we’ve come up with a fun contest that will help promote the shop. Here’s how it works:

We challenge our readers to create the “Homegrown Happy Valley Cupcake,” a sweet or savory creation that showcases one or more local ingredients. Don’t worry about an actual recipe–just come up with the flavor combinations.

Sugar on Top brings the cupcake craze to State College in a shop that’s just as flavorful as its cupcakes.

The furniture, including a recliner that used to belong to an area hospital, comes from Craig’s List and the Penn State surplus store, while the walls of the 1,700 square foot space are painted pink and robin’s egg blue. The shop is the creation of Shaunda Lohse, a self-proclaimed “bohemian” who wears chipped nailed polish and red cheetah pants—and pulls it off.

Five questions for Lyn Garling of Over the Moon Farm, which is selling its boneless no-nitrate organically-raised hams for Easter:

What makes your organic hams better than the supermarket version?

Our pigs are raised outside with a diversity of things to eat including lots of organic greens. They also have a lot of room to roam around freely–unlike supermarket pigs who are fed a strict diet and confined in cages their entire lives. Our pigs never experience any stress at all. Then they are custom butchered by Leona Meat Plant, Inc., which is certified in organic animals and does the entire process with a no nitrate cure, which you cannot get in supermarkets.

It’s hard to leave a party these days without someone making reference  to their “CSA” or “farm share.” If you’re thinking about joining the trend, now is the time. The ground is thawing, leaves are sprouting, and farms are gearing up for their busy season.

So what’s it all about? CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture. As the name implies, locals support the farm by buying “memberships” that give them a share of the weekly or bi-weekly harvest. That means signing on for the ups and downs of agriculture, whether it’s a bumper crop of butternut squash or a dearth of strawberries.

For many in Happy Valley, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center’s Maple Harvest Festival marks the real start of spring. This annual celebration of sap rising, which takes place this weekend, will once again herald the start of longer, warmer days.

The main attraction is the all-you-can-eat pancakes—well, actually, their syrup, but what’s one without the other?  Over two days about 10,000 pancakes are consumed, estimates Laurie McLaughlin, the festival organizer. For an additional fee, you can add local organic sausage to your plate;  it tastes just as good as the pancakes when doused with Pennsylvania maple syrup. The Penn State Sustainability Club provides the sausage, which is from Brenneman’s in Huntington, while the syrup comes from Wagner’s Maple Sugar Camp southeast of Pittsburgh.

Gary Landon, owner of Roly Poly (107 E. Beaver Ave.), has stopped making donations to non-profits. The small business owner simply can’t afford to be charitable in the midst of the economic crunch.  

 THON, however, is the exception. And the reason is very personal. 

One evening in December 1996, Landon’s wife rear-ended another car after skidding on ice. After Gary’s five-year-old stepson, Nate, began experiencing severe stomach pains, he was rushed to Mount Nittany Medical Center. Apparently, the seat belt had punctured Nate’s colon during the crash. The doctors repaired his colon, but discovered a small tumor during the surgery. Within a few days specialists diagnosed neuro-blastoma, a common childhood cancer. 

How much chocolate are you making?

Right now we are going through anywhere between 1,000 to 1,300 pounds of chocolate each day.

Do you enjoy this season, or is it overwhelming?

I love seeing everyone walk out of here with a smile on their face.

What’s your favorite item?

I love all of it. And I love seeing all of it go out the door.

You must get some interesting insights into relationships this time of year.

Hoo Do You Love cookies

Do the dark and dreary days of winter have you feeling down?  Order some sugar cookies from Flour Box Bakery and you’ll have something to smile about.

Anne Yorks, owner of Flour Box Bakery, prides herself on her fun, whimsical cookie designs.  She started the business in 2007 after becoming a stay-at-home mom. Her passion for baking flourished, and she soon realized she could have her “cookie” and eat it too.

Anne makes cookies for all occasions, including princess-themed birthdays (she made pink tiara cookies for my daughter when she turned 3). Speaking from experience, her cookies taste as delicious as they look.

This week, Pennsylvania foodies are hitting the classroom. The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s 19th Annual Farming for the Future Conference began Wednesday, with workshops on everything from composting to rebuilding our local food system. We spoke to Kristin Leitzel Hoy, Conference Program Coordinator, about the event’s significance.

Can you put the conference in the context of the local food movement?