Meet the herbalist who’s one of Boalsburg Farmers Markets’ most unique vendors

Tuesday afternoons in Boalsburg near the military museum are busy. Vendors create a celebratory open-air market under white canopies for the buying and selling of local products. There are seasonal greens and berries galore in June, then zucchini and tomatoes as summer heats up, and finally apples and potatoes. Many of the farmers have the same products, but there is one very distinct vendor, with unique wares worth a second look.

Yasoda Mensah is a spring of calm adjacent to the steady stream of humanity that swirls along, skimming the tables and ducking for shade. Her business, Trifolia Natural Products and Botanicals, sells truly unique items made in Port Royal, which is over the mountain in the scenic Tuscarora Valley.

Fire Cider, an apple cider vinegar-based blend of roots, veggies and herbs taken to boost the immune system, is one signature item that is very popular year-round. Tinctures, balms, teas, salves and soaps are also for sale, but the main item that Mensah makes and sells in large amounts is her handcrafted tofu.

This is tofu unlike any other I have tried. It is firm but pliant, easy to cube or slice to sauté. It takes a marinade well and then becomes something far beyond itself. It will convert the most die-hard tofu disparager and have you dreaming up recipes to highlight the product. It is well worth the $7 per pound that it sells for at the market, and if you can’t get there, you can find it at Centre Markets in Pine Grove Mills or at Nature’s Pantry off the Benner Pike near the Nittany Mall.

On a recent visit to Three Leaf Farmden (named by combining the words “farm” and “garden”) I discovered something else about the tofu. It is a gateway to engage in a conversation. Mensah is on a mission, and that tofu is a lure guaranteed to draw like-minded people to her table, just as sure as a mayfly jig will land a brown trout.

Mensah was born in Birmingham, England in 1960 and first veered off the traditional rails when she chose to attend university in Nigeria, where she studied microbiology at the University of Lagos. After graduating, she worked for the Nigerian Air Force in a microbiology lab before she was tapped to work for an NGO in Washington, DC.

“I was always seeking, since I was 19 years old,” said the soft-spoken woman in her crisp British accent. Someone gave her a book, “Yoga for the Modern Age,” and other books started to come her way to set her on her lifelong path of Bhakti yoga. “When the student is ready, the teacher will come,” she added, describing her initial quest to find enlightenment through healthy eating, exercise and study. Making and selling tofu fit into her already established vegetarian and spiritually-centered lifestyle.

That lifestyle included a husband on a similar path, and the couple married in Belize. They lived in Washington, DC, and eventually bought five-plus acres in Spruce Hill Township near Port Royal. There was a large intentional, spiritual community of like-minded people nearby, and the family, with a boy and a girl born in DC, sought to raise their children in a safer, natural environment where they could be outdoors as much as possible. Another daughter was born in PA, and Three Leaf Farmden flourished.

The family enterprise was an offshoot of the Gita Nagari Eco-Farm and Sanctuary, recently rebranded as Gita Valley, which was founded in 1974 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness). The devotees practice Bhakti-yoga, which strives to “relearn how to completely love God,” according to Mensah. The group is known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, a global Hindu religious organization.

How that manifests in central PA is in the establishment and running of the first USDA Certified slaughter-free dairy farm. The Ahimsa (non-violent) dairy produces 400 gallons of milk a week from their milking herd of about 20 cows. There is a retired herd that gets to live out its days on the lush fields, and the young herd that grows stronger until they advance to the milking stage. The cows are named and respected for what they contribute to the community, and Mensah says there is a lot of “cow cuddling” that makes them feel a part of the whole.

My mid-week visit to the farmden was to observe the tofu production, but that takes place on Mondays at a nearby commercial kitchen. Though I didn’t get to observe Mensah making her weekly batch of 55 pounds of tofu from 35 pounds of dried soybeans, I did learn a lot. We started the visit sipping fresh peppermint tea under a walnut tree, and Mensah posed some weighty questions to consider: Who are we? Where are we? What are we doing? How is all this working? Our discussion flowed organically around the many gardens as we toured — a meditation garden, medicinal garden, native plants, an apiary, a robust stinging nettle patch, and, everywhere, mullein standing tall.

We finished with a delicious pasta salad lunch that she made using her soy-marinated tofu and local vegetables. The British woman topped it off by serving fresh scones with tiny ripe strawberries and rich pouring cream — a perfect strawberry shortcake. It was both a belly-filling and soul-fulfilling repast, with an afterthought of philosophy.

“We all have desires,” Mensah said. “We cannot get rid of desires; they are part of us. But we can channel them so that they elevate us and not degrade us. Trifolia and Three Leaf Farmden can help guide anyone to fulfilling their desires in a way that speaks to something greater than themselves. Healing-wise, nutrition-wise, looking for meaningful relationships, as a spiritual seeker, or just someone tired of the world and ready to try something different. We are here to help.”

Try the tofu and linger for conversation if you are seeking more.

Three Leaf Farmden is located at 124 Fisher Lane, Port Royal, PA 17082. Contact Yasoda for a farm tour or for more information about Gita Valley and their overnight accommodations at the Ahimsa dairy farm.

Yasoda Mensah’s Salad Dressing for Pasta Salad with Sauteed Tofu

For the salad:

Marinate the tofu in good-quality soy sauce overnight or for less time. Drain, dry and sauté in olive oil and cool. Cook your favorite shaped pasta (she used farfalle) until al dente. Add any vegetables that you have in the garden or refrigerator. She used broccoli, a freshly picked cucumber, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and stuffed olives. Add the sautéed tofu. She also served cooked asparagus on the side.

For the dressing:

Makes approximately 2 ½ cups

1/2 cup of Fire Cider

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

1 teaspoon asafoetida (optional)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together.