Good Eats Newsletter -November 18, 2009
This Week's Vegetable Share Contains
Lettuce Head; 1 Large Head of Napa Cabbage; 1 Bunch Sweet Salad Turnips; 1 Bunch of Kale; Bag of Braising Greens; 1 Bunch of Leeks; 3 lbs Rutabaga; 2 Bulbs of Garlic; 2 Small Winter Squash (Delicata, Acorn or Sweet Dumplings);
The following sites will also receive 1 Bunch of Cilantro:
Red Hen; On the Rise; Sweet Clover; Grove St; Adams Court; Shelburne Vineyard; Hen of the Wood
Localvore Offerings Include
Elmore Mountain Flax Seed Bread
Butternut Mountain Farm Maple Sugar
Dancing Cow Bouree Cheese
Pete's Applesauce
Pick Ups Much Better Last Week, Thank you!
We had far fewer pick up issues last week. Thanks to everyone for being careful! There were still a few mistakes that were avoidable... A replacement that we sent out for someone was brought home by a different share member. And I think there were quite a few stalks of brussel sprouts and boxes of cranberries left over because some people didn't read through the pick up instructions carefully (which instructed people to take two of each of these). The pick up instructions change every week of course, and you should take a moment to read them so you don't short yourself or another member. Still, all in all, I was very happy with last week.
Bulk Order Pick Up This Week
Our first bulk orders go out this week. Bulk orders will be packed up and labeled with share member's name on the box or bag. There are also some chicken orders this week and some turkeys. Please be careful to take only those items that you should be taking for the share and not someone's bulk order or replacement item. Please refer to pick up instructions and take only what is indicated there.
A few adjustments to bulk orders:
We didn't have quite enough Quebec Flax Seed and Butterworks Bread Flour. Those of you who do not receive these items this week, will get them next week. Maple Cream, Honey Gardens Wild Cherry Syrup and Elderberry Syrup will be delivered next week. Unfortunately, for now we will not be able to fill the orders for cornmeal. Butterworks Farm has had a complete loss of their corn crop due to the wet summer and resulting mold in the corn. I'll be sending refund checks to those of you who ordered and will not receive the cornmeal. There's still hope, Jack Lazor may buy in another farm's organic crop and mill it, but that plan is not set in stone yet. Fingers crossed.
Next Week Pick-Up is on TUESDAY
We will be delivering your shares next week on Tuesday November 24th. Please mark your calendars and be sure to remind your share partner, spouse or anyone who participates in your weekly pick up!
A sneak peek at next week's share...
We plan to include: 3 lbs potatoes, 3 lbs carrots, 2 lbs yellow onions, 1 Sunshine squash, frozen pumpkin puree (for baking pie), either mesclun greens or spinach plus several other as yet undetermined vegetables. The localvore portion will include Red Hen Bread, eggs, Cortland apples (for baking more pie!), and Quebec rolled oats.
Pete's Musings
What a beautiful November! I can't remember one nicer. The great weather is allowing us to work on some important infrastructure projects. Steve is polishing off our moveable greenhouses, running water and power, constructing better endwalls, and generally making them ship shape. Next he will prepare an insulated pad for another insulated tractor trailer that we will add behind the barn. This will be used for storing boxes this year but will likely be onion or other vegetable storage in the future. Then we will run hot water lines in the soil in one of our moveable greenhouses - allowing us to grow earlier tomatoes and cukes in that house.
I have been busy building an equipment shed that will allow us to get most of our equipment under cover. We have quite a pile of iron and steel at this point and it is no fun watching it sit outdoors rusting. It will feel great to have it tucked away protected from the elements. ~ Pete
Next Bulk Order is Dec 9
Originally planned for Dec 16 we have moved the next bulk order to December 9th. We need all orders in by Friday Nov. 27, and once again we have a mail holiday to deal with on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Please try to get your orders in as early as possible! Please visit the bulk order page and download the order form to get a jump on ordering.
Pastured Turkey
There are still 24 Gopher Broke turkeys available, and we'll be taking orders for them as long as they last. George and Jane raise their birds out on pasture on their farm in Wolcott, VT.
There are 9 standards left (broad breasted whites and bronze) with weights between 18 and 29 lbs at $4.25/lb and 15 heritage birds (a mix of Beltsville Midgets, Heritage Bronze, Naragansetts, and Eastern Wild Turkeys) in the 7 to 13 lb range at $6.50/lb.
Pete's Pastured Chicken
You can order as few as 3 chickens and have them delivered to your Good Eats pick up site most weeks except for the weeks that we deliver meat shares (the first Wednesday of each month).
Visit the Pastured Chicken page for order info including available delivery dates and to download an order form.
Our birds are raised on endless grass and greens throughout their lives. The nutrients in all the forage they consume is stored in their meat making this meat far more nutritious than most chickens you can find out there in the marketplace. Our chickens live a charmed chicken existence roaming the fields to their hearts delight in the good company of our six pigs. They are also the happy recipients of lots of the veggie seconds that come from the washhouse as well.
This is healthy, nutritious, vitamin packed meat that you can feel great about eating. Only $3.75/lb.
Storage and Use Tips
Sweet Salad Turnips - The Salad turnips you receive today may be tops on or tops off. We had planned on sending them all out tops off, but some of the greens looked so good we couldn't bear to chop them off. Sweet Salad Turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw they have a texture similar to a radish, but are not so sharp. Or slice, dice, or quarter them and saute with butter or oil. Cook until just tender and still a little crisp. Just a little salt or maybe a little bit of vinegar is all they need. Cooked with butter and given a slight drizzle of honey or maple syrup and even picky kids may gobble them up. Don’t forget the greens! Turnip greens are tender and flavorful. Chop and saute with the turnips for a side dish, or cook up with other greens, or by themselves. I often chop them and toss them into pasta sauces.
Rutabaga - The rutabagas in the share today have some superficial damage. You may see some worm track damage across the surface of the vegetable, but it should be only skin deep. And you should peel the exterior of your rutabaga anyway so it shouldn't affect your use of the vegetable. Closely related to turnips, rutabagas are even sweeter than turnips. I like mine boiled and mashed with a little butter, just as one would cook mashed potatoes. They are also great mashed with potatoes. Store in the fridge wrapped in plastic. They will last a couple weeks or more.
Localvore Lore
Blair and Andrew have been hard at work baking loaves for us again this week at Elmore Mountain Bakery. This week's bread is a Flax Seed Bread. It is made with Milanaise winter blend, Milanaise whole wheat and whole rye, Quebec flax seeds, sea salt, sourdough and yeast.
Nick was in the kitchen much of the day yesterday making the yummy applesauce in the share this week. Great stuff and super fresh, it will keep in the fridge for several days to a week. If you plan to save it for Thanksgiving, put the container in the freezer. It freezes very well. The applesauce is made with a mix of apples from Champlain Orchards.
At Dancing Cow Farm in Bridport, Karen and Steven Getz make their cheese from raw cow's milk from a single milking, which flows directly from the milking parlor uncooled into the cheese vat. Each batch of cheese is a bit different depending on the pasture the cows are on. After the cheese is formed and salted, it is moved to the Cellars at Jasper Hill where the wheels of cheese are washed, gently brushed, and turned to nurture their development. The cheeses ages in the cellars for a minimum of 80 days. Dancing Cow Bourree is a "washed rind cheese with an earthy aroma, supple paste and a rich, creamy texture that melts into a beautiful smoky, meaty, lingering finish." Bourree was a 2008 American Cheese Society winner.
The Maple Sugar comes from Butternut Mountain Farm in Johnson. We are fortunate to be able to provide it as Butternut is one of only two operations in the US to make maple sugar. Maple sugar is produced simply by boiling all of the water out of the syrup and mixing it into a granulated state. I thought it might be nice to have it on hand to sprinkle onto Thanksgiving carrots or squash, or to make pumpkin or apple pie next week! Some cooking tips from Emma Marvin:
Maple sugar is highly versatile. I use it when making chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies in place of the brown sugar and some of the white. I use it on salmon sprinkling maple sugar, ground sea salt and pepper over the top just prior to cooking. It makes a great maple salad dressing! Mix approximately equal parts of olive oil, maple sugar and vinegar (cider or rice wine works well). I’m sure there are infinitely more ways to use maple sugar, but these are just a few of my favorites. We'd love to hear about any recipes you find yourselves using our maple sugar in!
Recipes
Rutabaga Purée
This is the oh so simple classic recipe. If you have never met up with a rutabaga before... From the Sep 2004 Bon Appétit.
3 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter
Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well. Transfer to processor; puree until smooth. Return to pot. Stir over medium heat until any excess liquid evaporates. Add butter; stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often.)
Variation:
add some carrots and or squash chunks and puree together sprinkling with maple sugar
Winter Squash Galette
Gourmet February 2009. Adapted from Venus Restaurant in Berkeley, CA. The delicate crust of this galette gets a warm spiciness from fresh sage.
For pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
For filling:
1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2- by 1/4-inch slices (4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise
6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, crumbled
Make dough:
Pulse flour, butter, sage, and sea salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ice water evenly over mixture and pulse until it just forms a ball. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.) Gently press dough into a 5-inch disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make filling while dough chills:
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
Toss squash with sea salt and 1 Tbsp oil and arrange in 1 layer in a 17-by 12-inch shallow baking pan. Roast, stirring once halfway through roasting, until golden brown on edges and undersides, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove squash from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
Meanwhile, wash leeks, then cook in remaining 2 tablespoons oil with a pinch of sea salt in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool slightly. Add squash, goat cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss gently.
Make galette:
Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Transfer to a baking sheet. 3Arrange filling in an even layer in center of dough, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border. Fold dough in on itself to cover outer rim of filling, pleating dough as necessary. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake galette until crust is cooked through and golden on edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes before serving.
Maple Shortbread Cookies
From the King Aurthur website.
1 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Topping
2 tablespoons pure maple sugar
Directions
Beat the butter with the sugars, salt, vanilla, and maple flavor until well blended. Beat in the flour to form a smooth dough. The dough will be crumbly at first, but will come together as it's mixed.
Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a disk, wrap well, and chill for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
Sprinkle the dough and your work surface lightly with flour. Roll the dough till it's a scant 1/4" thick. Cut cookies with a cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, and sprinkle with maple sugar.
Lettuce Head; 1 Large Head of Napa Cabbage; 1 Bunch Sweet Salad Turnips; 1 Bunch of Kale; Bag of Braising Greens; 1 Bunch of Leeks; 3 lbs Rutabaga; 2 Bulbs of Garlic; 2 Small Winter Squash (Delicata, Acorn or Sweet Dumplings);
The following sites will also receive 1 Bunch of Cilantro:
Red Hen; On the Rise; Sweet Clover; Grove St; Adams Court; Shelburne Vineyard; Hen of the Wood
Localvore Offerings Include
Elmore Mountain Flax Seed Bread
Butternut Mountain Farm Maple Sugar
Dancing Cow Bouree Cheese
Pete's Applesauce
Pick Ups Much Better Last Week, Thank you!
We had far fewer pick up issues last week. Thanks to everyone for being careful! There were still a few mistakes that were avoidable... A replacement that we sent out for someone was brought home by a different share member. And I think there were quite a few stalks of brussel sprouts and boxes of cranberries left over because some people didn't read through the pick up instructions carefully (which instructed people to take two of each of these). The pick up instructions change every week of course, and you should take a moment to read them so you don't short yourself or another member. Still, all in all, I was very happy with last week.
Bulk Order Pick Up This Week
Our first bulk orders go out this week. Bulk orders will be packed up and labeled with share member's name on the box or bag. There are also some chicken orders this week and some turkeys. Please be careful to take only those items that you should be taking for the share and not someone's bulk order or replacement item. Please refer to pick up instructions and take only what is indicated there.
A few adjustments to bulk orders:
We didn't have quite enough Quebec Flax Seed and Butterworks Bread Flour. Those of you who do not receive these items this week, will get them next week. Maple Cream, Honey Gardens Wild Cherry Syrup and Elderberry Syrup will be delivered next week. Unfortunately, for now we will not be able to fill the orders for cornmeal. Butterworks Farm has had a complete loss of their corn crop due to the wet summer and resulting mold in the corn. I'll be sending refund checks to those of you who ordered and will not receive the cornmeal. There's still hope, Jack Lazor may buy in another farm's organic crop and mill it, but that plan is not set in stone yet. Fingers crossed.
Next Week Pick-Up is on TUESDAY
We will be delivering your shares next week on Tuesday November 24th. Please mark your calendars and be sure to remind your share partner, spouse or anyone who participates in your weekly pick up!
A sneak peek at next week's share...
We plan to include: 3 lbs potatoes, 3 lbs carrots, 2 lbs yellow onions, 1 Sunshine squash, frozen pumpkin puree (for baking pie), either mesclun greens or spinach plus several other as yet undetermined vegetables. The localvore portion will include Red Hen Bread, eggs, Cortland apples (for baking more pie!), and Quebec rolled oats.
Pete's Musings
What a beautiful November! I can't remember one nicer. The great weather is allowing us to work on some important infrastructure projects. Steve is polishing off our moveable greenhouses, running water and power, constructing better endwalls, and generally making them ship shape. Next he will prepare an insulated pad for another insulated tractor trailer that we will add behind the barn. This will be used for storing boxes this year but will likely be onion or other vegetable storage in the future. Then we will run hot water lines in the soil in one of our moveable greenhouses - allowing us to grow earlier tomatoes and cukes in that house.
I have been busy building an equipment shed that will allow us to get most of our equipment under cover. We have quite a pile of iron and steel at this point and it is no fun watching it sit outdoors rusting. It will feel great to have it tucked away protected from the elements. ~ Pete
Next Bulk Order is Dec 9
Originally planned for Dec 16 we have moved the next bulk order to December 9th. We need all orders in by Friday Nov. 27, and once again we have a mail holiday to deal with on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Please try to get your orders in as early as possible! Please visit the bulk order page and download the order form to get a jump on ordering.
Pastured Turkey
There are still 24 Gopher Broke turkeys available, and we'll be taking orders for them as long as they last. George and Jane raise their birds out on pasture on their farm in Wolcott, VT.
There are 9 standards left (broad breasted whites and bronze) with weights between 18 and 29 lbs at $4.25/lb and 15 heritage birds (a mix of Beltsville Midgets, Heritage Bronze, Naragansetts, and Eastern Wild Turkeys) in the 7 to 13 lb range at $6.50/lb.
Pete's Pastured Chicken
You can order as few as 3 chickens and have them delivered to your Good Eats pick up site most weeks except for the weeks that we deliver meat shares (the first Wednesday of each month).Visit the Pastured Chicken page for order info including available delivery dates and to download an order form.
Our birds are raised on endless grass and greens throughout their lives. The nutrients in all the forage they consume is stored in their meat making this meat far more nutritious than most chickens you can find out there in the marketplace. Our chickens live a charmed chicken existence roaming the fields to their hearts delight in the good company of our six pigs. They are also the happy recipients of lots of the veggie seconds that come from the washhouse as well.
This is healthy, nutritious, vitamin packed meat that you can feel great about eating. Only $3.75/lb.
Storage and Use Tips
Sweet Salad Turnips - The Salad turnips you receive today may be tops on or tops off. We had planned on sending them all out tops off, but some of the greens looked so good we couldn't bear to chop them off. Sweet Salad Turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw they have a texture similar to a radish, but are not so sharp. Or slice, dice, or quarter them and saute with butter or oil. Cook until just tender and still a little crisp. Just a little salt or maybe a little bit of vinegar is all they need. Cooked with butter and given a slight drizzle of honey or maple syrup and even picky kids may gobble them up. Don’t forget the greens! Turnip greens are tender and flavorful. Chop and saute with the turnips for a side dish, or cook up with other greens, or by themselves. I often chop them and toss them into pasta sauces.
Rutabaga - The rutabagas in the share today have some superficial damage. You may see some worm track damage across the surface of the vegetable, but it should be only skin deep. And you should peel the exterior of your rutabaga anyway so it shouldn't affect your use of the vegetable. Closely related to turnips, rutabagas are even sweeter than turnips. I like mine boiled and mashed with a little butter, just as one would cook mashed potatoes. They are also great mashed with potatoes. Store in the fridge wrapped in plastic. They will last a couple weeks or more.
Localvore Lore
Blair and Andrew have been hard at work baking loaves for us again this week at Elmore Mountain Bakery. This week's bread is a Flax Seed Bread. It is made with Milanaise winter blend, Milanaise whole wheat and whole rye, Quebec flax seeds, sea salt, sourdough and yeast.
Nick was in the kitchen much of the day yesterday making the yummy applesauce in the share this week. Great stuff and super fresh, it will keep in the fridge for several days to a week. If you plan to save it for Thanksgiving, put the container in the freezer. It freezes very well. The applesauce is made with a mix of apples from Champlain Orchards.
At Dancing Cow Farm in Bridport, Karen and Steven Getz make their cheese from raw cow's milk from a single milking, which flows directly from the milking parlor uncooled into the cheese vat. Each batch of cheese is a bit different depending on the pasture the cows are on. After the cheese is formed and salted, it is moved to the Cellars at Jasper Hill where the wheels of cheese are washed, gently brushed, and turned to nurture their development. The cheeses ages in the cellars for a minimum of 80 days. Dancing Cow Bourree is a "washed rind cheese with an earthy aroma, supple paste and a rich, creamy texture that melts into a beautiful smoky, meaty, lingering finish." Bourree was a 2008 American Cheese Society winner.
The Maple Sugar comes from Butternut Mountain Farm in Johnson. We are fortunate to be able to provide it as Butternut is one of only two operations in the US to make maple sugar. Maple sugar is produced simply by boiling all of the water out of the syrup and mixing it into a granulated state. I thought it might be nice to have it on hand to sprinkle onto Thanksgiving carrots or squash, or to make pumpkin or apple pie next week! Some cooking tips from Emma Marvin:
Maple sugar is highly versatile. I use it when making chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies in place of the brown sugar and some of the white. I use it on salmon sprinkling maple sugar, ground sea salt and pepper over the top just prior to cooking. It makes a great maple salad dressing! Mix approximately equal parts of olive oil, maple sugar and vinegar (cider or rice wine works well). I’m sure there are infinitely more ways to use maple sugar, but these are just a few of my favorites. We'd love to hear about any recipes you find yourselves using our maple sugar in!
Recipes
Rutabaga Purée
This is the oh so simple classic recipe. If you have never met up with a rutabaga before... From the Sep 2004 Bon Appétit.
3 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter
Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well. Transfer to processor; puree until smooth. Return to pot. Stir over medium heat until any excess liquid evaporates. Add butter; stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often.)
Variation:
add some carrots and or squash chunks and puree together sprinkling with maple sugar
Winter Squash Galette
Gourmet February 2009. Adapted from Venus Restaurant in Berkeley, CA. The delicate crust of this galette gets a warm spiciness from fresh sage.
For pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
For filling:
1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2- by 1/4-inch slices (4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise
6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, crumbled
Make dough:
Pulse flour, butter, sage, and sea salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ice water evenly over mixture and pulse until it just forms a ball. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.) Gently press dough into a 5-inch disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make filling while dough chills:
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
Toss squash with sea salt and 1 Tbsp oil and arrange in 1 layer in a 17-by 12-inch shallow baking pan. Roast, stirring once halfway through roasting, until golden brown on edges and undersides, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove squash from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
Meanwhile, wash leeks, then cook in remaining 2 tablespoons oil with a pinch of sea salt in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool slightly. Add squash, goat cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss gently.
Make galette:
Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Transfer to a baking sheet. 3Arrange filling in an even layer in center of dough, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border. Fold dough in on itself to cover outer rim of filling, pleating dough as necessary. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake galette until crust is cooked through and golden on edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes before serving.
Maple Shortbread Cookies
From the King Aurthur website.
1 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Topping
2 tablespoons pure maple sugar
Directions
Beat the butter with the sugars, salt, vanilla, and maple flavor until well blended. Beat in the flour to form a smooth dough. The dough will be crumbly at first, but will come together as it's mixed.
Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a disk, wrap well, and chill for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
Sprinkle the dough and your work surface lightly with flour. Roll the dough till it's a scant 1/4" thick. Cut cookies with a cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, and sprinkle with maple sugar.
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