Good Eats Newsletter - March 13th, 2013

Localvore Members  & Regular Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN/TAN BAG This week your bag will contain: Shoots Salad Mix; Nicola Potatoes; Carrots; Mixed Beets; Red Cabbage; Shallots and OUT of the Bag Frozen Corn Frozen Spinach Localvore Offerings Include: Elmore Mountain Pain Rustique Bread Pa Pa Doodles Eggs Pete's Greens Applesauce Quebec Organic Pearled Barley Small Veggie Only Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Shoots Salad Mix; Nicola Potatoes; Carrots; Mixed Beets; Red Cabbage and OUT of the Bag Frozen Spinach Spring Shares Still Available We are still accepting members for Spring so please spread the word and tell friends and neighbors about Good Eats!  If you would be willing to post something to your front porch forum or other neighborhood email group to spread the word, please email me!  I'll send you a little blurb that you can use or edit.  Around the Farm   Todd, Cori and Anners harvesting our salad greens this week. Storage and Use Tips This week's Greens Mix is a mixture of Claytonia, Spinach, Shoots and Cress and a bit of chickweed.  Frozen Spinach is great for casseroles, lasagnas, quiches etc. Thaw it, squeeze out the excess liquid and add it in.  Or let it thaw on counter til it softens up enough to saw with a knife, and saw off section to use a lesser amount in a dish.  You can put the remainder back in freezer.  Really great in pasta or with pearled barley. Pete's Mixed Beets are a colorful selection of red, candy stripe, and golden. The colors stay true while cooking but if boiling together the red color will take over. I prefer to halve and roast in the oven at 350F. When beets are soft the skins are easily removed. Cool the beets and then dice or slice how you would while preserving the colors of individual beets. Toss in dressing etc when cool or reheat with a meal. Make sure to keep beets in fridge until you want to use. Shallots are a member of the alium family being similar to both garlic and onions. They grow in cloves similar to garlic and have a sweet, mild flavor like a sweet or Spanish onion. They are well known for their ability to be caramelized or cooked down to where the sugars are reduced or concentrated. When eaten raw, they are much sweeter and milder than even sweet onions. You can slice them thin and saute them in recipes that benefit from a sweet, mild onion flavor. When minced, they are fantastic in homemade vinaigrette and pan sauces. Store them in a cool, dark place. Nicola Potatoes are golden skinned, golden fleshed potatoes that are truly all purpose. They are great for boiling, mashing or roasting and are plenty waxy enough to make excellent potato salad. Nicolas have a very special attribute among potatoes - they are low on the glycemic index compared to all other varieties. This means they don't cause the blood sugar spike that other varieties may cause, an issue that can wreak havoc with people with insulin resistance. They also have a yummy slightly nutty flavor, enjoy! Store in a cool, dark place to avoid sprouting. At this time of year organic potatoes (not treated with an anit-sprouting agent) do not store for very long periods of time as they are ready to start their next life cycle. I suggest storing in a plastic bag in the fridge if you are not going to use right away. Veggie Storage and Use Tips are our website too, so please bookmark the recipe and storage tip section. I am sure you will find it useful. Localvore Lore Here's the information about the Elmore Mountain Bread in this week's share from Andrew at Elmore: Today we made a Rustic Bread (Pain Rustique). We use Milanaise Winter Wheat, Whole Wheat and a bit of Rye in this bread and one third of the flour is fermented for 10 hours with a small amount of yeast. This long fermentation improves the flavor, the digestability and the keeping quality of the bread. The organic pearled barley was grown in Quebec and milled at Golden Crops owned by Michel Gaudreau. Pearled barley has been de-hulled, with some or all of the bran removed. It makes a great substitute in recipes calling for brown rice, is wonderful cooked, cooled and used in cold salads, and adds a nice texture to soups and stews. It also cooks down into a really nice risotto, without all of the attention and stirring required with Arborio rice. One cup of dry barley makes about 3 to 3 1/2 cups cooked. If you soak the grains for 6+ hours in cold water before use, you can reduce your cooking time by at least half. Without soaking, you'll want to let them simmer in water for a good hour. You can also cook barley like pasta, using lots of water (4-5 cups of water to 1 cup barley), then drain what's left over. Deb's eggs have been busily producing lots of eggs for this week's share. Lastly, we have our very own applesauce this week straight from the Pete's Greens kitchen. The applesauce is made from a mix of apple varieties from Champlain Orchards. This is pure and simple applesauce made with ... apples! That's it. It's delicious stuff and can be frozen if you aren't going to use it this week. Changes to Your Delivery? If you will be away some upcoming week, and need to make changes to your share delivery, let us know at least 1 week before the change.  You can have your share donated to the Food Pantry, or I can stop your share delivery and you will retain a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share. Recipes Red Cabbage, Carrot, Beet, and Shoots Salad There are so many salad options with this week's share!  This salad is a favorite because I grate the vegetables in volume and leave them in containers in the fridge. Then just before dinner I throw a handful of shoots in the bowl with handfuls of grated carrot, cabbage and some beets, dress the salad and I am done. So easy. Shoots Mix Grated Carrots Grated Red Cabbage Grated Beets Grilled Red Cabbage With the nice spring weather we've been having lately I've been using the grill quite a bit.  My favorite thing to do is grill the whole dinner- a piece of meat, a foil packet of nicely spiced potatoes, and another foil packet with veggies.  I grilled up some red cabbage recently and it was outstanding!  This would be wonderful with some diced shallots mixed in. 1 head red cabbage, cut into quarters and then wedges Olive Oil Salt and Pepper to taste Preheat the grill.  Combine the cabbage wedges in a bowl and drizzle the oil on top; add salt and pepper and any other spices you desire.  Wrap in foil and create a sealed packet to keep the steam in.  Put on the grill for 15-20 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.  Enjoy! Grilled Carrots Yet another veggie that grills up great!  I left the smaller carrots whole and quartered the larger carrots so they would cook evenly.  I also left the peels on to retain the antioxidants and nutrients, but you could certainly peel them. Carrots Olive Oil Salt and Pepper to taste Preheat the grill.  Combine the carrots in a bowl and drizzle oil on top; add salt and pepper as desired.  Wrap in a foil and create a sealed packet.  Grill for 10-15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Caramelized Shallots What to do with all the shallots besides tossing them into a stir fry?  Make these caramelized shallots!  This recipe, from the Smitten Kitchen, is a great way to maximize the sweetness of the shallots. 6 tbs unsalted butter 2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact 3 tbs sugar 3 tbs good red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Melt the butter in a 12" oven-proof saute pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat.  Cook over medium heat for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallots start to brown.  Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and toss well.  Place the saute pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender.  Season, to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot. Mushroom Barley Risotto This one is delicious. Adapted from a Splendid Table recipe. 4 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup) 1 medium shallot, chopped (you can sub a bit more onion and a clove or 2 of garlic here) 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme 1 cup pearl barley 4-5 cups canned low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/2 cup grated Manchego or Parmesan cheese Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Heat the oil in a large, heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and shallot and sauté 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, wine, thyme, and barley, stirring until the wine is nearly evaporated. Add 4 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost completely absorbed and the barley is almost tender, about 25 minutes. Add the remaining 1cup broth and cook, stirring, until the barley is tender and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve. Roasted Beet and Barley Salad Beets are a wondeful addition to any salad, but this barley salad is just over the top.  I suspect I'll make this often in the summertime! 1 cup dry pearl barley 4 medium beets, tops removed (or 5-7 small) 1/2 large red onion, minced and soaked in cold water for about half an hour 1/2 block feta (about 4 ounces), cut into small squares or crumbled 4-5 scallions, sliced into rounds 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice 1 tbs olive oil salt and pepper to taste extra sliced scallions for garnish Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Loosely wrap the beets in tin foil and roast in the oven until they are just fork tender, about 30-45 minutes.  Peel and dice the beets into small cubes. Meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add the barley and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the barley is just al dente, about 30 minutes.  If there is extra liquid in the pan drain the water.  Cover the pan until ready to use. Drain the red onion.  Combine barley, beets, feta, and scallions in a large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top and toss to coat.  Taste the salad and add salt and pepper as needed. Carrot Oatmeal Muffins Muffins are a staple in my house.  I usually bake a batch and freeze half for quick morning snacks. 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup grated carrots 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg Optional: chopped nuts or raisins Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a mixing bowl combine applesauce, sugar, egg, vanilla, and carrots.  In a second bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the two mixtures together and beat just until combined.  If desired, fold in nuts or raisins. Pour batter into greased muffin tins.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched lightly.