Around the Farm
Iris getting into the seedling action this week in the headhouse.
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Storage and Use Tips
This week's Shoots Mix
is a mixture of Sunflower shoots, radish shoots, and cress. You're
probably familiar with the shoots by now but perhaps not the cress
- it's got a tangy spicy kick to it and is a great addition to salads or
sandwiches. I LOVE cress. There's only a small amount of cress in this week's bag, you'll see more as spring progresses.
This week we have prepared our shredded Coleslaw Mix
for you. We make this periodically in winter and spring so that you
don't have to! This is a simple blend of cabbage and carrots. All you
need to do is just add your favorite dressing! I have included a few
suggestions below. We may have coleslaw mix once or twice more during
the share. Let us know what you think of receiving this option! We think it's nice to able to deliver cabbage in a ready to use form.
Celeriac doesn't
win any beauty contest but celery root (celeriac) has a creamy,
delicious inside with a mild celery flavor that adds depth and character
to ordinary dishes. It's excellent storage ability makes celeriac a
popular vegetable for winter dishes. Excellent mashed, as a roasted
vegetable, in soups, or raw in salads. The easiest way to prepare
celeriac is to cut it into 1 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat and
cut off the exterior without cutting away too much of the creamy
flesh. Store loosely wrapped in plastic in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or
longer.
Frozen Kale
- I use frozen kale pretty much anywhere I'd use frozen spinach. Tip
for using... If you won't use the whole package at once, take it out of
freezer and let it thaw a bit on counter. Once softened some you can
attack it with a knife and saw into several slices of frozen goodness.
Then use what you will and throw the rest of the sliced sections back in
freezer. Next time you won't have to thaw to saw, just grab a slice.
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Localvore Lore
Elmore Mountain Bread is making Quebec Flax Seed Loaves for us this week. They are made with Milanaise wheat and rye flours, Quebec flax seeds, sourdough and sea salt.
Pete's Greens Pesto - We
grow a lot of basil just to make pesto for Good Eats. We have been
fiddling with recipes using different oils, nuts, cheeses, and we have
settled on this this recipe made with pesto, garlic, olive oil, salt,
sunflower seed, parmesan and romano cheeses. If you like your pesto
really garlicky, add some. We are pulling it from the freezer for you
and it may have thawed when you receive it. If you will not use it right
away, refreeze it. You can just throw the whole container in the
freezer, or dole it out into an ice cube tray. After the pesto cubes
have frozen, pop them out and place them into a plastic bag. Then you
can use just what you like when you need it.
 Coomersdale Cheese comes to you from Bonnieview Farm right
down the road from us in Craftsbury. Neil Urie milks his herd of sheep
to produce three cheeses - Ewe's Feta, Mossend Blue, and Coomersdale.
Coomersdale is a semi-hard cheese, similar to a young pecorino, made
with a recipe originally from the Pyrennes. This American Cheese Society
award winning cheese is great on it's own or pairs well with sweet
items like honey or jams. It should also be great grated onto the pesto
in the share.
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Meat Share
McKnight Farm Organic Steaks
- The steaks this week comes from McKnight Farm, an organic dairy in
East Montpelier. Our friend Seth Gardner is a long time organic dairy
farmer and we have been working together to regularly include Seth's
beef in the Good Eats meat share. You'll receive either Porterhouse, Rib, or T-Bone Steaks.
 Our friends and neighbors over at Jasper Hill Farm
have a new venture this year. They have begun making good use of the
whey left from the milk that goes into cheese making and they've been
feeding it to a small group of pastured pigs on the farm. We purchased a
few of their piggies for Good Eats and these cuts will appear in the
share in coming months. This week we have Jasper Hill Farm Pastured Whey Fed Sweet Italian Sausage and Bacon! Great on pizza or alone in a bun, or as part of a pasta fest. Enjoy!
Pete's Pastured Chicken - we have our own Pastured Chicken for you and this week I have included a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. Yum.
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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.
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Recipes
Annie's Shoot Salad (of late)
These days, the most common assembly of a bowl of greens in my kitchen goes like this...
2 eggs
Shoots salad mix
Olive oil
Mustard
Apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Optional: blue cheese, walnuts, almonds, bacon
Hard
boil two eggs (Place the eggs in a small pot of cold water. Heat over
medium heat. Remove from the stove as soon as water boils. Let sit ten
minutes. Remove the eggs from the water.) While still warm, chop the
eggs into large pieces and throw them on top of a bowl of greens. Mix up
a dressing of mostly olive oil, a squirt of dijon mustard, a bit of
apple cider vinegar, and a solid pinch of sea salt and pepper. Pour
dressing over the eggs and greens, and mix. Sometimes almonds, or bacon,
or blue cheese make it into the bowl, but eggs and a mustard dressing
are the basics.
Potato & Celeriac Mashers
This beats plain old mashed potatoes any day!
4-6 potatoes, baked or boiled
1 celeriac, peeled and cubed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1/4 c butter (to taste)
1/4 c creme fraiche or sour cream
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
Cover
celeriac pieces with cold water, bring to a boil until tender, about 30
minutes, drain water. Cut up butter and place in bottom of a large
bowl. Add cooked potatoes, cooked celeriac, garlic and mash all
together. Add the cream to desired consistency. If you want it really
smooth mix with a hand held mixer. Season to taste.
Kale, Sausage and Potato Soup
A
hearty soup to warm up these last cold days of winter. This could be
made vegetarian by skipping the sausage and swapping chicken broth for
veggie broth.
2-3 links Italian sausage
1 package frozen kale, thawed
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 cups water
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 pinch dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1/4 tsp ground pepper
In
a large dutch oven or soup pot, cook sausage over medium-low heat.
Turn and cook until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from pot, let cool
and cut into thin slices.
Add
oil to pot, add onions and carrots; cook on medium heat until
transluscent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute more.
Add
broth, water and black pepper, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Add
cooked sausage, potatoes, red pepper flakes and bring back to a
simmer. Cook covered for about 4 minutes. Add kale and bring back to a
simmer. Cook partially covered until the potatoes and kale are cooked,
about 5-6 minutes.
Citrus Herb Marinade
This
is the standard steak marinade in our house. The steaks that meat share
members will receive tomorrow will be wonderful with this marinade -
I'd be preparing it tonight! Citrus really works well to tenderize a
piece of meat and this marinade never disappoints. It is quick to
prepare and substitutions work out just fine. You can prepare it ahead
of time and it can sit in the fridge for up to a week.
Combine and then place with steaks in a ziplock bag or other sealed container.
1/4 cup sunflower oil or olive oil
1.5 TB lemon juice
1.5 TB orange juice or red wine
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1 crumbled bay leaf
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
Chicken and Dumplings
Comfort food at its very best. Adapted from Epicurious.com. Use a wide pot so the dumplings don't stick together. Serves 6.
For the soup
2 tablespoons sunflower oil, bacon fat or olive oil
1 (3-4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 medium turnips, cut into large chunks
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
shoots
For the dumplings
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dredge the
chicken pieces in the seasoned flour, then brown them in the oil over
medium heat, about 2 minutes a side. Remove and set aside. Add the onion
to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, turnip, bay leaf,
thyme, turmeric, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in
the stock. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and simmer for 15
minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the first five dumpling
ingredients. Add the cream and mix until just combined. Drop about 12
heaping tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into the pot. Cover and
simmer for 12 minutes more. To serve, scoop the dumplings and chicken
into bowls, then cover with broth. Garnish with the shoots.
Arrowhead Coleslaw
Add apple slices to sweeten this recipe, or grated valentine radishes for spice!
1 package slaw mix
1 carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 cup mayonnaise, preferably home-made
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, or 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Using a large, sharp knife, remove the hard core from the cabbage and
then cut the cabbage very finely. While it may be tempting to use a food
processor, the best results are achieved by hand. You should have about
8 firmly packed cups. Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, scrape the
carrot and then cut it into long, fine strands or paper-thin slices
about the length of the cabbage shreds. Place the cabbage, carrot, and
onion in a large bowl. In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise,
water, vinegar, caraway seeds, salt, and mustard. Using your hands,
combine the mayonnaise dressing with the cabbage mixture. Cover and
refrigerate the salad for up to 3 hours.
Classic Coleslaw Dressing
A classic dressing for the coleslaw mix we included in the share this week.
2/3 c mayonnaise (sub sour cream if you like)
1/4 c onion, minced
3 Tbs dill pickled, minced
2 Tbs pickle brine
2 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1 Tbs horseradish
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery seeds
Whisk ingredients together until well blended.
Mexican-Lime Coleslaw Dressing
A fun way to spice up your coleslaw mix, serve with chicken or fish.
1/3 c lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (to taste)
1/2 c olive oil
Whisk lime juice, ground cumin, garlic and hot pepper sauce together and then slowly whisk in olive oil.
Breaded and Fried Celeriac
From
Mark Bittman's cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, this
process results in crunchy, yet tender celery root strips. Serve with
pesto. You can also try this procedure with winter squash served with a
curried mayonnaise.
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper
1 cup plain bread crumbs
large celeriac, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 TB butter, plus 3 TB olive oil for frying
Set out three shallow bowls, next to each other in order, one with
flour, another with eggs and third with bread crumbs. To bread celeriac,
toss with flour, shaking off extra. Immerse in eggs, then toss to cover
with bread crumbs. Set on a parchment-lined cookie sheet until all
pieces have been breaded. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium to
medium-high heat, so that oil reaches about 350F. Fry celeriac,
allowing space between each piece, until golden. Flip and fry the other
side, about 5-10 minutes total. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with
remaining celeriac. If you have a lot of vegetables to cook, keep fried
vegetables warm in a 200F oven set on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet
for 10-15 minutes. Serve with pesto.
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