Kingdom Farm and Food Days
Saturday
AM - Open Farms in Orleans & Caledonia Counties - check out llamas, cashmere goats, fiber and meat sheep, maple producers & veggie farms. At least 8 farms in our area will open their doors, some holding tastings and demonstrations.
AM - CAE Guided Tour to Vermont Soy, Highfields Center for Composting, Vermont Food Venture Center with final tour at Pete's Greens.
**Midday - Pete's Greens Open Farm with Wagon Tours, Food and Fun (**See you there!!!!)
Afternoon - Try Barr Hill Vodka & Gin at Caledonia Sprits, raise a pint at Hill Farmstead Brewery.
Evening - Treat Yourself! Dine at Claire's, Parker Pie, Positive Pie, Bees Knees.
Evening - Circus Smirkus!
Sunday
High Mowing Seeds Field Days - Demonstrations and Workshops
Circus Smirkus!
NECI Local Foods Showcase at High Mowing
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Storage and Use Tips
You will get either red or heirloom tomatoes this week. They will be packed in a brown paper bag separate from your veggies. Store your tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
Red Norland Potatoes - these are the freshest potatoes you can get! Cook them briefly as they don't need a whole lot to make them amazing. A quick boil or saute, some butter, salt and pepper and you're good to go!
Beans are back this week! These green, yellow, and purple beans will make a nice addition to your dinner plate. You can steam these beans, incorporate them into a stir fry, or make them into a featured dish (recipes below). Enjoy this special treat!
There are 2 different types of Eggplant - you will get either Black Beauty which is a traditional looking eggplant, or Japanese which is a long skinny one. Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50 degrees, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters, so it will do best with extra protection of your crisper drawer. Wrapping unwashed eggplant in a towel is a bit better than in plastic because the towel will absorb any moisture. Keep your wrapped eggplant in the hydrator drawer of your refrigerator. Used within a week it should still be fresh and mild.
Also known as Chinese cabbage, the flavor of Napa cabbage is somewhat milder and a bit sweeter than that of regular green cabbage. It is delicious raw or cooked, and can be substituted for regular cabbage in most recipes. A head of Napa Cabbage in the fridge lends itself to a wide variety of meal options, from salads and slaws, to sandwich greens, stir fries, soup additions, and more. Nearly all of the head can be used, just not the tough center core. If your Napa sits a while in the fridge and some leaves are limp, you can refresh it with a good soak in cold water. Napa cabbage should be stored unwashed in your crisper drawer, loosely wrapped in a plastic bag.
This week everyone will get one large yellow onion. These onions were just harvested and are big and beautiful! The crew is harvesting more onions today and beginning the curing process that proceeds storage so they can be enjoyed all winter long.
The garlic is "fresh" meaning not fully cured yet. The fresh heads have a milder flavor than garlic that's had a chance to dry out a bit and are wonderful added to any dish or roasted whole. The garlic will be in your bag of tomatoes.
Veggie Storage and Use Tips are on our website too, so please bookmark the recipe and storage tip section. I am sure you will find it useful. |
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A Pete's Eye View Yesterday in the Fields
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Tips to Boost Veggie Flavor and Nutrition
I read this article in the August/September issue of Mother Earth News. I learned some great information and thought it would be great to share. This information was adapted from the book "Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health" by Jo Robinson.
Greens
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Tear lettuce into bite-sized pieces a day or so before you want to eat it to double the amount of antioxidants.
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Leaf lettuce is the most nutritious lettuce type; Red leaf lettuce is the best.
Alliums
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Scallions and leeks are better for your health than full-sized bulb onions, because the green parts are more nutritious than the white parts.
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Choose pungent, robust varieties of yellow and red onions for all cooking.
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Before you expose it to heat, let garlic rest for 10 minutes after chopping, slicing or pressing it. This is beneficial because when you bite, chop, slice or press garlic, the main healing ingredient in garlic, allicin, forms when 2 compounds in the clove mingle together. The reaction takes about 10 minutes to complete but stops short if applied to heat before the time has elapsed.
Other Veggies
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There are "heavy breathers" fruits and veggies - these are those veggies that most of us assume "die" after they are harvested, but they actually continue to respire, or "breathe", even when stored in your refrigerator. These veggies that respire more quickly should be eaten as soon as possible after bringing them home: arugula, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cherries, corn, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, parsley, raspberries, scallions, snap beans, spinach, and strawberries.
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Always cook asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage less than five minutes, if at all. If cooked longer than that their natural sweetness disappears, and "off" flavors and sulfurous fumes begin to develop. Chop the vegetables into smaller pieces which means that they can cook faster. Enjoy these veggies a bit crunchy to keep in the cancer-fighting bionutrients and natural sweetness!
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Eat the rainbow - I'm sure you've all heard this one before but it bears repeating. Red carrots, blue potatoes, and purple cauliflower were the original colors of these veggies. Over the years those vibrant colors were removed to provide standard white, green, and orange veggies. In removing their natural colors, potent antioxidants were also removed that may reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and memory loss. You'll get more bang for your buck by eating deeply colored fruits and vegetables.
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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 you can skip your share delivery and you will retain a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share. |
Localvore Lore
Andrew & Blair are just finishing at Elmore Mountain baking us the special Honey Oat Bread that they bake just for Good Eats with organic Milanaise winter wheat, Ben Gleason's organic whole wheat flour, Michel Gaudreau's Quebec organic oats, Vermont honey, sea salt and yeast.
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar just won first place in it's category at last week's ACS confernece in Madison, WI! Jasper Hill did amazing at this conference with their Winnimere winning not only first in it's category but best in show, their Landaff winning 2nd place in it's category, and their Harbison winning 3rd place in it's category. Congrats to Jasper Hill!
This cheddar undergoes quite the life phase before it gets to you. The cheese is made one vat at a time at Cabot Creamery using milk from the Kempton Family Farm in Peacham, VT, then transferred to the Cellars at Jasper Hill to age in their cellars. Once unmolded from their shaping hoops, the infant wheels are individually wrapped with muslin. They undergo a ten to fourteen month maturation period. The extra care involved in curing a clothbound cheese requires a customized aging environment, with proper temperature, humidity, and airflow. The wheels are then tested, tasted, and monitored for quality during their entire life cycle.
Cabot Clothbound has all the characteristic texture of an English-style cheddar with the sweet caramel and milky flavors that sets it apart from other bandaged cheddars. The flavor profile is at once sweet, savory, nutty, and tangy and pairs well with charcuterie, jellies, and honey. Also goes great with a malty brown ale, or an oaked Cabernet Sauvignon.
Blueberries! This spring we bought the Legare's Farm in Calais. We aren't farming there, it will be a few years before we are able to. For now we are just cover cropping the fields and resting them so in the future the soils will be healthy and robust ready to start growing crops for us. There's a nice patch of blueberries on the farm and they haven't been tended or sprayed this year, they are just doing their thing. The berries are totally unsprayed, but not certified organic. But they are tasty and we knew you would appreciate them. |
Meat
Pete's Pastured Chickens are are grazed on our greens fields and pack in loads of extra flavor and nutrition from the abundant fresh forage they consume in their lives. They fertilize and the fields while growing into beautiful vitamin packed table birds. They're perfect for roasting whole for dinner and you'll have plenty of leftovers. Please don't just toss the carcass as it's such a precious resource! Use the carcass, neck and bones after your meal to make a delicious broth afterward. At our house a roast chicken dinner is first a terrific family meal, then leftover chicken sandwiches, then 6-8 bowls of chicken noodle soup for my kids, and then anything left is treats for the trusty dog.
Vermont Salumi's Chorizo Sausage is a traditional sausage flavor in Spanish and Mexican cuisine. This sausage has some spice and it has a great taste that is amazing in paella, on pizzas, tossed in pasta, in soups, with black beans and it's wonderful in scrambled eggs. It's also fantastic on its own in a bun. According to Vermont Salumi it's a "mariachi in your mouth!"
Vermont Salumi is based in Waitsfield and is run by Peter Roscini Colman. He was born in the small Italian city of Assisi, and raised in central VT. He sources pork raised on pasture without hormones or antibiotics. Everything is made in small batches by hand without the use of preservatives or nitrates.
The Salmon comes from Vermonter Anthony Naples and Starbird Fish. Anthony Naples spends his summers commercial fishing in the pristine, and immensely beautiful waters off the coast of Alaska, from the far northern reaches of the Bering Sea, to Bristol Bay, the Aleutian Islands, all the way down to southeast Alaska. He catches all his fish during the season and ships it to VT where it's stored at the VT Food Hub in Waitsfield.
McKnight Farm Organic Burger comes from McKnight Farm in East Montpelier. This organic grass-fed burger is loaded with healthy fats such as Omega 3's and CLA's (conjugated linoleic acid - a very potent defense against cancer), Vitamin E, and is lower in fat than store bought meat. This lean beef can actually have the same amount of fat as skinless chicken breast, elk, or wild deer. Lean beef can also lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. This would be great made into burgers, included in the tomato sauce recipe below, or thrown into chili. We sent this last month too but it is summer and we thought you'd all be happy to receive again.
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Recipes
Stuffed McKnight Farm Burger
1 lb. beef
½ cup Jasper Hill/Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
Salt & Pepper
Season beef with salt and pepper. Take a small chunk of cheddar and form burger round it. You decide how cheesy you want it. Grill and serve with grilled onions, grilled tomato slices and a mesclun salad…no bread necessary unless you choose. Some caramelized onions would add a whole new dimension to this burger!
Eggplant Parmesan
A modification of a classic from the NY Times.
1 eggplant
sea salt
2 cups whole peeled tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
12 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves or several TB of pesto
Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.
While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves (or a tb of pesto dabbed around). Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil (or pesto). Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
Herbed New Potatoes
The best way to honor new potatoes is to cook them in a way that highlights their creamy goodness.
2 lbs new potatoes, scrubbed
3 TB butter, melted
2-3 TB fresh herbs (parsley, chives, oregano, dill, tarragon ...)
Add water to a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Put scrubbed potatoes in a basket steamer and cover, steaming for 25 to 35 minutes until potatoes are tender. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper and toss gently to coat.
Napa Cabbage Picnic Salad Recipe
From http://www.elise.com/. This salad is sooo tasty! I have made it a lot lately because it's just really good, flavorful with a good amount of spice. The recipe below is great, but there's lots of room for improvisation (vary up the veggies, reduce the amount of mayo in dressing, etc). You can also prepare a lot of this salad ahead and then just throw it together in minutes when you are read to serve it. I have been washing, salad spinning dry, and then chopping a whole head of Napa and then storing it in a bag in my fridge. It easily stays fresh 5 days or more. I make the dressing ahead and keep it in the fridge. Then when I want the salad I put some Napa in a bowl, toss in snap peas or a substitution of garlic scapes, carrots, salad turnips, thinly sliced beets, whataver I have on hand. It's all good. The almond are really good in this and the cilantro is totally optional.
1/3 cup slivered almonds
4 cups (.5 lb) coarsely shredded napa cabbage
6 ounces snow peas, strings removed, rinsed and thinly sliced
2/3 cups thinly sliced salad turnips
2/3 cups thinly sliced scallions including greens (or baby leeks)
2/3 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Dressing
1.5 Tbsp rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove peeled and minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1. Spread almond slivers out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. OR toast in stick-free or cast-iron skillet on medium high, stirring frequently until browned. Careful not to burn. Set aside.
2. Combine cabbage, snow peas, radishes, scallions, cilantro in a large bowl. Can make this step a day or two ahead.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, and cayenne until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the mayonnaise.
4. When ready to serve, gently combine the dressing and almonds with the cabbage mixture.
Teriyaki Salmon
This is a great salmon recipe. If you're not a fan of salmon already this could turn you into a salmon lover!
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic
*My Modifications - I usually use around 3 cloves garlic, a similar amount in volume of ginger. I only use about 1/2 TB sesame to save the expense and additional fat. Often I'll make extra marinade so I can swamp my veggies and rice with some of it too.
Mix the marinade in a baking dish, not much larger than the piece of fish. Add the fish and flip it upside down a couple times to coat it well. Turn on the broiler and let it warm up. Broil the fish for 5-7 minutes or until just cooked through. The marinade will be bubbling like crazy and it's nice to let the fish get a bit browned just on top.
Poulet Provencal
This dish is so easy to make and so amazingly good! I don't think I'll ever cook a whole chicken any other way now that I've discovered this.
1 pound tomatoes (3 to 4 medium), cut into wedges
1 large onion, cut into wedges, leaving root ends intact
1/2 cup drained brine-cured black olives, pitted if desired
4 large garlic cloves, sliced, plus 1 teaspoon minced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, divided (I didn't have this so used poultry seasoning instead)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds)
Preheat convection oven to 400°F or regular oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 13- by 9-inch or other 3-quart shallow baking dish. Push vegetables to sides of dish to make room for chicken.
Stir together minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, remaining teaspoon herbes de Provence, and remaining tablespoon olive oil.
Remove excess fat from chicken and pat dry, then rub inside and out with seasoning mixture. Tie legs together with string, then put chicken in baking dish.
Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour in convection oven; 1 to 1 1/4 hours in regular oven.
Let chicken stand 10 minutes before carving. Serve with vegetables and pan juices.
Beer-Simmered Grilled Sausages
This sounds like a great way to enjoy your chorizo!
a needle or pin and a cork
3 pounds uncooked Chorizo, or other sausage such as Sweet or hot Italian or bratwurst
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cups beer, as needed
About 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Mustard, for serving
Prick each sausage a half-dozen times with a needle or pin stuck in a cork. Arrange the onion slices on the bottom of a sauté pan just large enough to hold all the sausages. Place the sausages on top and add beer and water to cover (the ratio should be about 3 parts beer to 1 part water). Place the pan over medium heat and gradually bring the liquid to a simmer, not a rapid boil. Poach the sausages until half-cooked, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a rack on a baking sheet to drain or drain in a colander. Separate the sausages into links.
Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to medium-high.
When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Lightly brush the sausages on all sides with oil and place on the hot grate. Grill until the casings are crisp and nicely browned and the sausages are cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side. You may want to rotate the sausages 90 degrees after 2 minutes on each side to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks. Should flare-ups arise, move the sausages to a different section of the grill. Use a slender metal skewer to test for doneness. Insert it into the center of one of the sausages: It should come out hot to the touch.
Transfer the sausages to plates or a platter and let rest for 3 minutes. Serve with plenty of mustard.
Variations: Poaching is optional and not every grill jockey does it. If you omit the poaching, you'll need to grill the sausages 7 to 10 minutes per side.
Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Kimchi is an ancient fermented food that does wonders for your digestive system. Eating raw, fermented foods direcly supplies your digestive tract with living cultures esential to breaking down foods and assimilating nutrients. In cabbage especially, fermentation breaks down the compounds into new ones that are known to fight cancer.
4 pounds napa cabbage
3/4 cup coarse salt
Seasonings:
1 tsp finely minced gingerroot
1 cup red pepper powder
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp garlic juice
1 cup onion juice
4 ounces scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
Coarsely chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Place in a container. Dissolve 3/4 cup of salt in 2 cups of water and pour over the cabbage. Use your hand to mix it in evenly. Cover and let it pickle for 3 hours. Toss and turn over and pickle it for 3 more hours. Strain the cabbage and discard the salt water.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the seasonings and mix. Add the scallion last. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Distribute the seasoning on the cabbage and blend in using your hands.
Tightly pack the cabbage in a gallon-size jar. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and press down to get rid of air pockets. Store at 70 degrees for 24 hours to ferment. Chill before serving.
Some kimchi tips: Korean red pepper powder is available online at http://www.kgrocer.com/. Cayenne pepper does not make a good substitution — its flavor is too mild.
To make garlic or onion juice, roughly chop and blend with just enough water to make a smooth mix. Strain out any solid bits.
After pickling the cabbage in salt water, drain it well — leave it in a colander for 20 minutes and press to remove all liquid.
Once the kimchi has fermented, it will last 10 days in the refrigerator before it becomes overripe and loses its crunchiness.
Blueberry Lemon-Fizz
Here's a recipe for a refreshing summer cocktail.
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 lemon (thinly sliced and seeds removed)
4 mint (sprigs)
4 ozs vodka
soda (italian, whatever fruity flavor you like!)
In each of four glasses, divide blueberries, lemon and mint. Add 1 oz vodka to each glass, and stir vigorously to release the flavors. If a couple of blueberries get a bit smashed, that’ll be yummy.
Fill glasses to the top with Italian soda and serve.
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August 17 &18th
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