Good Eats Newsletter - April 2, 2014

It's a meat week! Localvore Members  & Regular Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN BAG This week your bag will contain: Shoots mix; Potatoes; Carrots; Parsnips; Cabbage; Onions And OUT of the bag: Frozen Corn Frozen Mixed Beans Localvore / Pantry Offerings Include: Bread and Butter Farm Three Seed Bread Cellars at Jasper Hill Clothbound Cheddar Pete's Kitchen Pesto Half Veggie Only Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Shoots mix; Potatoes; Carrots; Parsnips; Cabbage And OUT of the bag: Frozen Corn

Announcing the winner of the shoots recipe contest! Congratulations to Emily Donaldson for sending in her "Asian-style red meets green salad" recipe.  Here's what she had to say about  her recipe: "This week I made a pretty wicked salad with the shoots from last week.  It includes some of the other ingredients from last week's share as well.  It has a sweet but tangy flavor, and nice color and crunch thanks to the peppers and almonds.  I made it up after several days of reflection on the contents of my fridge and the various other salad recipes I've been trying out the past few weeks." We got a couple of really great entries to the contest and will share the ideas in the upcoming weeks.  Congrats Emily!

Around the Farm It's hard to believe but spring really is getting close (finally)!  First picture: We have so much snow at the farm that we are having to strategize how to get on fields as early as we can.  To that end, we actually plowed the snow off some fields in order to have all that snow melt away from the fields to help them dry out just a little bit sooner for planting.   In addition we have spread wood ash to darken the snow surface so it will melt faster. It's really effective and wood ash adds potassium to the soil. Middle: Rows of tomatoes Bottom: inside the headhouse yesterday 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. Storage and Use Tips This week our shoots mix is a mixture of our sunflower, pea and radish shoots and..... SPINACH!!    We finally have enough spinach to include in our shoots mixes.  You can expect to see more in upcoming weeks. This week we have red norland potatoes for both shares.  These taters have a red outer skin and crisp white flesh inside. They are commonly sold in the summertime as "new" potatoes but store quite well too. The best way to cook a Red Norland is to boil, steam or roast them. They make a great red potato salad with skin on, or toss with olive oil, garlic and herbs or go for it and smother them with butter. This week's parsnips are particularly beautiful as they have been brush washed.  These parsnips have a nutty-sweet taste and a tender-hearty texture that is entirely distinct. For centuries, parsnips were a more common staple than the potato—and deservedly so. Satisfying, versatile, and highly nutritious, these delicious roots make a terrific base to any meal. Young parsnips don’t need to be peeled. Simply scrub them under running water with a vegetable brush. Peel larger parsnips, and cut out the core if it seems woody. However you slice or chop parsnips, be sure to make all the pieces relatively the same size, ensuring an evenly cooked dish. Refrigerate unwashed parsnips in a loosely wrapped or perforated plastic bag for up to two weeks. Red cabbage - though very similar in taste to green cabbage, red can have slightly more pronounced peppery notes. In my opinion, it can also tolerate longer cooking cycles without becoming too acidic and "stinky." If alkaline ingredients like eggs are present in your pan when cooking red cabbage, it can turn blue on you (red cabbage works great to color Easter eggs!). To stop this from happening, add a bit of acid to the pan in the form of lemon juice, vinegar or wine. Classic braising red cabbage preparations often call for adding a little red wine, cider vinegar or both to the pan during cooking. Apples also make a perfect match with red cabbage. Cabbage can be stored loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for weeks. If the outer leaves wilt or turn spotted, just remove them and use the good leaves below. Once cut, keep the remaining cabbage in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Our yellow onions are great all-purpose onions.  Store onions in a cool, dry, well ventilated place. Do not store whole onions in plastic bags. Lack of air movement reduces storage life. Chopped or sliced onions can be stored in a sealed container in your refrigerator at the proper temperature of 40°F or below for 7 to 10 days. Both veggie shares are receiving our frozen corn this week.  It's a real treat. Frozen at the peak of freshness, it is still tender and sweet and really fantastic.  Keep frozen until ready to use, then thaw out before cooking.  Or if you forget to take it out in time you can drop the whole chunk of corn in boiling water. Large share members are also going to receive mixed frozen beans.  Our beans were picked, washed, blanched, bagged and frozen all in a few hours.  They simply need to be heated up.  Remove from plastic bag and heat in water or mix into a dish as you would fresh produce.   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. Place your order by this Friday  Maple Wind Farm ** Special Meats Order As you all will probably remember, our friends at Maple Wind lost their barn in Richmond in January.  Fortunately, not all was lost, some of their pasture raised meat was stored offsite at the commercial warehouse in Williston.  If your freezer is in need of stocking, ordering some of these meats would be a great help, adding to the coffers necessary for their rebuild. To that end, Maple Wind Farm has put together special pricing for Good Eats Members.   This special is being offered through Friday, April 4th. Whole chickens, Frozen, non organic, avg size 4.25lb each, moved to fresh grass every day!  3 birds $55 100% Grass fed and finished ground Angus Devon Cross beef, No grain! 10 lb $55.00 sold in 1lb packages OR 10 lb  $45.00 sold in 2 5lb bulk packages To order go to Maple Wind Farms' website and place your order.  They will process your payment and prepare your order.  Our driver will then pick it up and we will deliver to you with your share on Wednesday, April 16th, or Thursday, April 17th.  Orders must be placed by Friday, April 4th, in order to receive this special offer. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for supporting Maple Wind Farm as they rebuild. Localvore Lore It's been a while since we've sent out bread from Bread and Butter Farm.  This is a delicious, dense, moist, earthy, 3 Seed Bread.  Baker Adam Wilson and farming business partner Corie Pierce and their respective partners purchased a 143 acre Land Trust farm in Shelburne in 2009 and are farming in earnest. They sell raw milk from their herd of grass fed Jersey cows, plus pastured beef and pork, and an array of greens and vegetables grown on the farm.  Adam bakes his traditional German style sourdough breads in a wood-fired oven. The flours are all VT and Quebec grown. Here's a note from their website on how to store their bread: We use all 100% organic ingredients and we pride ourselves on how long our bread lasts. Store it in a paper bag on your counter top and it will last well for a week. If you put it in plastic, it will keep it softer, but watch for mold. Since the bread is made with high moisture (why it lasts), it can mold if kept too long in a plastic bag. We do not recommend storing the bread in the fridge. Again, tends to mold or just diminishes the texture and quality. After several days or a week, refresh the bread in the oven for 10-15 minutes and it is amazingly fresh again. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is a multi-award winning cheese, including American Cheese Society’s Best in Show award in 2006 and first place in it's category at last year's ACS Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The cheese is made at Cabot Creamery using Kempton Farm milk.  The cheese is pressed in individual molds lined with muslin at Cabot Creamery and transferred at a later date for final aging at the Cellars at Jasper Hill.  For the next 10-14 months they remain at Cellars, lovingly tended. During the aging process a bloomy rind is allowed to develop which flavors the cheese. The cave environment is carefully monitored to age the cheese perfectly. The result is a traditional English type cheddar, with a slightly craggly texture, and flavors that are both sweet and nutty.  The developer of the cheese says  "It is the expertise of our cheesemakers and the affinage at Jasper Hill that makes this cheese so good." Pete's Greens Sweet Basil pesto - last summer we grew a lot of basil and stockpiled pesto for Good Eats. This pesto contains our own basil blended with olive oil, romano and parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon juice and salt. It is tasty slathered on bread or added to pasta with grated cheese on top. If you like yours garlicky - add some minced fresh garlic to your cooked pasta before mixing the pesto with the pasta.  The pesto will come to you frozen. To use, simply thaw and eat as is or add to your dishes. It will keep in your fridge a couple weeks, but if you won't use the entire tub right away, just throw it back in the freezer! It keeps really well. Meat Share Our chickens were raised on lots of fresh air and veggie scraps.  This is a large chicken so you should be able to get quite a few meals out of it.  Roast it the first night, shred or cube it for burritos or chicken pot pie the next night, and lastly make a soup broth out of the carcass.  North Hollow Farm Kielbasa! These kielbasa are made from North Hollow's free range beef with just a bit of pork added for flavor and fat. Mike and Julie send their meat to some folks in MA who have been making Polish kielbasa for 90 years with their secret recipe. This is the real deal and should be just delicious. The kielbasa is smoked, so partially cooked but should be heated through before serving. Maple Wind Farm hamburger is produced entirely on grass making it one of the healthiest sources of beef you can buy.  The only feed supplements that their cows receive are all-natural Fertrell free-choice minerals to increase fertility and general health. There are no added grains, antibiotics or artificial hormones used in the production of their beef.  Beef produced using only grass contains higher levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLAs) than conventional grain fed beef. Omega-3s and CLAs have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, some cancers and adult onset diabetes.  If you really like this burger don't forget that you can get a great deal on more via the link above. Recipes Asian-Style Red Meets Green Salad Here's the winning entry of the shoots recipe contest. 1 head cabbage, finely sliced 1/4 c red onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 4 medium-sized carrots, coarsely shredded 1 bag Pete's Greens shoots mix (about 2.5 cups) 1/2 c toasted almonds, crushed or sliced 1/2 c dried cranberries 3 tbs toasted sesame seeds 3/4 c balsamic vinegar 1 tbs sugar 2 tbs sesame oil 1.5 tbs soy sauce 3 tbs orange juice 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste) Combine the cabbage, onion, pepper, carrots, shoots, almonds, cranberries and sesame seeds in a large salad bowl.  In a separate small bowl, mix the sugar into the balsamic vinegar with a fork until it dissolves.  Pour this mixture over the salad, then add the sesame oil, soy sauce, orange juice, garlic powder and pepper.  Toss thoroughly until well mixed and enjoy!  Makes roughly 12 cups of salad. BBQ Chicken Cheddar Burritos with Mayo Free Slaw Here's a great way to use up some leftover chicken.  4 cups shredded, cooked chicken 2 cups BBQ sauce 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese juice of 1 lemon or lime 8 whole grain or gluten free burritos Mayo Free Slaw ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 4 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw In a large saute pan and your chicken and barbecue sauce.  Stir together to coat chicken well.  Cook on medium low heat to warm through.  Once heated through, add cheddar cheese and continue to stir until cheese melts completely.  Once cheese is melted, squeeze juice of lemon or lime over the top.  Turn off heat, cover and set aside. In a small bowl whisk together slaw dressing ingredients. Toss with cabbage. To assemble: Lay burrito on serving plate.  Spoon ½ cup chicken mixture onto middle of burrito.  Top with ½ cup slaw.  Roll up lengthwise, then ends, and over.   Grilled Red Cabbage I'm looking forward to using the grill now that it's starting to finally get warm.  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. Kielbasa with quick sauerkraut mmmmm... kielbasa and sauerkraut?  You can't go wrong with this combo. 1 package kielbasa 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion, sliced 1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced 1 10-ounce package shredded cabbage, preferably finely shredded 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup apple cider 1 teaspoon caraway seeds Cook kielbasa in a large skillet over medium-high heat until brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Heat oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and apple and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cabbage, vinegar and salt and cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add cider and caraway seeds; bring to a boil. Return the sausages to the pan, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sausages are heated through and cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Asian Speedy Beans This is a quick and easy way to cook your frozen beans while adding some gourmet flavors. The recipe is intended to be an alternative method to steaming the beans, and can be made with just cooking oil, salt and pepper or any kind of seasoning you like. Use a chili seasoning for Mexican beans or curry for curried beans. The options are limitless. 1 lb bag of frozen green beans 1 tbs cooking oil 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 Tbs ginger root, grated 2 cloves garlic, pressed and minced salt and pepper to taste Heat the cooking oil in a non-stick pan over high heat. When the oil begins to pop, about 3 minutes, add the frozen beans. Cook the beans, stirring every 30 seconds, until all of the ice has melted and most of the water in the pan has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger root, garlic and salt. Continue to saute in sauce for another 3-5 minutes, until about half the beans begin to brown. Remove the pan from heat and serve. Parsnip Rosemary Muffins I have been eyeing this recipe from Marth Stewart for a while now.  This might just be the week that I finally make them! Vegetable oil cooking spray 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder Coarse salt 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites 1 cup grated parsnip (from 2 medium parsnips) 3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 14 cups of two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups, and lightly coat each with cooking spray.   Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk together yogurt, oil, eggs, and egg whites in a medium bowl. Fold yogurt mixture into flour mixture, then gently fold in parsnip and rosemary until combined. Spoon batter into baking cups until each is three-quarters full. Sprinkle each muffin with a pinch of coarse salt. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks, and let cool for 10 minutes. Turn out muffins onto racks, and let cool completely.   Shoot Slaw This contest entry came in from share member Fawn.  "Chiffonade" means little ribbons in French, referring to the little ribbons you create while cutting. Cut into long, thin strips by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then slicing the leaves perpendicular to the roll. 1 head red cabbage Bag of shoots mix 5- or so carrots Dressing  3/4 - 1 cup of mayo or plain yogurt 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup 3-4 Tbsp cigar vinegar Salt and pepper to taste Chiffonade cabbage and shred the carrots.  Remove any seed casings from shoot mix.  Combine with dressing, toss and enjoy.