Good Eats Newsletter - August 13, 2014


Localvore Members 
& Regular Veggie Only Share Members
take a LIGHT GREEN BAG

This week your bag will contain:
Mesclun; Potatoes; Onions; Cucumbers; Peppers;
Beans; Cabbage; Kale

And OUT of the bag:
Brown bag of Tomatoes
6 ears of corn

Localvore Offerings Include:  
Butterworks Organic Black Beans
Pete's Kitchen Salsa Roja
Tangletown Farm Eggs 



Half Veggie Only Members
take a YELLOW BAG
containing:
Mesclun; Peppers; Cabbage; Onions; Beans

And OUT of the bag:
Brown bag of Tomatoes
6 ears of corn

August is Event Month!
Hope to see you at one of these...

Pete's Greens
Open Farm Day
Saturday August 23rd
Tours, Music and Food at the Farm

Kingdom Farm and Food Days - all next weekend - Friday, August 22nd through Sunday, August 24th

Outstanding in the Field dinner - Friday, August 22nd

What You See is What You Get Festival - Saturday, August 23rd and Sunday, August 24th

For more information on these events see below.



Kingdom Farm and Food Days
August 22, 23, and 24th

Join us for a fun weekend in the Northeast Kingdom!

Friday

12 - 3pm - Agape Hill Farm in Hardwick and the Log Cabin Alpaca Farm in East Albany will offer tours of their llama farms.

3 - 6 pm - Hardwick Farmers' Market
http://kingdomfarmandfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/alpaca.jpg

Saturday

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Craftsbury Farmers Marketon Craftsbury Common. Children’s gardening activities are on the agenda at Craftsbury School Gardens that morning, taught by Green Mountain Farm to School.

11 am to 3pm - Pete's Greens Open Farm Day!
 
3:30 to 5:30 - Sterling College tours and workshops.

That evening - Treat Yourself! Dine at Positive Pie, Bees Knees, Craftsbury General Store, or Downstreet Eats.  These establishments will offer a special for KFF attendees that evening.

Sunday

10 a.m. Eden Ice Cider orchard in Charleston,

Also visit the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center, where you can see the cidery in action, and visit with local food vendors, bakers, maple syrup producers and more!

1 to 4 p.m. High Mowing Organic Seeds will host field days and workshops. New England Culinary Institute will put on a dinner — a local food showcase — at High Mowing Seeds starting at 4:30 p.m., and everyone is invited to a bonfire afterward.



Outstanding in the Field
Friday, August 22nd
4pm

Join us for an Outstanding in the Field dinner at Pete's Greens!  This is our third time as a host farm for an Outstanding in the Field event.  The OITF team have made each one a very unique and incredibly beautiful dinner.  Each year Outstanding in the Field chooses chefs to work with and then each chef selects a local farm to host the dinner.  Chef Eric Warnstedt from Hen of the Wood will cook the meal which will be served paired with local wines and/or beers (we don't know yet, it's all a surprise to us until the day of!).  These are very special dinners.

Tickets are still available.  Click here to get your tickets.



What You See is What You Get Festival (WYSIWYG)
Saturday, August 23rd and Sunday, August 24th
11 am - 10 pm

We are really excited to take part in this inaugural festival on the Burlington waterfront!  We're pleased to once again partner with Hen of the Wood who will use our veggies in preparing dishes for the event.

WYSIWYG is a Farm Food Music and Art Festival.  Top tier Farmers and Chefs will be paired to create unique and delicious menus featuring the best that Vermont farms have to offer.  Speakers and educators will entertain and host talks to shed light on the key issues facing local and global food systems.  Cold beer from brewers across the state will flow, music from fantastic nationally- touring bands and homegrown bands will fill the air, and art that reflects the ethos and humor of WYSIWYG will dot the land.  It's going to be a great party, a celebration really: full of friends and neighbors and family.  It will be a fabulous time and we'd love you to come out and play! 
 
More information can be found here. 


Storage and Use Tips

The Anaheim peppers are mild on the heat scale.  They are great for stuffing and for salsas. They are also terrific stuffed with rice and beans, or with onions, peppers, bread crumbs, and parm or cheddar.  Whatever direction you take them, they will be great.  Store in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

For salad making this week, we have Napa 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. It is extremely popular in China partly because of its versatility. In Korea it is pickled, salted, and flavored with ginger and chili peppers to make Korea's national dish kim chi. Store in a sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator.

Sweet Corn is here!  My advice is to not bother storing but instead eat it for dinner tonight.  But, if you really need to store it for a day or two, pop it in the fridge, husks and all.  Boil in a large pot of unsalted water for 2 minutes or less. If you are grilling, peel back the husks without removing them completely, remove the silk and "re-husk" the corn.  Soak the corn for a good 20 minutes so it won't burn on the grill then grill for about 5 or 10 minutes over an open flame, slather with butter and salt and enjoy.

*** The corn will be in a large bag at your site.  You will need to take 6 ears out of the bag. ***

Lacinato kale is one of my favorites.  The big leafy greens are great for making in a kale salad (recipe below) or roasting into kale chips.  It's also good sauteed with olive oil, garlic and a bit of red pepper flakes, or added to a frittata, soup, or stew.

Beans have an impressive amount of antioxidants in them.  They also have a good amount of the mineral silicon which is very important for bone health and for healthy formation of connective tissue.  You can steam these beans, incorporate them into a stir fry, or make them into a featured dish (recipes below). 


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.


Localvore Lore


We have organic black beans for you.  Please give your beans a rinse in water and scan for little rocks/stones!  There may be a few.  The black turtle bean has a dense, meaty texture and is very high in protein, which makes it popular in vegetarian dishes. It is an excellent choice for making into soups and chilis as it broth cooks down to a paste like consistency. You can also cook and add to salads, rice or use in a tamale pie (recipe below). It is common to keep the boiled water of these beans and consume it as a soup with other ingredients for seasoning (known as sopa negra, black soup), as a broth (caldo de frijol, bean broth) or to season or color other dishes.

Here are some of my tricks and instructions for cooking these little black nuggets. Number one, some sort of pre-soak is required to cook beans and will significantly reduce cooking time. Cover with 2 inches of water and soak overnight or for 6-8 hours. Drain and cover with fresh water and simmer until beans are soft, about an hour. In warm conditions, refrigerate black beans while they soak to prevent fermentation. A quick-soak method involves covering beans with water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat and let sit for 2 hours. Drain, cover with fresh water and simmer until soft, about an hour. The beans may prematurely break up with a quick-soak method. Use the overnight method for dishes where it is essential the beans stay whole, such as salads and relishes. Do not add salt or acidic ingredients such as lemon, vinegar, wine, and tomatoes until the beans are finished or nearly done cooking. Adding earlier can cause the beans to toughen. If additional water is needed during the cooking process, use boiling water rather than cold water. Addition of the herbs known as summer savory and epazote can help reduce the flatulence suffered by many who eat beans.

Once the beans are cooked you can enjoy them right away or freeze them.  I like to cook up a large batch at once, use some that week in dishes or a salad, and freeze the rest in 1 cup  increments.  Then when you need some black beans just pull out a bag, thaw and enjoy!


Pete's Kitchen salsa roja was made right here on the farm.  It's a delicious blend of our tomatoes, onions & jalapeno peppers, garlic, cider vinegar, green peppers, oregano, salt and cumin.  This is coming to you frozen so you can enjoy right away or keep frozen until later use.

Tangletown Farm has another dozen eggs for you.  Enjoy these gorgeous eggs!

eggs.jpg



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.



Recipes



Potatoes and Anaheim Gratin
The pepper adds a nice little kick to this standard potato gratin.

4 large or 6-8 med/small r usset potatoes, sliced thin, skins on
2 Anaheim chile roasted peeled seeded and diced
1 1/2  cups cheddar cheese grated (this could be reduced, even to 1/2 cup)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1  cup chicken stock
1  cup cream or sour cream or milk

Butter an 11x7 baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/2 cheese, and 1/2 chiles. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat layers, ending with potato slices. Mix the stock and cream in a separate bowl. Pour over potato mixture. Bake in a 400-degree oven, about 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and liquid is absorbed, and the top is browned. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.



Asian Cabbage No Mayo Salad
This salad/slaw blend will keep well in the fridge for several days.  You can even dress it and put leftovers in fridge.  But I tend to make a lot of the undressed veggie blend and bag it, and make the dressing.  And then I dress enough for each meal.

Combine in a bowl:
1 small head green or savoy cabbage, cored and shredded (or swap for some grated beets)
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
6 stalks kale, stems removed, leaves shredded (or mustard greens)
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced (or anaheim)
8 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias (can omit)

Asian vinaigrette, combine in a bowl:
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin*
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon minced lemon grass*, optional



Braised Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage, has crunchy leaves that pair well with a light sauce. Similar to bok choy, but more delicate. Napa cabbage is more elegant than regular firm-headed green cabbage and sautees beautifully. The high heat carmelizes the cabbage leaving a sweet subtle flavor.

3 tsps vegetable oil
1 small head (about 1 pound) Napa cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 piece fresh ginger ( 1/2 inch), cut into matchsticks
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 c soy sauce
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp rice wine vinegar


In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp of the vegetable oil . When it is very hot, add half the cabbage. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes or until leaves begin to brown. Remove them from pan. Use 1 teaspoon of the remaining vegetable oil to cook the remaining cabbage in the same way; remove from the pan. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil to pan. Cook the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

In a small bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch. Stir the soy sauce into the pan. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Return all the cabbage to pan, stirring well to coat it all over. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallions and vinegar.




Corn Fritters
This recipe comes to you courtesy of the blog Diary of a Locavore.  It calls for 2 cups of corn, but don't feel you need to be spot-on with this measurement; a little more or a little less isn't going to matter. I've made these with both white flour and whole-wheat flour, with equally good results. When using whole-wheat flour, though, I use just a tad (maybe about 1 tablespoon) less than the 1/4 cup called for here.  These make an excellent addition to a breakfast for dinner meal and kids absolutely love them!

2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Using a medium-sized, sharp knife, carefully cut the kernels off the corn cobs. It's easier to do this if you lay the ears flat on the cutting board, rather than standing them up. Don't worry about separating the kernels, which usually come off in chunks (see the photo above); this will happen naturally when you mix the batter. Set the corn aside.

Separate the eggs. Put the egg yolks into a medium-size mixing bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add the flour, salt, and pepper and stir, then add the corn and stir again—just enough so that everything is nicely mixed together. Beat the egg whites until stiff and then gently fold them into the batter.

Heat your griddle or frying pan to medium hot, oil it lightly, and then drop pancake-size dollops of batter into the pan. Cook about 2 minutes, or until you start to see little dimples forming on the top of the pancakes, then flip them and cook another minute or so. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.



Kale, Tomato & Potato Frittata 

This recipe is just a starting point for you.  Feel free to incorporate other veggies into it!

10 eggs

1/4 cup Vermont cheddar cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 lb. potatoes, rinsed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 bunch kale, stems and inner ribs discarded, leaves coarsely chopped

1 tomato, medium dice



Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk eggs and cheese together in a large bowl.
In a large, cast iron or a non stick/oven ready pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil. Add onion and potatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add kale and saute until wilted. Add egg mixture and incorporate vegetables and eggs. Cook over moderate heat for 1 minute. Gently lift the edge of the frittata and tilt the pan to allow for the egg to get underneath. When the frittata starts to form, place in the oven and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Tapping on the center with some spring says it is done.



Remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes. Run a rubber spatula around the edge to loosen the frittata. Place a plate large enough to cover the pan over the pan and CAREFULLY invert it on to the plate. Serve warm with a salad.



Grilled Green Beans
This is a great approach to enjoying your green beans - kissing the vegetables with a little smoky char.  Be sure not to skip the step of covering and letting the mixture stand; all steams to perfect doneness in that time.  If you don't have a grill basket, grill on a large piece of heavy-duy foil.  From Cooking Light, June 2014.


1/2 small red onion, vertically sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Place a grill basket on hot grill; preheat for 5 minutes.

Place onions, garlice, and green beans in a large bowl.  Drizzle with canola oil; toss well to coat.  Arrange mixture in hot grill basket; cover grill, and cook 7 minutes or until beans are lightly charred, tossing occasionally.  Place bean mixture in a large bowl; cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Add soy sauce and remaining ingredients; toss to combine.


Easy Refrigerator Pickles
This recipe will give you beautiful pickles in 2 days!  You can eat them as they are in the fridge, but the flavor is best after 2 days.

2 Cucumbers
2 cups cold water
1/3 cup white wine vinegar - you can change this to suit your taste, but I wouldn't use balsamic. believe it or not, the cheaper vinegars give me the best pickling flavor
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
5 whole peppercorns
fresh ground pepper (from a grinder is best)
1-2 cloves garlic.

optional flavor additions: fresh dill, jalapeno pepper, onion, habanero pepper, etc.

Slice the ends off your cucumber and cut into spears.  Peel your garlic and cut up into about 8 pieces per clove. 

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Put the spears, garlic,  and juice into a large Ziplock bag or mason jar.  If you want to add some dill or something else add it now.

Put the bag or jar into the fridge.  If you're using a bag you'll want to shake it up every few hours to incorporate the flavors into the cucumbers. 

After 2 days the flavors have really worked their way into the cucumbers, but they start to taste pickly after one night in the fridge.  Enjoy!
 



Huevos Rancheros
A classic Mexican breakfast, huevos rancheros are technically fried eggs served on hot corn tortillas and smothered in cooked salsa. But in my house the "huevos" can mean eggs either scrambled or fried. When they're fried the runny yolk mixes in with everything.

2 eggs per person, fried or scrambled
1 corn tortilla per portion
Black beans, cooked with some sauce
Salsa
Creme Fraiche
Cooking oil

Warm the beans and salsa on the stove top separately. Heat oven to 200F. In a skillet heat a tsp of cooking oil in the bottom of pan on medium and place tortillas in pan for a minute or so on each side to just heat up. Keep warm in oven. Cook eggs desired way. To assemble the dish put the corn tortilla on the plate first, then the eggs and cover with warm beans and salsa, top with creme fraiche. Yum.... Be creative and add pickled jalapenos, some sweet corn kernels or your favorite braised greens. Anything goes.



Citrus-Massaged Raw Kale Salad with Toasted Nuts, Dried Cherries & Parmesan
I love this salad because it's so versatile - you can change it depending on what's in your pantry or fridge or whatever you're in the mood for!  The main thing is to soften the kale up using some acid – you can use lemon juice or vinegar - this relaxes the kale and makes it softer and easier to chew.

1 bunch kale (about 1 lb), rinsed and dried, center ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced crosswise
Juice of 1-2 lemons, or 1 tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts or almonds
1/4 cup dried organic cherries, cranberries or currants
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheeses plus some bigger shavings to top the salad with
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the thinly sliced kale in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice and olive oil (add more of either thing if you feel like there’s not enough to cover everything.) Massage the mixture with your fingers until all of the kale is well-coated and looks a bit darker in color. Let sit for a half hour (or not, if you’re in a hurry!)

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Top with the shaved cheese and serve.

Below is a picture of the kale salad for today's lunch.  I just love how the oil, lemon juice and syrup separate!  I put the kale on top of a bed of beet greens (mesclun would work well here) and added beets, peaches, and walnuts.



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