Good Eats Newsletter - October 8, 2014

Localvore Members  & Regular Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN BAG This week your bag will contain: Braise; Sweet Potatoes; Beets; Scallions; Peppers; Kale; Cauliflower; Turnips; Cilantro; Lettuce Localvore Offerings Include:  Champlain Orchards Apple Crumb Pie Cabot Clothbound Cheddar Cheese Half Veggie Only Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Braise; Sweet Potatoes; Beets; Peppers; Turnips; Cauliflower; Cilantro

There's still time to get in for the first week of the fall share! Don't miss out on a fall full of fresh veggies and the local pantry staples you've grown accustomed to eating! We need checks by the weekend to get you into the database. Sign up now to continue your weekly deliveries!

Join us this weekend at the Waterbury Farm Market for an Open House! Saturday, October 11th 10am - 7pm Have you been to the Waterbury Farm Market yet? This weekend is a great chance for you to come visit and see the store, meet the Waterbury crew and learn more about where your food comes from. We'll have some great food and lots of our producers on hand with free samples. Hope to see you there!   Thank you for joining us for the summer! It's hard to believe that the share period is over already!  Many thanks to all of you for being with us for the Summer share and giving us the opportunity to feed you and your families.  We really appreciate your support and hope you have all been very happy with the share.  We hope you will be back with us again either this Fall/Winter or another share period in the future.  Please share the news about Good Eats with friends, family, co-workers.  Word of mouth is the most powerful means of spreading news about Good Eats.  We need your help to reach new members. Shortly after the share ends we'll be sending you all a simple end of share survey that we'd love for you to fill out.  We want to know how we did, what you liked, what you didn't so that we can improve for you all.  Please take a few minutes and tell us what you think when the survey comes your way.  Thank you!  ~ Sara The Craftsbury Farmstand closes this weekend This is the last week to head up to our farm in Craftsbury village and visit the Farm Stand.  Our Farm Stand will be closed for the season on October 13th.  We are planning to keep the Waterbury Farm Market open longer so you can go there to stock up on your favorite local products, meats and veggies. We will see you again in Craftsbury next May. Thanks for a great season!  ~Meg Fall Winter Good Eats Share  * October 15th - Feb 11th * Fall is a great time to be a CSA member. We're still sending out lots of summer veggies while bringing in new harvests of squashes and root veggies. We're also freezing a lot of our fresh summer produce for you to enjoy all winter long while cooking up a storm in the kitchen. There will be no shortage of good stuff to eat and cook with all winter. Lots of info available on the Fall Share page of the website. Or click here to go straight to on-line signup! Can you help us spread the word in your neighborhood via Front Porch Forum or postering? Please tell friends and neighbors about the Fall/Winter Good Eats share!  We need enough members at each site to keep your neighborhood site viable and we can use all the help we can get. If you are able to post something to your front porch forum or other neighborhood or workplace email group, let me know and I'll send you a little blurb that you can use or edit.  I could really use some help promoting our CSA in Hinesburg, Burlington, and St. Johnsbury. Please contact me if you'd be willing to post on Front Porch Forum for us! If you have a great place to hang a poster or work in an office and would like to hand out some brochures to your colleagues, please email me! SIX SHARE TYPES Localvore Share - a great mix of organic vegetables and high quality locally produced staples like cheeses, eggs, flours, grains, cooking oils and more. $46/week. Veggie Only Share - a diverse mix of vegetables all year long.  Great for households of 2-4 people. $29/week. Half Veggie Only Share - a smaller selection of weekly vegetables designed for households of 1-2 people.  Just $22/week. Half Veggie and Pantry Share - this is a smaller Localvore share with a half sized bag of weekly vegetables plus the same pantry items as a Localvore or pantry share.  $39/week. Pete's Pantry Share  - NO vegetables.  A weekly delivery of high quality locally produced staples like cheeses, eggs, flours, grains, cooking oils and more.  $18/week. Meat Share - a MONTHLY selection of locally and consciously raised meats.  You can expect Pete's Greens pastured chicken with beef, lamb, sausages, duck and possibly trout from producers we know and love.  $200 for four $50 monthly deliveries See website for more info or to sign up! Questions? Email GoodEats@PetesGreens.com or give us a call 802-586-2882 x6 Storage and Use Tips Our braise is a mix of various brassica greens. They are great tossed in the saute pan with garlic and oil on their own, but are terrific added to many dishes.  I use this mix as salad as well - the leaves are heartier than some salad greens, but they taste great! I am psyched to have sweet potatoes for you all this week! They really prefer a warmer climate, but with a little cajoling and TLC a decent crop can be harvested even in our northern climate.   These are sweet and delicious.  Roast them, either whole or cut into wedges or pieces, in a 400F oven until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork.  Store in a dark, dry, cool (55 degree) place, in a loose plastic bag or open to the air.  Stored this way, they may keep up to 3 weeks.  Do not refrigerate, as cold temperature alters the flavor of the potatoes. Our red beets have a smooth round shape and deep red color. These beets may be eaten cooked or raw. Grated beets make a fabulous addition to salads and slaws. Grate some early in the week and place them in a tupperware and then sprinkle them into salads all week.  Roasted beets are extra delicious, roasting carmelizes the sugar in the beets. Cube beets and roast them in the oven with a drizzle of oil at 400F until they are tender and just browning at the edges. If you don't eat them all right away, cool and toss into a container and add these to salads.  The red beets will bleed when cooked so if preparing with other veggies be mindful of that fact that you will end up with a uniformly technicolor dish. Scallions, often referred to as green onions, are a young onion with a small, white tip and a bright green, tall stem. You can use the whole thing in a recipe but I usually chop off the very bottom of the bulb, and then keep chopping up the stem until the chopped parts become less moist/crisp and more fibrous/leafy. The remaining parts make an excellent addition to soups or salads bringing a mild onion flavor and nice hint of color. The gorgeous red and/or green peppers in your bags are carmens and they are a sweet pepper, not spicy.  Enjoy them as you would any sweet pepper, but my favorite way to eat these is to cut them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and then stuff them with rice or barley mixed with sauteed veggies, perhaps beans, and a bit of cheese and roast them in the oven til it all comes together. Lacinato kale is my favorite type of kale. It's also known as dinosaur kale because of its dark leathery leaves. Lacinato stands up really well to cooking, and will retain its shape even in soups and stews. Kale is in the super veggie club, 1 cup packing 1300% of your daily requirements for Vita K, 200% of your Vita A, and nearly 100% of vita C, along with lots and lots more vitas and minerals. It also contains several compounds fairly well documented to be helpful in fighting certain types of cancers. And what's more, it's tasty, so eat lots. Romanesca cauliflower is one of the coolest vegetables you'll ever see. This variety of cauliflower has a beautiful light green color with pointed florets instead of the usual rounded. Originally from Northern Italy, its taste is somewhat milder than the traditional cauliflower as well. Cook as you would a regular specimen. Consider blanching the florets and adding to a crudite platter. Store unwashed in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Sweet Salad Turnips salad turnips are young and sweet.  Separate greens from turnip roots before storing them (both keep better that way), but don't toss the greens, they make terrific eating!  Salad turnips are a raw, tasty treat. Slice them and mix in with salad greens, or dip them in dressing and eat them on their own. Chop the greens and mix in with other salad greens for a peppery bite. Or, serve the greens chopped and steamed or sauteed. Both greens and roots can be kept loosely wrapped - seperately - in plastic bags in the fridge. A member of the carrot family and related to parsley, cilantro is the leaves and stems of the coriander plant (the seeds of the same plant are the spice known as coriander). Cilantro has a very pungent odor and is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking. The leaves and stems can be chopped and added to salads, soups and sauces, and can garnish many meals. I toss cilantro into any Mexican dish I am making, and love it in summer when I have tomatoes to make salsa. If you can't use all your cilantro just yet and wish to save it for a future dish, you can freeze it. Wash and gently dry your cilantro with paper towels. Then either put sprigs loosely in a plastic bag and freeze them. Or lightly chop cilantro, measure by the tablespoon into ice trays, fill remaining space in ice tray with water, and then after cubes are frozen, store in a plastic bag. You can take one out and thaw anytime you need to use it. Large share members are getting a head of Panisse lettuce. This is great lettuce for a salad or included on a sandwich. 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 a special treat for you this final week of the share! Champlain Orchards' Apple Pie with Crumb topping along with Cabot clothbound cheddar cheese. I would recommend warming the pie up for a few minutes and serving with some cheese on the side. The pies are made with Champlain Orchards' apples and topped with a delicious crumb topping. The crust is made with Milanaise flour and Cabot creamery butter, and they  use organic cinnamon and nutmeg in the filling. Cabot clothbound 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. The cheese is pressed in individual molds lined with muslin at Cabot Creamery and transferred at a later date for final aging at Jasper Hill.  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.   As the developer of this cheese says "It is the expertise of our cheesemakers and the affinage at Jasper Hill that makes this cheese so good." What a great partnership! 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. 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 Baked Sweet Potato Fries This is my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes.  Feel free to mix up the spices to change the flavor.  Cajun works really well as well as just plain old salt and pepper. Vegetable oil for parchment 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds) skins on, scrubbed and cut into 4-inch sticks, each 1/2 inch thick 1 tbsp olive oil Mediterranean Spice Preheat oven to 450 degrees with racks in the upper and middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and rub with oil. Mix potatoes, spices ,and oil in a bowl; stir to cover.  Place in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, then flip pieces over with a spatula. Rotate baking sheets from front to back and from one rack to the other. Bake until dark golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Sweet Potato and Greens Gratin Sweet potatoes and greens are a great pair. 2lbs Sweet Potatoes 1 bunch Kale, or 1 bag braising greens 1 onion 2 cloves garlic Salt, red pepper flakes, cumin or old bay seasoning to taste 1/3 cup flour 2 cups milk 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan or other salty cheese Scrub & cut sweet potatoes into 1/4" slices. Place in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook a few minutes, until barely tender, drain into a colander and set aside. Combine flour and spices to taste in a little bowl. Meanwhile, wash, remove middle stem, & chop the greens. Dice an onion and mince a couple garlic cloves. Saute the onion & garlic with olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir in the kale and sprinkle with salt. Saute until just tender & still bright green, a couple minutes. In a buttered baking dish, layer the sweet potatoes and the kale. First 1/3 sweet potatoes, 1/2 kale, sprinkling the layers with the seasoned flour. Continue layering, ending with the sweet potatoes. Pour over the milk, sprinkle with the cheese. Bake @400 for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden.   Beets with Stout and Sauteed Greens If you don't feel like using a beer in this recipe you can sub balsamic vinegar. 1.5 pounds beets, trimmed, leaving 2 inches of the stem ends intact  3 tablespoons Guinness stout  1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar  1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter  1 bunch of greens, coarse stems discarded and the leaves washed well, spun dry, and chopped very coarse (kale or braise) In a kettle cover the beets with 2 inches cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer the beets, covered, for 20 to 35 minutes (depending on their size), or until they are tender. Drain the beets and under the cold running water slip off and discard their skins and stems. In a skillet bring to a boil the stout and the vinegar and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the beets, quartered, add the salt and pepper to taste, and keep the beets warm, covered. In a large skillet heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, in it sauté the greens, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until they are tender, and stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the greens around the edge of a platter and mound the beets in the center. Spicy Sauteed Kale with Lemon Probably the easiest way to prepare your kale, this is a very nutritious, warm side dish. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 Thai or jalapeno chile, thinly sliced 1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed and slices quartered 1 tablespoon honey 1 handful kale, tough stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped 1 leek, thinly sliced Coarse salt In a large skillet, heat oil and chile over medium-high heat. Add lemon and honey and cook, stirring, until lemon begins to break down, about 2 minutes. Add kale and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Add leeks, season with salt, and cook 1 minute. Serve warm or at room temperature. Grilled Scallions with Sesame Oil Serve these whole as a delicious side dish or slice them for a garnish to enhance your meal. 8 scallions, cut in half lengthwise Toasted sesame oil Salt Freshly ground black pepper Preheat the broiler or lightly oiled grill to medium-high heat.  Arrange the scallions on a shallow baking sheet or a piece of aluminum foil. Pour a little of the sesame oil into a small bowl.  Use a pastry brush to completely coat the scallions with a thin layer of oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place the scallions under the broiler or on the grill and broil until they are golden brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Broiled Beet Slices with Maple-Teriyaki Sauce These beets are irrestible! 12 small or 6 medium beets, scrubbed, trimmed 1/4 cup butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp minced or pressed garlic (about 6 cloves) 1 tbsp finely chopped or grated fresh ginger 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari Preheat the oven to 400F.  Place beets in a small roasting pan with 1/2 cup water.  Cover with foil and bake until beets are easily pierced with a sharp knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on size). Preheat the broiler.  Allow beets to cool slightly, then run under cold water and slip off their skins.  Slice into 1/4 inch rounds.  Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat.  Stir in the maple syrup, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce or tamari.  When the ingredients are thoroughly combined, remove from heat. Put the beets in a shallow baking pan and pour the maple syrup mixture over them.  Broil, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Roasted Turnips 1 bunch sweet salad turnips 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt & pepper pinch red chili pepper flakes, optional Preheat oven to 425. Trim turnips, leaving a small stub of the stems end attached. Rinse well and cut in half lengthwise. Toss with olive oil, a little salt & pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using. Place cut side down in a roasting pan. Roast for 10 minutes. Flip over with tongs and return to oven for 3- 5 minutes more. Yum! Salad Turnips Sautéed in Butter 1 Bunch Sweet Salad Turnips 1 Cloves Garlic 1 Tbsp  Butter or Oil Salt & Pepper Slice the salad turnips into thin half-moons, and mince or crush the garlic. Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a medium sized frying pan. Sauté the salad turnips & garlic until they are a light golden color (cover the pan if you like). Variations • Add a splash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar • Add the turnip greens, or some other chopped greens such as spinach or chard • Add minced scallions, and fresh or dried herbs Roasted Romanesca This is a great basic recipe for roasting any veggies. I would throw in sweet salad turnips, beets, carrots or potatoes to beef it up. 1 head of Broccoli Romanesco 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons shredded Pecorino Romano chees ⅛ teaspoon salt 15 turns fresh ground pepper Hot paprika or red pepper flakes (optional) Preheat oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick spray. Cut off Romanesco florets (as you would broccoli or cauliflower) and place in a medium size bowl.  Season with salt, pepper. If you are using the hot paprika or red pepper flakes, lightly sprinkle them to taste over the top. (You don't need a lot unless you really want it spicy). Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the Pecorino Romano and toss to coat. Lay Romanesco in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning once at the halfway point. Sprinkle remaining shredded Pecorino Romano over the top just before serving. Asian Cilantro Dressing for Rice, Noodles, Salads or Meats This is a very versatile dressing. For a very simple meal, serve this over steamed cauliflower or sauteed kale, or rice, or a nice steak! 5 T vegetable oil 1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro with stems 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce 1 ounce fresh ginger (about an inch of it?), cut into six 1/4 inch slices 6 large cloves garlic 1 1/2 T ground cumin 1 small jalapeno or other chili (optional) Combine and blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until the chili, garlic, ginger and cilantro are finely chopped.