Thanks for joining us this season!
It has been a real pleasure to feed you and your families these past few months. I hope you enjoyed your share and will re-join us this spring or another future share. Please share the news about your Good Eats experience with your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. Word of mouth is the most powerful way to spread the word about Good Eats so that we can continue to reach new members.
I will be sending out a survey in the next day or two to get your thoughts on the share, your likes and dislikes, and anything that we can improve upon. Please help us out by taking the time to answer the survey. If there's anything you'd like us to know about before the survey comes out feel free to reach out to us via email. Thanks again! ~Sara
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Speaking of spreading the word about Good Eats...
Get a friend, neighbor, colleague, family member, or anyone else new to Good Eats to sign up for a spring CSA share and
we'll send you something special!
In order to get your referral item have your friend sign up and write your name in the referral field. Once your friend has sent payment, I'll contact you so you can pick out a Pete's Greens t-shirt, Pete's Greens re-usable tote bag, or a jar of honey.
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Love Your Senior Center Dinner this Friday
Need something fun to do this Friday night? Consider attending this event hosted by one of our site hosts. We work a lot wih the Senior Center in helping to get nutritous, affordable food to senior citizens who may not be able to secure that food for themselves. This event, for which we are a sponsor, promises to be a fun evening for a great cause.
Join the Montpelier Senior Activity Center on February 13 at 6pm for their “Love Your Senior Center” benefit dinner. The evening will include an elegant meal, cash bar by Kismet Farm to Table, music by Five Corners String Quintet, and a silent auction. All proceeds support the center’s work providing opportunities for healthy aging and lifelong learning. Tickets are $50 each and are on sale at the Center (58 Barre Street), the Montpelier City Clerk's Office, and Capitol Stationers. Or buy tickets online with a small service fee at http://msac.brownpapertickets.com/. Thank you to Pete's Greens for their generous support.
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The Spring Share starts next week!
Share Period: February 18th thru June 10th, 2015
In order to receive your first share on 2/18
payment must be received at the farm by Friday, February 13th
Join now!Still not sure whether to re-join or not?
See what some of our members had to say about the CSA:
"Thank you for a tasty variety of veggies, I’m excited by what’s next. You have an organized system that made it seamless, thanks!" ~Carolyn
"I just wanted to write a note of thanks to everyone at Pete's Greens. We are new to your CSA and are SO enjoying the amazing veggies we receive every week. We plan our meals for the week around what produce we pick up and have loved being introduced to veggies. Thank you for making it possible for my family to eat delicious, fresh and best of all, local produce!" ~Rorie
"I just picked up my half veggie share and feel so grateful for the variety, freshness and abundance. Thank you for all you do to ensure seniors have this wonderful nutrition available at an affordable price. You have an organized pick up system that is organized and user friendly I am very pleased." ~Sara
"My thanks to you and the crew for what looks to be a fantastic share this week. I look forward to making some of my family's favorite meals. We have really been enjoying the localvore share as well. Its fun and interesting to see what our neighbors are busy producing." ~Nancy
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Storage and Use Tips
We have shoots again for all your salad needs. See below for this weeks' shoots recipe!
We have different potatoes going out in the large and half shares this week. Large share members will get a mix of baby potatoes, and half share members will get large fingerlings. Mashed, roasted, boiled, shredded for hash browns, the sky is the limit for all your potatoes. Enjoy experiementing with both types of potatoes!
Rutabaga is thought to have evolved as a cross between a wild cabbage and a turnip. Rutabaga grows particularly well in colder climates, and is especially popular in Sweden (where it earned it's second name, Swede). Roast it, mash it with butter, season with salt and pepper, you can't go wrong. Or check out the killer soup recipe below!
These are our very own red cippolini onions. Oh the cippolini... pronounced chip-oh-LEE-nee is a treat unto itself. This is a small flattened Italian onion with a sweet, mild flavor. Cippolinis are traditionally served roasted or baked, but also work well on kebabs or eaten fresh. If you have never eaten a roasted cippolini you must, as you will never think of onions the same way. The advantage of the cipollini is its mild flavor that when roasted caramelizes quickly into sweet, flavorful goodness! Their shape lends them well to roasting. A classic Italian recipe is to glaze them with balsamic vinegar, roast and serve as part of an antipasto. Cippolini onions do not store as well as your typical onion. For short term storage keep in a cool, dry place or in the butter compartment of your fridge. See picture at right of our yellow and red cippoli nos drying out after harvest.
Red cabbage is a colorful treat. 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.
Everyone is getting frozen sweet peppers this week. Did you find somtehing fun to do with these earlier in January? These sweet peppers are great in a stew, stir fry, or just about anywhere else you would use a cooked pepper.
Large share members are also getting frozen squash puree. This stuff is like liquid gold! Use this in recipes calling for pureed winter squash or pumpkin - particularly soups, pie, baked items like pumpkin bread, muffins or cookies, or for casseroles or rice dishes. Also fantastic just on its own sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, enriched with some cream and served as a side. It also makes a fantastic addition to macaroni and cheese and bumps up the nutritional value so you can feel good about serving it to your family. The puree is coming to you frozen. If it is has thawed a bit when you receive it, no worries. Just pop it back in freezer til you are ready to use.
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Localvore Lore
Elmore Mountain Bread baked their Redeemer Bread for us this week. This is Elmores' first bread baked with 100% Vermont-grown wheat! This wheat, from Rogers Farmstead, was a successful wheat crop in the tricky Vermont Climate. Luckily, the wheat grew well and they had a great harvest. Elmore Mountain started stone milling and test baking with it a few weeks ago and found that the flour bakes beautifully as well. This loaf is grown, milled, baked and sold within 50 miles. Redeeming Tradition.
Elmore Roots Nursery is a local certified organic fruit farm and plant nursery located in Elmore.The nursery, started 35 years ago, began as a way to see how many great fruits they could grow in northern VT. They're quite successful with fruits and nuts that you wouldn't expect to grow in VT - various pears, kiwi, peaches, and all sorts of nut trees. Their Russian Rowanberry jam is a tasty treat reminiscent of apricots. See what David, the owner, wrote about this delicious jam:
"The rowanberry is in the mountain ash family, where in Russia they make all kinds of tasty things from it. Our russian rowanberry trees are about 20 feet tall and loaded with orange red berries in September. We use a big ladder and a pole harvester to gather up buckets of them to make our jam. We add a collection of our wild and tamed apples and some organic dried sugar cane juice and stir it up until it tastes really good.
Try it on toast or stir it into yogurt or kefir, eat it with a spoon, dip apple slices into it, or use it to ice a cake. This is a real northern vermont, organically grown and made in small batches, local fruit product. Enjoy!"
From Champlain Orchards, we've got 2 different varities of apples for  you to choose from this week - Cortland and Empire. Both of these apples are great for fresh eating or baking. The Cortland is a cross between a McIntosh and Ben Davis variety with a sweet vinous flavor and crisp refreshing bit. The Empire is a well-known, bruise resistant lunchbox apple with a balanced sweet-tart taste and crisp texture ideal for fresh eating.
*There are 2 varieties - choose just 1 bag of apples.*
Despite the cold which have caused the hens to be fussy about laying lately, Lila and Dave have gathered just enough Tangletown Farm Eggs to get them out to you on this last delivery of the share seaon. Enjoy!
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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.
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Recipes
Apple-Rutabaga Soup with Walnuts and Nutmeg
Last week I made this soup and am still enjoying the leftovers. I was very glad to see rutabagas were going out again so I could share this with you!
2 tbsp Coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 small to medium apples, chopped
1.5 pounds rutabaga, peeled and chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
salt
3-4 cups broth- veggie or chicken
2 cups coconut milk, or almond, or other milk of choice
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
chopped walnuts, for topping (optional)
nutmeg, for topping (optional)
Melt the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp of salt and saute for approx 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the apple and the rest of the veggies and stir well to coat with oil. Continue to saute for approx 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add just enough broth to cover the veggies, cover with a lid, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the veggies have cooked through.
Puree the soup in a food processor or immersion blender until smooth.
Return the pan to the stove and add your milk of choice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and additional 1 tsp of salt. Stir well and return to a simmer. Serve, topped with walnuts and a sprinkling of nutmeg if desired.
Roasted Carrots and Cippolini Onions
Cippolinis deserve to be roasted and are great on their own with no fancy treatment. Add the carrots though and some wine and stock and you really have something special.
1 pound cippolini onions, ends trimmed and peeled, halve larger onions
2 pounds baby carrots
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
On a sheet tray, toss onions and carrots with oil, butter, wine, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until golden and caramelized, about 25 to 30 minutes. Toss in a shallow serving bowl and garnish with parsley.
Shoot Slaw
Last year's 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.
Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash
This recipe, a classic pulled from the archives, is made healthier with squash puree added to it. Adapted slightly from MarthaStewart.com
About 3 cups of pureed butternut squash (from 1 small Butternut squash)
1 cup chicken stock, skimmed of fat
1 1/2 cups milk (non fat just fine here)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper (more for more punch)
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 ounce)
2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
Olive-oil
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl. While the water is boiling mix the squash puree with nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine. Taste to adjust seasonings. Stir the squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan into the bowl of cooked elbow noodles.
Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking dish (4 inches deep) with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.
Quick-Braised Red Cabbage and Apples
This is a delightful way to enjoy your red cabbage.
1 garlic clove, smashe
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 lb red cabbage, cored and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 whole allspice (optional), crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
Cook garlic in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, 1 minute. Add cabbage, apple, cider, caraway, allspice (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
Add vinegar and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 cup pearl barley
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Check All Add to Shopping List
PREP
15 mins
COOK
45 mins
READY IN
1 hr
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt butter in a 1 1/2-quart Dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium heat and cook onion until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add celery and cook until starting to soften, stirring often, about 5 more minutes. Mix barley into the vegetables and stir until coated with butter. Fold mushrooms and green pepper into barley mixture; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour chicken broth into barley mixture and bring to a boil; cover casserole dish.
Bake in the preheated oven until barley is nearly tender, about 30 minutes; uncover casserole dish and bake barley until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 more minutes. Adjust salt and black pepper before serving.
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