Good Eats Newsletter - April 1, 2015

Localvore Members  & Veggie Only Share Members take a TAN / LIGHT GREEN BAG This week your bag will contain: Spinach; Potatoes; Carrots; Beets; Yellow Onions   And OUT of the bag: Frozen Corn Frozen Brassicas/Kale Localvore Offerings Include: Frozen Strawberries Golden Crops Organic Rolled Oats Tangletown Eggs Half Veggie Only Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Spinach; Potatoes; Carrots; Beets; Yellow Onions And OUT of the bag: Frozen Corn

It's a meat week!

Around the farm This time of year the greenhouse is a great place to visit. Filled with lush, green, growing vegetables, it's warm and smells so good! It's a good place to be reminded that spring is indeed on it's way. Storage and Use Tips We've got a fresh bag filled with spinach for you all this week. Spinach can be cooked or eaten raw. It retains a lot of water, which can be squeezed or pressed out, but with some loss of nutrients. Try steaming your spinach for just a few minutes to wilt it, then press very gently to release a bit of the water. Or toss it briefly in a large pan with a bit of fat - such as butter, bacon fat, or olive oil, and garlic. Stir with a pair of tongs until it has just wilted. It doesn't need to be drained, and makes a great dish or filling for quiche, casserole, or open faced omelets. Yum!   The baby potatoes this week are Modocs and they are super cute. They're a red-skinned, white fleshed potato and are  great boiled or mashed. As with all of our varities, store potatoes in a cool dark place. Carrots were bred long ago from the common Queen Anne's lace plant. Dig up this familiar weed this summer and you'll find a skinny, white taproot that's not much use in the kitchen. The carrots in this week's share are though, and they're bursting with flavor and nutrients. Store your carrots loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer, where they will keep for a couple of weeks. Red beets are wonderful eaten raw or cooked. Roasting is a great option - if roasting, you can package the beets up in different foil packages, tossed with oil and salt.  I like to cut my beets up into like-sized pieces and roast them in a 400F oven for about 50-60 minutes, until a knife easily slips in and out of a piece.  Skin them once they are cool enough to handle.  Store beets loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer. Yellow onions are a staple in the kitchen. They can be enjoyed raw or are most often cooked. Do you cry when chopping onions? Try holding the onions under running water as you peel them, and cut them quickly with a good sharp knife. Frozen corn is for everyone this week! Large share members are also going to get our frozen brassica/kale mix. It's comprised of baby red russian kale, red giant mustards, mizuna and tat-soi.   I would recommend throwing this mix into a soup or stew or tomato sauce (frozen or thawed) or thawing and cooking into an egg dish (omelets or scrambled eggs - yum!).  A tip for using these if you won't use them all at once... Let them thaw partially on your kitchen counter, just to the point that they are easier to cut.  Then saw the greens into several pieces, and put into a zip lock.  Then you can grab a smaller chunck whenever you want to add a little nutritional boost or some greenery to a dish you are making. 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 This week localvores will receive a bag of Golden Crops Organic Rolled Oats from organic grower Michel Gaudreau of Golden Crops, across the border in Quebec. Michel grows quite a few different grains on his farm and mills grains for organic growers in his area. He has a great operation in a beautiful setting surrounded by his fields. Michel's Golden Crops Mill makes many organic grains available locally that we might not otherwise have local access to and we are grateful for his commitment. These are beautiful, clean organic rolled oats ideal for oatmeal, granola, cookies, streusel toppings etc. The frozen strawberries are coming to you from Four Corners Farm in Newbury, VT. Bob and Kim Gray run this family farm and grow a number of different crops, strawberries among their list of crops.  These strawberries would be great added to your morning smoothies or oatmeal, or made into bread, cake or pie. The hens at Tangletown Farm have been busy laying eggs for you this week! Meat Share Our chickens are beautiful vitamin packed birds. They enjoy lots of grazing in our pastures, fresh air, and many veggie scraps. All of our meat is super high quality due to a fabulous veggie diet that ensures that the meat is vitamin packed. One of my favorite things to do with a whole chicken is to throw it into the crockpot, cover with water, and add plenty of cut up veggies and spices.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Once it's cooked through strain the broth into a bowl, discard the veggies, and shred the chicken. I freeze the broth for later use and keep the shredded chicken in the fridge to use throughout the week on a salad or burritos.  Save some broth for a few weeks - barley is going out and an amazing barley chicken soup recipe will be included in the newsletter. The bacon and pork chops come from our own pigs raised at Pete's Greens. Like our chickens, they enjoyed free ranging our fields and a great diet of veggie scraps and seconds. These pieces are vitamin packed and extremely tasty! Coming to you from McKnight is their stew beef.   This is wonderful made into a beef stew, or you can make vegetable beef soup, chili, a stir-fry or beef bourguinonne with it. 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 No-Pastry Quiche with Spinach, Cheddar & A Bacon Crust I've been waiting for an egg week to include this recipe, and how convenient that bacon is going out in the meat share as well! (makes one 9-inch quiche, about 8 servings) 1/2 lb sliced bacon (about 12 slices that are about 1 – 1/2″ thick) 1 small bunch spinach, tough ends trimmed and chopped 6 large eggs 1/2 cup creme fraiche, sour cream, cream, half-and-half, or whole milk 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil (to coat the pan) Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Grease a 9-inch spring-form cake pan along its interior with the oil. Arrange a single layer of the bacon slices around the bottom vertical edges of the pan, so that they reach a height of about 1 1/2″. Arrange the remaining bacon in a single layer across the bottom of the pan. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chopped spinach. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir after ten seconds or so, and continue to stir occasionally until the greens are fully wilted and the liquid has been released and evaporated, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes. Beat the eggs, dairy, salt, and pepper. Stir in the grated cheese and sauteed and cooled spinach. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan with the bacon. Place in the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche can be inserted with a toothpick and come out cleanly. Let cool a few minutes. Loosen the bacon edges of the pan with a spatula and unlock the pan. Transfer to a flat plate and cut into wedges for serving.     Corn Chowder Even though spring is here it's still great weather to enjoy soup. Here's one you can have ready in about 40 mins. Adapted from Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest. 1 medium potato, peeled and diced small (about 2 cups diced) 2 1/2 cups water 1 tablespoon butter 2 cups minced onion 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste) 1 medium stalk celery, finely minced 1 small red bell pepper, finely minced 4-5 cups corn White pepper to taste 1 cup milk, at room temperature (lowfat OK) Place the potatoes and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Set aside. Melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add the onion, thyme, and salt, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring. After about 5 minutes, add celery. Five minutes later add the cooked potatoes with all their liquid, the red bell pepper, the corn, and a few shakes of white pepper. Stir well, cover, and reduce heat. Cook quietly for about 5 minutes longer. Using a blender or food processor, purée about half the solids (about 2 to 3 cups--it doesn't have to be exact!) in some of the soup's own liquid. Return this to the kettle, and let it rest until serving time. Don't actually cook the soup any further; simply heat it--gently!-- until it's hot enough to eat. Serve immediately. Whiskey Glazed Carrots These fancy carrots would be a nice addition to a holiday dinner or other special occasion. 2-3 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices 4 tbsp unsalted butter 1/2 cup Jack Daniels, or other whiskey 2/3 to 1 cup sugar 1/2 to 1 tsp salt Freshly ground black pepper In a large skillet or pot with a lid, heat the butter over medium high heat until melted.  Add half of the carrots to the pan and cook briefly just to sear, 60-90 seconds.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining carrots.  Set aside. Very carefully add the whiskey to the pan and allow to evaporate for about 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium.  Sprinkle the brown sugar into the pan and stir.  Mix in the carrots, stir well, and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and season with the salt and pepper.  Cover once more and continue cooking until the carrots are fork tender and the glaze has thickened, about 5-10 minutes more.  Transfer to a serving platter and top with minced fresh herbs, if desired, for extra color.  Serve immediately. Granola Bars These are the best granola bars.  I love having them around as it keeps me from reaching for  store bought ones.  Recipe from The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila. 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup coconut oil, or butter 3/4 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 tbsp vanilla extract 1/3 cup honey 2 1/2 cups rolled oats 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup oat bran (or 1/2 cup rolled oats ground to a powder in the blender or food processor) 1/4 cup sesame seeds 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp kosher salt Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving extra paper to pull the finished product out of the pan. In a large saucepan combine the butter, coconut oil, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, honey, and 2 tbsp water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until you have a uniform syrup.  Remove from heat.  Add the oats, almonds, coconut, chocolate chips, oat bran, sesame seeds, and cinnamon.  Stir until the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, and press it as firmly into the pan as possible, first using your hands, then using a spatula or wooden spoon to flatten the top.  Sprinkle the salt over the top. Bake until the edges darken, 35 to 40 minutes.  The mixture will be soft when you take it out of the oven, but allow it to cool completely before taking it out of the pan and cutting into 16 squares. Beef Stew From the kitchen of Greenfield Highland Beef. Serves 6. 1 package stew meat 1/4 c. flour seasoned with salt & fresh ground pepper 2 onions, chopped 2 large stalks celery, sliced 2 large carrots, thickly sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes 1 bay leaf, crumbled 2 c. liquid (dry red wine, beef broth, water or mix) 1/4 Ib. bacon slices, cooked (opt) 1/4 c. brandy (opt.) 1/2 tsp. hot sauce or cayenne Roll beef cubes in seasoned flour. Place cooked bacon in bottom of flameproof casserole. Pour diced tomatoes into casserole. Layer half of beef cubes over tomatoes. Cover with half of the vegetables. Repeat with remaining beef and vegetables. Mix wine, broth &/or water with brandy, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and seasoning to taste. Pour over meat and vegetables. Bring to a simmer on stovetop. Cover w. lid and cook in oven at 300°F for 3 hours or until meat is tender. BBQ Country Style Ribs Country style ribs require long slow cooking and deserve to be cooked to the meat is nearly falling from the bone. You can do this in a slow cooker in about 6-8 hours, or you can go the oven route and get there in a shorter amount of time. Either way, the results should be delicious. This recipe was reviewed by over 200 users of allrecipes.com, most giving it 5 stars. Not surprising as the method is perfect for this cut of meat and the lemon slices on top help tenderize the meat while it cooks. You could use any BBQ sauce for this, or just serve the ribs plain if you have picky kids in the house. They'll be yummy regardless. Some reviewers covered the ribs with foil for the first 2 hours to keep the more moist. 10 country style pork ribs 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). In a shallow baking pan or roaster, place ribs in a single layer; salt if desired. Spread the garlic on the ribs, then place the lemon slices on top. Bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours - the ribs should be tender. Drain any grease and liquid. Pour BBQ sauce over the ribs. Return to oven and bake one more hour at 200 to 250 degrees F.