Good Eats Weekly Newsletter - December 30th, 2015

Having trouble viewing this message, please click here   Happy New Year from Pete's Greens!

Localvore Members  & Regular Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN/TAN BAG     This week your bag will contain: Claytonia, Potatoes, Carrots, Sunchokes, Onions, Kale, Rutabaga, Brussels Sprouts     Localvore Offerings Include: Morningstar/Butterworks Black Beans Pete's Greens Tomatillo Salsa Vermont Creamery Creme Fraiche         Half Veggie Only Members take a YELLOW BAG containing:     Claytonia, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Kale, Brussels Sprouts           HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:   Deliveries will resume as normal this week, unless we have contacted your site about specific changes . . . . . . . . . .  With winter weather upon us, delivery delays may occur. We'll do our best to keep you up to date. . . . . . . . . . .      We are now accepting Sign-ups for the Spring Share!   The Spring Share starts on February 17th and goes through June 9th.    Sign up Now!

Around the Farm   Things are rockin' in the washhouse this week! We're busy washing roots and potatoes, and Ben is feeding the packer with black beans to be doled out into individual bags for the Localvore shares. With our energy high from the holidays, I think we're all relieved to finally have some snow to make the season bright!         Storage and Use Tips    Claytonia -Claytonia is a hardy but tender green that we've harvested from our greenhouses. It's amazing what a few layers of plastic will do to extend the growing season for these little plants! Store in your crisper drawer up for 5 days. Great for salads.   Potatoes - A mix of yellow Nicola and red Modoc potatoes in your share would be beautifully highlighted in the roasted potato salad (recipe below). Store in a cool, dark place.   Carrots - The orange carrots are the variety "romance", which have a deep orange color and are perfect for storage through the winter. If you don't use them right away, store them in your crisper drawer to make sure they retain needed moisture.   Sunchokes - Also known as Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes make their debut in the large  share this week! You might know of this plant as a beautiful yellow flower on tall stalks that blooms in summer. The tubrous roots, which appear in your shares, are also edible. Eat with or without the skin, and prepare as you would potatoes: roast, saute, bake, boil, or steam. They can be stored for a few weeks in your fridge.   Onions - This week's onions have been carefully sorted to try to ensure a high quality. Store them in a cool place, even in your fridge, if you don't intend to eat them quickly.   Kale - The kale bunches going out this week are a mix of lacinato or red kale- you will receive one of the two (a small number of members will get bagged kale instead of bunched). You can use different types of kale interchangeably in recipes, but Lacinato works well in Italian dishes (soups and pastas), while red curly kale is great pan-cooked to bring out a new dimension of its flavor.   Rutabaga - Rutabagas are larger than turnips and have yellow flesh and skin. They're in the brassica family and related to cabbage. They're great raw (peeled and sliced), roasted along with some onions, added to a hearty vegetable soup, or mashed along with potatoes. They're also great steamed until soft but not breaking apart, then glazed with maple syrup and a favorite spice such as nutmeg or cinnamon.   Brussels Sprouts - Both shares have loose (de-stemmed) brussel sprouts this week. Peel off any outer leaves that you don't like the look of (or leave them, they're just fine to eat!), cut in half lengthwise, and try roasting in the oven with olive oil, garlic, and whole grapes.     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. 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 Shelf, or you can skip your share delivery and you will retain a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share.   Localvore Lore   This week's localvore share contains black turtle beans from Morningstar Meadows and Butterworks Farm, Creme Fraiche from Vermont Creamery, and Tomatillo Salsa from Pete's Greens' kitchen.   Seth and Jeannette Johnson of Morningstar Farm in Glover VT grow organic dry beans on over 10 acres of land. They grow all different sorts of heirloom varieties, from yellow eye, to Jacob's cattle, to black turtle beans. Seth was mentored in the art and science of farming by Jack and Anne Lazor at Butterworks farm, who have pioneered organic grain and bean production in the northeast. Black Turtle Beans are small, shiny beans that work well in Mexican and Cajun cuisines. You can learn more about preparing dry beans in the recipes section below.    Tomatillo Salsa (salsa verde) from the kitchen here at Pete's Greens will make a great addition to any Mexican-inspired dish. It also makes a great addition to eggs, burger meat mixtures, filling (mixed with cheese) for jalapeno poppers, and sandwiches.    Creme Fraiche from Vermont Creamery closely resembles sour cream or yogurt (it makes a great substitute for either of these ingredients in recipes). It is incredibly versatile, as it can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. Eat it with fruit, or as a topping to a mexican dish. Use it to enrich a pasta sauce or to make aoli for dipping roasted root veggie fries. Recipes   How to Prepare Dry Beans   One cup of dry beans will yield approximately 2 1/2 cups of cooked beans. You will want to rinse and pick through these beauties before cooking. Like most dry beans, they also need to soak before cooking. You can cover them with water and leave out overnight. Or, you can cover them with plenty of water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let sit 2-3 hours. Either way, the beans are now ready to be cooked. In Heather's chili recipe below, they are precooked for 30 minutes before going into the crockpot. Otherwise, you'll want to cover them with 2 inches of fresh water and simmer, testing for doneness after an hour.  Refrain from adding tomatoes or other veg to your beans during the softening phase as the acidity may result in toughening the skins. Many believe that draining and rinsing the beans after the soaking step reduces flatulence. Others believe that adding a bit of baking soda while they cook has the same effect.      Roasted Potato Salad   A hearty dish that stands up to its summer counterpart. For a creamy version, use creme fraiche instead of oil and vinegar.   2½ lbs. small red Bliss potatoes 2 garlic clove, chopped 5 tablespoons olive oil kosher salt and pepper 1½ tablespoons red-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon grainy mustard 1 tablespoon minced chives 2 sprigs fresh rosemary   Preheat the oven to 475ºF. with racks in the upper and middle levels. Wash the potatoes, dry and cut into ¼-inch thick slices. Arrange in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Scatter one clove of garlic and one tablespoon of oil over each sheet. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes with your hands to evenly spread the oil and garlic, then return slices to a single layer. Place pans in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are knife tender.   Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, remaining three tablespoons of oil, chives and rosemary. When potatoes are done, remove from the oven and add to the bowl of dressing. Toss and serve immediately or at room temperature.       Lacinato Kale Salad   Will also work well with curly red kale.    1 bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale, de-stemmed and thinly sliced  juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons) – use a hand juicer to get the most juice from your lemon. If your lemon seems extremely juicy, then I would just add 3 tablespoons of juice.  I’ve noticed that in the winter my lemons have been extra juicy and the dressing can be a bit tart with too much lemon. 3  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2-3 cloves garlic, minced pinch of fine sea salt pinch of freshly ground pepper pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste  2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese   Wash, de-stem and thinly slice your kale. To see step-by-step instructions on how to de-stem and thinly sliced kale. Toss the sliced kale into a large salad bowl.   Whisk together in a small bowl or glass measuring cup the following: juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons), 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, pinch of fine sea salt, pinch of freshly ground black pepper, pinch of red pepper flakes. Make sure to whisk the ingredients together well.   Pour the dressing over the kale and make sure to massage it well so that all the kale absorbs the dressing. When I say, "massage" your kale, I literally mean, get your hands in there and massage it. After your kale is massaged, add the ⅔ cups of parmesan cheese and then quickly massage the salad again. Let the kale rest for at least 5 minutes to an hour. This salad can be made hours ahead of time or even the day before.       Rice and Beans With Steak and Fresh Tomatillo Salsa   2 cups chicken broth  1 cup long-grain white rice Kosher salt and black pepper 1 ½ cups black beans, cooked (see directions above) 2 Tbsp cilantro (optional) 1 tablespoon canola oil 1¼ pounds skirt steak, cut into 4 pieces   Combine the broth, rice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and all the broth is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the beans. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest steak registers 130° F, 2 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice against the grain. Serve the steak and salsa over the rice.     Sunchoke and Potato Gratin   I got this recipe from a blog whose writer first tried sunchokes in their CSA basket. If you're new to them too, this sounds like a great family-friendly way to try them out!   1 garlic clove 10 sunchokes (about golf-ball sized), sliced thin 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin 2 shallots, sliced thin 1/4 cup milk 1 cup grated fontina cheese salt and pepper Preparation   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9×9 ceramic dish with cooking spray.  Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut sides onto the dish.  Discard garlic.   Layer the potatoes evenly in the dish covering the entire bottom.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Layer the sunchokes evenly covering the potatoes.  Sprinkle the sliced shallots on top of the sunchokes – and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.  Pour milk all over the vegetables.  Sprinkle with the fontina cheese.   Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes.  Take the cover off and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Make sure the sunchokes are soft – if not cook a little longer.