Storage and Use Tips
Potatoes - Full share members are receiving a variety of our red gold, Adirondack red, and Yukon gold potatoes. Store in a cool location.
Eggplant - Both share members are receiving our elegant eggplant! This deep purple variety comes in different sizes. Eggplant is a great source of dietary fiber. Do not cut the eggplant before you store it as that will cause it to deteriorate faster. Try to avoid damaging the skin while it is in your fridge. Saute it, put make an eggplant parmigiana with it, bread it and fry it, or try it in ratatouille (recipe below).
Tomatoes - We're in full tomato swing right now! All members will receive either a bag of heirloom tomatoes or a pint of cherry tomatoes this week. Please remember to pick up your tomatoes as they are outside the plastic bags. Enjoy them while they're here!
Jalapeño Peppers - Store jalapeños in your refrigerator inside a paper bag or wrapped in paper towel for maximum freshness! You can also put them in a plastic bag and toss them in the freezer until you're ready to use them. These zesty peppers will add a zing to your Mexican-style dishes, stir fry, pizza, or meat dish.
Veggie Storage and Use Tips are on our website too, so please bookmark the recipe and storage tip section.
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Localvore Lore
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This week's Localvore/pantry share includes Bread (from Slowfire Bakery or Patchwork Bakery), Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese, and Champlain Orchards' Castleton Plums.
 Pantry share members will receive bread from eitherSlowfire Bakery or Patchwork Bakery! Wednesday members will receive the Slowfire Sourdough Ciabatta: light and airy, with a bit of whole wheat and sourdough for just enough depth or either a Rosie's French or a Rosemary and Red Onion loaf from Patchwork, using rosemary from baker Charlie's garden and red onions from his neighbors at Riverside Farm in Hardwick. His grains come largely from Vermont and regional growers. Thursday members will receive a loaf of Country French w/ Corn and Rye: an "everyday" loaf with a blend of whole, sifted, white wheat flours, with added rye and heirloom corn for a sweeter, more earthy aroma.
What is better in the summer than a thick slice of fresh bread slathered with goat cheese and topped with a fresh slice of tomato? We don't know! Vermont Creamery'sflagship cheese is their fresh chèvre (goat cheese). It's the cheese that started Vermont's reputation as a world leader in cheesemaking. Enjoy it with Pete's summer produce!
We have a very special treat this week for pantry shares! The Castleton Plum fromChamplain Orchards is a dark blue plum that ripens at the end of August and first part of September. This plum is ideal for eating fresh and for processing. It's known as an excellent plum for burgundy jam and for a sweet, mildly acidic taste. And, Champlain Orchards is 100% electrically solar powered - part of a continued effort by Vermont farms to practice full ecological integration.
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Meat Share
It's a meat week! This month's meat share includes a Pete's Greens Whole Chicken, McKnight Sandwich Steak, and VT99 Andouille Sausage.
Pete's Greens Pastured Chickens live a charmed chicken existence, roaming the fields and eating green forage. This week you're receiving a larger-than-usual bird, weighing between 6 and 6.5 pounds! Use this chicken for any end of summer grilling, roast whole, or cut it into pieces for various dishes. The carcass is perfect for making stock that you can use this winter.
McKnight Farm is an organic farm that raises dairy and beef cows in East Montpelier, VT. McKnight Farm, like our farm, uses solar panels to offset their operation and energy expenditures. In fact, their solar array meets all of their electricity needs! This month we are sending you beef from McKnight Farm. Most members will receive the Sandwich Steak - a versatile meat for stir fries, stews, and sandwiches! See our take on a Philly Cheesesteak below. Some members may receive stew meat or ribeye. This is high quality beef in any form.
Our Andouille sausage comes from VT99, our collaboration with Jasper Hill Farm. Pigs are fed whey from the Jasper Hill cheesemaking process and organic veggies from our farm. Andouille is a slightly spicy, smoky style sausage excellent for your jambalaya and gumbo cooking!
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Fall/Winter Sign-up Is Now Open!
It's time to sign up for a fall/winter share! Don't miss out on your weekly delivery of veggies, fruits, and pantry items. Our Fall/ Winter share is kept exciting all 17-weeks with a variety of sprouts and winter greens, storage crops, frozen fruits and vegetables, and what we can continue harvesting from our fields into the fall.
Our six share options are available year-round:
- Localvore (veggies and pantry items, $46/week)
- Veggie Only (8 - 10 veggie items, $29/week)
- Half Veggie (5 - 7 veggie items, $22/week)
- Half Veggie with Pantry (Localvore and Half Veggie combined, $39/week)
- Pete's Pantry (Localvore pantry items, $18/week)
- Meat (monthly delivery of meats, $50/month)
The fall/winter share runs from October 12 - February 9. We work hard to provide you with the best delivery sites. Help us ensure we have an adequate number of members at each site by signing up today.
Click here to learn more and please share the word!
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Recipe of the Week
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Oven Ratatouille
This recipe looks long but really, it's just a lot of instruction about properly roasting the various vegetables for a sweeter, more concentrated flavor. This is a very healthy, very tasty dish. From Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without.
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 3/4-inch cubes (peeling unnecessary if the skin is tight and smooth)
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes (or 1 smallish heirloom or beefsteak)
6 medium-sized garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange)
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 medium zucchini (7 to 8 inches long), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
1/2 teaspoon each crumbled dried thyme and rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional:
Small amounts of fresh herbs (basil, marjoram or oregano, rosemary, thyme, and/or parsley)
Pitted chopped olives
Arrange an oven rack in the topmost position, and another in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 1 small and 2 large baking trays with foil, and coast the foil generously with the olive oil.
Place the eggplant on one of the large trays, and toss to coat with oil. Then push it to one side, keeping it in a single layer. Arrange the tomatoes on the other half of the tray, rolling them around so they get coated with oil. Wrap the garlic cloves (still in their skins) and a half teaspoon of water tightly in a piece of foil, and place this on the corner of the same tray.
Place the whole bell peppers on the small tray.
Spread the onions and the zucchini pieces on opposite ends of the remaining large tray, and toss to coat with the oil.
Place the eggplant tray on the middle shelf of the oven, and put the small sheet with the peppers on the upper rack. After 10 minutes, use tongs to turn everything over. Repeat this turning process after another 10 minutes or so. Gently squeeze the garlic to see if it is soft. If it is, remove it from the oven; if not, continue roasting.
Place the onion-zucchini tray on the middle shelf next to the one with the eggplant, and continue roasting all for another 10 minutes. Turn the peppers and tomatoes one more time, and toss the eggplant, onions, and zucchini to help them brown evenly. Sprinkle the eggplant, onions, and zucchini evenly with the dried herbs. Once again, squeeze the garlic to see if it is soft. If so, remove it from the oven; if not, continue roasting. Roast a final 10 minutes, or until the vegetables become deep golden brown and very tender.
Transfer the eggplant, onion, and zucchini to a large bowl. Let the peppers, tomatoes, and garlic sit for a few minutes, or until comfortable to handle. Peel the peppers, then chop the tomatoes and peeled peppers roughly into 1-inch pieces and add to the eggplant mixture. Slip the roasted garlic cloves from their skins, mash with a fork, and add to the eggplant mixture.
Toss until well combined. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled to plain or topped with a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs and/or olives.
Quick and Easy (and delicious) Baked Chicken
This is a Mark Bittman recipe our staff wrangler and special projects coordinator makes often - it's a crowd pleaser! Her notes are included below.
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 parts, skin on: 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 drum sticks, 2 thighs
(don't fret about how neat your cuts are or are not, it doesn't really matter in the end)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup fresh herbs (or 1-2 tsp dried)
salt and pepper (I use 1.5 tsp or so for a big whole chicken)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the oil or butter in a roasting pan and put the pan in the oven for a couple of minutes, until the oil is hot or the butter melts. Add the chicken and turn it couple of times in the fat, leaving it skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and return the pan to the oven.
After the chicken has cooked for 15 minutes, toss about 1/4 of the herb or herb mixture over it and turn the pieces. Sprinkle on another quarter of the herb and roast for another 10 minutes.
Turn the chicken over (now skin side up again), add another quarter of the herb, and cook until the chicken is done (180 F , or you'll see clear juices if you make a small cut in the meat near the bone) a total of 30-50 minutes at most. Garnish with the remaining herb and skim excess fat from the pan juices if necessary; serve, with some of the juices spooned over it.
Variations:
*Add several cloves of garlic (20 wouldn't be too many).
*Add a cup or so of chopped onion, shallot, or leek.
*Add a cup or so of sliced fresh mushrooms, after the first 15 minutes of roasting.
*Add 2-3 lemons (or organges/limes). When the chicken is done, squeeze the hot lemon juice over it.
*Use Compound Butter, Flavored Oil, or a Vinaigrette from the beginning of the cooking or as a basting sauce during the cooking.
*Stir in a dollop of grainy French-style mustard when the chicken is done.
*Add a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes and some black olives after turning the chicken skin side up again.
*Stir in a cup of any salsa in the last 10 minutes of cooking or spoon on top of the cooked chicken before serving.
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Changes to your Delivery?
If you will be away during an upcoming week and need to make changes to your share delivery, please 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 retain a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share.
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