Good Eats Weekly Newsletter - October 5, 2016

Last week of the Summer CSA Share - have you signed up for Fall? This is a MEAT WEEK! Localvore Members  & Regular Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN BAG This week your bag contains: Mesclun, Cress, Zucchini, Anaheim Peppers, Scallions, Sweet Salad Turnips, Carrots, Potatoes, Onion mix, and Delicata Squash Localvore Offerings Include: Cellars at Jasper Hill Cabot Clothbound Champlain Orchards Apple Pie Half Veggie Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Red Leaf Lettuce, Zucchini, Chard, Sweet Salad Turnips, Carrots, Potatoes, Onion mix, and Delicata Squash Meat Share Members take a RED Bag containing: Pete's Greens Chicken VT99 Pork Chops McKnight Stew Meat VT99 Italian Sausage Summer CSA Survey Heading your Way Soon! We will be sending you a survey soon where you can tell us what you thought about the share. This is one of the most important ways that we learn about what you liked and didn’t like, what you wanted to receive more or less of, how you felt about the localvore items, and what we can do to improve. We directly use your feedback to plan for the next share, and we hope that you will take a few minutes to help us improve your CSA experience. Thanks! Fall / Winter Share starts next week! Thank you for enjoying Pete's Greens this summer! We hope you've signed up for another season of organic, local, and seasonal eating  with our farm. If you haven't, please sign up today.  We need to get your share into the database and receive your first payment by this weekend in order to send your share next week! Learn more here! Storage and Use Tips    Cress will be bunched in your veggie bag. This upland cress has a deep pungency with a unique twist between arugula and horseradish, pledging its allegience to the mustard family. Below the Mason Dixon line, upland cress is known as "creasy greens" and when stewed with ham hocks, is as loved a dish as black-eyed peas or cornbread. Traditionally gathered by foragers in the Appalachian Mountains who started looking out for the hearty winter leaves while there was still snow on the ground, the leaves were believed to have medicinal benefits and used in many folk recipes to help heal wounds. Those claims may not be entirely far-fetched as the cress is indeed rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, and calcium.   Sweet Salad Turnips - We are so excited to bring both shares these turnips! Tender, fresh dug Sweet Salad Turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw they have a texture similar to a radish, but are not so sharp. Or slice, dice, or quarter them and saute with butter or oil. Cook until just  tender and still a little crisp. Just a little salt or maybe a little bit of vinegar is all they need. Cooked with butter and given a slight drizzle of honey and even picky little eaters may gobble them up. Don't forget the greens! Turnip greens are tender and flavorful. Chop and saute the turnips for a side dish, or cook up with other greens, or by themselves. They make a great addition to pasta sauces too.   Delicata Squash - The first of the winter squash are here! Delicata squash is a distinctive squash with longitudinal dark green stripes on a yellow or cream colored background and sweet, orange-yellow flesh. The peel is edible so it's an easy squash to prepare, and you don't have to fiddle with peeling it like you would a butternut squash. This squash is not as rich in beta-carotene as other winter squashes, but is a good source of dietary fiber and potassium, as well as smaller amounts of vitamins C and B, magnesium, and manganese. Delicata squash is most commonly baked, but can also be microwaved, sautéed or steamed. It may be stuffed with meat or vegetable mixtures. This morning I at my sauteed egg, kale, and oyster mushroom in it!   Zucchini - We're bringing you a beautiful late season zucchini. Zucchini is one of those earlier summer veggies that everyone has too much of, so we hope this end-of-summer share zucchini is a welcome delight! Stir fry with your turnips, make fried zucchini cakes, or bake up it into a breakfast this weekend with your waffles or pancakes.    Potato Mix - These potatoes were hand dug by our crew! You'll receive a mix of deep purple Peter Wilcox variety, Adirondack Red, and/ or Nicola Gold. They will keep for a few more weeks.     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. The harvest is underway! In true Vermonter style, our kitchen is bustling with activity as we put up the harvest for the fall/ winter share. We're freezing whole and crushed tomatoes, broccoli, chard, peppers, beans, kale, spinach, and cauliflower. Soon we'll whip up frozen, pureed squash perfect for holiday pie baking. And, we're about to start a giant batch of kimchi using our Napa cabbage, carrots, and scallions! These items will be added to the veggie and pantry shares during the coldest winter days.  Meat Share This week, we bring you a variety of meat cuts from our farm and McKnight Farm. This month's Pete's Greens chickens are nice sized! Chicken is a popular favorite when it's roasted, baked, or fried. You'll also receive two very different pork products from VT99, our collaboration project with the Cellars at Jasper Hill. The pigs live on our farm and are sustained by whey from the cheesemaking process and culled veggies from our farm. The sweet sausage is great for meatballs for pasta or a breakfast sausage patty. The pork chop is 1.3 - 1.52 pounds of delicious loin, perfect when slow roasted in the oven with an apple cider base. The bone is still in this chop and the thickness of the cut helps keep in the juiciness and flavor. It's hard to overcook a thick, bone-in pork chop like this.   We are also sending you Stew Beef from McKnight Farm in East Montpelier. This stew meat makes great stews (obviously) but also great chili, stroganoff, or even a steak pie. Seth Gardner, the owner, operates his dairy and beef business using a photovoltaic solar array on his farm. Learn more about how Pete's Greens is supporting solar with the Fall/ Winter CSA share here. Localvore Lore This week's share includes Cabot Clothbound cheddar from the Cellars at Jasper Hill and apple pie from Champlain Orchards.   Thank you for supporting other local food producers this summer! Please enjoy this special treat from our friends at Jasper Hill and Champlain Orchards. This cheddar exemplifies the spirit of collaboration that Pete's Greens supports: it uses milk from the Kempton Family Farm in Peacham, os made by the co-op cheesemakers at Cabot Creamery, and is aged for 10 - 13 months in the Cellars. All in all, this award winning cheese only travels 38 miles between partners before it is delivered to you. Cheddar is a versatile cheese but quite spectacular when paired with apple pie and a warm cup of coffee!   Typically we send you apples directly from the Champlain Orchards. This week, enjoy apples baked into a double crust pie. The pies were baked fresh but since the Orchards do not use preservatives in their pies, it will not stay fresh for long. Please enjoy within 3 - 4 days of receiving it and keep it refrigerated until ready to serve. Warm the pie in the oven, on low temperature, and add a slice of cheese to the top before serving!   If you have a difficult time picking up your share on the day it is delivered, please make the effort to pick this one up on time!     Recipes Easy Braised Creasy Greens This beloved southern dish is packed with the nutrients inherent in your upland cress! Serve with cornbread or corn muffins.   1-2 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil or meat drippings (bacon, sausage, steak etc) 1 bunch fresh cress, about 4 cups, washed, de-spined and coarsely chopped. You can also sub kale, collards, mustard or turnip greens, or a mixture of winter greens. 1 clove garlic, chopped and/or 1 Tbs ginger, julienned 1/2 onion, diced 1/8 cup water or vegetable or chicken broth or stock Sea salt and coarse grind pepper  Optional seasonings: add a shake of Sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, tamari, Braggs Liquid Aminos, Chinese 5 spice, or cayenne pepper Optional toppings: toasted sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds   Heat oil or drippings in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic/ginger and onion, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted and still have a green color, just a few minutes.  Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.  Add seasonings and toppings as desired and serve.     Roasted Delicata Squash with Maple Glazed Onions 2- 3 medium Delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/4 in thick slices 2 medium red onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 in rings 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed Fresh thyme Red pepper flakes to taste Extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp maple syrup Salt Black pepper   Directions Arrange the racks in the upper and lower rungs of the over and preheat to 425 degrees. Place the squash, red onion, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat.   Spread vegetables evenly onto two large, rimmed baking sheets. Bake the squash on the upper and lower racks of the oven, tossing, rotating, and switching the pan positions halfway through cooking, until tender and browned, 25 - 30 minutes. Taste and season again with more salt and pepper as desired.     Rosemary Rubbed Pork Chop 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary 1 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 pork loin chops (about 3/4 pound each) 2 teaspoons olive oil Combine the brown sugar, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chop(s). Let spices penetrate meat for a few minutes before cooking. If there's time, cover and put in refrigerator for a few hours before cooking. If chop(s) has been refrigerated, remove them from refrigerator and let the chill dissipate for 10 to 15 minutes. Warm a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Lay the pork chops in the pan to cook. Cook for 6 minutes, then flip the pork chop. Cook for 6 more minutes and then begin checking for doneness. The pork chop is done when the interior registers at least 145°F with an instant-read thermometer. A 1-inch thick chop will be done (medium-rare) in about 12 minutes total; cook an extra minute or two per side if you prefer your chops more well-done. Bone-in chops will also take a few extra minutes to cook. Place the pork chops on a plate and pour the pan juices over the top. Tent loosely with foil, and let rest a few minutes before serving. ​Curried Zucchini & Couscous This quick, easy side dish is a great accompaniment to grilled meats.  For a little sweetness throw in a handful of raisins with the carrots. From Eating Well, August 2013. 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 medium zucchini, diced 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup water 1 tbsp lime juice 1 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous 1 cup grated carrot 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add zucchini and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl. Add water, lime juice, curry, cumin, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil.  Stir in couscous.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork. Add the couscous and carrot to the bowl with the zucchini; stir to combine.  Serve topped with almonds. Did you sign up for your Fall/ Winter Share?