Good Eats Weekly Newsletter - July 5, 2018

Reminder!!!

Pick up your Veggie, Pantry, and Meat Shares on THURSDAY this week!! No deliveries on Wednesday!

This week in your share:

Everyday Large (Orange bags)

Mesclun, Red Leaf Lettuce, Parsley, Scapes, Peppers, Radishes, Zucchini, Pac choi, Rhubarb, Pearl Onions, and
OUT OF THE BAG
2 Bags of Tomatoes

Everyday Standard (Yellow bags)

Red Leaf Lettuce, Green Kale, Rhubarb, Peas or Beans, Radishes, Cucumber, Pearl Onions, and
OUT OF THE BAG
2 Bags of Tomatoes

Fancy/ Localvore

(Purple bags)

 Mesclun, Parsley, Lettuce Head, Cucumber, Celery, Broccoli, Peppers, Fennel, Pearl Onions, and
OUT OF THE BAG
2 Bags of Tomatoes

Lean & Green

(Green bags)

Red Leaf Lettuce, Cucumber, Peas (if you did not get them last week), Napa Cabbage, Broccoli, and
OUT OF THE BAG
2 Bags of Tomatoes

Bread Share

Patchwork Farm and Bakery

Pete's Pantry

VT Veggie Beet Burgers, Cellars at Jasper Hill Cabot Clothbound, Pete's Greens Chimichurri, Pete's Zesty Dill Pickles

Cheese Share

Cellars at Jasper Hill
Moses Sleeper

Meat Share

Pete's Pastured Chicken, McKnight Farm Shortribs, McKnight Farm Burger, and VT99 Bacon & Cheese Sausages

PICK-UP NOTES

It's hot this week!! We recommend picking up your shares earlier in the day if you can, especially if your site is outside. Greens have a tendency to wilt when exposed to hot temperatures!
(Yesterday at 1:20 pm... we passed 100 degrees in one of our tunnels!)

Around the Farm

It's been a little warm this week, eh?! I just keep reminding myself, "Think about this heat next February!" Kudos to our crew for a great harvest on Monday. Everyone's shifted hours a little and really worked hard to beat the heat. Our heat loving crops, like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, are doing well! I'm pumped to have a good volume of peppers to go out this week and tomatoes, plus beans and peas. It feels like summer eating! We hope you have a great 4th of July full of wonderful eating. I've provided a few recipes below for grilling but of course anything can be cooked indoors with AC, too.
Please remember to pick up your share Thursday (not Wednesday)!
~Taylar.
Here's a little preview of our new truck art that will be hitting the road soon! Hector and Juan Carlos are standing in front of colorful veggie cutouts, hand made and painted by our talented delivery driver Steve (you may have met him along the Chittenden County route!). These will soon be mounted on our two new delivery trucks. Behind them are the bins we use to harvest into and store our crops all winter long!
Going out of town?
Need to skip a delivery? We can donate your share to the food shelf, send it the next week, or credit your account for a future share. Please notify us by Monday, 8 am, at the latest for any changes to that week's delivery.
Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our blog and website.
Red Leaf Lettuce: These heads of red leaf lettuce are beautiful! Crisp and tender, perfect for an easy dinner on a hot night. We wash them but I recommend a more thorough wash when you're ready to eat the lettuce as grit can get stuck in the heads.
Tomatoes: These are red, pink, and heirloom tomatoes. Store tomatoes at room temperature. We had planned on members getting 1 pound of tomatoes, but then we entered the heat wave and our tomatoes exploded! So each member is receiving two pounds - TWO BAGS! Please take two bags of tomatoes with your veggie share!
Fennel is crunchy and slightly sweet with the flavor of anise. It is delicious and slightly sweet served raw but is just as often served cooked on its own or in other dishes. Though most often associated with Italian cooking, it has an uncanny ability to blend with other flavors adding a light and fresh note. It is delightful in many dishes, and in soups and stews and sauces. Fennel is composed of a white or pale green bulb from which closely superimposed stalks are arranged. The stalks are topped with feathery green leaves near which flowers grow and produce fennel seeds. The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible. To prepare, trim off the fronds and stalks and reserve them for garnish or seasoning. Cut off the hard bottom and slice vertically or into quarters. Or cut the bulb in half lengthwise, cut out the core, and cut into strips. Add it raw to salads or try some thinly sliced fennel on your sandwich. Top thinly sliced fennel with plain yogurt and mint leaves. Or braise, roast or saute' it. It is done when tender enough to pierce easily with a skewer.
Peas: Yellow bag members will receive either peas or beans! Lean & Green share members who did not get peas last week will receive them this week. These are shelling peas. There will be snap peas and shelling beans going out this week. You will get one or the other in your bag. How to tell the difference? The snap peas are a little flatter, the shells glossy, and the outline of the peas inside are usually clear to see. These peas are delightful to eat pod and all. The pods are less fibrous than shelling pea pods and are a nice crunchy fresh addition to salads and sautés. The shelling peas are great too, and actually you can eat those pods. They are just more fibrous. Shelling peas have the bonus of bigger peas, and these are as fresh as they come. 
Napa Cabbage:  Napa is crisp and sweeter than regular green cabbage. It is delicious raw or cooked, and can be substituted for regular cabbage in most recipes. A head of Napa Cabbage in the fridge lends itself to a wide variety of meal options, from salads and slaws, to sandwich greens, stir fries, soup additions, and more. Nearly all of the head can be used, just not the tough center core. If your Napa sits a while in the fridge and some leaves are limp, you can refresh it with a good soak in cold water. Napa cabbage should be stored unwashed in your crisper drawer, loosely wrapped in a plastic bag.
Pac Choi is a member of the brassicas family along with cabbage and kale that originated in China, where it has been grown for over 1500 years. As part of the cabbage family, it packs in nutrition with high scores for vitamins A and C and calcium. Pac Choi is mild enough to be chopped up for a salad, particularly if you give it a quick wilt in a hot pan. It's also great in stir-fries and sautes and in asian soups (and other soups too). Pac Choi has a mild flavor - the leaves taste similar to Swiss chard and the stems (called ribs) are deliciously crispy and can be substituted for celery in recipes. My favorite way to cook it is to halve or quarter it lengthwise (depending on the size), brush it with olive or sunflower oil and throw it on the grill. Prepared this way, it makes an excellent and easy side. Store pac choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
Rhubarb: The last week for this limited time crop! Please enjoy in the next few days, and peel before using - I've been enjoying strawberry rhubarb crisp for the past couple of days, with a slice of aged cheddar, cold, right from the fridge!
Celery: This is super fresh celery, not like what you'd get from California! You can use the whole plant - leaves, tooWrap unwashed celery tightly in a plastic bag and store in the coldest part of your refrigerator. To maintain really crisp celery, store as you would basil or parsley. That is, place it upright in a glass of water in your fridge and cover loosely with a plastic bag.

Featured Recipes

Honey and Lemon Dressing
It's amazing what a little bit of honey does to this basic salad dressing!
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon good honey
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Mix everything together in a bowl and season to taste.
Tomato Fennel Salad
Here's a great recipe using your fennel.
1 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes
1 small fennel bulb
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Core the tomatoes and cut into wedges. Remove the top of the fennel (save some fronds for garnish) and slice the bulb very thinly crosswise with a knife or on a mandoline.
Toss the tomatoes and fennel in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds, season to taste, and serve.
Grilled Napa Cabbage with Chinese Mustard Glaze
Feel free to reduce the amount of mustard if you don't like things too spicy. If you don't have scallions feel free to leave out.
3 tablespoons hot Chinese mustard
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon finely grated garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 small heads napa cabbage (about 2 pounds total)
1 large bunch scallions, roots trimmed (if scallions are thick, cut them in half lengthwise)
Heat grill to high. Mix together mustard, agave nectar, 1 teaspoon oil, the garlic, and basil. Cut cabbage lengthwise into quarters, leaving core intact. Brush cabbage and scallions with remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
Grill cabbage, flat side down, 3 minutes. Flip, and continue to grill until charred. Remove from grill. Add scallions to grill, and cook until partially charred, flipping halfway through cooking, about 2 minutes total.
Brush cabbage and scallions on all sides with mustard glaze. Cut scallions lengthwise into thirds. Arrange cabbage on a platter, and top with scallions.
Napa Cabbage Salad with Peanuts and Ginger
This recipe from Martha Stewart is a great way to use your napa cabbage.
2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch long), peeled and grated
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 medium napa cabbage (about 1 pound), cored and cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper (seeds and ribs removed), thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh, cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, ginger, and oils until dressing is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, bell pepper, cilantro, and peanuts. Add dressing to taste, and toss to combine. Serve.
 

Meat Share

Pete's Pastured Chicken coming out this week! These are great for grilling (or roasting)! We also have sausages from VT99, our collaborative partnership with the Cellars at Jasper Hill. These pigs are raised on delicious whey leftover from the cheesemaking process plus veggies from our farm. This is an unique partnership and the pork you're about to enjoy is raised about as locally and conscientiously as possible! These sausages are great for the grill and a bun or you can cook and slice them to add flavor to a variety of other dishes (pasta, eggs, casseroles, soups, pizza, etc).
You're also receiving two types of beef from McKnight Farm in East Montpelier. Short ribs are just what their name implies, they are short ribs cut from any location along the length of the cow's ribs. Short ribs are fairly fatty, making them ideal candidates for slow cooking by braising or adding to stews that cook for a long period of time. The fat and the meat of the bone offer sensational flavorings and essential minerals to your meal. The ground beef makes an excellent burger for the grill! With Cabot Clothbound, a slice of fresh tomato, and a leaf of crisp lettuce, this is about as perfect a carnivorous summer dinner can be!
Grilled Chicken: the Bittman Method
Mark's method for grilling chicken that's moist on the inside and crisp on the outside is to grill at two temps. On a grill, you would have a hot side and a cooler side. On a gas gill, turn one side on low (or even off) and the other on medium high. The chicken starts out skin side up on the cooler side of the grill....
Put the chicken on the grill skin-side up on the cool side and, after some of the fat has been rendered, turn it; if flames flare up, move the chicken to an even cooler part of the fire (this is where gas is handy; it's so easily adjusted). Or turn it so the skin side is up again -- remember to keep the fat away from the flame.
When the skin has lost its raw look and most of the fat has been rendered, usually after 20 minutes or so of cooking, it's safe to move the chicken to the hot side of the grill. By then the meat will be mostly cooked through; what you do now is brown it nicely on both sides.
Bingo. If you have any doubts about the meat's doneness, cut into it alongside the bone. It will not make for the most attractive presentation, but it's more attractive than bloody chicken. With experience, you will be able to judge doneness by appearance and feel alone. This technique not only frees you from fear, at least in this little universe, but gives you dozens of options for flavoring.
Easy Beef Short Ribs
1.5-2.5 lbs short ribs
1 small leek, chopped white part only
1 small onion, chopped
2 c. chopped celery
1 large carrot, diced   
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced   
2 cups red wine or broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste      
Kosher salt         
Fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch over, sauté fennel, leek, onion, celery and carrots and cook over medium heat 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook additional two minutes. Add tomato paste, wine or broth, salt, pepper and brown sugar and bring to boil. Place the ribs on top of the vegetables, cover the pot, put in oven and bake for two-three hours or until ribs are very tender, or place all in crock pot, cook 6 hours low or 3 hours high.

Pantry Lore 

Vermont Veggie Burger is owned by David and Jannah Swedick of Marshfield Vermont. They produce their delicious locally made Beet Burgers at the Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick. Made with organic beets and onions from Riverside Farm in Hardwick, and lentils, brown rice, and lots of other tasty ingredients, these organic burgers are best prepared in an oven or stovetop, starting on very low until thawed, then with increased heat until the desired crispiness is reached. These beet burgers are great on a bun, and just as tasty crumbled in some hearty Vermont-style tacos! Store in your freezer until use.
Cabot Clothbound from the Cellars at Jasper Hill is a delicious cheddar perfect for snacking or topping burgers! This cheese is made at Cabot Creamery in Cabot, then aged in the cellars in Greensboro. They undergo a ten to fourteen month maturation period. The extra care involved in curing a clothbound cheese requires a customized aging environment, with proper temperature, humidity, and airflow. The wheels are then tested, tasted, and monitored for quality during their entire life cycle.
We have two items from our freezer: Zesty Dill Freezer Pickles and Chimichurri. Both are made with our farm-grown ingredients. The pickles are made with cucumbers, peppers, and dill from our farm, then frozen. The chimi is an Argentinean condiment made with parsley and cilantro. Today for lunch I'm eating a VT Veggie burger and roasted fingerling potatoes topped with chimi!
Cheese share:
Moses Sleeper from Jasper Hill is a cheese inspired by French brie. This cheese’s historic namesake, Moses Sleeper, and his compatriot, Constant Bliss, were Revolutionary War scouts killed while defending a blockhouse along the Northeast Kingdom’s legendary Bayley Hazen Military Road. You can eat all of this cheese (rind and all). It's best when it's allowed to come to room temperature before cutting in.

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