Good Eats Newsletter - May 14, 2008

Important Share Information

• Please remember to bring back your empty CSA bags and egg cartons.
  We can reuse them!
• Also, it is very important to check your name off the list each week when
  picking up your share. Please make an effort to do this!

Summer CSA Sign-Up
There are only four more weekly deliveries after this one. This Spring Share sure is going fast. We always hold priority for our current shareholders in hopes that you will be back with us in the next. If you would like to secure your spot for the summer, please make sure to have your form at the farm by May 28th. After the 28th spots will be filled first-come-first-serve.

The new share period begins June 18th and continues for 18 weeks. There are two options: The Vegetable-Localvore share, just like the current share, is $790 for the 18 weeks; The Vegetable Only share will have the same veggies and fruits as above, minus the Localvore staples and Pete's Kitchen prepared items. The Vegetable Only share is $495.

To enroll, please print off the sign-up form from our Website and mail it in with your check(s). Please do not hand your form to Tim on deliveries or to one of us at the Farmer's Market. History has shown that mail is the best way to make sure the right person (me) gets your form and that you get your spot!

Farm Update
Everyone has been very busy at the farm lately making sure that everything gets in the ground and receives the proper attention. Pete and the crew have finally gotten all of the onions planted. Yesterday, Jeffrey was spending his day tying up the tomatoes. This week we are also starting to plant the potatoes. In the midst of all of this, it was time to harvest. The crew harvested a great deal of produce between yesterday and today. You'll see the fresh results in your share bags!

Deborah is our newest farmhand. She hails from Albany with a background in construction. She was tired of driving long distances to get to work. She is very happy with her new 10 minute commute, and we are very happy to have her here! Deborah was up on a ladder yesterday, power washing our big barn. Next, we're planning to paint it!

This Week's Share Contains
A Mix of Gilfeather Turnips and Rutabagas; Forona Beets; Mixed Greens; Cress Raab; Mesclun; Baby Leeks; One Bunch Sweet Salad Turnips -or- Pac Choi; Pete's Frozen Tomatoes; Vermont Soy Tofu; Maplebrook Farm Mozzarella Cheese; Les Aliments Massawippi Miso; and Elmore Mountain Multigrain Bread.

Bread Ingredients: Organic sifted wheat flour, cracked wheat, cracked rye, cracked barley, cracked corn, millet, flax, (all organic) sourdough, sea salt.

Having trouble distinguishing the turnips from the rutabagas? You can always check out the Veggie Identification chart.

Storage and Use Tips
Gilfeather Turnips, Rutabagas and Beets - These are the last of our gilfeathers for the season. Both the turnips and rutabagas should be peeled before cooking. Beets can be peeled before or after cooking. You can store them all loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
Mixed Greens - Your greens may include one or more of the following: kale, arugula, mizuna, mibuna, red giant. These make a salad with a nice bite or you can quick saute them, throw them into soups and/or pastas, etc. As with mesclun, it's a good idea to wrap the greens in a dishtowel inside the plastic bag to absorb any excess moisture. Store in the crisper drawer.
Cress Raab - The raab overwintered nicely in the field. They have come up with flower buds and a combination of greens and stem. Depending on your taste you might find the bitterness of these greens pleasing or a bit overpowering. If you are in the latter camp, try sauteing them with 1-2 teaspoons of honey. The sweetness of the honey will balance the spiciness of the greens. Stored loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer, these will last 3-4 days.
Frozen Tomatoes - You can use these in cooking recipes much as you would whole fresh or canned tomatoes. While still frozen, run the tomatoes under cold water. The skins will slip right off. If you wait a few minutes, you can chop them and use like canned chopped tomatoes.
Sweet Salad Turnips and Pac Choi - You have received one or the other of these and have probably noticed by now that it is full of holes. These are caused by small, green cabbage caterpillars. They only seem to bother us once a year and it is about this time in the greenhouse. We choose not to spray even an organic pesticide because by the time the problem develops we are only a week from harvest. So, try not to be bothered by the holes, the food will still taste good and be good nourishment.

• Pac Choi - These are excellent cooking greens for soups and stir-fries. Refrigerate unwashed choi in a plastic container or in a loosely wrapped plastic bag. Choi is best when used within several days.
• Salad Turnips- Sweet and delicious, these are a distant relative our storage turnips. Requiring no cooking, they make a wonderful snack or salad garnish. The greens can be sauted, stir-fried, or torn and added to a salad. Always remove the greens before storing. The greens and turnips can be kept separately wrapped in plastic in the crisper drawer.

Localvore 'Lore from Heather
Gilbert and Suzanne have a miso production facility attached to their home in North Hatley QC, at the northern tip of Lake Massawippi. It is a lovely town just east of interstate 55 (91 in VT). Les Aliments Massawippi is the only producer of oat and soy miso that Gilbert knows of. He is proud to be able to make this miso because it is crafted exclusively from Quebec grown grains and it is a difficult miso to make.

When I was there, he showed me their fancy new retail packaging as well. They are distributing to health food stores and they also go to a market and some specialty food shows to sell their products. They make a couple of other misos with herbs, and one with mushrooms. They also make a traditional soy and barley miso, and produce Tamari. This miso is aged 3 years and has an indefinite cold storage shelf life. It is a fermented living food, and should be heated only very gently to preserve these healthful properties.

Here's some information I found on the WHFoods.com website:

Health Benefits - Miso is made by adding a yeast mold (known as "koji") to soybeans and other ingredients and allowing them to ferment. Then they mix in a ground preparation of cooked soybeans and salt, and let the mixture ferment for several days before grinding it into a paste with a nut butter consistency. Because it is fermented with a B12-synthesizing bacteria, miso has been commonly recommended as a B12 source for vegans. Miso is quite high in sodium (1 ounce contains 52% of the recommended daily value for sodium), but a little miso goes a long way towards providing your daily needs for the trace minerals zinc, manganese, and copper. In addition, a single tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein for just 25 calories. An impressive nutrient profile for a flavoring agent! Use miso in your cooking instead of plain old salt and reap a variety of benefits in addition to enhanced flavor.

History - While miso is the Japanese name we are most familiar with in the United States, this fermented soybean paste is also known as "chiang" in China, and "chao do" in Vietnam.

The origins of miso, like many other foods made from soybeans, can be traced to ancient China. Its predecessor was known as "hisio," a seasoning made from fermenting soybeans, wheat, alcohol, salt and other ingredients. Some accounts hold that it was a luxury food item, only enjoyed by the wealthy aristocrats. This fermented soybean paste was introduced into Japan around the 7th century. The refined and elaborate process of making miso was further developed throughout the centuries to produce the miso that we know today.

The creation of miso is very complex and is held as a high art in Asia, just as wine making and cheese making are revered in other parts of the world. Miso is now becoming more widely available in the United States due to the growing popularity of the macrobiotic diet and escalating interest in Asian food culture, stimulated by research suggesting it has numerous health benefits.

How to Select and Store - Miso is generally sold in tightly sealed plastic or glass containers. Some stores also sell it in bulk containers. As darker color misos are stronger and more pungent in flavor, they are generally better suited for heavy foods. Lighter colored misos are more delicate and are oftentimes more appropriate for soup, dressings and light sauces.
With all of the Asian greens coming out of the greenhouse, and then the dulse from last week, I thought Tofu was in order! When I went to pick up the yogurt we made arrangements for the tofu. I usually bring my son with me, and he goes in to help carry the cases from the cooler and I load it into the back of my Volvo. It's a full load now with 27 cases of yogurt or 7 milk crates of tofu! In any case, Jayden is happy because then he gets "paid" with a chocolate soymilk. We are also pushing production capacity for Vermont Soy right now by ordering 320 pieces of tofu. When I ordered it, Sofia said they will be able to meet demand for bigger orders in the future as they continue to improve production. They have a new label on the tofu this week, with slick new recyclable boxes coming in the near future.

Once again this week we have the fabulous fresh mozzarella from Maplebrook. Nancy from Maplebrook is always so accommodating to bring up the cheese on her way to her camp at Lake Parker. Try it on a pizza with the tomato sauce below.

Recipes
Simple Tomato Garlic Sauce
Heather is all about grilling this time of year, and often makes a grilled pizza. You can make dough, or buy it, or use a tortilla, or a flatbread. If you have one, a grilling tray is handy. When Heather uses fresh dough, she par bakes the crust on her grill tray before adding the sauce and other toppings. Otherwise it's difficult to slide the fully loaded raw pizza onto the grill! Try adding some of this week's mozzarella, greens, sliced baby leeks, fresh herbs, crumbled bacon, etc. Be creative!

5 large frozen tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp oil
pinch salt

Run frozen tomatoes under warm water to remove skins. Set aside in a bowl. Saute the garlic in oil until just turning golden. Add the tomatoes and crush them as they thaw. Add a bit a of salt and cook until the tomatoes are saucy and not too watery.

Miso Roasted Root Vegetables
Mark Bittman's book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, has a lot of good information about miso, as well as suggested recipes. Although he extols the health benefits of uncooked miso, his book also includes a few recipes where the miso gets some heat. The recipe for the Miso glaze below is adapted from one of them. You can also use the glaze when grilling vegetables or tofu. The roasted vegetables would make a great side dish for the tofu recipe below. Leftovers can be brought to room temperature and tossed with mesclun and Asian dressing and garnished with chopped dulse for a light salad supper.

1/2 cup miso
1/4 cup honey
1 clove minced garlic
1 hot pepper minced, or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 TB sunflower oil

4 lbs mixed root vegetables, such as turnips, rutabagas and beets
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375F.
Whisk together glaze ingredients, miso through sunflower oil. Heat slightly if your honey has crystallized and the mixture is too thick. Peel, slice and chop vegetables into 1/2" pieces. Toss veggies with glaze on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes, until vegetables are caramelized on the outside and soft on the inside. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Panfried Tofu with Sesame Cress Raab
Here's a terrific sounding tofu and raab recipe adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl. Feel free to mix in other greens, such as mizuna, mustard, etc. Serves 2 as a main course, easily doubles.

1 TB sesame seeds
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 glove garlic minced
1/4 c orange juice
2 TB soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 block tofu
2 1/2 TB oil
1 bunch cress raab, coarsely chopped
2 tsp honey

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet until golden brown. Set aside.

Combine ginger, garlic, orange juice, soy sauce and sesame oil in a sauce pan. Simmer gently for 1 minute.

Place tofu on a clean towel, cover with another, and press gently but firmly to remove excess moisture. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices along the short end. Heat 1 TB oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Brown tofu on both sides, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Heat remaining 1 1/2 TB oil in same skillet add cress raab and honey, saute until cress is crisp tender, tossing frequently.

Transfer cress raab to plates, arrange tofu slices on top, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Good Eats Newsletter - May 7, 2008

Pete's Musings
Things are clicking along on the farm. We bravely, (perhaps foolishly,) transplanted 4,000 pepper plants, eggplants, zukes and cukes outside last week. They are under row cover and have already weathered 3 frosts nicely. They'll be fine unless we have a night in the mid to low 20's, in which case I'll be up all night keeping them irrigated and they will probably still be fine. If you like colored peppers you're going to like our summer share. We hope to have plenty of colored peppers to freeze as well.

The greenhouse tomatoes are coming along, many plants showing golf ball sized fruits. The crew is in the midst of a multi-day onion transplanting marathon. They are tedious to get into the ground and we need a couple hundred thousand onions to keep you voracious eaters happy through the winter. Enjoy Spring! -Pete

Summer CSA Share Pricing
If you've been watching, reading or listening to the news lately, you can't have missed the headlines regarding the ever-increasing price of food. With the price of fuel climbing at record pace, a shortage of conventional fertilizer and crops being dedicated for biofuels, household food budgets are being stretched thin.

In this climate, CSAs are actually an excellent way of preserving your dollar's food buying power. This year's Good Eats weekly Summer Share cost is actually about a dollar less than last fall's. We anticipate including at least as much produce per dollar in the weekly deliveries this summer as last. That will make over a year of local, organic food deliveries without an increase.

So, how can we do it and remain viable? For one, we don't use synthetic fertilizers relying on petroleum for their production, so we are protected from those escalating prices. We are also constantly learning and improving our growing practices. With two years of growing for CSAs under our belts, we can plan our crops to more efficiently meet the needs of our weekly share deliveries.

We know that it can be difficult to write that large check at the beginning of the share period and we try hard to make sure that you receive good value for the $45 weekly share price. We have recently heard from a couple of shareholders who echoed the same sentiment, that once they joined Good Eats, they saw their total monthly food expenditures decrease by almost $200 a month. We are curious about how you feel that being a member of Pete's CSA affects your weekly grocery budget. If you track that type of thing and would be willing to share, please email me with your feedback.

Popcorn Warning
Farm apologies go out to share member Suzanne Podhaizer and all the folks in her office. Suzanne created smoke and concern instead of a tasty snack by following our directions to microwave a popcorn cob in a paper bag. Though this a method published on the Food Network site, a Google search uncovers many instances of paper bags beginning to smoke and catch fire in the microwave. We will be recommending popping corn on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe covered dish from now on. I just tried using my corning casserole with the glass cover to nuke some loose popping corn and it worked great. As we are all out of the popcorn on the cob, I am unable to test this.

If you live on the edge and still wish to microwave your popping corn in a paper bag, I've uncovered a bit of information on the Web. 1) Use a smaller lunch-type bag instead of a larger heaver bag. There were more instances of the heavier bags beginning to smolder than the lighter-weight varieties. 2) Bags made of recycled paper can contain traces of metal and may be more flammable. 3) Stand watch over the microwave. Bags can begin to smoke within about 30 seconds. 4) Use a food grade bag to minimize health risks.

Dinner with Michael Pollan
The Vermont Fresh Network is having a benefit raffle that we think our shareholders would be delighted to win. The prize is dinner and conversation with Michael Pollan, author of the best-selling book Omnivore's Dilemma.

The Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) dinner with Michael Pollan will give a small group of diners the rare opportunity to talk with Pollan one-on-one while enjoying a meal featuring seasonal farm fresh fare at Penny Cluse Café in Burlington prepared by chef/owner Charles Reeves and chef Maura O'Sullivan. Pollan is coming to Vermont as part of a guest lecture series organized by the Vermont Food Systems Leadership and Policy Institute (a program of the University of Vermont).

To find out more about the June 10th dinner or to purchase a raffle ticket, visit: http://www.vermontfresh.net/vfnraffle/.

This Week's Share Contains
Mixed Potatoes; Spring Dug Parsnips; Savoy Cabbage; Mesclun Braising Mix;
Champlain Orchards Apples; Butterworks Farm Yogurt; Dulse Seaweed; Pearled Barley from Michel Gaudreau; and Patchwork Bread.
Also....
1 Bunch Basil -or- 1 Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley -or- 1 European Cucumber *;
1 Bunch Chives -or- 1 Bunch Scallions*;
1 Bunch Greens May Include One or More of the Following*: Wild Arugula, Mizuna, Purple Mizuna, Mustard, Red Giant Mustard, and Arugula;
*As we ramp up our production for the season, we will sometimes be including different items at different sites. Thus, for example, when you open your produce bag this week, you may find basil, scallions and arugula; or a cuke, chives and a mix of mustard and mizuna greens. Though contents my differ slightly, all bags will be of the same value.

Roasted Potato Bread Ingredients: wheat flour, whole wheat flour, barley flour, Patchwork potatoes, sourdough, salt, deep well water

Onion Pillow Ingredients: organic wheat flour, organic barley flour, yeast, salt, well water, Riverside Farm onions

Storage and Use Tips
Parsnips - Overwintering in the ground intensifies the sweetness of parsnips. These are oh so good. You can keep them in plastic in the crisper drawer for at least a week. My husband's favorite way to eat parsnips is to cut them into 1 centimeter thick circles and par boil for 3-7 minutes. He then drains them and pan fries them in butter. If you poured maple syrup over them, they could almost be dessert.
Basil, Chives, Parsley, Scallions - Wrap these in a paper towel before placing in a plastic bag. They will keep in the crisper drawer for several days, the scallions and parsley longer.
Pearled Barley - Keeping barley sealed in a cool dark place, it will last at least 6 months. You can cook it and toss it cold with dressing and veggies for a nice salad, or use it in soups or stews. It also cooks down into a really nice risotto, without all of the attention and stirring required with Arborio rice. If you give these guys a soak for 6+ hours in cold water before use, you can reduce your cooking time by more than half.

Localvore 'Lore from Heather
The seaweed is here! I spoke with Matt from Ironbound Island Seaweed a couple of weeks ago, and asked which variety would be best to include for our members with the fresh salad and Asian greens we're harvesting. He said the dulse is perfect for salads, tender with a beautiful purple color. But don't stop there, he also recommends it for stir- fry and chowder. There is a great informational brochure included in the seaweed package, with several recipe ideas. For photographs of their operation, checkout http://www.ironboundisland.com/photos.htm.

From their website:

Ironbound Island Seaweed is a worker owned company dedicated to the sustainable harvesting of wild seaweeds from the cold, clean waters of the Schoodic Peninsula and surrounding islands of eastern Maine. The season begins in spring when the seaweeds are at their peak, well before the trees have begun to leaf out. We work with the early morning low tides, often leaving before sunrise for the hour long journey by wooden boat to the outer islands. The edible seaweeds thrive there on ledges that break just above the water line on the new and full moon tides. From the boat we scramble onto exposed rocks and harvest waist high in the waves, taking care to leave plenty of plants for regeneration. The harvest is focused and intense; soon the tide returns swallowing the ledges and covering the seaweed beds. We hang the seaweed in the sun and it dries within 36 hours. On foggy days the seaweed is moved to a wood heated drying house. The whole leaves are then carefully packaged to bring you a sweet, dark seaweed unsurpassed.

From another website, the Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company, I found a lot of great ideas and information about Dulse. I hope you all enjoy it!

Dulse is a versatile sea vegetable which lends a unique, intense taste when added to a wide variety of dishes. Many people enjoy chewing dried dulse as it is a very salty snack. Indeed, many dulse lovers have told us that their bodies seem to crave dulse, and they just eat it straight from the bag while working, from artists in their studios to academicians at their desks.

• Dried dulse snipped with scissors into tiny pieces becomes a salty condiment which may be used to season anything.
• Dulse adds a unique flavor accent which perfectly complements potatoes, eggs, vegetables, rice, casseroles, and chowders.
• Dulse and potatoes are made for each other! Snip dulse with scissors and sprinkle on baked boiled, mashed, or fired potatoes.
• Dulse is great sprinkled on salads, pizza (like anchovies), on or in omelettes or scrambled eggs (like bacon).

As you become familiar with the taste qualities of dulse, try it on rice dishes, casseroles, vegetable dishes, and in chowders. Because dulse is so delicate and fragile in texture, it becomes mushy when cooked. We prefer to use dulse raw, sprinkled as flakes on cooked food; or steamed for a moment, or cooked in scrambled eggs and omelettes.

Try tossing dulse in a little bit of butter in the frying and serving the crisp dulse on the side with eggs or as a 'dulse, tomatoe & lettuce sandwich.

For yummy baked beans replace the pork with 1/2 c. dulse and 1/2 c. of olive oil.
Soaked, dulse softens gradually and becomes less salty. It may then be added to salads and sandwiches. In a soup, stew or chowder, dulse softens quickly and gradually dissolves.

Recipes
Roasted Vegetable and Barley Stew
The sweetness of the parsnips and cabbage really come out with roasting. Soaking the barley for at least 6 hours is crucial to having it cook faster. As this is a hearty stew, you may want to make it later in the week when the weather turns cold and rainy again. Serves 4-6.

4 slices of bacon
1 small onion, sliced thin
1/2 head of savoy cabbage, roughly chopped into 1" pieces w/leaves separated
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 3/4" cubes
1 1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4" pieces
1 TB olive oil
1 cup pearled barley, rinsed, soaked over night and drained
4 cups vegetable stock
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB maple syrup
2 TB chopped fresh basil or parsley, -or- 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon over medium heat. When bacon is finished cooking, remove, cool, crumble and reserve. Increase heat to medium-high. Add sliced onion to hot bacon fat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add half of the cabbage pieces, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the cabbage begins to wilt (3-5 minutes). Add remaining cabbage, sprinkle with remaining salt and toss with already warmed cabbage. Once the new cabbage begins to wilt, add potatoes and parsnips and toss to coat. Pour mixture onto large cookie sheet or sheet pan. Roast in hot oven for approximately 30 minutes, tossing veggies every 10 minutes. 15 minutes into the cooking time, sprinkle veggies with vinegar and maple syrup and toss to coat. Continue roasting.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in clean heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add drained barley and cook, stirring frequently, for about a minute. Add broth, bring to boil, cover and simmer until barley is al dente, about 30 minutes. Add roasted vegetables and reserved crumbled bacon to the cooked barley. Add dried or fresh herbs and stir to combine. Season to taste. Serve warm with crusty bread.

Spring Greens and Barley Risotto
Any quick cooking spring greens will work nicely in this dish. Try a braising green mix, arugula, spinach, etc. Just don't leave it in to cook too long. Serves 4.

2 TB sunflower oil
2 large shallots, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups barley, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1 bunch of spring greens, washed, spun dry and chopped
4 oz. grated sharp, hard local cheese, such as Green Mountain Gruyere or Prima Caciotta from Dancing Ewe Farm
2 TB chopped fresh chives
2 TB chopped fresh basil or parsley

Heat oil over medium heat in a 10" frying pan with 2" deep sides. Add shallots and salt; cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Do not let shallots begin to brown. Add barley and cook stirring frequently for about 1 minute. Add wine and stir until the liquid is absorbed by the barley, about 1-2 minutes. Add the broth, nutmeg and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 hr. 15 minutes. Begin checking for doneness after 50 minutes. The liquid should be absorbed, the grains softened and gluteness, yet still have just a bit of chew. Stir in greens, cover until just wilted. Reduce heat to very low. Stir in cheese and herbs. Serve warm.

Potato Pancakes with Dulse
Here's a recipe Heather found online from a seaweed company in Ireland. She suggests adding a bit of minced onion or chives.

1lb Cooked Mashed Potato
2 TB Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/4oz (7g) of Finely Chopped Dulse
salt and pepper
1 cup Golden Bread Crumbs
Olive Oil for frying

Mix first three ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Split into portions and roll in golden breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Shallow or deep fry in olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Good Eats Newsletter - April 30, 2008

Farm Update

Well, here's the rain!  April is typically the crunch time on the farm, and the past couple of weeks sure have been busy.  Given the late spring, the pace will continue well into May I'm sure.  Last week, Pete realized that green house production was hitting its stride, and we shifted back into twice weekly wholesale deliveries.  So the crew was busy calling accounts for orders, harvesting, washing and packing both for Tuesday and Friday.

Meanwhile, there are all those potatoes and onions to transplant out into the fields.  Cases of onion plants are waiting in the wash house for a dry spell, not to mention more fields to till and seed for greens. Tomatoes were transplanted in the greenhouses, as plastic went onto the newest one.  Pete is buying two more greenhouse "kits" this coming week, which will make 5 all together by the end of the summer.  These portable houses, along with the original wood framed larger house, will be filled with cool weather crops for the fall.  In the meantime, the two new green houses are planted with tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and eggplant.  After we get through these next few cold nights, more of the same warm weather crops will go out into the fields under double row covers.  It seems cool out to me, but Pete says the double row cover gives protection equal to the unheated greenhouses. 

 Construction projects continue for both the commercial kitchen and farmstand.  This spring, Chris Jacobs is finishing the farmstand, installing fixtures, windows, doors, power and water.  Running it is going to be my summer job!  I hope that you all will come by this summer to see the progress.  We'll have a cooler to keep greens and tender vegetables fresh, as well as space for local cheeses, our eggs, etc.  There will be display shelves for tomatoes, squash, onion, potatoes and such.  Chris is restoring a lovely old garage door from another farm building for the main entry. The building itself is quite unique, with a garden planted right on the roof.

There is also the garden in front, which unfortunately currently has more winter rye growing than anything else!  I've got a project there, that's for sure.  This is the garden I can see from my side porch, and how I originally started working for Pete last summer.  I began as a volunteer, planting perennials which had been dug and left against the side of the building, just waiting for someone to have a chance to plant them.  At the time, Pete and the crew were in the middle of strawberry harvest and he just didn't have spare hands to tend an ornamental garden!  I couldn't help myself, seeing good plants dying in the record June heat, and took it on.

This Week's Share Contains 

Napa cabbage, chives, mesclun, European cucumber, mixed bunched greens (one of the following: red or green mizuna, arugula, mibuna, or wild arugula), carrots, beets, Jasper Hill Blue Cheese, Elmore Mt bread, mushrooms, organic popcorn

Bread Ingredients: Organic sifted wheat flour and whole wheat flour,  sea salt, water, sourdough

Storage and Use Tips

Mesclun - a mix of mizuna, claytonia, lettuces, arugula, mustard, kale.  Delicate and perishable, it will store a few days in the crisper drawer.  Excellent not only as salad, but as a bed of greens for your entre.  Think grilled fish, or roasted vegetables, or mushroom omelet.

Chives - A real spring treat!  Use the whole chives minced up. Stored in a loose bag in the crisper drawer,  they'll keep quite well for a few days. Great in an omelet

Mixed Bunched Greens - You will get one of the different varieties of greens.  Pete's advice is to try it raw for a salad green.  If  you don't care for it raw, try it in soup or sauted.   Keep it loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. It should be used quickly, as this is very delicate.

Napa Cabbage - Super tender and delicate green house gown napa is more like lettuce, but with a mild cabbage bite to it.  This is not like the heavy white napa you'd find at the super market!  Stirfry very briefly, add to soups, or shred into an Asian inspired salad or slaw.  Best used in a few days, store unwashed and loosely bagged in the crisper.

Localvore 'Lore from Heather

The Tullochgorum popcorn has been a long time coming!  I originally ordered it from Steve and Loraine in Quebec last fall.  Then we had that great popcorn raised here on the farm, and we didn't need to include it right then.  In addition, it turned out that Pete wouldn't be able to pick it up with the sunflower oil until just recently.  So now, finally, here it is.  Steve has asked for feed back from you all, and so I hope you will try it soon and let me know.  They are continuously evaluating their business and want customer input, as he put it, to see if popcorn is something they should continue to produce.

I just came back from Jasper Hill to pick up the Bailey Hazen Blue Cheese.  Mateo met me out front and we took a tour of the new caves.  The building is quite impressive, as is their business plan.  The plan is to age cheeses from roughly 30 Vermont artisan cheese producers.  Jasper Hill will buy the cheese from these cheese makers, and market it under the original producer's name.  Mateo said it's just too labor intensive and expensive to age cheese, sitting on an inventory waiting to sell it.  This way, these small producers can focus on farming and cheese making, without the additional labor expenses of aging and marketing.  They are paid up front for the cheese and retain their market presence and brand identity.

They may also be expanding their Bailey Hazen production by starting another herd at a separate farm.  These 40 cows would produce milk just for blue cheese, effectively doubling production.  As it is now, they can't fill all the orders for blue cheese.  Otherwise, the intention of this new facility is to age and market cheese for other producers.  This is an economic development project, to help encourage small scale dairy farms in the state.   There are either poor or rich small scale cheese producers and he hopes to fill in that middle area by making it more profitable for them.  He also plans to market more of the Jasper Hill cheeses locally than they have been able to up to now.  We certainly are looking forward to offering more of these cheeses in Good Eats shares.

Recipes

Mixed Grains Pilaf

Here’s a delicious sounding recipe from members Al and Pam from last share.  As some of you may need ideas for the mixed grains, and we have mushrooms again, it seemed like a good recipe to include  The other idea I had for using the grains is to cook them until tender and use as you would bulghur to make tabouli type salad. Rather than parsley, I used a mixture of minced chives and bunched greens.1 1/2 cups cracked mixed grains

3 1/4 cups chicken stock

8 tbls (1 stick) butter or half butter & Olive or other oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

5-6 oz. sliced mushrooms

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 (1 ¼ hour in oven, ¼ hour prep)

Saute grains in 4 tblsp butter, using a heavy frying pan on medium low, until golden (about 5 mins.) Meanwhile chop onions. Pour grain into covered casserole, such as corning glassware. Sautee chopped onions in 2 tblsps butter on low heat until soft, about 5 mins. Meanwhile slice mushrooms. Pour onion into casserole. Sautee sliced mushrooms in remaining oil on low heat until water evaporates, adding salt & pepper to taste, about 5 mins. Add to casserole. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock warmed in microwave 2 mins. or in saucepan to casserole. Cover and bake 30 mins.

Add another 1 1/2 cups chicken stock warmed in microwave 2 mins. or in saucepan to casserole. Cover and bake 30 mins. Add the remaining 1/4 cup warmed stock and bake the last 15 minutes covered. Stir well and serve.

Mixed Grains Tabouli Salad

1 cup dry mixed grains

3 c water

1/2 tsp salt

Boil water, add grains and salt.  Cover and simmer until tender, about 35 minutes.  Drain if necessary.  Dress with the following dressing.

Whisk together and use to taste:

1/4 c vinegar

1/2 c oil

1/4 c lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp prepared mustard

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

next toss together with: 

1/4 c minced chives

1 carrot, grated

1 cucumber, diced

1 c finely minced fresh greens, such as mizuna or arugula

Chill and serve on a bed of mesclun with more of the lemon dressing if you like.   A bit of crumbled cheese on top would be perfect.

Asian Chicken Cabbage Rolls

Here's a recipe I found on a Canadian Poultry Marketing Board website.  I've changed it around a bit already, but  feel free to substitute ground pork or turkey or crumbled tofu for the chicken. Makes 6 servings

1 head napa cabbage

1 # ground chicken

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp minced chives

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 c sliced mushrooms

pinch red pepper flakes

3/4 c cooked rice

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 egg, beaten

Heat oil in a skillet and add garlic, ginger, mushrooms, and chives.  Saute until liquid evaporates.  Add chicken and red pepper flakes.  Cook until no longer pink, breaking it up into crumbles with a spoon.  Stir in soy sauce and rice.  Remove from heat, mix in egg.

Meanwhile, dunk napa into a large pot of boiling water just to wilt it, then rinse in cold water.  Remove about 12 individual leaves and blot dry.  Place a scoop of filling in the stalk end, then roll up.  You don't have to worry too much about tucking in the ends.  Place rolls in a steamer and steam about 10 minutes, until tender.  Do this in a couple batches.  Serve with a sauce made up of soy sauce, ginger, chives, garlic, maple sugar and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Good Eats Newsletter - April 23

Farm Update

After a brief flirt with spring, it seems we're into full blown summer! Before the snow was even gone, Pete, Steve, and Meg were taking turns out on the tractors prepping fields as they dried. Potatoes started going into the ground this weekend. It seemed like one day the lower fields by the river were under water, and the next they were high and dry. If you come to Craftsbury, those are the most visible of Pete's fields in town, but just a hint of total acres. Good thing, because their location makes them prone to flooding. Up the knoll on the other side of the road, a crew went out last week to seed and row cover a plot of salad greens! I can see the wide swatch of white remay from my house, a sure sign of good things to come.

Purple Pac Choi in the Greenhouse

Some of you from the area may know that quite a few of us live right here "next door" to Pete's. I've lived here for over 10 years. Steve and his family bought their house up the street about 3 years ago, soon after Pete bought the farm. Just this winter, Tim bought the house next to mine, directly across the road from Pete's driveway. Plus, Meg moved into the farmhouse last fall. Besides the obvious commute advantages, it's great to live and work with like minded folks. An impromptu bonfire at Tim's the other evening got the two of us talking about it, again! It's also a hint of how we all might be living and working in closer communities as casual driving becomes less and less affordable. We may all not only be eating more locally, but working closer to home as well, similar to a few generations ago. Now we just have to convince Jeffrey and Nancy to move north.

This Week's Share Contains

Spring Dug Parsnips; Mix of Green and/or Purple Pac Choi and Tatsoi; Braising mix; Sweet Salad Turnips; Yellow Potatoes; Napa Cabbage; Organic Oats; Organic mixed cracked grains (wheat, barley, rye, oat, flax); Vt Milk Co Smoked Cheddar; Buttermilk; and Patchwork Bread.

Bread Ingredients: Organic sifted wheat flour and whole wheat flour, organic malted barley flour, sea salt, water, sourdough

Storage and Use Tips

Braising Mix - This is a hearty mix of slightly larger red mustard, mizuna, beets, arugula, and doesn't necessarily need to be cooked. I just saw it being packed and it looks lovely and very tender. You can briefly saute this with garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper for a quick side. It's also great in a simple quesadilla. Or try making a wilted salad by heating oil, vinegar, a minced clove of garlic and pouring over greens. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Delicious with some toasted nuts and crumbled cheese. Store like mesclun in the crisper drawer for a few days.

Pac Choi - Sometimes known as "bok choi," as well as several other names, (learn more here), these are excellent cooking greens for soups and stir-fries. Refrigerate unwashed choi in a plastic container or in a loosely wrapped plastic bag. Choi is best when used within several days.

Tatsoi - Looking very similar to the pac choi, tatsoi has crinklier leaves and grows in a flatter rosette. You can see photos of all in the greenhouse gallery. Store and cook as you would pac choi.

Salad Turnips - These turnips are sweeter and milder than a radish, but with that distinctive flavor. Requiring no cooking, they make a wonderful snack or salad garnish. The greens can be sauted, stir-fried, or torn and added to a salad. Always remove the greens before storing. The greens and turnips can be kept separately wrapped in plastic in the crisper drawer.

Spring Dug Parsnips - Sweet and yummy, these are a gift from under the snow! Overwintering in the ground develops a wonderful flavor in parsnips. Store unwashed in a loose bag in the crisper drawer. Jeffrey is taking some home to make a simple puree of roasted parsnips with cream and butter, salt & pepper. Make it rather stiff to serve as a side, thin it with stock or more cream/milk to make it into a soup.

Napa Cabbage - Super tender and delicate green house gown napa is more like lettuce, but with a mild cabbage bite to it. This is not like the heavy white napa you'd find at the super market! Stirfry very briefly, or shred into an Asian inspired salad or slaw. Best used in a few days, store unwashed and loosely bagged in the crisper.

Localvore 'Lore from Heather

Last Tuesday I spent the afternoon in southern Quebec on a buying trip. My first stop was in Compton, about 30 minutes north of the border. Let me tell you, the roads are in no better condition there than our stretch of VT Route 14! So anyway, at the Groleau's dairy farm, Beurrerie du Patrimoine, I picked up butter and buttermilk. They were just bottling the buttermilk when I arrived. Diane said they made 550 pounds of butter that morning, 300 tubs of which I had ordered for Pete's. We also got all the buttermilk, just 136 - 500 ml bottles. Diane explained that they don't get much buttermilk from the process, and making our order was tight! They spent the whole day preparing our order. I was glad they were able to bottle enough for us, since I had bought some for myself on my last trip. I enjoyed it so much, and wanted to get it for the share this time. It's not as thick as conventional cultured buttermilk. I think you'll enjoy using it!

This is a family business, with a dairy cow and goat operation, cheese making, bottled milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese production. They have also added a commercial kitchen for prepared foods, and produce lasagna, quiche, and other frozen meals using their own dairy, meat, and eggs. Beginning in May, they will be making sausage as well. This is her middle son's project, along with cheese making. Her oldest son runs deliveries throughout Quebec and up to Montreal to 125 stores. He also handles general business operations. Her youngest son works in the barn and manages the goat herd with her husband. Diane seems to run the whole show, and with a big smile on her face! She is clearly proud of her business and her sons' involvement.

Next I went about 15 minutes down the road to Michel Gaudreau's grain mill. He also runs a family farm business, with his daughter working in the mill. When I arrived, he was working on her car. We loaded up 2 pallets of grains, and then I got the delivery truck stuck in the muck. He pulled me out with the John Deer, and I was on my way! Then it was over to North Hatley at the northern tip if Lake Massawipi to pick up the miso. This part of the trip was a bit longer, since there's not an easy direct route, or a smooth one for that matter! Gilbert greeted me warmly, and offered me a cup of miso broth. The miso operation is built onto their home, and there's a nutty scent to the air when you enter. I'll tell you more about miso making when it's in the share!

Recipes

I wanted to include buttermilk recipes last week, but Diane wasn't sure she'd be able to fill the order. So we went to press with butter instead, and now here's the buttermilk. If you feel you will not use the buttermilk right away, you can freeze it to use in baking at a later time. Some general ideas for using this are muffins, pancakes, waffles, scones, etc. You can find some recipes in the blog from previous newsletters. Here, I'd like to share a couple of different ways to use the buttermilk. One is a cold soup, the other is for grilled chicken my mother-in-law shared with me.

Chilled Buttermilk Cucumber Soup

adapted from Gourmet Cookbook. You need pickled beets to make this, or it's just as good without. Serves 4.

2 c well shaken buttermilk

1/2 c sour cream

1 c milk (or more buttermilk)

1/2 tsp salt

grind of fresh black pepper

1 c chopped pickled beets

1/4 c pickled beet liquid

1 c chopped cucumber

1/2 c chopped sweet salad turnips