Hello H&BP Folks,
(insert subliminal message: BRING YOUR CIDER JUGS THIS WEEK)
We hope you had as much of an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday as we did. We spent the week with family and friends, built lots of cozy fires in the woodstove, enjoyed the company of our four dogs, and cooked and ate all week long. On Saturday, we took a hike up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and our little pup, Nutmeg, thought it would be fun to take a flying leap off an overlook–EEK! Luckily, the drop was only 15-20 feet and she managed to survive the ordeal with only scrapes, bruises, and a sprained paw. Patrick, who many of you know from the Ix and 250 West drop spots, also had a mishap with one of his “paws” in a printing press while moonlighting at the Virginia Arts of the Book Center. He’s healing as well. Anyway, we’ll all be hobbling back to work this week to greet all Family, Couples, and Single Share folks with some yummy eats, like:
- Bibb Lettuce – back to it’s full glory
- Apple Cider – a special Granny Smith blend
- (insert subliminal message: BRING YOUR CIDER JUGS THIS WEEK)
- Family Share = 1 gallon
- Couple Share = 1/2 gallon
- Single Share = 1/2 gallon
- Butternut Squash
- Turnips
- Granny Smith apples
- Mixed Winter Squash
Over the last couple of weeks, we had sign-up sheets out for Trout to be delivered this week. Unfortunately, we’ve had to delay this delivery two weeks. The trout will now be available during our last week of deliveries, Dec 17, 18, & 20. Those of you who did not sign up for trout will still have the opportunity to do so over the next two weeks. We’ll have sign-up sheets at the a la carte table. The trout is $8.50/lb and we’re expecting each fish to be around 1.5 – 1.75 lbs (give or take). These come fresh, whole, cleaned and ready for your grill or broiler. If you haven’t tried our succulent trout, now is the time.
At the A La Carte Table this week, we’ll have our fresh-baked breads, granola, rosemary, potatoes, kale, spinach, spaghetti squash, homemade soap, cider, LOTS OF EGGS , and maybe even a few other items. Please note that we’re having a special on eggs – 18-pks for $5.50!!
Ix Building folks, please remember that we’ll be at our new INDOOR location for the remainder of the season, at 201 Elliott Avenue. I believe all of you have found us there by now. Try not to park in the reserved parking spaces for CK Courier.
Recipes:
Thanks for all the nice feedback regarding the recipe section of the newsletter. I’m glad so many of you are trying new ways of preparing things. This week we’ll have a lovely array of mixed winter squashes to choose from. Many of these you may be new to you (Delicata, Sweet Dumpling, Ambercup, Buttercut, Gold Nugget, Carnival), so I’m including link that includes some pictures, preparation tips, and recipes for these: http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm
Winter Squash Gratin
This is one of my all-time favorite, often-requested, recipes for winter squash that I got from The Greens Cookbook, by Deborah Madison. I’ve only ever used butternut squash for this recipe, but will be experimenting with some of the other squashes available this week. This is a multi-step recipe, but fully worth the time you’ll put into it. Serves 4 – 6.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp thyme or 4-6 thyme branches
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 lb tomatoes, fresh or canned, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
- Sugar, if necessary
- Pepper
- 2.5 – 3 lbs winter squash
- Oil for frying
- 4 oz Fontina or Gruyere cheese, sliced
- Fresh herbs: parsley or marjoram, thyme, finely chopped
Preparation:
- Heat olive oil and add the onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and a little salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft; then add the wine and let reduce by half. Add the cayenne or paprika and the tomatoes. Cook slowly for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick. Taste, add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are tart, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- While the tomatoes are cooking, prepare the squash. Cut it open, scoop out the seeds and strings, and then, with the flat cut surface resting on the counter, shave off the skin (Butternut squash can be easily peeled with a vegetable peeler before it is cut in half). Another method is to cut the squash into pieces and then remove the skin from each piece. This takes more time, but you may find it easier.
- Slice the peeled squash into large pieces about 3 inches long and 1/4 in thick. Heat enough oil to generously coat the bottom of a large skillet, and fry the squash on both sides, so that it is browned and just tender. Remove it to some toweling to drain; then season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. To form the gratin, put in a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce on the bottle on individual gratin dishes or use it to cover the bottom of one large dish. Lay the squash on top in overlapping layers with slices of the cheese interspersed between the layers. Bake until the cheese is melted and the gratin is hot, about 15 minutes, and serve with the fresh herbs scattered over the surface.
Kim’s Week-After-Thanksgiving Soup
This aptly-named soup is from a cookbook entitled, 500 Low-Carb Recipes, by Dana Carpender. If you didn’t jump right on the turkey soup thing the day after Thanksgiving and instead threw your turkey carcass in the freezer for future use, like I often do, here’s a great way to use it and the turnips from your share. Yield 12 servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 turkey carcass
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
- 5 small or 3 large turnips, cut into cubes
- 4 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch lengths
- 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 zucchini [or I challenge you to include a winter squash instead], diced into small chunks
- 2 cups frozen green beans [did any of you freeze these when they were in season?]
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 2 Tbsp dried basil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
- In a large pot, break up the turkey carcass, leaving bits of meat clinging to it. Cover it with water, add the salt and vinegar, and simmer on low until the water is reduced to about 4 quarts. Let cool.
- Pour the whole thing through a strainer, and return the broth to the pot. Pick the meat off the turkey bones. Discard the bones, cut up the meat, and return it to the pot.
- Add the turnips, celery, mushrooms, onion, squash, beans, bouillon, and basil, and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Turnip Bacon Soup
And because I can’t resist a recipe with bacon in it (my apologies to the vegetarians among you) and because this is one of my favorite winter soups and it’s souper easy to make, here’s a recipe from http://www.yumyum.com that serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 lb streaky bacon, rinds off
- 1/4 lb onion, chopped
- 1/4 lb potatoes, chopped
- 3/4 lbs turnips, chopped
- 2 pts stock
Preparation:
- Chop and fry bacon and onions together.
- Add the potatoes, turnips, and stock.
- Cook gently until vegetables are soft.
- Adjust seasoning and serve.
Thanks and we’ll see ALL of you this week!
April & Brett
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