Summer Share 2015 – Week 12

We are just past the halfway point of the summer season. With all this cool weather, it hardly seems like we have even had a summer!  It seems crazy, but we will open up registration for the upcoming winter season by the end of the week.  Dates, times and locations (except for Westlake) will be the same as last year.  When it is ready, you can buy your winter share here:

Register For Winter!

It may also seem like a long way away, but we have opened up sales for Thanksgiving!  We offer 3 different sized packages: from small to huge. We also sell Turkeys a la carte. Even if you don’t have a lot of extra cash, you can still reserve your package or bird for only $25 as a deposit. The balance will be due at or before the Thanksgiving pick ups.  We deliver to our stops on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Reserve your bird today: Shop 

It may seem early, but for us Thanksgiving is already in the works. We have raised some new heritage breeds to calculate the time required to raise them to the size we want and are calculating the number of overall birds we want to have available.  Be sure to watch for our turkey posts on our website, and for our order guide. We wanted to let our summer customers have first crack at the selection, though, so you get early access. If you have not heard about our turkeys, here are the basics:

• Our turkeys are pasture raised by local farmers. Local farmers have raised these turkeys from chicks. They spend a generous portion of their days trotting around the farm in a poultry tractor. This is a contraption that allows them room to run around, but keeps them from leaving the farm.  This means they get to see the sunshine, roam around, get exercise, you know-turkey stuff.
• Our turkeys are naturally fed.  While out in the tractor, these turkeys get to eat grass, bugs and scratch the earth.  This means they eat what they would naturally eat in the wild.  Their diet is supplemented by non-GMO feed.  This ensures the highest quality natural bird that you can get.
• Our birds are hormone and antibiotic free.  One of the best things about a naturally raised turkey is that it is less prone to disease.  Conventional birds are raised in such close quarters that they are often pumped full of antibiotics to keep them from getting the diseases that come from this kind of quarantine.  Furthermore, they are often given hormones to make them build up muscle mass and size for more weight.  The turkeys we offer are free range raised birds that have the time and feed they need to develop naturally.
• Our turkeys are fresh.  When you buy a turkey in the store, it usually is flash frozen.  It is then held in storage for months or even years before you buy it for your holiday meal.  Our birds are harvested and delivered fresh.  No thaw time required.

Here is a great use for the apples in this week’s bag. It is also perfect for any remaining berries in the fridge. Don’t be afraid to combine them for more texture and flavor.

(recipe from Dori Sanders’ Country Cooking)

½ cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsps baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk

4 cups peeled peaches, or a mix of berries and peaches, or apples (See note.)
Sugar to taste

Set the oven at 375 degrees

Cook the peaches (if fresh) in a sauce pan. Add sugar if you prefer. If you are using FFM canned peaches and frozen berries cook these together for a few minutes. Since there will be a large amount of juice, strain the fruit. Save the juice for a morning beverage.

Melt the butter in the baking dish that you will use for the cobbler. It should cover the bottom of the baking dish-an 8 ½ x 11 dish or an oval dish of equivalent size.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the milk. Whisk to break up any lumps.

Assembling the cobber: Pour the flour-milk mixture into the baking dish with the butter. Do not mix, stir or blend. Use a large spoon to ladle the fruit over the batter. Do not mix, stir of blend. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set but soft.

Let the cobber cool and serve it warm or at room temperature.

Note: If using apples, sauté the slices in butter and sugar to soften before adding them to the cobbler.

1 T. butter

1/4 tsp. fennel seeds

2 C. chopped fennel bulb (2 small bulbs)

1/8 tsp. black pepper

2 C. thinly sliced leek (2 large)

1 3/4 C. (1 inch) cubed potato

garlic seasoning as desired

1 3/4 C water

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

Fennel fronds

Melt butter in Dutch oven (or large cooking pot) over medium heat.  Add fennel and leek…saute 4 min.  Add potato, water, salt, fennel seeds, pepper and broth…bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat simmer 20 min. (til potato is tender).

Recipe called for pureeing this and simmering 5 min. til thick.  I served it as a vegetable soup and it was good.  The pureed soup would be similar to a vichyssoise.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes, Zucchini, Squash, and Eggplant – about equal proportions zucchini, squash, and eggplant and twice as much tomatoes, chopped.  So if you have 2 cups  of zucchini, 2 cups squash, and 2 cups eggplant, add 4 cups tomatoes.

Garlic – a few cloves sliced small

Onion – 1 large onion, roughly chopped

Green Pepper – 1 to 2 peppers, cut into long strips and then in half

Salt and Pepper

Start by preparing all your vegetables.  Cut the zucchini and squash into cubes about a half inch by a half inch.  For the eggplant, cut the skin off and also cube it up.  Toss the zucchini in a bowl with a little sunflower oil (or olive oil).  Season with salt and place on an oiled cookie sheet.  Do the same to the squash and eggplant.  Keep all ingredients separate.

Roast the vegetables in the oven, turning them once or twice, until they start to have color and a lot of the water is baked out.

In a heavy bottomed pan, get some oil hot.  Add your onion and pepper and saute until slightly translucent.  Add the garlic but be careful not to burn it.  Now add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat down to a simmer.  Add the roasted eggplant, zucchini, and squash and let simmer until it thickens.  This can take a while depending on the tomatoes.  You can also transfer to a crock pot and let it simmer there.  Add a few tablespoons of honey to mellow out the acid.  Continue cooking until consistency you desire is reached (I like mine more thick).  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  Serve as a side dish, main course, or a condiment (I like serving it over mac and cheese).

Okay, so this is not a standard “recipe” but this is a sandwich that I started making last year.  Someone told me about seeing something like it on television, so I came up with this sandwich based on what I had heard.  If you are not a fan of eggplant, which I have never really been, try this.  It changed my mind.  I am sure that this is a traditional sandwich that is made somewhere, but it was new to me….

Peel eggplant.  Slice.  (I like to use hoagie rolls, so I slice lengthwise, but it doesn’t matter.)  Put the slices in a bowl and cover with a lot of salt.  Let rest for a while.  I think I usually do about 15-20 minutes.  This allows the salt to pull water from the eggplant.  Rinse all of the salt off of the slices.  Whisk together a little egg and milk.  Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture, then dip in Panko crumbs.  I have tried this with flour, bread crumbs, etc and nothing really gives the crispness of Panko.  Press, if needed, to get the panko crumbs to cover well.

Heat a skillet on the stove with a little oil.  Fry the eggplant until tender.  Cover each slice with a little cheese.  Smoked Gouda is great, but use whatever you like.  Assemble the sandwich.  I like to use hoagie rolls, but sandwich buns work well, as does any heartier bread.  Avoid plain white bread.  Layer a few slices on the bottom and top with your favorite sandwich toppings.  I think a little lettuce or tomato works nice.  Use a spread for the top bread that pairs with the flavors.  I am not a fan of mayo, but if you are, add a little garlic or curry powder to the mayo before spreading.  I like a spicy tomato jam or hot pepper spread that I made last year.  Enjoy.

I used this method once, layering the slices with a little curry sauce and serving as a “tower”.  It was great.  Try using mozzarella for the cheese and marinara, and it becomes a crispier version of eggplant parmasean.  Layer with slices of heirloom tomato or avocado for a California twist.