This Week's Delivery Saturday November 12, 2011

Store In the Fridge:

Leeks - Path Valley Farms

Bunched Carrots - Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Buttercrunch Lettuce - Hartland Farm

Cortland Apples - Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Rainbow Chard - Hartland Farm

Store In A Cool Dry Place:

Carnival Acorn Squash - Path Valley Farms

Also Available:

Organic Pastured Eggs: $4/dozen

Leave cash or check in the box. Checks can be made out to Tom or Christy Przystawik.

Recipes and Information

Leeks:

They can spread their special fresh oniony smell around, so keep in plastic bag in the fridge. Don't trim or wash before storing, it makes them break down faster. BUT if space is at a premium, you can chop off the dark green stem part before storing them.

Leek Frittata
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

4 medium to large leeks, well rinsed, dried, sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
6 eggs
1/3 cup crème fraiche or yogurt or Mexican ‘crema’ or milk or kefir
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon rind
Pinch dried oregano
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or pinch dried
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup grated Monterey Jack or other nicely melting cheese

In a cast iron or other oven-proof skillet, sauté the leeks in 1 T of each butter and olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon. Beat eggs with cream (or milk) and seasonings. Stir in the leeks. Melt the remaining butter with the remaining olive oil in the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes until underside is golden. Sprinkle cheese on top and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the frittata puffs and browns. Cut into wedges and serve.

Chard With Parmesan

from Alice Waters

1 bunch of chard

3 tablespoons butter

1 handful freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Pull the leaves from the ribs of one or more bunches of chard. Discard the ribs (or save them for another dish) and wash the leaves.

2. Cook leaves until tender in abundant salted boiling water, 4 minutes or so. Drain the leaves, cool, squeeze out most of their excess water, and chop coarse.

3. For every bunch of chard, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy pan over heat. Add the chopped chard and salt to taste. Heat through, and for each bunch of chard stir in a generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and serve.

Pumpkin or Winter Squash Puree

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone Deborah Madison

Easy, versatile and useful, leftovers can fill ravioli, turn into a soup, or be added to muffins, breads, biscuits, and waffles. Preheat oven to 375 F. Halve, seed, and bake 3 pounds pumpkin or winter squash until tender, approx. 30 - 40 mins. Scrape the flesh away from the skin, then beat until smooth with a large wooden spoon This should be easy unless the squash is stringy, in which case, use a food processor or food mill. Stir in butter to taste and season with salt and pepper. Makes about 2 cups. To enrich the puree, grate Gruyére , Fountain, or Emmenthaler into it. Flavor with extra virgin olive oil, or dark sesame oil, or mix in sautéed onions.

with thanks,

christy and tom

This Week's Delivery Saturday May 21, 2011

store in the fridge:

rhubarb - new morning farm

green leaf lettuce - landisdale farm

spring onions - northern neck fruits and vegetables

chard - hartland farm

mustard greens - hartland farm

store in a cool dry place:

strawberries - papa's orchard

also, for any mushroom nerds out there, we have locally foraged (PG County) chicken of the woods (latin name: Laetiporus cincinnatus) mushrooms available at $18 a pound.

These mushrooms can be prepared like chicken, they even taste like chicken but have more of a mushroom texture. They need to be cooked all the way through.

If you are interested please contact tom directly: tom(at)foodmattersva(dot)com

recipes and information:

last night we made tapioca pudding and rhubarb compote to go on top. it also works well on ice cream. this compote recipe is a little different because i used butter in the mix as well, just to make it a little richer, so feel free to throw in a couple of spoons of butter if you wish...

rhubarb compote

and here is a link to a great tapioca pudding recipe

3 cups 1-inch pieces fresh rhubarb

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until rhubarb is very soft and begins to fall apart, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Transfer compote to medium bowl. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.) Serve cold.

sauteed swiss chard with golden raisins and capers

This dish also makes a delicious pasta partner. Tossed with a pound of your favorite pasta and 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, this Swiss chard goes from a sumptuous side dish to a spectacular main course.

1 pound Swiss chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon drained capers

1. Trim tough stem ends from Swiss chard. Cut stems crosswise into 1-inch pieces; cut leaves into 2-inch pieces, keeping stems and leaves separate.

2. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook about 4 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add chard stems and cook, covered, 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in raisins. Add leaves to stems in batches, covering skillet after each batch; cook 7 to 10 minutes total or until leaves are tender and wilted, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in capers.

mustard greens wrapped in proscuitto

1bunch of mustard greens

olive oil

red wine vinegar

red pepper flakes

garlic, 3 cloves finely chopped

salt and pepper

1/8-1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, about 8-12 slices


Wash greens, remove stems, and coarsely chop leaves. Leave some water droplets on the greens. In a large saute pan, heat enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in garlic. Cook garlic for just a quick moment and then add the greens. Cook covered for about 5 minutes until the greens are wilted and tender. Set aside to cool. Season with a splash of red wine vinegar, a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, and fresh ground pepper. (Go easy on seasoning with salt - the prosciutto adds plenty.)

Slice each piece of prosciutto in half lengthwise. Place a spoonful of greens on one end of the prosciutto and roll. Repeat. Serve at room temperature.