This Week's Delivery Saturday September 10, 2011

Just a hint of the upcoming change of season in this week's delivery. We now receive our farm deliveries at Discovery Woods because we use the food for the school as well. We are done with our formal work by the time the delivery from Path Valley Farms comes so we often have time to visit with the farmers for a while, something the restaurant never could have afforded us. While the sting of losing Food Matters is still in our hearts, it is hard not to be grateful for our new experiences.

We hope that you will join us for a gathering anytime after 3pm tomorrow. Bring your own drinks and grab a seat under the tent! And just a reminder to sign the card for Steve Turnage of Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables after the devastating loss he suffered at his farm recently.

Store In the Fridge

Arrowhead Cabbage- Path Valley Farms

Mixed Bell Peppers- Whisper Hill Farm

Mixed Summer Squash-Whisper Hill Farm

Sweet Corn-Miller Farm

Store In A Cool Dry Place

Red Slicer Tomatoes-Path Valley Farms

Honeycrisp Apples-Path Valley Farms

Small Sweet Potatoes-Path Valley Farms

Also Available:

Yogurt: $3 for 16 oz, $6 for 32 oz.

Home Made From Pasteurized Organic Grassfed Whole Milk and Organic Grassfed Yogurt Culture, Unsweetened

Medium Eggs: $2.50/dozen

Fresh Cut Flowers from Path Valley Farms: $8 a bunch

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

Recipes and Information

Flan (wonderful use of the eggs we get)

from Saveur Magazine

The secret to making a smooth flan from is to bake the custard until it's completely set around the edges but not in the middle (it should be a little wiggly), as it will gently finish cooking while it cools. If the flan is baked until the center is set, it won't be as creamy.

FOR THE CARAMEL:
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

FOR THE CUSTARD:
3⁄4 cup sugar
3 1⁄4 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 2" strip lemon zest
6 eggs

1. For the caramel: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°. Set a kettle of water on to boil. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring with a fork, just until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Stop stirring and let the sugar gradually caramelize until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and carefully divide caramel between eight 3 1⁄4"-wide flan molds or ramekins to form a layer in the bottom of each. Set the molds aside.

2. For the custard: Put 6 tbsp. of the sugar, milk, vanilla, and zest into a small pot. Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat. Discard the lemon zest. Whisk together the remaining sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until well combined.

3. Arrange the molds in a deep baking dish and pour the milk–egg mixture evenly into them. Put the baking dish into the oven and pour in enough hot water from the kettle that it comes halfway up sides of the molds. Bake until flans are set around the edges but still slightly wiggly in the center when the sides are tapped with a spoon, about 30 minutes. Let flans rest in water bath for 5 minutes, then remove and transfer to the refrigerator to let chill completely.

4. To serve: Carefully run a sharp knife around edges of each mold. Dip the bottoms of each mold briefly into a bowl of hot water to warm them slightly. Invert the flans onto small plates, knock on the bottoms for good luck, and lift the molds off to reveal the flans.

SERVES 8

Creamed Corn

3 tbsp. butter
1⁄4 cup heavy cream
4 cups corn kernels
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Put butter and heavy cream into a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

2. Add corn kernels to saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

with thanks,

christy and tom

This Week's Delivery Saturday July 23, 2011

Gonna be a scorcher. Again.

But our farmers are working hard and here's what they have provided for us this week:

Store In The Fridge:

Ambrosia Melon-Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Green Beans-Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Cucumbers-Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Corn-Miller Farm

Store In A Cool Dry Place:

Roma Tomatoes-Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables

Sweet Ring Onions-Miller Farm

If you have a kombucha bottle to return, you can just leave it on the table.

Also Available:

Organic Pastured Chicken Eggs: $4 a dozen

Whole Milk Plain Yogurt, Made by Christy (Ingredients: Local Pasteurized Grass Fed Whole Milk, Yogurt Culture (from Local Grass Fed Biodynamic Yogurt)-Please Return The Glass Jar

$3 for a 16 oz jar, $6 for a 32 oz. jar

The yogurt is tangy and there is no sweetener added. If you have little ones this is a great flavor to them accustomed to early on, as early as 7 or 8 months. Our kids will eat an entire bowl of plain yogurt without blinking. For a treat we may add homemade granola, fresh fruit, or raw honey. We also use it to top oatmeal, put it in smoothies, or for dressing and dips.

Kombucha is not quite ready-still fermenting. Each batch is tasted and tested until it's at the proper pH before I bottle it for a second fermentation. Hopefully you guys who got some last week enjoyed it! Lots available next week.

Recipes and Information

Ambrosia Melon:

Ambrosia melon is an exotic melon hybrid that might be confused with a cantaloupe, but it’s quite different. Its flesh is very sweet, tender and pale orange in color with a flavor described as “a combination of all melons plus flowers.”

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Quick Picked Cucumber Melon Salad

from food52.com

4 small or 2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thin (if using large remove seeds)

3 cups sweet melon, cubed

2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon salt

black pepper, to taste

2 slices proscuitto or favorite cured meat or 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl, mix together the cucumbers and melon. Sprinkle over with the sugar and salt. The salad will begin to expel liquid almost immediately. Let sit 10-20 minutes and drain well. Return to the fridge until ready to serve.

Before your picnic/casual lunch/classy dinner party, drain the salad again and remove to a serving bowl. Add a grind of black pepper and sprinkle over the prosciutto or feta (using both will add too much salt; not recommended). Spoon into bowls or eat straight from the serving dish with your fingers, trying to keep the cucumber-melon juice off your chin.

Chili Oil Green Beans

1/2 LB green beans (washed and make sure the stem end it snapped or cut off)

2-3 TBS of Chinese chili oil (depending on how much heat you like)
2 TBS soy sauce or Tamari sauce (Tamari is a Japanese version of soy sauce that is deeper, richer and earthier, and gluten-free)


1 TBS sesame oil


Heat the oven up to 450 degrees.
Mix together the soy sauce, chili oil and sesame oil.
 Put your green beans in a big bowl and toss with the sauce mixture.
Pour out into a baking tray lined with foil, pop in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Once in a while you can go in an toss the green beans around to avoid the bottom layer burning.
 Enjoy!

with thanks,

christy and tom

Make Your Own Yogurt

Back on our pantry post we told you that we keep plain yogurt on hand at all times. I have had some requests for the recipe we use so I thought I'd just give you the link here on the blog. I will tell you that it seems wordy and complicated but it's so easy and delicious! We use the cooler method described in the recipe and we never add the dry milk. All you need is the milk of your choice and a small bit of yogurt to start. We use organic milk and stoneyfield plain yogurt (one of the few that come in 8 oz size) to start it.

make your own yogurt recipe!