FfEeBbRrUuAaRrYy 26, 2011

Happy Saturday Folks!

start playing? Shackamaxan Beans: Shac A farm we love, Roots, is one of the few farms that grows these

gorgeous heirloom beans. Shackamaxon is a variety of pole bean that dates before the 1800 s and was originally cultivated by the Lenape Tribe from the Delaware River that runs between SE Pennsylvania and S Jersey. The area of Penn. referred to as Shackamaxon is found along this river. Now, the part you need to know to cook these: They are dried but DO NOT need to be soaked (HOORAY!). They do, however, need a LOT of water when cooking, 4-­parts water to 1-­part beans. When cooked, they are creamy like a Pinto Bean, and rich in flavor like a Black Bean. Let us know how you like them. We are featuring Shackamaxan beans in our recipe for Hearty Chili. For this Chili recipe, we do call for 1 can of unsalted, organic tomatoes from your pantry.

Bloomsdale Spinach: even call it sexy. You decide. We feature it both raw and cooked.

Pea Tendrils: aaaah, the first beautiful little glimmers of Spring. These are the young leaves and shoots of the snow pea plant soup at the end of cooking.

Catch of the Week | Crab Claws: There really is nothing as sweet and succulent as well prepared crab claw meat. We suggest that you steam these, rather than boil (witch tends to mush up the meat). Steam them over a white wine, herb-­ey, lemon-­ey broth. Enjoy with drawn butter and Haas Avocados.

Enjoy the recipes, enjoy the adventure, Shaheda, your Market Maven

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Vegetables Fruit Roots Delicata Squash (Roots Farm) Broccoli (Cortez) Bok Choy (Earthtrine)*

Haas avocado (Rancho Santa Cecilia)

Madarins, Satsuma (Cav Farms) Fuji Apples (Cuyama Orchard) Lemons (Earthtrine)* *

Carrots, bunch (Rancho Cortez) Yukon Gold Potatoes (Mike Dixon) Garlic (Anthony Chan) Candy Onions (Roots Farm)* Red Beets (Tutti Frutti)

Leafy Greens Extra Fruit Meat/ Eggs Bloomsdale Spinach (Tutti Frutti) Salad mix (Shepherd Farms) Pea Tendrils (Earthtrine)*

Kiwi (Mallard Lake Ranch) Extra apples (Cuyama Orchard) Strawberries (Fairview Gardens) Guavas (Santa Cecillia)

Ground beef (Rancho San Julian) Whole Chicken (Healthy Family) Lamb Loin chops (Healthy Family) 1 Dz Eggs (Healthy Family)

Herbs Dairy Regional Specialty Italian Parsley (Tutti Frutti) Wild Arugula (Earthtrine)

Unsalted butter (Spring Hill) Bella Capra Jalapeno goat (Sierra Nevada)

Raspberry spun honey (San Marcos)

Conserves Grain/ Pulse Nuts, Seeds or Dried Fruit Blackberry Jam (Marcie Jimenez) Shackamaxon Beans (Roots Farm)

Naturally Dried apricots no sulphur (Avila & Sons Farm)

Fair Trade Catch of the Week Cinnamon (Frontier fair-­trade) Crab Claws (Cadenas Fish)

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10x

loaded with protein and fiber.

Ingredients: Out of the Box:

For the chili: ground beef shackamaxon beans 1 carrot-­ chopped 2 candy onions-­ chopped 4 garlic cloves-­ chopped 1 tsp cinnamon 2 Windrose Farms smoked tomatoes-­ these were in your box a few weeks ago and would be spectacular in this recipe.

For the salad:

beets arugula avocado goat cheese raspberry spun honey

Other ingredients: olive oil salt/ pepper 1 jalapeno chili-­ chopped, seeded 1 tbsp chili or chipotle chili powder 1 tbsp ground cumin ½ tsp sweet paprika 1 14oz can tomatoes-­ organic, unsalted 1-­2 cups beef, chicken broth or beer

Optional toppings: Sour cream Grated cheddar cheese Chopped onions Chopped fresh cilantro Chili is very personal, so anything else you like!

Directions: Beet Salad Prep

Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap beets with foil, drizzled with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Place your foil pouches in the oven to roast.

Hearty Chili A little disclaimer, I know that chili is a very personal food item and some are very passionate about what belongs in (and what absolutely should NEVER be in) a bowl of chili. So please refer to

any means. As with all recipes, taste and adjust as you prefer. Always. ckamaxon cooking. As you read above, these beans take a LOT of water. Use 4-­parts of water to 1-­part beans. Put water and beans in a pot (no salt) with a bay leaf if you like. Bring to a boil. Simmer on lower heat, covered until tender. Please note, they will continue to cook in our chili, so they do not need to be super soft and because they are recently dried, they will cook much more quickly than dry beans you might be accustomed to. Keep an eye on them. Once they are cooked, season with salt to taste. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and set aside. Did you put your beets in the 400F oven??

As the beans are simmering (and the beets roasting), heat a little oil in heavy large pot and sauté the onions until they begin to brown. Keep an eye on them so they do not go from beautiful and golden to burnt charcoal. Add the carrot, jalapeños (if using) and garlic. Saute to release the flavor and soften the carrot. Add a little salt. Add in the beef, break up and mix together with the onions and garlic and then stop. I like to let the beef brown a little before breaking it up further. Once it is browned on all sides and broken up, add in the Windrose smoked tomatoes, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, and paprika. Add in the tomatoes (with the juice), the shackamaxon beans, your liquid (stock or beer or some combination of the two)

heat and simmer until chili thickens and flavors blend. Stir occasionally while you put your beets together, about 45 minutes. Skim any fat from surface of chili.

Beet Salad Once beets are cool enough to handle, lop off the stem end and squeeze carefully to slip the peels off. Try to avoid using water, it dilutes the flavor a bit, but do protect your hands with a plastic bag, unless of course, you prefer your fingertips bright pink. Cut into quarters. Make a basic vinaigrette with 3-­parts olive oil and 1-­part vinegar. Salt, pepper. This time, sweeten with just a little bit of your fabulous raspberry spun honey. Shake shake and set aside. Wash and dry the arugula. Toss arugula with a little dressing. Top with peeled, quartered beets, chunks of avocado and some goat cheese. If you have any of those Nogera walnuts left, add those as well. They would be great for crunch in this salad. Drizzle a bit more dressing on beets, etc before serving.

Hearty Chili Check the consistency of the chili. Add some liquid if it looks too dry. Taste and adjust seasonings. As with most stews, this will be better the next day. Serve chili in big deep bowls with whatever toppings your family likes!

Enjoy!

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it is one of my favorites ways to roast a chicken other things with the bird (to save time and the planet). Start by pre-­ Ingredients:

Out of the Box: For the bird:

Whole chicken unwrapped, patted dry & waiting uncovered in your fridge.

For the sides: Potatoes-­ scrubbed and halved Delicata squash-­ just sliced into thin

rings Bloomsdale spinach Parsley-­ chopped Goat cheese Butter Meyer lemon-­ just a squeeze Raspberry honey

Other ingredients:

Course salt, fresh ground Pepper Olive oil Dijon mustard (optional) Vinegar-­ balsamic or sherry is nice

with this.

Directions: Roasting Prep (Chicken & Veg)

The beautiful bird should be unwrapped, patted dry & waiting uncovered in your fridge. The air inside the fridge helps to dry the skin out completely, resulting in an amazing crisp skinned bird. Pull your bird out of the fridge about an hour before it goes into the oven. Truss the bird like so http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpSPfuJQVOA Set in a roasting pan. Scrub and halve your potatoes. Toss them with a little olive oil. If you are feeling particularly gluttonous, just throw them in the same pan as the chicken. They will cook in the fat. If not, place them on a covered cookie sheet and set aside. Pick your pans carefully, three will be going into the oven. Now, slice your delicata squash into thin rings (about 1cm). Do not peel and do not remove the seeds (love this technique for those reasons!). The seeds will just roast and be delicious. Toss the rings with olive

oil, salt and pepper and lay flat on another baking sheet (or the same one as the potatoes if there is room).

Take a full tablespoon of course salt and rain it over the bird, front, back (side to side) and a little inside the cavity. Throw on a little

may need to gently press the salt onto the skin to help it stick.

Now, let me tell you, even I am a bit skeptical looking at this recumami, flavor-­

With that said, I will say that this recipe really only works with a

rubs to help your dinner. Lucky for you, you have the perfect bird in that box!

Place your bird, potatoes and squash in the oven.

Because we are cooking the chicken at such a high heat and the

worry-­ it is super delicious and totally worth it! And my house is still standing. Keep an eye on the squash, they will be done in about 25 minutes. They should be well browned. Quickly pull out when done. Check the temp of the chicken after 50 mins. When it reads 155F in the thigh take it out of the oven, baste it with the juices, remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cover the bird with foil. Let is rest for at least 10 mins before

and delicious.

Salad and Side Make a quick vinaigrette with 3 parts oil & 1 part vinegar. Season with salt, pepper. Whisk in some honey and Dijon to taste. Taste and adjust. If you want to get really fancy, you can warm this dressing slightly. Place warm squash rings onto your bloomsdale spinach leaves. Toss with dressing and sprinkle with goat cheese. Done.

For the potatoes, just toss roasted potatoes with fresh chopped parsley, a little pat of butter (optional) and a squeeze of meyer lemon (optional).

To serve Serve the roasted bird with room temp Springhill Farm butter and Dijon mustard on the side, if you prefer. Enjoy the chicken with roasted potatoes and your hearty bloomsdale spinach salad.

m to ou!).

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Beautiful, pastured lamb does not need much to make it delicious. This gremolata is a bit of a flavor punch, kinda nice on lamb meat. Just be sure to make it just before you use it. Ingredients:

Out of the Box: For the lamb chops:

Lamb chops-­ patted dry Parsley-­ chopped Citrus (lemon &/or orange)-­ zest & juice 1 Garlic clove-­ chopped salt, pepper

For the sides: carrots-­ scrubbed & sliced in half

lengthwise salad fixins, your choice!

Other Ingredients: Balsamic vinegar (optional) Olive oil

Directions: Side and salad prep

everything else ready first. For the carrots, preheat your oven to 400F. Take your carrots, sliced lengthwise and toss them with a little olive oil & salt.

Place them in on layer in a pan. Roast for about 35 minutes, or until the edges look crisp. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar for the last 5 minutes of roasting and you are in for a caramelized amazing treat! I hated carrots before I started to roast them;; it really releases their lovely natural sugars.

loads of things to assemble a lovely, creative salad. Start with greens: spinach, arugula, pea tendrils, mixed greens or any combination of the four. Add highlights: Some ideas I like are citrus segments & avocado, beets (leftover, roasted) & goat cheese, dried apricots, walnuts & goat cheese, the list goes on! Dress with your favorite vinaigrette using my favorite ratio of 3:1, oil: vinegar.

Lamb & gremolata Prep ingredients for the gremolata, but keep separate. Chop up the parsley. Zest the citrus, squeeze a little of the juice, finely chop 1 garlic clove. When you are ready to use this, mix all the ingredients together and drizzle in a little olive oil. Season with salt.

Heat up a heavy bottomed skillet or grill pan. Season the lamb with salt & pepper. Rub with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

When the pan is hot place the chop in and back up. Let it stay on the heat for a few minutes, until it naturally pulls away and is relatively easy to turn over. Same on the other side. This chop will be good medium rare. Once the other side has been seared, remove and cover with foil. Your meat needs rest. Repeat the process with the rest if your pan was too small to fit them all.

While the chops rest, mix together the gremolata ingredients. If you like you can use a little bit directly on the lamb after you flip it, but not necessary. The gremolata should be fairly thick, do not use too much olive oil. Serve the chops with gremolata. A little goes a long way, so be careful.

Lamb Chops, roasted carrots and your favorite salad. Yum. Oh, if you need a rice-­ey something, couscous or farro would be lovely.

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-­fries are awesome! And the best way to create a quick, healthy meal using up odds and ends you may have, in a relatively short amount of time. Oh, we have dried apricots in our box this week, so I will be using those for sure. They add a lovely sweetness to the meal. Ingredients:

Out of the Box: For the stir-­fry:

Broccoli-­ florets & stems cut in small pieces

Candy onions-­ chopped Garlic cloves-­ sliced thin Bok Choy-­ stems cut & leaves left

whole. Bloomsdale spinach leaves Carrots-­ chopped Dried apricots Pea tendrils

For the citrus salad: Various citrus-­ segmented Arugula or mixed greens Apples & avocado (optional)

Other optional Ingredients: Leftover chicken (you can also use

organic tofu if you like) Any other vegetables you want to

use up! Ginger-­ grated Soy sauce Cilantro Red chili flakes Sesame oil Rice noodles or steamed rice to

serve.

Directions: Stir fry prep

With Stir fry meals it is very important to make sure all of your prep is ready to go before you ever turn the heat on. Chop all of your vegetables the same size. The spinach and bok choy leaves can be left whole. Make sure all the veggies are in separate piles. Place the garlic, ginger & chili flakes in a small bowl.

Time to stir fry! Heat a small amount of oil in a wok or skillet. Use an oil with a high smoke point, like canola or grapeseed. Add in ½ of the garlic, ginger, red pepper and stir around quickly. Add in the vegetables, apricots and cook one by one, starting with the hardest first. After you add the apricots, add about ¼ cup of water or broth to help them soften. Do not add the bok choy leaves, spinach or pea tendrils until later. If you are using tofu or leftover chicken, add that too. Everything should be cooked until tender-­crisp and bright in color. Add some soy sauce and cilantro. Stir around. Turn off the heat, add the bok choy leaves, spinach and finally the pea tendrils. Cover for a couple minutes. Serve with a drizzle of sesame oil over rice or noodles.

Citrus Salad This is a refreshing simple salad meant to showcase all the lovely flavorful winter citrus. Simply top your favorite greens with various types of citrus. Add avocado and apple, but only if you want to use them up. Drizzle with some oil, vinegar and a sprinkling of salt.

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Like stir-­fries, frittatas are a great way to use up ingredients from the crisper. And with the eggs, you s one. For the

-­style, which basically means no mayo and never served cold. Ingredients:

Out of the Box: For the frittata:

Eggs-­ beaten Garlic-­ chopped Onions-­ chopped, sauteed Spinach-­ chopped, sauteed Broccoli-­ chopped, sautéed Goat cheese Pea tendrils

For the potatoes: Potatoes-­ Parsley-­ chopped Garlic-­ chopped

For the salad: Mixed greens

Other Ingredients: Milk or cream Olive oil White wine vinegar Dijon mustard Other herbs like rosemary or chives Salt

Directions:

Prep: Place your sliced potatoes in a pot with water and salt. Slicing the potatoes before boiling them helps the potatoes not fall apart, and prevents you from having to try and cut raging hot potatoes.

Bring them to a boil and simmer until just cooked. Drain and save some of the

To keep the potato slices from getting damaged after draining, it helps to lay them out flat to cool slightly. The prep for the frittata is simple. Mix the eggs, milk or cream, sautéed vegetables (not the pea tendrils), garlic and herbs together. Whisk, Whisk to incorporate some air.

To cook: Preheat oven to 350F. Heat up an oven proof skillet, I love cast iron for this) and coat well with butter or oil. Pour in frittata mixture and cook until the bottom sets. Sprinkle goat cheese on top. Frittatas should be finished in the oven. Bake the frittata until the top no longer looks

wet. Sprinkle the top with pea tendrils for the last 5 minutes of baking. Allow to cool and set completely before cutting.

white wine vinegar, about ¼ cup of reserved potato water, mustard, salt and pepper. Potato cooking water is starchy and will act as a binding element to hold the salad together and keep the potatoes from drying out. White wine will do the same thing if you accidentally dumped your potato water.

Pour your vinaigrette over the potatoes (which are resting on the cookie sheet). After a few minutes, after most of the vinaigrette has been absorbed, carefully transfer potato slices into a toss and even more carefully, toss in the chopped garlic, parsley and any other herbs. Check for salt and pepper.

To serve: Serve a pie shaped wedge of frittata alongside your potato salad and a mixed green salad.

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As we mentioned in the Welcome message on the first page, crab claw meat is so sweet, so succulent and just beautiful to eat. To start, steam them over a broth of delicate things you like. I use a combination of white wine and water, some herbs and some lemon. Steaming them helps keep the meat firm whereas boiling it can lead to grainy, mushy, generally unpleasant meat. After you have steamed your claws, why not enjoy the meat in a salad of sorts with some Haas avocado, some lemon, perhaps over a bed of Pea Tendrils? A warm hunk of buttered crusty French bread and a

yo glowing memory of that balmy Summer Sunday, dining al fresca on a tree shaded patio, for hours.

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