Summer Newsletter
Week 6
Greetings!

Week 6 is here.  Many folks that we talk to are really enjoying the cooler days and the almost chilly nights. While it may be more comfortable than the usual hot weather that we are experiencing by now, our farmers are less pleased.  Usually by now, the cool spring crops are gone, making way for the hot weather crops of summer. Unfortunately, our cool summer is holding things up. Snow peas are often gone by now and we have a host of veggies that are begging to be picked. Instead we are struggling to find enough interesting produce to even fill the bags.

One thing that we have plenty of is beets. Just in time to help you out with uses for them is our annual class: Beet Beet Revolution.  This is one of our more popular classes and you will learn the best way to roast them, some cooking ideas, recipes and more. Beets are nutrition bombs that help purify the blood and detox your body. You should be doing your best to include more of them in your daily diet, and this class is a great place to start.
Trevor's Corner
Trevor has been working hard all day trying to find products for the bag.  Trying to add variety and interest in the bag, when the weather is not cooperating has made it difficult. This week's bag has some new items and luckily the tomatoes are coming along. IN order to get this newsletter out on time, I am skipping his old fashioned story telling and merely pointing out that we should have extra blueberries and black raspberries on the truck this week.  The raspberries will be $5 pint or 2/$9. This is slightly higher than last week, but these berries are in high demand and prices vary from grower to grower. We know that our customers like fruit, so we took the plunge to get some more.
What's In The Bag?
Small Omnivore
1 whole chicken
1 bulb green garlic
1 # green beans
1 candy onion
2 zucchini
1 pint cherry tomatoes or  1 lb slicing tomatoes
1 pint blueberries

Small Vegetarian
no chicken, add:
1 quart snow peas
1 bunch carrots
1 pound spelt rosemary linguine

Small Vegan
no chicken, add:
1 quart snow peas
1 bunch carrots
1 pint black raspberries

Large Omnivore
small omnivore plus:
2  spelt pizza dough balls
1 pint tomato sauce

1 pint black raspberries

Large Vegetarian
small vegetarian plus:
2  spelt pizza dough balls
1 pint tomato sauce
1 pint black raspberries
Recipes
Simple Crock Pot Chicken

We don't often get a lot of time to cook when we are working in the summer.  I have found that one of the easiest ways to cook a whole chicken is to roast it in the crock pot.  I add potatoes or veggies to the bottom of the pot, put the chicken on top, sprinkle with herbs and spices, pour in some liquid and turn it on.  When I come home from work, dinner is ready to go.  You might need a good sized crock pot for this one. 

 

1 bunch carrots 

5 or so potatoes

1-2 onions 

herbs

sunflower oil

1 to 1 1/2 cups white wine, light beer, apple cider or water 

 

Chop all the veggies and place in the bottom of the crock pot. Place the chicken on top. Pour a little oil on top if you want to make a crispier skin. Sprinkle with herbs and spices.  Favorite combos: Cajun or jerk seasoning, lemon pepper, salt and pepper, tarragon, oregano and garlic. Pour the liquid into the pot beside the chicken.  Put the lid on top.  If your bird is frozen, put it on high.  If it is thawed, use low.  8+ hours and dinner is ready and the chicken will fall off the bone.  After dinner, put the carcass, extra bones, etc, back into the crock pot. Add water to  cover the whole thing. Put it back on high and in the morning you have chicken stock.  Leave on high and cook all day for really rich stock.

 

Garlic Green Beans

� cups Butter

3 cloves Fresh Garlic, Minced Or Pressed

1 pound Green Beans

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

� teaspoons Pepper

 

Preparation

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place butter in the skillet to melt. Add garlic and allow to soften for about a minute. Add green beans. Saute until warmed, turn down heat and cover. Let cook, stirring often, until al dente. Remove the cover, turn heat back up to medium to medium high and allow the moisture to evaporate. You want the green beans to be al dente and the butter and garlic to be slightly caramelized.

Grilled Whole Chicken with Charred Tomato Sauce

Prep and marinade bird

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
� teaspoon powdered hot chile pepper (could be paprika, smoked paprika, or ground chipotle pepper)
� teaspoon of cumin, ground
A bit of fresh oregano if you have some on hand
� teaspoon sea salt
Several generous grinds of coarse black pepper
I tablespoon of olive oil
1 4-pound chicken 

Place the first five ingredients, garlic first, into a mortar and pestle. Pound the garlic into a rough paste. Add the oil, and pound a bit more.

Using kitchen shears, carefully cut the backbone out of the chicken and using your hands, open the chicken outwards and press down vigorously, flattening it. Now turn it skin-side up and rub the paste all over the skin. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and optimally overnight.

 

Prep the grill

Get some good hardwood charcoal going by whatever method you prefer-I use a chimney. When the coals are white-hot, collect them on one half of the grill basin. The goal is to create a hot side and a cool side. Put the grated grill top, which should be clean, in its place and let it heat up for a minute or two.

 

Prep the salsa

6 medium-sized, ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
1 to 2 fresh jalapenos or serrano chiles, roughly chopped
Sea salt to taste

Put the garlic, half of the chopped chiles, and a pinch of salt in a food processor and set aside-you'll run the blade after adding roasted tomatoes.

 

Grill time

Place the butterflied chicken, skin side up, on the cool side of the grill, and the tomatoes on the hot side. Cover with the grill lid. Let the tomatoes cook, turning and recovering the grill as needed, until nicely charred all over. Add them to the food processor and whiz until you have a smooth salsa. Check for seasoning-add and process more chile pepper and salt if needed.

Meanwhile, leave the chicken cooking on the cool side, covered, until a meat thermometer plunged into the deepest part of a thigh reads 105 degrees. When it reaches that temperature, you're ready to crisp off the skin. Simply flip the bird over, skin-side down, onto the hot part of the grill and let it cook there until the skin is crisp and caramelized and the thigh temperature reads 180 degrees.

Let it rest off the grill for 20 minutes before cutting the meat off the bones into taco-ready chunks. Serve with the salsa and plenty of hot tortillas.

Oven Baked Zucchini Frittata

2-3 zucchini, grated

3 eggs

0.5 cup cheese, preferably feta or chevre

0.25 cup fresh mint

� bunch parsley

1/3 cup dill

2-3 green onions

2 tsp baking powder

0.25 cup olive oil

1.5 to 2 cups flour

1 tablespoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon pepper flakes (if you want it hot)

Salt to taste

 

Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour the mix into a greased oven pan. Bake at 375 for approximately an hour. Serve hot or with yogurt on the side.

Chicken Pot Pies

2 leg-thigh pieces

2 cups peeled, chopped carrots 1 inch pieces

1 cup chopped celery, 1 inch pieces

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup rich chicken stock

2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

 

Place the vegetables and chicken stock in a heavy bottom pan.  Add the thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to the boil and then lower heat to medium low.  Put the chicken into the pan so that it rests on the bottom of the pan with the vegetables surrounding.  Add enough water to cover the chicken pieces.  Cover with a lid and poach in a 350 degree oven until the meat falls easily from the bone-about 1 hour.

When the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the oven.  Take the chicken from the pan and put aside to cool.  Strain the vegetables from the broth.  Measure the broth.  For each 1 � to 2 cups of broth, you will use 2-2 1/2 TBS of flour to thicken the "sauce."

Place the flour in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in some broth.  Whisk to eliminate any lumps.  Return the broth to the pan.  Add the vegetables into the broth with the flour mixture.  Cook over medium high heat until the "sauce" is thickened. Season well with salt and pepper and set aside.

Remove the chicken from the bones and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Add to the vegetables and "sauce." You can make the dish to this point the day before.

When you are ready to bake the pot pie, fill the pie dish with the chicken-vegetable mixture.  Cover it with a round of your favorite pie pastry.  Pinch the edges of the pastry against the rim of the pie plate.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Lower the heat to 350.  Total baking time will be about 40 minutes.

I prefer pie crusts made with lard for these kinds of dishes.  The following  recipe is from Cooking From Quilt Country by Marsha Adams.

Lard Crust for Pies

1 cup lard

� cup hot water

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

Measure the lard and place it in a metal bowl in a warm spot.  Choose a mixing bowl that will accommodate the three cups of flour.  Let the lard soften and nearly melt.

 

When the lard has nearly melted, take � cup from a pan of boiling water and pour it over the lard.  Let the water and lard mixture cool.  Stir from time to time.

 

Measure the flour and add the salt to it.

Add the flour and salt to the mixing bowl with the lard and water.  Stir with a fork.   When the liquid was been absorbed by the flour change from a fork to a rubber spatula and continue to press the dough together.  Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for three or four hours or preferably overnight.

You will need only about a third of the dough to cover a 9 inch pie dish.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place the pie in the middle of the oven.  Put a tray or some foil on the rack below in case the pie bubbles over.

After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350.  Bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes.  The top should be colored slightly and appear dry and flakey.

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Ingredient Spotlight
Green Garlic 
Green garlic is basically immature garlic bulbs. It comes looking like a green onion, but tastes more like mild garlic. It is more tender and the flavor is more subtle than regular garlic. You can use it as you would any green onion, scallion or garlic, but it shows best when it is a key component and not overwhelmed by other ingredients. For this reason, I like to use it in salads, or lightly sauteed and placed on top of individual pieces of chicken or steak.  If you fry chicken, when you remove the chicken from the pan, deglaze the pan with a little white wine, making sure to scrape up all the dark brown bits into the sauce.  Add green garlic and cook until reduced. Pour over the chicken. 

Black Raspberries 
Blackberries and Black Raspberries are two different types of berries.  What is the difference?
 

The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is by the core, where the stem attaches to the berry. Blackberries will always have a white core, whereas black raspberries are hollow in the center (just like raspberries).

 

Black raspberries are a small, black-colored raspberry covered with very small hairs (much like a raspberry). Blackberries are usually larger, with bigger "cells."

Blackberries are sometimes described as shinier than black raspberries.

 

Black raspberries are harvested earlier than blackberries, and can also handle the cold better.

Black raspberries are said to be less tart than blackberries, making them better for eating fresh (though they also make great jams). Blackberries, which can sometimes be rather sour, are great berries for making dessert.


Blueberries
I love blueberry season for a few reasons.  First off, I love blueberry pie. They are great in muffins, pancakes, on top of waffles and even mixed into a green salad to give it a tart/sweet note.  If you have too many floating around, just pop the whole container into the freezer and they will freeze extremely well. I have a great dehydrator, so I dry some every year and eat them like snacks.

Blueberries are one of the truly native fruits of North America. They have been eaten right as they are for hundreds of years. They are also a great food to add to your diet, because they are exceptionally high in anti oxidants.
Fresh Fork Market | 800-861-8582 | [email protected] | http://www.freshforkmarket.com
PO Box 609612
Cleveland, OH 44109