Summer Newsletter
Week 19
Greetings!

 

It appears that fall has set in for good.  Cool days, cooler nights, and damp, dew covered mornings are all rough on the crops.  This week we are going to take the last bit of summer that we can gather up - warm weather vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers.  After the first frost, none of these will exist and with the current conditions what is out there isn't maturing very quickly. 


 

For those who are ready to embrace the cold, don't forget that the Winter Season registration is now open.  To register, just login to http://csalogin.freshforkmarket.com.   On the main menu, select "Register for a New Season."  If you have no outstanding balance, it just takes a second.  For those with an open balance, the system will ask you to pay that first.  

 

Thanks

Trevor 

Trevor's Corner

Cabbage Mania.  Next Tuesday, Oct 14th is the class that I've most been looking forward to this year - Cabbage Mania.  Chef Parker Bosley will demonstrate and prepare several recipes for you to taste, including his simple fried cabbage recipe that made me into a cabbage fan.

 

Other recipes that will be included in the demonstration, instructional book, and sampling are:  creamed cabbage casserole, vegetarian stuffed cabbage leaves, wilted red cabbage with goat feta and mint, and cabbage cake with lamb, to name a few.  


 

Full details and registration can be found here:  Cabbage Mania Registration

 

Farm Tour - 4 seats just opened up.   We had a party cancel their reservation for the farm tour.  4 seats are now available (as it was sold out).  First come first serve.  Full details here:  Farm Tour Info and Registration


 

Winter Season FAQs.  For those new to Fresh Fork, we have a winter season that lasts from November through May.  Yes, we do stand outside all winter and deliver your food.  Sometime I'll have to demonstrate the different techniques my staff uses to try to stay warm on really cold days/evenings.   They can be quite comical! 

 

But in all seriousness, just because it is winter doesn't mean you can't eat healthy and local.  

 

When are the winter pickups?  The winter season starts immediately after the summer season. The first week for pickups is the week of Nov 3rd.  We will have 3 consecutive pickups then start an every-other-week schedule for the remainder of the season.  This schedule allows us to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks.  

 

Are all the pickup locations the same?  Most of the locations are the same.  In general though, we cut out the late night locations.  From our experience, few customers come out to the 7 to 9 pickups when it is pitch dark and very cold.  A full list of this winter's locations can be found here:  Winter Locations

 

Is the winter season more expensive?  No, it is actually cheaper!  The winter bags are $45 per pickup, but because the pickups are every other week, that comes out to just $22.5 per week.  The bags are generally quite large as well.

 

What kind of food items are in the winter shares?  It depends a little on the winter, but in general we start the season with cold hearty crops like cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and leafy greens.  By December and January, we dip into the storage crops like potatoes, onions, winter squash, and sweet potatoes. 

 

As the weather gets colder, we work in more value added items like pasta and ravioli, sauces, and stocks.  By mid-winter, we break into the bounty that we stashed away from the summer - frozen sweet corn, beans, peas, and tomatoes.  As we have sunny days near freezing, we pull carrots, beets, turnips, and more up from under the straw and out of the nearly-frozen ground.  Yes, these veggies stay in the fields all the way up to we use them all.  

 

All winter bags are planned around a "center of the plate" concept. This may be a whole chicken, a pork shoulder roast, or beef roast.  We add complimentary vegetables from there.  Because I have more room to work with on the budget, the winter bags tend to include larger cuts of meat like the roasts.  

 

Is there a vegetarian or vegan option available?  Sadly, no.  There isn't enough variety available to offer these options in the winter.  Also, it costs more for vegetables in the winter so I couldn't offer you a fair deal.  I'm sorry.  The best I can do is suggest that you share a package with one of your meat eating friends.

 

What happens if the weather is bad?  In 4 years none of the winter routes have been late or cancelled.  That being said, if the weather is really bad, we would consider switching the pickup time.  We would alert you via email.  

 

If the weather scares you to get out on a particular day, you are always welcome at any of our other locations.  Pickup locations are available Wednesday thru Saturday  to give you many chances to pickup.  

 

Are there payment plans available?  We currently offer two payment plans:  full upfront and an installment plan.  The installment plan requires half payment at the beginning of the season and half in the middle.  If you need more flexibility, please ask.  We want to accommodate everyone but we do need to reduce the amount of paperwork over the winter so we can get prepared for next summer.  

 

When should I signup?  Signup now.  The winter season is limited to 1/3 the number of summer customers just based off of available supply.  The first installment isn't due until the beginning of November so at least please register and hold your spot.  

 

More details and registration here:  Winter Season Info and Registration  

What's In The Bag?
Small Omnivore 
1 lb grassfed ground beef
4# sweet potatoes
1 bunch beets with tops
1 head green leaf lettuce
2# roma tomatoes 
1 quart concord grapes
1 eggplant
2 sweet peppers
1 bunch mustard greens

Small Vegetarian
Small bag, leave out the ground beef, add:
1 quarter peck pears
1 head cauliflower
1 head broccoli

Small Vegan
Same as small vegetarian

Large Omnivore
1 lb grassfed ground beef
4# sweet potatoes
1 bunch beets with tops
1 head green leaf lettuce
2# roma tomatoes 
1 quart concord grapes
1 eggplant
2 sweet peppers
1 bunch mustard greens
1 quarter peck pears
1 bunch daikon radishes
1 head broccoli
1 # ground pork
1 quarter peck Jonathon apples
1 sweet candy onion


Large Vegetarian
4# sweet potatoes
1 bunch beets with tops
1 head green leaf lettuce
2# roma tomatoes 
1 quart concord grapes
1 eggplant
2 sweet peppers
1 bunch mustard greens
1 quarter peck pears
1 bunch daikon radishes
1 head broccoli
1 # ground pork
1 quarter peck Jonathon apples
1 sweet candy onion
1 head cauliflower
1 additional broccoli 
More apples or pears


Recipes
Meat Loaf (Trevor's version)

Ingredients:

1# ground beef

1# ground pork

2 eggs, beaten

2 to 3 slices whole wheat bread

1/4 to 1/2 cup milk

Spices of your choice, like paprika, chili, cumin, etc

onions and/or garlic

1 sweet bell pepper, diced

Salt and Pepper

 

I'm one who is not about to go out to the grocery store to follow a recipe, so I use what I have.  This is a basic technique here for meatloaf.  You can add your own variations.

 

Most recipes for meatloaf call for bread crumbs, which I don't regularly stock in my pantry.  Making bread crumbs takes too long for me and makes a mess. An alternative in this recipe is to use some fresh bread (or day old or stale, it doesn't matter) and soak it in milk so you can work it evenly through the meat mixture. 

 

Start with your meat.  You want it very cold.  Combine the ground beef and ground pork by hand.  Season with salt and pepper.   Put the meat back in the refrigerator.


 

Saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in butter or oil until the onions are slightly translucent.  Soak the bread in milk until wet but not dissolved.  Beat and egg.  

 

Add all the ingredients together with the meat.  Spice it up some if you want.  Add chipotle or chili powder, cumin, paprika, etc.  Mix the meat by hand until it starts to get sticky.  Form the meat into a greased loaf pan or on a baking sheet formed into a loaf.  

 

Bake at 350 until an internal temperature of 160 is reached.  How long depends on how you shape the meat and how thick it is.  

 

You can also add a tomato paste mixture on top like grandma did.  I usually don't, but what I remember is tomato paste (or ketchup), something sweet like honey or brown sugar, and a little mustard.  Mix it all together and spread it on top.  

 

Alternative wet ingredient.  Try cutting back the milk and adding (or replacing with) chopped tomatoes and the reserved tomato juice.  Use the tomato juice as your liquid to keep the meatloaf moist.   

Meat Loaf (Parker's Version)
Ingredients:
1 # ground pork
2# ground beef (or similar ratio of 2 parts beef to 1 park pork)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tbs salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup minced onion
1 cup minced celery
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Use your hands to mix the ground pork with the ground beef, onions, and celery.  Add the thyme, salt, pepper, eggs, and bread crumbs.  Mix thoroughly. 

Form mixture into a loaf and bake on a tray or shallow roasting pan uncovered.  Or place the meat in a well oiled bread pan.  Bake for about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs at 350 degrees.  
Borscht (cabbage, potato, and beet soup)
Ingredients:
1 # meat, like ground beef or chicken legs/thighs (or leave the meat out entirely)
3 onions, diced
2 quart of liquid, such as chicken/beef stock or just water
2 beets, raw but cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 carrots, diced
Approx 1 lb potatoes (about 4 medium roasting potatoes), cut into larger chunks than the beets
Approx half had of cabbage (unless it is a monster Fresh Fork head)
2 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons tomato paste or replace some of the liquid with 1 cup tomato sauce
Dill to taste
Salt to taste
1 bay leaf

This recipe is one derived from the web, but appears to be close to what customer Lynda T of Lakewood had given to me (of which I can't locate, of course).  

In a heavy bottomed pan, add 2 tablespoons butter or oil.  Pan fry the beef or chicken (boneless meat) with onions until the onion is translucent. The meat will not be thoroughly cooked yet.

Add the bay leaf and the liquid - either rich stock and water or broth (which is essentially diluted stock) or just water.  Bring up to a simmer.  

Add all the other ingredients and allow them to cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.  

Season with salt and pepper.  Remove the bay leaf.  

Serve warm immediately or refrigerate and reheat several times.  

 
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 Pope's Bloody Mary  Mix - Best of Cleveland

I'm quite proud to announce that Clark Pope - a fellow Fresh Fork Market member and producer - has been awarded a Best of Cleveland award by Cleveland Magazine for his Bloody Mary Mix. 

This beverage mix came about I think two Thanksgivings ago.  Back then, we had a normal winter season delivery the same week as Thanksgiving deliveries.  As a result, the regular winter bag often had less perishable and value added items in it, expecting that customers would be limited on refrigerator space that week. 

Anyhow, I was talking with Clark about doing something for the Thanksgiving bag.  Then my dad had a big bag of horseradish from his garden that he needed to get rid of.  He asked Clark, "What do you do with horseradish?"  Clark laughed and replied, "Drink it."  
I immediately made the connection.  Bloody marys!  "Clark, how about a bloody mary mix for the Thanksgiving week bag?  Everyone needs a little liquid therapy with all the stress of family visiting and cooking all that food. "  

And that's how it began.  The Pope's Bloody Mary mix went through several trials and we finally settled on a well seasoned, ready to add booze mixture.  

If you are interested in the Bloody Mary mix, we have it at the back of the truck each week.  Pints are $6 and the new quart bottles are $9.  

Fresh Fork Market | 800-861-8582 | [email protected] | http://www.freshforkmarket.com
PO Box 609612
Cleveland, OH 44109