This is week 3 of our Winter Season.  After this week, we won't see you for another pickup until the week of December 1st.  Please mark your calendar appropriately. 

Also, this week please read below for:

- Lots of recipes this week, including a photo blog of my biscuits and gravy experience over the weekend

- Thanksgiving order deadline

- Ordering extras for Thanksgiving - delivery schedule 

And last week, we hope you all enjoyed the first true winter pickup in the snow!  It can be tough standing out there for several hours but time sure goes faster when everyone has good spirits about it.  Last week everyone seemed excited for the first snowfall, especially the little Fresh Forkers.  We'll see if the same attitudes persist in three months. 

Wow' it was cold out there this morning.  What did that do to the crops?

I was quite pleased that all the trucks started right up this morning. That was my first concern with the 12 degrees temperature at the warehouse. 

But even more concerning is what does it do to the crops.  In 5 years I've never had a cold this cold before Thanksgiving.  This really challenges the availability and quality of some of our early winter crops.  

So this morning I was on the road by 5:30 visiting farmers before the sun came up.  It was 7 degrees this morning as the sun was coming up in Polk, OH. That's more than just a light freeze! 

I was surprised by what I heard this morning:  

David Y:  the snow helped create a protective blanket on the kale and bok choy.  He was able to get the early week supply in yesterday before it froze solid.  He expects that the end of the week harvest will be fine and especially the beets, carrots, and crops for Thanksgiving next week.

Jonas H:  Potatoes are all in, scrubbed, and ready to go for Thanksgiving.  He has the stove running in the barn to keep the temperatures above freezing.

Mose S:  Cauliflower was lightly frozen when he harvested yesterday.  He got it in and quality seems to be OK.  He suggests using cauliflower soon.  End of week harvest may be damaged and substitutes will likely be necessary. 

In short, this cold was destructive but fortunately we were able to see it coming.  For the Thursday, Friday, Saturday customers, please understand if we need to substitute for any ingredients to provide you with the best quality products.  If any of your produce displays freeze damage (possibly from the field or it freezes during distribution in the sub-freezing temperatures), please kindly let us know and we'll gladly replace it for you.  

Thanksgiving Last Call 

Tomorrow morning you should expect to receive my final update on the turkeys and pies.  There will be several photos and videos from the last 10 days that I will upload for you to see. 

In the meantime, don't forget to reserve your Thanksgiving turkey, pies, and/or package that includes produce for the sides, a bird, and pies!  

We are currently sold out on Heritage turkeys and nearing sold out on Package 1 (about 15 left).  We have plenty of turkeys left as we try to have more than necessary so we can put some away into patties, sausages, and lunch-meat later in the winter! 

Full details and package options here:  http://freshforkmarket.com/thanksgiving/ 

Order online at http://csalogin.freshforkmarket.com  

To order, you don't have to pay the full amount now.  A $25 deposit is required to hold the turkey or package for you.  Final payment will be due when you pickup your food.  

Thanksgiving Delivery Schedule. 

Next week is not a Winter Share delivery week.  It is only a delivery for Thanksgiving turkeys and packages.  As a result, any special orders placed AFTER TUESDAY TONIGHT will not process until the week of December 1. 

Repeat.  If you are ordering to stock up for Thanksgiving, you must order by tonight at midnight (Tuesday) to receive it this week.  We will not fill special orders aside from Thanksgiving orders next week. 

Also, we added Strongsville as a pickup location for Thanksgiving turkeys.  It is on Tuesday night, 7 PM to 9 PM at the usual location at Pure Health and Fitness on Prospect. 

A full list of delivery times for Thanksgiving are listed here:  Thanksgiving Pickup Times (listed down the page)    

Stocking up for Thanksgiving

If you need to get extra ingredients for Thanksgiving, please order online today.  We stocked up on some extra produce items like:  3# bags of yukon gold potatoes, cabbage, turnips, sweet potatoes, garlic, apples, cider, carrots, and whole wheat bread (makes a killer stuffing). 

Also, big news.  If you read down this far, you win.  

Bacon is back in stock.  We just received about 300# today and it is listed online for pre-order.  I expect it will sell very quickly.  The next shipment should be the second week of December.  

 We also have breakfast links, Italian sausage, chorizo, and pork chops back in stock.  We are finally catching up with the fall harvest of hogs!

Orders can be placed online by Tuesday at midnight at http://csalogin.freshforkmarket.com 

Poaching eggs is one of those things that seems tricky at first, but try a couple using this method and you'll get a hang of it. And this hearty hash makes a great "breakfast-for-dinner" dish that everybody will love, even those who aren't Kale-converts.

Ingredients

- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces (heat up your squash for a minute or two in your oven or microwave to soften it first before you cut it) 
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced into half-moons
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 2 links sausage, casings removed or thinly sliced, or half package of bulk
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 4 eggs

First, cook your squash: put the butternut pieces in a pot, cover with cold water (1" above squash), bring to a boil and then drop the heat down to a simmer. Cook about 10 min, or until easily pierced with a fork, and then drain. Or you can steam it until it is tender.

In an oven-safe skillet, heat up the oil over medium heat. Add in the onions, cook for 2 minutes, and then the garlic for another minute. Add in the sausage and brown it, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon if the casings are removed, or just tossing it if not. Once browned, add in the butternut squash, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the kale when you have about a minute left to go. 

Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring the water, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the water/vinegar simmer. 

Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a coffee cup. Start swirling the pot with one hand, and with the other slide each of the eggs in, one at a time. Cook until the whites are cooked through, about 2-3 minutes depending on the size of the egg. 

Dish the hash out onto four separate plates, top each with an egg. 

Bok Choy is one of my favorite winter greens. The bright green leaves are tender, and the whites have a great crunch. This healthy, quick recipe can be kept vegetarian as is, or it's delicious on the side of steamed salmon. A couple stir-fry tips: use a timer so you don't overcook the veggies, use one hand to toss the pan with your wrist in a circular motion and the other to toss the veggies with a wooden spoon, and make sure the veggies are really dry before you cook them (so you don't steam them instead.) 

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp pepper based hot sauce,like sambal, sriracha or pepper butter
- 1/2 a lemon 
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets and sliced very thinly
- 1 head bok choy, end trimmed off and sliced into long, thin strips. 

In a little bowl, whisk together the pepper sauce, the lemon juice, the honey, and the soy sauce. 

Heat up a high-rimmed skillet or wok on high, and once it's really hot add the oil and swirl it around. If it smokes, turn the heat down a bit. Add the minced garlic, and toss the whole pan quickly with your wrist and use a wooden spoon to move it around. Before it turns golden, 1 minute later, push the garlic to the outside edges of the pan and add in the cauliflower and the bok choy. Toss and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the sauce down around the sides of the pan rather than directly on top (so you don't cool the pan down,) and cover the pan tightly for 15 seconds. Uncover, and stir fry for 1 more minute (bok choy leaves should be bright green) and serve right away. 

Milk, eggs, salt and pepper, and some fillings are all it takes to put together a great quiche, and the whole thing start to finish takes less than an hour. The basic ratio of eggs to milk is 6 to 1 cup, so if you want to make two smaller quiches or 1 big one, just follow the guidelines below: 

Turn oven to 375, and spread a little oil around the bottom of a big pie dish.

In layers add:

- Sliced veggies: thinly sliced cauliflower, thinly sliced butternut squash, roughly chopped broccoli, etc. 
- Chopped greens (chard, kale, spinach...)
- 2 cups grated cheese of choice (swiss, cheddar, gruyere, pecorino, or parmesan)-- one cup mixed with eggs below and one cup spread in a layer.  

The idea is to layer like a lasagna, and build up till you reach the top of the pan. Just make sure bottom later is hardest veggie instead and work that way, softer and softer. If you'd like, you can add in meat too after the greens before the cheese: cut to bite-size bits try smoked turkey breast, leftover chicken, turkey or even bacon.  Make sure the fillings reach the side of the pan, too, and aren't piled up all in the center.

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

- 10-12 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt and some freshly cracker black pepper

Pour egg mixture over layered quiche fillings, make sure it mostly covers it all. If it doesn't, whisk up another 2 eggs and a half cup of milk and pour over.

Bake 45 min, until center wobbles only slightly and is golden on top. Start checking on top color once you can really smell it.

Let stand about 10 min before cutting. 

These muffins are pumped up with a bunch of fiber-laden veggies, giving this healthy snack a bright color and sweet flavor. 

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg, or 5-Spice powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 1 cup cooked (steamed or boiled) butternut squash, smashed
- 2 carrots, grated

Set your to 375, and grease or line a muffin pan (12 big ones or 24 minis)

Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, maple syrup, and eggs until smooth. In a separate glass bowl, sift together the flower, rolled oats, baking soda, spices and salt. Start to pour the wet ingredients into the dry, slowly and mix together using a wooden spoon or spatula, making sure to scrape up from the bottom. Then add in the mashed bananas, the mashed squash and grated carrots-- fold in until they're just until combined. 

Spoon into each muffin tin, about 2/3rds the way up the cup.