Hi there!
Hello, September! We're starting this month off with a bang-- big bags bursting with summery veggies, and fall flavors like acorn squash and a whole chicken! The temps are still near-record highs, but it looks like come the weekend, we'll finally have a little break from the heat.
We're not only straddling the two seasons with food, but we're opening up registration for the
Winter Share 2018-19
! You all are getting the first announcement here: the Winter Share begins right away after the Summer Share ends on Saturday, October 27th, with the first Winter Pick up on Halloween. To learn more about the Winter Share,
click here
, and if you're ready to add your subscription to your account,
sign in here
(first payment due mid-October.)
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Organized ingredients make all the difference!
Check out this pretty-as-a-Peach Salsa prep from
@kateydid.
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THE KITCHEN & BAKERY AT WHOLESOME VALLEY FARM
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Wholesome Valley Farm is very excited to welcome our new chef couple, Ashley Drummond and Derek Suhoski. It was very fortuitous that our paths crossed in the first place. Ashley and Derek attended a wedding of a friend that was officiated by our friend Carol, a very good customer at the farm. The talked about Ashley and Derek's interest in sustainable agriculture and chef driven agricultural work. Carol suggested that they visit Wholesome Valley Farm to see everything going on there.
On their visit, Allyson showed them around and started thinking about all the possibilities the farm would have with their talent. On their second visit, she asked them if they were interested in working at the farm and taking over the kitchen.
After months of talking and discussing relocating, they decided to join our team. Last week they started - right in the middle of the busiest time of year. On Day 1, there were over a dozen Amish ladies in the kitchen helping to put up peaches, a team in the fields picking the last of the peppers and tomatoes that need preserved, and local farmers stopping in daily to try to market their provisions.
Ashley and Derek both attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh where they attained their culinary degrees. For 5 years they honed their skills at the acclaimed Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in central Pennsylvania. From there they moved back to a family farm in Gallipolis, OH where they ran their own business, Taproot Farms Bakery and worked in local restaurants.
At Wholesome Valley Farm the couple will hold command over the culinary operations, including the state licensed bakery, high acid cannery, frozen food and ferment licenses. Ashley's extensive experience as a pastry chef will bring us delicious cookies, pies, and baked treats. Derek will leverage his kitchen experience, including in large scale banquets at Nemacolin and chef-driven restaurant concepts, to streamline the canning processes and introduce new high acid, pickled, and fermented preserves that help celebrate the bounty of our harvest.
This week we welcome their first new product, a delicious peach pie, featuring local peaches in a whole wheat crust made from Stutzman Farms flour, Hartzler's butter, and heritage pork lard rendered at Ohio City Provisions.
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OHIO PEACH PIES
Each whole wheat lattice crust is filled to the brim with thick, syrupy, locally-grown peaches. The perfect ending to your Chicken Dinner!
Ingredients: white pastry flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cane sugar, salt, unsalted butter, leaf lard, water, peaches, lemon juice & pectin.
$18 for Large Pies, $8 per Small Pie
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Some reminders from our office
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PAYMENT REMINDER FOR SEPTEMBER
A new month, another payment reminder! It's time to
sign into your accounts
and make your monthly payment for September.
We won't be emailing out the payment reminder until next week, so if you can get ahead of it and bring your check to your stop this week, we'd really appreciate it!
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A whole chicken can yield a few great meals for your family with a little planning and know-how. First important step: let the frozen bird thaw in your fridge for at least 2 days before cooking. Next: how are you going to cook it?
CLASSIC ROASTED CHICKEN
Preheat your oven (see temp guidelines below) and allow the thawed chicken to come to almost room temp on your counter. Rinse the whole chicken (cavity and skin) with cold water, and remove the neck and
the giblets
. The neck (and bones/carcass after roasting) can be used in your stock, and the giblets can be used to make a
pate
or
gravy,
or fried up as delicious snack for your cat. Dry the chicken well with paper towels.
Place the chicken (breast side up) in a shallow roasting pan. If you have a rack for your roasting pan, use it to keep good airflow around the chicken for even roasting. You can also add some extra vegetables to the pan below the chicken and maybe a 1/3 cup of white wine or stock.
Soften two tablespoons of butter or olive oil and combine with a tablespoon of minced fresh herbs—parsley, rosemary, thyme, tarragon—and a little salt and pepper. Rub the skin and inside the cavity with the herbed butter. Insert a few large pieces of chopped onion, carrot and celery with a half teaspoon of dried thyme and a bay leaf in the cavity as well. Trussing is a good move for even roasting, but optional for something as small as a chicken (
check out Chef Adam's Turkey Trussing video here.
)
HIGH HEAT VERSION
Roast the chicken for 20 minutes to ½ hour at 450 degrees. Lower the heat to 350. A small chicken—3 to 4 lbs—will take about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes total; 5 to 6 lbs will take about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Chickens over 6 lbs will take 2 to 2 ½ hours.
LOW HEAT VERSION
Set your oven to 250. Roast the chicken for 3 hours at 250. Stir the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting dish from time to time, and also baste the chicken with the oil, butter and juices from the pan. To finish, raise the temperature to 375. Add some sprigs of herbs to the pan, and roast for an additional ½ hour to 45 minutes.
Regardless of which method you choose, remove the chicken from the oven when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches around 160 degrees- it will carry over the last 5 degrees when resting. Place a carving board on a tray (to collect any overflowing juices) and then place the chicken on the board. Tent in foil and allow to rest 10-15 minutes. Then, carefully remove the whole leg and then separate into leg and thigh portions. Remove the breast meat and cut in half to serve (check out
Trevor's Turkey Carving video
here.)
LEFTOVERS
CHICKEN SALAD
Cold, cooked chicken makes for a fantastic lunch. Toss diced chicken with lemon juice, olive oil and minced garlic and serve on a bed of greens with some sliced cherry tomatoes and you’re good to go!
Parker also likes to add cold boiled potatoes, chopped hard cooked eggs and some minced parsley and other herbs. His favorite simple dressing: toss a teaspoon of Dijon mustard with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and drizzle over top.
SANDWICHES
On top of some toasted bread, add some mayo or mustard, lettuce, sliced cooked beets with half of a hard cooked egg. Season with a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and a small piece of Pepper Havarti. To top it all off, a few slices of still-moist leftover roast chicken. Or, you know, however
you
like to make chicken sandwiches!
CHICKEN POT PIE
Another great meal is a
Chicken Pot Pie
— use up a bunch of veggies and have a piping hot dinner on the table in less than an hour.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Dice up some carrot and onion (½ cup each) and add to a heavy-bottom soup pot with a little olive oil. Cover the pan and place over low heat for about 15 minutes to sweat the vegetables. Add a teaspoon of dried thyme.
Add about 3 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup egg noodles, and cook until almost done. Mix in some shredded cooked chicken breast meat and season with salt and pepper. Taste to adjust seasoning.
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Here is last year's Winter Share Omnivore Bag Week 1. We only have two bag options in Winter-- Omnivore or Vegetarian (you can also add Full access credits to either share.) The bags are big, but for the majority of the season, they're only delivered every other week. For more details,
click here
.
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THE MINI
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
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SMALL OMNIVORE
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
Celery
Peaches
Whole Chicken
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LARGE OMNIVORE
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
Celery
Peaches
Whole Chicken
Green Beans
Watermelon
Onion
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SMALL VEGETARIAN
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
Celery
Peaches
Apples
Green Beans
Watermelon
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LARGE VEGETARIAN
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
Celery
Peaches
Apples
Green Beans
Watermelon
Onion
Eggs
Garlic
Black Beans
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VEGAN
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Golden Beets
Leeks
Celery
Peaches
Apples
Green Beans
Watermelon
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Recipes featuring this week's share ingredients
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Ingredients from share: Whole Chicken, Celery, Leeks
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Ingredients from share: Acorn Squash, Apples, Garlic
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Ingredients from share: Golden Beets
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Ingredients from share: Green Beans, Onion
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