No more turkey, please.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to enjoy delicious food and time with folks you love. Thank you all for the love and kind words that you shared about Andy Baumgartner. We were lucky to spend the holidays surrounded by friends and family while celebrating Andy's awesome life and everything he did to make this world a better place.

From our side we are still working our way through a metric ton of leftover stuffing which has been re-used and re-purposed about 7 different ways. It is always awesome. We assume that you also overdosed on turkey last week, so we decided to pump the brakes on poultry this weekend. We turned to our friends at Red's Best for some magnificent Salmon fillets to switch up the flavor profile.

In the coming weeks we are planning for comfort food recipes to warm your belly and soul. We know we can't locally source everything for your pantry and we'd recommend stocking a few items that are always great to have on hand:

• Stocks - We tend to make ours and freeze it, but the store varieties are great. Bullion works too if you are short on space.
• Canned Tomatoes - Chopped San Marzanos are delicious. They are a little more expensive but the flavor is worth it. These plum tomatoes add a welcome sweetness and slight acidity to any vegetable soup, chili, or stew you cook up.
• Rice - Whether its a comfy bed for a curry, a bit part in a vegetable soup, or the starring role in the Kale Rice Pie (below), it always makes makes sense to have a versatile white rice on hand. Basmati or Jasmine can work their way into a lot of dishes.
• Parmesan Cheese - The Good Stuff. We put that sh*t on everything and throw the rind into our soups and stews. Buy yourself a microplane to grate this extremely finely - it's like fairy dust made out of cheese. And if you've got spare cheese rinds, you can store them in the freezer until you're ready to use 'em.

 

WHAT'S IN THE BAG?

HALF SHARE

Protein - Salmon Fillets (skin on because its delicious) from Red's Best, Eggs from Feather Brook Farms
Fruits and Veggies - Shiitake Mushrooms from Mycoterra Farm, Certified Organic Green Cabbage, Yellow Onion from Brookford Farm; Leafy Green Kale from Siena Farms
Grains - Semolina Campanelle Pasta from Nella Pasta
Special Treat - Donut Holes from Union Square Donuts

 

WHOLE SHARE

Protein and Dairy - Salmon Fillets (skin on because its delicious) from Red's Best, Chorizo and Eggs from Feather Brook Farms, Maple Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm
Whole Shale Pescatarian - Scup from Red's Best
Fruits and Veggies - Shiitake Mushrooms from Mycoterra Farm,  Certified Organic Green Cabbage, Yellow Onions, Acorn Squash and Red Beets from Brookford Farm; Leafy Green Kale from Siena Farms
Grains - Semolina Campanelle Pasta from Nella Pasta
Special Treats - Donut Holes from Union Square Donuts and Nuts from Q's Nuts

 

RECIPES

Salmon, Kale and Cabbage: Martha delivers culinary gold (as always) with a super quick recipe of roasted cabbage, kale, and salmon. 

Salmon and Shiitakes: Food and Wine nicked this recipe from Jean Georges Vongerichten whose last name may be unpronounceable but whose food empire is utterly epic. It invites you to make a mushroom syrup for the sauce. A pat of butter and a 1/4 cup of chicken broth can sub in.

Kale Rice Pie: Excuse me? Kale pie? We know it sounds questionable but this is a hearty and delicious vegetarian dish. It's sort of a mash-up between a quiche and risotto. Mom used to make it on the weekends as something to have for the week. She says "Its very forgiving, throw in anything you want. I like it with extra cheese and sliced tomato on top." That's our kind of recipe. We like ours with a poached egg on top. Fancy.

Speaking of Poached Eggs: Poached eggs seem intimidating but the process is very straightforward and watching the egg come together is like magic.  BBC Good Food shows you the incredible simple steps with the bonus of a delightful British Accent.


TIPS AND TRICKS 

Massage Your Kale. Yes, it sounds like the most nauseatingly Hipster thing ever - but you need to rub your roughage. Kale is a very tough, fibrous green. Massing it helps break down some of the cellulose and makes its more chewable and tasty. Sure you may be horrified giving your salad a deep-tissue massage, but its worth it. And we won't tell anyone. Here's how.