Is an allium! Onions and these beautiful scallions from Clark Farm are both a part of the Allium family, from the latin allium meaning "garlic." (Nothing like some culinary etymology to start your day off, am I right??). Scallions are brighter and sweeter than onions. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and will store for a good while if you wrap them in a damp paper towel and store in a plastic bag.
CHEESE TREES
When I hear the words "Farmer's Cheese" it has always made me laugh. Like, aren't all cheeses the product of farmers in one way or another, why does this one earn that moniker?
Or is there some plant that magically sprouts cheese in a perennial fashion?
And if there is some mythical cheese that actually grows on trees, where the hell do I find these guys to plant all over my yard? Because if that exists, I could die happy.
Farmer's cheese is like fresh pressed cheese with the consistency of dense ricotta. It is wonderfully versatile and ready for your tacos, veggie pasta dishes or just slathered on toast (we know you've been baking bread, people!) with a touch of honey.
When Luke and Catarina from Brookford Farm suggested it for the shares this week, we jumped at the chance to introduce it to the shares. We hope you enjoy!
SLOWLY BUT SURELY
Author and Poet Anita Kizzan once said : "Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer."
We think that's a nice thing to keep in mind. It's even nicer to see it when the sun begrudgingly peeks it head out and we can soak up some Vitamin D. The farms and growers are feeling that love too, as Spring finally starts to ramp up like someone's grumpy kid that doesn't want to get out of bed.
The fields at Clark Farm (pictured on Wednesday), and all the farms we work with are coming to life too. Tractors are vrooming through the dirt, starter plants are being plunked into the ground. The time for Spring veggies is around the corner, we just need a few more weeks of patience, and potatoes.
While we wait, there are some really wonderful daily recipes coming out of the New York Times. There is a referendum on soup that is really awesome ( Cliff Notes, almost anything can be a soup). If you are not a member/subscriber - we totally recommend it. Their recent recipes have not been recipes at all, more mash-ups if you will. They sing the praises of all the blank canvas foods we love here; frittata, fried rice, pizza, soup. Check it out it's worth the small investment and its nice to follow along, or just drool over the pretty pictures.
BABY COWS, FOR THE WIN
Guys, every time I tried to type "For the Win" on this email it came out as " For the Wine" - coincidence? I think not, these are crazy times.
Which is why you need baby cows, piglets and sheep in your life. Meet "Finnish" one of the calves born at Brookford Farm this Spring. Brookford is home to your produce, yogurt and some of the delicious meat that comes into your shares. Each year the dairy "girls" have about 50 calves, there are about 15 nurse cows that birth another 15 calves and 10 or so newbie young cows who show up to the dairy.
I've seen these ladies many times; walking out to pasture, basking in the sun, caring for their young and living their Best Cow Life. I can tell you it brings me pride to bring you their product. It's farming as it should be.
And Spring means babies all over the farms; piglets, lambs, kids and calves. Follow our farmers on IG to see keep an eye on these beauties and to yell I LOVE YOU SO MUCH into your phone at a photo of an animal (is that just me?)
Brookford Farm: @brookfordfarm
Feather Brook Farms: @featherbrookfarms
Clark Farm: @clarkfarmcarlisle
Good Morning!
It's been another busy week here at Family Dinner and the weekend will be even busier. We are happy to be open and thriving, but the increased volume of demand and our heightened sense of precaution has led to a few changes in our procedures and we wanted to share some updates with you:
Thank you for your support and patience as we go through this process together.
Please know that we are proud to be here for you during these tough times, and will continue to do so for as long as we can.
Much Love,
Erin, Tim and the Family Dinner Team
NEW FARMER IN THE HOUSE!
We are really excited to be working with Drumlin Farm this week to bring greens into your shares! Ok, so maybe the title is misleading. Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA isn't "new", they've been part of the Mass Audubon Society for a long time as a wildlife sanctuary and a working farm all in one. But this is the first time we have worked with them and we want to share the news.
(And if we want to get technical; there is no "house" either so the title is doubly misleading. But I hope you'll forgive us because the alternative "Experienced Farmers Join a Food Start Up on a Virtual E-Commerce Platform For the First Time" was a mouthful.)
Drumlin is a beautiful space; 4 miles of trails and plenty of peace and quiet. There are pigs, sheep, chickens, and cows on the working farm and big, bright greenhouse housing this field of verdant deliciousness. They reached out to us this week to see if we had room in our shares for their crops and we always love to say yes to that! We hope you enjoy and that they brighten up your plates!
Also for some inspiration this week check out this wonderful series: "What's Eating Dan" from our friend Dan Souza from America's Test Kitchen. We're gonna dive into the episode on mushrooms for ideas for this week's goodies from Fat Moon Mushrooms.
Dear Family Dinner Members:
Good Morning!
The most amazing part about Family Dinner isn't the logo, it isn't the weekly treats or the terrible jokes from the staff. It's the folks in this amazing community, all of you, that make this so special. Over 350 members in 50 towns all loving on local food and the folks who grow it.
We wanted to make more of an effort to connect you to each other (no we're not gathering in the parking lot for trust falls) and highlight some of the incredible things you're doing. Maybe we learn something from each other, maybe we find a little inspiration. Or maybe the world can seem like a dumpster fire and it's nice to be more and not less connected to interesting people doing good things.
We hope you enjoy :)
Erin + Tim
PUTTING THE "FUN" IN FUNGI
(If you're wondering if I spent a significant amount of time yesterday googling mushroom puns, wonder no more. Guilty as charged.)
One of our favorite things is when a farmer calls us mid-week to tell us about a huge harvest. Elizabeth from Fat Moon Farm called to say they had a bounty of beautiful oysters and other varieties and asked if we were interested. Holy Shiitake are we ever! (Ok, I'll stop.)
We absolutely love saying yes to these questions. It helps us get a diversity of beautiful products in your shares, helps support our local farmers and eliminates waste. All of which are really core to our mission at Family Dinner.
On-demand eating and groceries arriving at your house in 30 seconds by rabid drones may be convenient, but it's not great for farmers or the environment and certainly doesn't address the issue of waste.
When you place your weekly order with us on Mondays, it takes us a full week to fill your shares. During that time we are scurrying around to different farms and bakeries; picking up produce, tasting new cheeses, having conversations with growers; and yes, cleaning hundreds and hundreds of bags. It takes us time because we want to get it right. We want to curate a share where the ingredients marry well together, where there is diversity in the products and where we can support this distributed network of local growers like Elizabeth.
We take the time because we love the process and because we have so mushroom in our hearts for all of you!
Thanks for being part of this process!
Good Morning !
DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
In Beyonce's transformative work, Formation, she tells the world: "I got Hot Sauce in my bag".
Beyonce is obviously a genius and I would do anything she tells me but I'm not one to carry a purse. If I did, it would certainly have a bottle of Sweet Reaper sauce in it. Sweet Reaper is the spicy sweet creation of Chef Nathan Gould, Chef at O Ya, Boston's mind-blowingly delicious sushi restaurant. Almost a year ago Chef Nathan told us about this sauce and gave us a bottle to try. We have been pestering him for more ever since.
"Sweet Reaper began in a hot kitchen on the small island of St. John, USVI. A firey hot pepper sauce blended with sweet white onions, garlic, and vinegar can be found on most Carribean tables. After falling in love with this style of hot sauce, the Sweet Reaper recipe was born.
For almost a decade now Sweet Reaper has been made for kitchen staff only, making its way into family meals, late night pizza or raw bar, the cooler for day-off boat trips, and occasionally the hands of staff sneaking bottles home."
We are excited to have bottles in our whole and double shares this week. If the taste leaves you clamoring for more, check out his site and stock up for your purse, fanny pack or truck center console. You will never want to be without this.
LOVELY LEAFIES
Lettuce shouldn't be scary. It's just greens after all. But this year the Center for Disease Control put its solemn kibosh on greens coming from the Salinas Valley in California due to reports of E.Coli being linked to greens from this region. This wouldn't sound so frightening if Salinas weren't a major producer of the lettuce we consume throughout the country.
This part of the state is so fertile that it earned the nickname "The Nation's Salad Bowl" which, when we're talking about an E.Coli outbreak, is just super gross. And hey, I've had E.Coli and I can tell you from experience it's not all that fun. (If you ever have an hour to kill ask me about the time I ate an ill-advised pork sandwich at a train station in Poland. It's a riveting tale.)
To make matters less appetizing, these greens travel over 3,000 miles to get to you plate. Which brings up more than a few questions about freshness, food miles and CO2 emissions. What the heck would Greta Thunberg have to say about that? ( I just LOVE her. Did you know her middle name is Tintin?)
There is, of course, a better solution. Beautiful Local lettuces are being grown year round in New England by our friends at Clark Farm (Carlisle, MA), LEF Farms (Loudon, NH) and Generation Farm (Concord, NH) and Queen's Greens (Amherst, MA). We try to get you a variety week to week; spinach, salad mix; baby kale and micro greens to safely and deliciously brighten up your winter plates.
Harvested within a day of delivery, sent from the farm to Family Dinner and delivered right to your door. We hope you love 'em.
BALLERS OF FAMILY DINNER
Let's talk Sports!
Wait, wait! - don't go away just yet. I'm not talking about the corporate juggernaut that is about to land in Miami with its pithy beer commercials, questionable ethics and scantily clad cheerleaders.
No. This weekend, while every television station and news outlet is laser focused on the Superbowl we want to dedicate our humble soapbox to Women's Sports and some of the local Super Stars who also just happen to be Family Dinner members. (And yes, we do take credit for all of their successes. You can't win Championships without a balanced diet of local food.)
Boston is a city that is no stranger to Championships and that tradition of excellence is extended by two teams who are dear to us:
