Friends, meet Vikram Mathur, owner of Yatra Tea Company. Vikram is a local guy, born is India and is completely passionate about tea. His company direct sources tea from estates India (no middleman, which is music to our ears!) and they are "fanatical" about quality and freshness.

When Vikram first approached us about including his hand-selected teas in our shares, we paused a moment, given that - you know- we are a local food company. Unless your goods grow on the rolling hills of Belmont, we said, no deal.

But his insistence on touring the terroir, knowing his producers, sourcing directly and giving back to the community made us think again.

We are obviously very keenly dedicated to eating locally. But we know that isn't always possible/easy.  (Case in point: they don't make much coffee or white wine in Somerville and those are definitely part of the food pyramid in our house.) 

We realized that when you can't buy from your neighbors, when you can't source it from your backyard- its best to go to someone who knows the product, the producers and the supply chain inside and out and who obsesses over every step of the process. 

So we are trying this out. We are brining his tea to our whole and double shares this week.  We would LOVE to hear what you think!

From Vikram:

"The tea itself is a lightly oxidized black tea produced in the Spring. It is the highest grade of tea (SFTGFOP1) produced by the estate. It brews a lovely golden liquor and is extremely fragrant with pronounced floral notes. The taste is smooth and well rounded."

For more info, visit their site!

This week we got to head to Lexington Montessori School to check out their greenhouses, their farm and their farming curriculum. It was amazing! All the students from Pre-K to Middle School participate in creating a beautiful environment and a delicious bounty.  We were GIDDY thinking about kids learning about the importance of food and treating it with respect throughout its life cycle.  Heck Yes, LMS! We bought some seedlings for the double shares too!

About the program, from their site:

"Children discover where food comes from, how it is grown sustainably, and begin to appreciate the hard work it takes to grow nourishing food on a small “farm”. We spend time learning and discussing nutrition, aiming to understand the importance of eating a rainbow of colors. In addition, the middle schoolers take a compassionate look at food insecurity in America and the lack of fresh fruits and veggies for those in need. From toddlers to 8th graders, the farming program allows students at LMS to explore their surroundings, challenge themselves, think deeply, and participate in growing and nurturing new life."

What a dream. To start the mission of all of THIS early. We know we sound like a broken record**, but thank you all so much for supporting the mission of Family Dinner and spreading the good word of local food.

** To all of our 20-30 something customers: "records" are an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. It's how we all listened to music when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

WOMEN.

 Women are crushing the Boston food scene, and Somerville just might be leading the way. From Lauren Friel at Bow Market's dreamy wine bar, Rebel Rebel to longtime baking rockstar Jen Park at Forge Baking Co- there is a lots of inspiration for female food entrepreneurs.

This week's share highlights two more:

Sarah Murphy at Vinal Bakery sends us her English Muffins -they are impossibly light little pillows of deliciousness. 

Sarah "opened Vinal Bakery as an homage to her New England roots. She opened it to create a place of creativity, community, and food! As a longtime resident of Somerville, she was very excited to find a location to build her bakery. To be in such a vibrant city such as Somerville and an evolving area like Union Square, was truly a dream for her." If you haven't been to the bakery- run, don't walk, to get one of her breakfast sandwiches. You'll probably see us there :)

Melissa Stefanini from Buenas brought the amazing Chimichurri and Pebre sauces to the whole and double shares. She says: " Founded in 2016, Buenas is an homage to the cultural limbo we grew up in. Sebastian and I were born in the U.S. to parents from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and we took all their recipes and turned it into Buenas, a line of South American-inspired goods to aid in all kinds of home cooking. We know the inspiration to cook is just half the battle, so we’re hoping to arm people with ingredients that make getting really good food on the table as easy as possible.

Oh! And SPEAKING of woman-owned, did you see us in the Boston Globe this week? How awesome is that???

WHAT'S IN THE BAG?

HALF SHARE

Omnivore Protein - Half Chicken from Feather Brook Farms; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm
Pescatarian Protein - Red Fish from Red’s Best; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm
Vegetarians -  Empanadas from Buenas; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm
Paleo Proteins - Half Chicken from Feather Brook Farms; Eggs from Brookford Farm/Feather Brook Farm
Fruits and Veggies - Asparagus, Fingerling Potatoes; Baby Lettuce Mix and Yellow Onions from Busa Farm
Grain - English Muffins from Vinal Bakery
Special Treat - Donut Holes from Union Square Donuts

WHOLE SHARE

Omnivore Protein - Whole Chicken from Feather Brook Farms; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm; Chimichurri OR Pebre Sauce from Buenas
Pescatarian Protein - Red Fish and Scallops from Red’s Best; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm; Chimichurri OR Pebre Sauce from Buenas
Paleo Proteins - Whole Chicken from Feather Brook Farms; Eggs from Brookford Farm/Feather Brook Farm
Vegetarian Protein - Empanadas from Buenas; Eggs from Brookford Farm/Feather Brook Farm; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm; Chimichurri OR Pebre Sauce from Buenas
Fruits and Veggies - Arugula from Brookford Farm; Cucumbers from Five College Farm; Asparagus, Fingerling Potatoes; Baby Lettuce Mix and Yellow Onions from Busa Farm
Grain - English Muffins from Vinal Bakery
Special Treat - Donut Holes from Union Square Donuts; Gluten Freen Dairy Free Cookie Balls from Girlfriend Baking

DOUBLE SHARE

Omnivore Protein - Whole Chicken from Feather Brook Farms; Red Fish from Red’s Best; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm; Chimichurri OR Pebre Sauce from Buenas; Eggs from Brookford Farm/Feather Brook Farm
Pescatarian Protein - Red Fish, Cod and Scallops from Red’s Best; Greek Yogurt from Brookford Farm; Chimichurri OR Pebre Sauce from Buenas; Eggs from Brookford Farm/Feather Brook Farm
Fruits and Veggies - Tatsoi from Heron Pond Farm; Apples from Champlain Orchard; Arugula from Brookford Farm; Cucumbers from Five College Farm; Asparagus, Fingerling Potatoes; Baby Lettuce Mix and Yellow Onions from Busa Farm
Grain - English Muffins from Vinal Bakery
Special Treat - Donut Holes from Union Square Donuts; Gluten Free Dairy Free Cookie Balls from Girlfriend Baking

GLOSSARY

Chimichurri: (in South American and Mexican cooking) a piquant sauce or marinade traditionally used on grilled meat, typically containing parsley, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and flakes of chili pepper.

Pebre: is a Chilean condiment made of coriander, chopped onion, olive oil, garlic and ground or pureed spicy aji peppers. It may contain also chopped tomatoes

Thanks Dictionary.com!

RECIPES

Vinal Muffins - These guys are fresh baked, so enjoy in a day or two or pop 'em in the freezer. I like to lightly grill mine in butter with a touch of Maldon salt. They also make an amazing bed for a tuna sandwich (don't forget to smash your chips in there like a five year old.)

Roast Half Chicken - We have heard that the half or whole chickens can be intimidating, so we always include this simple, simple recipe with the chickens. Thanks, Martha- we love you! Here I will use olive oil instead of butter and top with the Buenas sauce before serving with a light salad.

Roasted Veggie Salad with Chimichurri - I always, always have a few roasted veggies lying around that are B-team candidates. I've ignored them for just too long and its finally time to face the music. Roast 'em up and top with a bit of the Buenas to brighten your meal up.

Grilled Fish and Tatsoi: I am omitting the chilis, because I'm wimpy like that. 

The title of this week's email may sound the start of a bad/uncomfortable joke - but is just shorthand for three nuggets of news we would like to share with you!

Ted: The TedX Natick talk that we gave a few months ago is now live! You can see us gush all about local food on the YouTube link.  

Blondies: This week's treat is Chocolate Sea Salt Blondies from Dirty Blondies Bake Shop. Dirty Blondies Bake Shop was founded in 2018 by a dirty blonde, Alyssa Nadeau, after she discovered the glory that is brown butter. With its toasty flecks and nutty flavor, this 'dirty' butter is at the base of every Dirty Blondie. In four signature flavors, bite-sized so you can try more than one, Dirty Blondies are the dessert you saved room for...even if you didn’t!

Follow them at www.dirtyblondies.com and @dirtyblondies on instagram & facebook!

Vegan Loaves: This week we went to Mandarava Organic Kitchen in Newburyport to taste some of the vegan goodies coming out of Akara, their newest culinary concept. Mary is a lovely lady and her food is crazy delicious- we are so happy to share with you!