This week we are coming at you with two types of ears. Fresh corns from Busa Farm (last of the season!) and Orecchiette (translation "little ears" in Italian) from Law of Pasta. With the recipes are we still keeping an iron grip on summer even though the days are getting shorter and the sweatshirts are being pulled from the drawer.
As much as the first changing leaves may fill some with existential dread, there is a bounty on the farms. Pears growing next to corn, eggplants hobnobbing with bright red peppers. Its a delightful mix to play with in the kitchen and pull yourselves away from the Nightly News. (speaking of existential dread...)
As always, we love to hear and see what you are making! Tag us in anything you share. We seeing what you make and festering in our own FOMOoF (Fear of Missing Out on Food).
Cheers!
Posted on September 28, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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We love feedback from customers. Good, bad, ugly, adoring- it is all gold to us. If you have something to say - WE WANT TO HEAR IT! And our Yelp page wants to hear it, thank you for all of your love and reviews.
We have had a few customers tell us about their love for certain products. Meg told us that she has a deep, personal connection to the pecan rolls from Iggy's Bread. We heard from Amy that wants to be in a committed, serious relationship with the Chorizo from Tad at Feather Brook Farms.
We hear you and we get it. We have similar food crushes and cravings. Can we get more Lion's Mane mushrooms in our lives? Can Red's always be pulling fresh scallops out of the ocean? We have started longing for certain ingredients the way we pine after dishes from our childhood. Dad's eggs and grits, Mom's chicken croquettes and beef stew. It's all becoming the Family in Family Dinner. We are giddy with delight. Thank you all for you love and support and for one year of Family Dinner.
It is an honor and a joy to be on this adventure with you.
Thank you.
Posted on September 22, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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With September fully upon us, lots of people have been eying the Back to School duties, responsibilities and sales. At Family Dinner, we're all about Back to Food.
We spent the past few months indulging on great BBQ, fried seafood and cold beer. We jammed a heroic amount of cheeseburgers into our faces and loved every minute. But with summer winding down, we are ramping up our focus on cooking at home, packing lunches and planning snacks. Doing the sometimes dull, but always essential, work of planning meals to make sure we're eating food we care about and using everything that we have. We're miles from perfect. On a hot day we can still be found eating Cheez-its and Sancerre for dinner. (Hmmm. Cheeeeez-its.)
This week we're excited to have some new goodies; like these Italian Peppers from Busa Farm and mini Watermelons from Brookford Farm.We're excited to see what you make of these! Please share your creations with us: @sharefamilydinner on Facebook and IG. We love seeing what you come up with ! Thank you for letting us be a part of your Back to Food experience!
Posted on September 07, 2018
Bold Apps
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Carrots are in their full splendor at Busa Farms. We love getting them in the shares while they still have their tops (before the greens wither and they go topless for Fall. Carrots Gone Wild!!!!) They are at peak sugar content and the sweetness makes them a delight to enjoy raw as a snack or shaved into salads. Here's a few facts on orange gems in your shares:
1. First Use
People first grew carrots as medicine, not food, for a variety of ailments.
2. They're How Old?
Carrots can be traced back about 5,000 years through historical documents and paintings. No one knows exactly when the first carrots appeared, because many people mistook them for parsnips, a close relative of the carrot
3. What's with the babies?
A baby carrot isn't exactly a baby. Baby carrots come from a large carrot that has been rolled over blades and thrown around in a metal cage to be rubbed down to a short, round-ended baby carrot.
4. Averages
Americans eat, on average, 10.6 lbs. of fresh carrots per person per year. At Family Dinner we are fighting the good fight to bring that number WAY up!
5. Eat up, People!
Orange carrots are a great source of beta-carotene. Carrots contain a group of plant pigments called carotenoids, and beta-carotene is a member of this group. These plant pigments were first identified in carrots and therefore their name was derived from the word carrot.
See? Not everything that is bright orange is terrible!
Posted on August 31, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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There is nothing more joyful than spending time at Brookford Farm. Its expansive beauty and flurries of activity are beyond invigorating. Everything we see and hear makes us think: this is it. This is how is all supposed to be done. This is how food should be grown, how animals should be raised with love and how respect for the Earth should sit at the center of everything we do. This is where we come to get drunk on the organic, family farm Kool-Aid.
In between visits we satiate our cravings for the place by secretly stalking their cows on Instagram. It just feels good.
The ladies that you see pictured (and who have our whole heart) are a part of the Mahoney's ~70 head milking herd from mixed breeds. Each of these breeds have different characteristics but they are all usually very curious and gentle. At the farm, every one is given a name starting with the same first letter as her mother.
From May through November, after milking, the cows are lead down the road (check out @sharefamilydinner on IG for the photo!) to their favorite pastures to graze all day and lead back in the evening. The Mahoney's have four boys and they are known to lead the cows down the road themselves like bovine whisperers in training.
Brookford Farm is the antithesis of modern factory, industrial farming. Here; knowledge, love and respect are at the root of everything they do. We are beyond proud to work with them and to bring you their products every week.
Posted on August 24, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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Yesterday we got to take a pilgrimage to see Tad Largey at Feather Brook Farms in Raynham, MA. Feather Brook is the source of the beautiful poultry, beef and pork that make their way into your shares. Tad, pictured here with his main man Ollie, started Feather Brook Farms in 2013 after a long career in high-end cabinetry. Before roaming the farm to check in on his new additions we sat at the kitchen table to talk about chicken, overalls and the meaning of life. Here are a few words from him on this mission of his work:
Whats the mission of the farm?: "The mission of Feather Brook Farms is to bring delicious, healthy products to market.”
Why does the local food movement matter to you?: "Local agriculture is an insurance policy for the longevity of our community. Instead of being reliant on proteins from 1,000 miles away we are able to grow and eat our own food.”
What do you want people to know about your products?: “I want them to be exceptionally delicious and good for you. The operative word on my farm, what makes everything tic and what makes everything taste good is respect. For everything. For the animal, the environment, for the consumer and community.”
We love Tad and can't get enough of his drive, passion and full-bellied laugh. And, of course, the incredible products he makes. If you can't get enough either, you can hunt them down some of the Boston area's best restaurants: The Farmer's Daughter (Easton), Township (Easton), Brassica (JP), Sorellina, MOO, Mistral (Boston) and Alden & Harlow, Parsnip and Waypoint (Cambridge). And of course, in your weekly Family Dinner share (Somerville, baby).
Posted on July 13, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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This week's haul of bodacious pork chops from Tad at Feather Brook Farms and bok choy from Fran at Busa Farms had us pouring over our Asian cookbooks at the dining room table, hunting for ideas. Cookbooks like Myers and Chang at Home, and David Chang's Momofuku offer delightful recipes that are big on flavor and approachable enough -if you have the right pantry items. Having them on hand broadens the horizon of possibilities for every day cooking and provides flavorful answers to the question: "What the hell do I do with these greens?"
A few things to have on hand:
Fish Sauce
Origin- fish coated in salt and left to ferment
Flavor- Umami all day
Oyster Sauce
Slow simmering oysters until the sauce caramelizes and becomes dark brown and thick. Modern sauces are made with cornstarch and sugar to enhance flavors. More umami.
Mirin
A staple of Japanese cuisine, Mirin is like sake with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. Common in fish dishes and other sauces.
Soy Sauce
Created over 2,000 years ago is sauce is made of fermented soy beans and adds a rich saltiness to any dish.
Hoisin
Though the word "hoisin" is Chinese for seafood, there is no fish in this sauce. Instead, it is made of soy beans, fennel, garlic and chilis. Perfect for pork.
Sriracha
A mash up of red chilis, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt- this makes its way to so many dishes in our house. As a topping for eggs, compliment to mayo or base of broths we go through about a bottle a month.
Stock up, and lets get cooking.
Posted on July 06, 2018
Erin Baumgartner
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