This Week's Food

One of the very best parts of this job, beyond the weekly cornucopia of delicious goodies, is the people you meet. The amazing customers, talented farmers and the incredible, mission-driven colleagues in the field.  In the latter category Pan Denholm, of South Shore Organics, is the top of the class.
 
Pam started South Shore Organics in 2010, when Farmers' Markets were starting to take off and CSA's were gaining in popularity. Her aim was to provide the missing link for busy families: connection to local growers and purveyors through a convenient delivery. Pam wanted to develop a service that supported her community, but was scaleable. Farmers markets served immediate neighborhoods, CSA's relied on meeting at drop points, but with Pam anybody on the South Shore could get a delivery. (Sound familiar, Family Dinnerists?) This service was scaled over time, bringing delicious food to thousands of doorsteps. It became a year-round sustainable, reliable support for local growers who could not only plan their seasons, but find way to extend them into the off season.
 
Sadly, as many of you know, South Shore Organics closed its doors at the end of March. Their last delivery was March 23^rd, but their impact will be felt much longer. In Pam’s tenure SSO made over 100,000 deliveries, spent over $1.5M at local farms and donated over 50,000 pounds of produce to food pantries. Hers is an extraordinary contribution to the causes of farmers, environmentalists and fervent foodies alike.
 
Pam’s vision and her commitment to supporting local farmers is inspiring. We are humbled and proud to be working with her and her dedicated customers to bring Family Dinner to the South Shore. We hope to continue her mission and make her proud!

To our new South Shore Customers, welcome to Family Dinner. We are so happy to have you!

Sarah from Vinal Bakery proposed Maple Pecan cookies for this week (that's her in the photo). The Maple Syrup is harvested from her family home in New Hampshire where her dad has been sugaring as a hobby since the 1970's. Its a labor of love, done the old fashioned way with buckets, not the plastic tubing you see in larger operations. They have a small harvest, yielding 6-8 gallons a year and  the results are heaven. Plus, its fun. Sarah says: "We love doing it as a spring activity - gets us outside after a winter cooped up. We all love sitting around the fire drinking beer with friends while watching the sap boil. A New England tradition."

Pure maple syrup, like Sarah's Dad's, is made from boiling the sap of a Maple tree. Nothing more. Big name syrups like Aunt Jemima have corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and caramel color as their top ingredients, not a drop of real syrup to be found. (also, what the heck is a "caramel color" and where do you find that in nature? Is there a Caramel Color Tree the Quaker Oats guy climbs to pluck off a few and throw it in the basket alongside the fruit from the Sodium Hexametaphosphate Bush?)

Real ingredients matter and they make beautiful products like these cookies.All that tradition and love translates into a well-crafted and delicious product. We hope you love them.

Greek and Mediterranean cuisines seem like the anti-Winter Foods. They are bright, colorful and packed with flavors that recall more summery months. Lots of grilled meats, fresh greens and citrus. You feel light and healthy just looking at it. (This, of course, is excusing dishes like Moussaka which layer ground meat and eggplant and top them with an exquisite bechamel-type sauce. Each plate weighs about as much as a Prius but dang is it good.)

This week we have fresh chickens from Tad at Feather Brook Farms, Greek inspired spices from Claire at Curio Spices, fresh pita, and yogurt from Luke at Brookford Farm. We are also thrilled to have harvested another round of Micro Greens from Clark Farm (pictured above). The Micro Broccoli shoots are just dying to be the finishing touch to your grilled chicken, fish or salads. They don't require a whole lot of attention, just a touch of olive oil and you're on your way.

Just walking into Andrew's greenhouse at Clark filled us with a wave of optimism. Winter isn't eternal. Root Veggies aren't all life has to offer (though we love them). Green things are boldly bursting out of greenhouses, clamoring to soon be in the ground. We can't wait to share them all with you.

This week's writing is a bit conflicted.  We wanted to share our own thinking about the labels you see in grocery stores. Catchy and attractive adjectives describing food; words like "local" and "fresh" get bantered about pretty willy-nilly. Especially because the definitions of those words, which seek to be so meaningful, are actually quite vague. If you drag out your momma's Webster's, scan over to "local", you'll see its defined as "characterized by or relating to position in space : having a definite spatial form or location".

What does that really mean? Local to where? To whom? We're willing to turn the other cheek in Target when we see "organic gummy bears" but what is local about boxed Mac and Cheese? How is this local to Boston?

But we're not about to stand on a sustainably-sourced soap box about it. Nobody buys locally all of the time, including us. Nobody eats locally or organic all of the time, including us. 

What can we do?  If you care deeply about food, all of the hub-bub around food labels can leave in you in an existential crisis. For now, we believe the best thing we can do is highlighting food from local farmers and sharing that food to as many folks in our community as possible. Why do we do this? Because when you know who made your food, you have a much better idea of how it was made and what goes into it. Moreover, we love to talk about local producers and purveyors because we think food tastes better when you know where it comes from. Much better. Leagues and galaxies better. 

Oh, and this week we have blue potatoes. Nerd alert! They're blue due to the levels of natural anthocyanins, water soluble pigments they contain- what's up AP CHEM CLASS! They're beautiful and a little weird.

(We'll post a picture of these little blue pups in the AM, as soon as we get our hands on 'em!)

Our Family Dinner marketing materials recently got a much needed facelift from Alex and Amanda, two of our customers who are also super talented designers. This fresh, clean design is a are Spring Veggie Cheat Sheets, telling how to prep and store the bounty ahead. We wanted the materials to be a bit like the emails; informative, a little bit quirky and totally gaga over fresh produce. 

These beautiful, fridge-worthy postcards will be part of series from the design duo. Check our their amazing work at sparkyart.com and alexmaeder.com.

Also, its Tim's Birthday this week. To celebrate, we got you big, BEAUTIFUL Rib-Eyes and T-Bones from Tad. Exactly what Tim would want for himself.  These are coming in at between 2-3 lb each, time to call a few friends for dinner. Ideas below. (For steaks, not friends.)

One of our favorite things is traveling to meet with our farmers and making new friends along the way- like this little love who is one of the newest addition at Clark Farm in Carlisle.  We went to pick up the Broccoli micro greens that Andrew planted for us and immediately got distracted by the sheep. What micro greens? It took everything in our power not to throw her in the car, tighten her seatbelt (safety first) and speed off in cloud of dust. But that would have been... baaaaad.

(Like that joke.)

Speaking of making friends, what better way to make 'em and keep 'em than Tacos. Tacos speak the universal language of awesome and we are thrilled to again highlight the Organic Tortillas from Mi Tierra Tortillas in Hadley, MA. They use no additives and no chemicals; just water, corn and lime. As they say "100 % corn, in the way our forefathers intended." (I hope our forefathers also intended us to eat a plate full of tacos and wash them down with a cold beer or three, because that's what we intend to do.)

Finally, this week Fran from Red's Best told us that scallops were not to be missed.  Unable to resist ourselves, we included them on top of the haddock that can be fried to perfection for your Taco Time. Double dose of delicious.

Often in this space we highlight a local farmer or ingredient or pair of overalls we are really excited about. This week we thought we would shine a light on a local organization we are proud to work with who is making a profound impact in our community.

The Somerville Homeless Coalition is a non-profit based in Davis Square in Somerville, taking a comprehensive look at the complex issue of homelessness. They run shelters, clothing and food drives, gift collections at the holidays etc.  They are an extraordinarily dedicated group of people whose motto is that they’re always trying to put "themselves out of business".

We’re in awe of what they do and have been trying to do our little bit to help. The first Sunday of every month Family Dinner brings a big, warm home cooked meal to the adult shelter. We buy as many ingredients from our farmers and purveyors as possible and spend the afternoon peeling, prepping and cooking dinner for 16 adults. Sometimes our farmers, like Tad, get really excited about the idea and donate 30 dozen eggs. Then, in addition to dinner, we find ourselves making giant mounds of scrambled eggs on a chilly morning. We really enjoy bringing Family Dinner to the broader community and finding ways in which food can be an expression of love and community. When you support Family Dinner you support this important mission and we are grateful for it.

The weather outside is... confusing.
Though we can't decide if its time for flip flops and Jorts or snowsuits and pom-pom hats- it is still February and winter means Comfort Food. This week's meat from Tad is ready to step into any stew recipe you have and we have shared a few of our favorites -as well as included hints from Mom about how to get it done best.

Claire at Curio Spice Co suggested her Da Lat spice rub to pair with the beef (ingredients pictured above). Claire specializes in sustainably and ethically sourced spices from around the world. She makes thoughtful spice mixes that are inspired by her travels and is always willing to offer recipe and cooking advice. On the Da Lat she says:

"This earthy rub is named after the city in central Vietnam called Da Lat. A popular honeymoon destination, this city and its surroundings are famous for coffee, cassia and cocoa production due to the unique climate. Made with Vietnamese Lam Dong cocoa nibs that impart a spicy flavor, this rub has a touch of coffee and star anise that make it beautiful for rubbing on pork or beef, adding to noodle dishes (like pho) or even sprinkling over cut melon or ice cream."

It's time. Chorizo from Feather Brook Farms is BACK and we couldn't be more thrilled! We haven't been this excited since Guns N' Roses announced it's latest reunion tour. Or since Tad from Feather Brook FINALLY talked Erin into getting overalls so they could be twins.

As Bon Appetit Magazine explains, Chorizo is sort of like Hot Italian Sausage in texture but its flavor is all gussied up with chilies and vinegar. The secret to Tad's Chorizo is the pigs themselves. These are Heritage Hampshire Pigs who were selected at the ideal weight for the fat and flavor ratio. In Tad's words "they were happy piggies and they are yummy."  How animals are treated, what they eat, and how they are processed really matters.  As Michael Pollan said "You are what you eat eats".  It matters that they are fed a natural diet, have space to roam and be animals and are never, ever fed antibiotics or hormones. It means a far better life for the animals, for the Planet, and for us. In addition, as Tad says "they're yummy." Everyone wins. This week's chorizo is FRESH from the butcher. Enjoy immediately. 

We love working with Avery, the Manager and Co-Owner, from Nella Pasta at their outpost at the Boston Public Market. Their pasta is delicious, inventive and downright awesome (they sell out of their rainbow pasta every year at Pride. Love that.) They are committed to making products with the best possible ingredients always keeping an eye on whats best for the Planet. Love that too.

From Nella, on Nella: 

"Our name in Italian means “in the” because what goes inside the pasta is the trademark of our products. 

So what exactly is in our pasta? A unique, handcrafted mixture of produce, artisanal cheese, our signature wheat blend, and a profound respect for the freshness you find in Italy. We choose vegetables picked locally and in season whenever possible; roast, sauté or steam them for the best flavor, and complement them with creative and unexpected ingredients like specialty cheeses, fresh herbs, nuts and dried fruits. Then there’s our secret ingredient, a sustainable food movement, which is blended into each pillowy bite."

When we asked Avery why he hearts pasta so hard he said:

"Whether it's introducing new foods to people, or taking your favorite foods to the next level- pasta is the perfect vessel. The kitchen is a playground...Have fun!"

Amen.

People have been saying that Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time). We don't know about that but we do know that the goats are Clark's Farm in Carlisle, MA are outrageously cute. Clark's is a certified organic farm that specializes in produce and berries and raises a variety of animals; including two farm dogs who have the combined energy of a Category 5 Hurricane. Andrew, the farmer at Clark's gave us a tour a few weeks back and offered to plant and harvest some micro greens for the shares. After tasting a few we landed on the pea shoots you see in this week's share. They are a delicate and tender green but they pack a bright punch of flavor. And the goats (and G.O.A.Ts) love 'em!  (Well.. we assume TB12 would eat them because they're not made of dairy, sugar, happiness, nightshades or any other the 3,000 things Brady won't touch.)

Whether you are prepping for the Big Game or just settling into a Big Lazy Sunday of cooking, we are really excited to have a few new things to share this week.

This week has been a busy one. We found magical beans, launched a blog, and put the finishing touches on Family Dinner's video. Here's a sneak preview. It'll be up on Facebook and Instagram later this weekend (we'd appreciate your likes and shares). We wanted to give you the first peek because we love you so much.

THIS WEEK'S FOOD (new blog!)

Several of you have asked us to publish ingredient lists a little bit earlier, so that you can shop for anything extras that might not be in your share. Starting next week, we'll share this week's food on our brand-spanking-new blog on Friday night.  We'll continue sending the ingredients by email on Saturday morning for those who like to be surprised.

This week we have whole and half chickens from Tad at Feather Brook Farms. Occasionally we will freeze his meat for convenience, so that you can throw it in the freezer at home and welcome it to your stove when you are ready. This week we left it fresh. These chickens were processed just days ago and that freshness, along with the loving care they get from Tad truly affects the flavor of the meat. When you do better by your product; your animals, your soil, your vegetables, the end products reflect all that love and return it to you in FLAVOR.

This week we also got to see Charley Baer, of Baer's Best Beans. We highlighted Charley back in December. We told him about Tad's amazing chicken and he suggested we pair them with Yellow Eye beans. This is a rich, creamy, but mild bean that will go beautifully with the fat of the poultry. I thought about thanking Charley for his advice and asking him where he had BEAN all my life, but decided no one needs a terrible pun at 6 in the morning.

In thinking about the recipes, we wanted to keep it simple. Understanding that there's a big game of some kind next weekend (GO Pats!) and that we will likely all be gorging ourselves on Jalapeno Popper Buffalo Cheeseburger 7- Layer Dip (totally local and ethically raised Poppers), we thought it would be nice to return to some classic recipes. A culinary calm before the Super Bowl Storm.

This week we have Pork Belly on the table. Tad from Feather Brook Farm (he's basically a superhero in overalls) was positively giddy to send it to us. Pork Belly is a boneless cut of meat from the underside of the pig. It's also the genesis of bacon - the second greatest thing under the sun... next to pork belly. This meat is incredibly tasty and is the darling of many cuisines from Columbia to Korea.

To figure out what to do with this gem, we asked our friend and long-time Family Dinner member Christine Liu for a few recipes. Christine is the Executive Editor for Web at America's Test Kitchen and knows a thing or two about whipping up delicious dishes. She also is wickedly funny, a competitive Olympic Weight Lifter, and has an enviable sock collection. Oh, and she plays the violin. Our members are so cool. 

From Christine: 

"I don't really have much to say about pork belly except it's delicious and fat is FLAVOR. And why pay like $9 for 2 pork belly sliders in some resto when you can do it yourself?"

We agree. Recipes ideas from her and the great folks at ATK below.