Collard Greens & Broccoli Raab

Dearest Veggie Friends,

This is our last market week. Please don't miss out. Our favorites this week are Collards and Leafy Broccoli Raab. I could not have imagined this week without them. Here is what we will have at market this week.

Veggies: Swiss Chard, Kale, Lettuce, Salad Mix, Arugula, Spinach, Beets, Broccoli Raab, Mustard Greens, Celeriac, Daikon Radish, Collards, Baby Bok Choi, & Turnips (the best turnips ever).

Meats: Beef: Ground, Hot Puppies, Bologna, Patties, Assorted Steaks
Chicken: Whole, Breasts, Wings, Legs & Thighs.

Body Products:
Soap, Bath Salts, Face Scrub, Bug Spray, Lip Balm, Lavender Spray, Chest Rub, Hair Tonic & First Aid Salve.
Plus an added bonus of Fresh Soap Company Gift Packs. Start holiday shopping with local, handmade "Green Gifts.

A bit of farm news: We are planting garlic like crazy. The picture above is my view of Welsh Mountain. Those are the cows whom watch me work everyday. They think I am a bit silly running around such a small plot of land all day. What must they think? We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you in the spring.

Really quick collard Greens

(This recipe comes from our amazing market customer Matt. He will be the best daddy of twins. Hooray for him and his wife.)

Ingredients

¼” thick slice of pancetta or 3 slices of thick cut bacon

A bunch of collard greens

A health splash of apple cider vinegar

Cut the bacon into small chunks. Add it to a large non-stick skillet on medium low heat with a little olive oil and let it slowly render out its fat.

Ok, I know, bacon is bad for you. Fine. Here’s the thing, bacon is delicious. If you can’t eat bacon because of your religious / spiritual beliefs, yes, you can make this dish with butter or potentially olive oil (if you’re going this route at least add some garlic to the oil to give it some flavor). It won’t be quite as good but it’ll still be delicious. If, however, you don’t want to eat bacon because it’s “bad” for you – please reconsider. Not only is this dish unbelievably good with pancetta or bacon, but, it you use one of these delicious pork products, you’ll totally want to eat all of the greens. If you ask me, the goodness of the greens more than outweighs the supposed badness of the bacon. Really. Repeat after me “Bacon is good. And I’ll eat more greens so it’ll be OK.”

If, on the other hand, you’re enlightened enough to be willing to eat bacon without guilt, you don’t need me to tell you that you’ve reached a higher plane of enlightenment.

While the bacon is cooking, cut out the stems from the collard greens. I usually throw these out, but I’ve heard that if you cut them really finely and cook them a few extra minutes they’re delicious. I say, put them in the compost heap and move on with your life. Once the stalks have been removed role the leaves into a cigar shape and slice it very thinly across the round part of the “cigar”. Technically this is called a ”chiffonade” cut. It’s really easy to do and you can dazzle your friends by saying “chiffonade”.

Add all the greens to the bacon pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for EXACTLY two minutes. Add a heavy splash of the apple cider vinegar. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. If you’d prefer, you can add the juice of one lemon instead of the apple cider vinegar. Somehow that makes the dish feel more summer-y to me. Now that it’s fall, I like the vinegar better. It’s probably also good using balsamic instead of the apple cider. Enjoy – I love this dish

Thank you again to Matt for this wonderful recipe. I might even rethink bacon. Thank you for the laugh. I have been feeling quite silly as well. The end of the season will bring delirium on all of us. This picture of me and the giant radish will prove it. (This radish was actually rather tasty)

In the spirit of Fall.

Yes, we are in the fall spirit. The garden may be winding down but we are getting ready for the holidays in the store. Hartz Natural Foods (south on Rt 10 just past the Windmill Restaurant. First farm on the left).
The new Fresh Soap Company display is up, we are taking orders for local pasture- fed, free- range turkeys and we are milling flour.
Yes, we grind our own Spelt grain for flour. What is "Spelt" you may ask? Spelt is what I like to call an heirloom variety of wheat. Spelt is lighter in texture and flavor than wheat and contains more nutritional value. So why do you never see Spelt in the grocery stores? Because, Spelt has two hulls instead of one. This requires an extra processing to crack the second shell. And in our "cheap food" culture, Spelt has become too labor intensive to be bothered with.
I am here to tell you that it is worth the bother. (Especially, when we hull it and grind it fresh for you). Our Spelt flour is ground finer than traditional whole wheat but not as fine as whole wheat pastry flour. How do you use Spelt? I recommend using it in place of whole wheat flour. You will find that your texture and flavor will be lighter and more pleasing to your holiday guests (but, not lacking the fiber).
Why use Spelt instead of whole wheat? Because, it is local and we grind it fresh to order for you. (We grind it fresh while you wait in the store. If you would like more than 2 lbs please call ahead.)
The flour I bring to market is ground on Saturday. Not fresh out of the mill but fresher than the leading grocery store.
How do I use Spelt Flour? Pizza dough, pancakes, cookies, breads, muffins, flat breads, pita bread, noodles. I pretty much use it for everything. I have found the experimentation to be extremely fun. Have you ever baked with fresh ground flour? You may never go back. The best chocolate chip cookies hands down. Well, not better than my momma's.
I hope to see you all this Sunday. It is the last market. This year has been very rewarding for me and I thank all of you for your support. Thank you to all of you who come out and see us and inspire me to keep going. I will probably be randomly posting blogs so please check in with us every once in a while. If you are not on our email list please email me(bhorganics@gmail.com) and add yourself. We will be notifying you all of the first harvest in the spring.
Many warm blessings to you and your family for the holidays. I am hoping for a bit of relaxation.