Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

Football and Valentines

Orders for Mass Local Food are now open…

Orders for Mass Local Food are open until midnight on February 1^st with the delivery day to follow on Friday in Westminster at the Leominster road Farmers’ Coop building. Note that we also have pickup sites in Berlin, Sterling, and Holden. I’m placing my order which will include many locally produced items. But I’m dreaming of my lunch on Saturday which will include half a ginger scone and a pear that is ready to eat and is as sweet and juicy as any fruit you ate in August. I don’t hide food from my family as a general rule – not even the chocolate chips (though I’m tempted with baking powder – an ongoing story for another day), but, even though I have ordered 12 pears, I will be lucky to get even one! Last month I cut one in half (my first one even though I have ordered these over the past few months) to share with Andy and discovered why they disappear so quickly. I immediately ate my half and his half too as I was discovering this! My children would not go through a batch of cookies as fast as they can go through a bag of these pears!

Don’t forget to stock up on all your entertaining needs for this month. Plan a few local meals; believe it or not, this is still possible, even in February!!

Two Great Food Events in February…

On February 7^th, we will be watching the Super Bowl in this house. Occasionally I do enjoy taking a Sunday afternoon off from the usually craziness and watching a football game. Andy is already planning to make a big batch of Country Style Pork ribs for the Super Bowl. For the barbeque sauce, it will be homemade. Because the rib recipe is so simple, it is worth taking the few extra minutes to make your own sauce. After trying homemade sauces, you will find that many of the canned varieties have a chemical taste that you cannot (thankfully) duplicate in your own kitchen! I am not certain what I will serve with the ribs, but it WILL include rice. I’ll need the rice later in the week for pork fried rice (for which you need leftover rice and bits of pork – and I’ll have both). I’m thinking the fried rice will go well with an egg drop soup or wonton soup – and I have a couple of pig’s feet in the freezer. Now, I’m not really the type to deal well with cooking pig’s feet, but lots of people do it, and I’m also not the type to open a can of broth if I don’t have to. I can do this! Andy tells me they are sliced up so look less foot-ish. I’m glad for that…

Normally for the Super Bowl, I prefer chili. Our daughter, Meghan’s award winning (local prize – she and her friend Caitlin captured the middle school vote – anyone that couldn’t decide voted for them!) chili recipe is great because it uses so many fresh ingredients. You can actually taste the complexity of eight different vegetables, 3 different meats, and 11 herbs and spices. If you have the ability (or the guts) to fry, purchase some corn tortillas and fry them up for a delicious corn chip to accompany your chili (those chips may also be the reason they won the chili contest). Make enough for a nacho meal later in the week (chips, leftover chili, avocado, salsa, tomato, lettuce, olives all served with some corn and rice on the side). Frying may seem like a daunting task, but, if you have the right equipment, you can do this in about 5 minutes – not including the time it takes to heat the oil.

The other great food event is Valentine’s Day . If we were going out to dinner (which we are not) we would surely pick a local restaurant. No TGIFridays for us. Some favorite restaurants come to mind: The Angler, The Gardner Ale House, Harrington Farm, Sonoma’s, Il Forno’s, Bombay Tandoor, The Old Mill (beautiful for a light meal on a snowy evening, sit by the river), Joseph’s Bistro, McNally’s… There are plenty of local options. Try something new. Pick a restaurant that will serve you real food made from the freshest ingredients available. Investigate and go beyond for your Valentine!

But speaking about going beyond, how about cooking a local meal at home…together! Spend some time in the kitchen doing something enjoyable. Clean and declutter the kitchen the week prior so everything is perfect and within reach and easy to find. Purchase some great local foods – there are plenty available. I suggest a crown roast of pork, but a nice roast beef will work. Perhaps even some steaks actually cooked on a wood fire. Sure it is winter, all the more reason to have a fire outdoors. And have you ever actually had a steak cooked over wood? It’s not like the steak flavor that you are used to. You will get rid of your gas grill if you try this! Plenty of local vegetables exist, butternut squash is probably at its best now. See if you can find some potatoes and onions, Elim Lodge Farm has sprouts and Rachel’s everlasting has kale. Top it off with a dessert from Honeybee baking company for a special treat and serve it with locally roasted organic fair trade coffee from Billy Goat Beanery! Then don’t forget a chocolate or two from Priscilla’s. Not quite what you are looking for? How about a seafood casserole in your own puff pastry? Cook a live lobster for this. The difference is amazing and worth the extra effort. And save the broth as it will add some incredible flavor to your next soup! Served with sautéed butternut squash and onions (add brown sugar, butter and pecans – or local nuts if you can find them). Joe at Westminster Pharmacy has some local wines and if you tell him what you are serving for dinner he will even match the perfect wine to your meal!

A Nice Evening Out with Dr. Smith…

On January 15^th, Andy and I went to see Food, Inc. for the second time (first time was at home and ordered from Netflix). As I expected, it was really nice seeing it with a group of people that are interested in their food. In attendance was one man who worked at one of the meat packing plants shown in the movie, several local producers, teachers, and people that were really interested in our local economy and our local food.

My one concern about seeing a movie in this setting was the seating. I’m mentioning it here because that may have held you back from attending. I can assure you; the seats were very comfortable and worked perfectly for this two hour event!

On February 11^th, Dr. Smith will be showing Supersize Me!, another great food movie. Consider coming along and enjoying the movie, discussion and local flavors! It’s a great way to spend an evening, it’s free, and the discussion at the end is really interesting! It’s a great way to meet some new people and to get out of the house on these cold winter nights!

On Wednesday, some friends told me that Oprah was going to do a show on food. I don’t usually watch Oprah because I rarely watch TV before 8:00 at night but I decided not to miss it! Oprah started off the show with a quiz. I got them all right, but two of the questions were particularly horrifying, one about the amount of soda children drink and one about the amount of antibiotics going into our meat! I particularly liked her talk (interview?) with Michael Pollan who wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma. If you are interested, you can watch it here. Well worth a few minutes of time…

My Seed Starting has started...

I have started my artichokes and geraniums and I have a nice “potting shed” set up in my garage. I don’t need florescent lights yet as the seeds have not yet germinated. They are just sitting next to the fire until they do. At that point, I will set up my lights to keep them going. Next month you can start celery, celeriac, onions (from seed) and leeks. I have never grown celery before, but now is as good a time as any to try. Leeks are easy and would be a great addition to even a flower garden as they look so beautiful (read Edible Landscaping to get ideas of how to work your vegetable plants into your landscape). I have never even eaten celeriac, but alas I have succumbed to the marketing miracle of the seed catalog. We ate so many vegetables from our garden and from storage this winter that I think celeriac will be a great addition – and I think we will enjoy it in our winter soups.

The Agricultural Commission would like to know what kind of interest there may be in a community garden. If this is something you need or want, please let me know by emailing me here. Also, please let me know your level of interest. Would you definitely participate? Would you like more information before you decide? Do you think it is a good idea for the general community, but you don’t need one? We really do want to hear from you!

Maple Heights Farm…

At Maple Heights Farm, we are well stocked with meat. Our products are available either through Mass Local Food or by pre-ordering by email. You can see our complete inventory on our website.

We still have some calendars available that will get you started on vegetable gardening in 2010! You can now order online!