Jacqueline at Holbrook's

Imagine that: I got genuine fresh Holbrook mustard greens, spinach, and cilantro in January.

They’ve enlisted Jacqueline to manage the place over the winter season.

They have lots of other greens and will have them all winter long. In addition to lots of fresh greens, Holbrook’s carries Stonewall Dairy raw milk, Arethusa pasteurized milk and cheeses, Apple Ridge Farm grass fed beef, and more. Lots more.

I’m particularly grateful since Hurricane Irene and Alfred the October Surprise claimed many of my stored veggies.

Holbrook’s winter hours are 9 AM to 5 PM from Monday to Friday and 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday. They’re closed on Sundays.

Here’s a fast and happy sandwich with melted Arethusa Havarti cheese and Holbrook mustard greens sauteed with garlic and olive oil.

My dish was loosely based on this latke recipe.

Truthfully, it wasn’t wonderful. Two eggs were way too much for half a spaghetti squash so I had to add more flour—quite a bit more. Still, that wasn’t what made it unremarkable. I’m convinced latkes need to be potatoes. There’s something about that potato flavor that’s completely missing with spaghetti squash. It wasn’t bad—just not really good.

Even with spaghetti squash, I still prefer sour cream to apple sauce (or cranberry sauce). However. the experiment wasn’t a total loss. I discovered that sour cream and cranberry sauce go remarkably well together.

Sources;

• spaghetti squash: Sport Hill Farm
• onions from Holbrook Farm
• eggs: Greyledge Farm
• flour from Wild Hive
• sour cream: Hudson Valley Fresh
• Applesauce made from assorted apples from Maple Bank Farm,Waldingfield Farm, and Rogers Orchards (leftover from Thanksgiving)
• Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce (leftover from Thanksgiving) made from cranberries brought by a friend from a farm stand in Cape Cod, MA, maple syrup from McLaughlin Vineyards, apple cider from Lyman Orchards. Cinnamon stick: not local
• oil: not local

Note: These challenge posts will be recapped with the other Mid-Atlantic region participants every two weeks, beginning December 11, over at Not Dabbling In Normal by Emily of Tanglewood Farm.

Surveying my stores, I clearly overdid dairy. I also still have a respectable squash collection. And I had some mushrooms about to enter the use-it-or-lose-it zone. So, there you have it, my first meal for the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge is Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with cultivated wild mushrooms.

I decided to go with the microwave method of cooking the squash instead of the longer methods of baking or boiling. I cut the squash in half lengthwise, placed it in a baking dish with about a half of an inch of water, and covered it with plastic wrap. I microwaved it for about 10 minutes in total. I used a fork to liberate the squash strands that resemble spaghetti, hence the name.

I made the sauce using this Alfredo sauce recipe. I used Pleasant Valley cheese from Sankow’s Beaver Brook, an aged sheep’s milk cheese, which has a flavor similar to Pecorino Romano. It’s not exactly Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it’s a relatively minor taste adjustment to keep the meal local.

I pan sautéed the mushrooms following Julia Child’s Champignons sautés au beurre recipe. This is my first time using mushrooms in this dish. Initially, I was thinking they’d make a great side dish. At the last moment,  I threw caution to the wind, and added them on top.

Spaghetti squash doesn’t have much flavor of it’s own, so the richness of the Alfredo sauce really brought it to life. It did have a nice mild crunch which is something you don’t usually get with fettuccine. The mushrooms made the flavors interesting, in a good way.

Sources:

• spaghetti squash: Sport Hill Farm
• butter and heavy cream: Smyth’s Trinity Farm
• egg: Greyledge Farm
• Pleasant Valley cheese: Sankow’s Beaver Brook
• macrolepiota rachodes mushrooms (shaggy parasol): Holbrook Farm, where John is growing these wild mushrooms in a hoop house.

For dessert, black raspberry ice cream with whipped cream because I still had a lot of heavy cream (and ice cream) and I wanted to play with my new toy gadget.

What a cool thing! Easy to use and fast too. I was really impressed with this gadget. (No, I’m not affiliated with them!)

Sources

• ice cream: Ferris Acres Creamery
• heavy cream: Smyth’s Trinity Farm
• confectioner’s sugar and vanilla: not local

These challenge posts will be recapped with the other Mid-Atlantic region participants every two weeks, beginning December 11, over at Not Dabbling In Normal by Emily of Tanglewood Farm.

Appetizers:

• Chilled Roasted Golden Beets from Fort Hill Farm
• Spicy Icebox Pickled Carrots from my 2010 canning adventure
• Roasted Red Peppers Maple Bank Farm
• Assorted Cheeses: Pleasant Cow, Pleasant Valley, & Fresh Cheese from Sankow’s Beaver Brook, Goat’s milk Ricotta Salade from Beltane Farm, Provolone from Italy
• Crudites: Carrots from Holbrook Farm, fennel from Migliorelli Farm, broccoli from Stone Gardens Farm
• Vegetable Dip. Yogurt from Arethusa Farm Dairy seasoned with Zukay cucumber mint salad dressing
• Three Sisters Salad/Dip. Cranberry beans from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT, corn niblets and butternut squash from Sport Hill Farm
• Table Crackers and Cornmeal Crackers from Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill
• Other Crackers & Bread. Not local

Soup

Chicken soup with bowtie pasta or brown rice. Broth made from chickens from Stone Gardens Farm, Stuarts Family Farm, and Laurel Ridge Farm. Onions and carrots from Holbrook Farm, celeriac from Yale Farm, parsnips from Don Taylor Farm, Danbury, CT and Migliorelli Farm, and my own garlic. Pasta and rice: not local.

Main Course

• Roasted Turkey from Quattro Game Farm
• Pan Gravy from the natural juices of the bird, flour from Wild Hive
• Cornbread Stuffing.  Butter and heavy cream from Smyth’s Trinity Farm, onions from Holbrook Farm, and my own sage and chicken stock. Cornbread made from Wheat flour and corn meal from Wild Hive, maple syrup from Bluestone Farm (the last of the 2010 vintage), eggs from Greyledge Farm, milk from Stone Wall Dairy, Cornwall Bridge, CT. Baking powder, salt, safflower oil: not local
• Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce. Cranberries brought by a friend from a farm stand in Cape Cod, MA, maple syrup from McLaughlin Vineyards, apple cider from Lyman Orchards. Cinnamon stick: not local
• Applesauce made from assorted apples from Maple Bank Farm, Waldingfield Farm, and Rogers Orchards.
• Mashed Potatoes made from potatoes from Riverbank Farm, butter from Smith’s Trinity Farm, sour cream from Hudson Valley Fresh, Poughkeepsie, NY
• Baked Sweet Potatoes from Sport Hill Farm
• Roasted Butternut Squash. Squash from Sport Hill Farm. Olive oil and cinnamon: not local
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Stone Gardens Farm
• Sautéed Swiss Chard from Waldingfield Farm

Dessert

• Apple Pie: Northern Spy apples from Maple Bank Farm, pastry flour from Wild Hive, butter from Smyth’s Trinity Farm. Sugar and other spices: not local
• Pumpkin Pie: Kuri Squash from Maple Bank Farm, eggs from Greyledge Farm, pastry flour from Wild Hive, butter and heavy cream from Smyth’s Trinity Farm, maple syrup from McLaughlin Vineyards
  spices: not local.
• Fresh Whipped Cream: Heavy cream from Smyth’s Trinity Farm Vanilla and sugar: not local
• Campfire, Black Raspberry, and Vanilla Ice Cream Ferris Acres Creamery
• Lemon Sorbet: Homemade from non-local ingredients
• Fresh Fruit Basket: Not local
• Mixed Nuts: Not local
• Figs: Not local
• Roasted Chestnuts: Woodbury, CT via New Morning
• Coffee, Tea: Not local

Beverages

• Apple Cider: Lyman Orchards
• Egg Nog: Smith’s Trinity Farm
• Soda: Assorted flavors from Foxon Park. Pellegrino: not local
• Red Wine: Cabernet Franc from Hopkins Vineyard
• Beer: XLimited from Cavalry Brewing Company and Vixen from Sam Adams

Thank you to my family for their help in making this a fabulous day!

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.

So what’s different from the retail experience? For the most part, the cashiers at the farmers markets ARE the farmers or had some participation in the growing and harvesting of these products. I don’t think many clerks at Walmart worked in China, making the merchandise they ring up for you.

It’s highly likely that the retail shoppers don’t know their producers or the folks staffing the check-out. I don’t get to New Haven often (it’s city driving!) and it was fabulous to catch up with Patrick of Waldingfield, the folks from Stone Gardens Farm, Sankow’s Beaver Brook, and others.

As I’ve said here before, the Thanksgiving holiday is between the grower, the eater, and Provenance. It is very gratifying to thank these folks personally for putting food on my table all year long. And 2011 was an extraordinarily challenging year for us. Between Irene (with a six-day power outage that claimed 2/3 of my food stores), Lee (giving two weeks of on and off rain with no sun or wind), and Alfred (the pre-Halloween snow storm that also brought a six-day power outage), my food stores just weren’t up to their usual peak Autumnal levels.

My Thanksgiving forage took place over several days. In addition to the New Haven Market, Saturday was my day to go to Sport Hill Farm where Patti had several new rows of escarole growing. In fact, Patti has lots of new things growing, safely snuggled under row covers. I also went to New Morning Natural Foods on Saturday to get my milk and yogurt and various other sundries. The place was jamming because it IS a food holiday and they are predominantly a food store. It was great to see a number of produce items from Fort Hill Farm and Riverbank Farm and I scarfed them up. I was glad to get the Woodbury chestnuts, brought by a neighbor with some chestnut trees at this time every year.

On Monday, I set out bright and early for Pleasant Valley, NY to get my turkey from Quattro Game Farm. I was hoping to get one of the heritage breeds like Bourbon Red, but due to my size requirements, I got the broad-breasted white. Still, this baby was pastured and pampered and I love it just the same.

Quattro’s Game Farm is a family farm started by Camilla Quattrociocchi and her mother over 50 years ago. More here. Quattro Game Farm  is related to Migliorelli Farm by marriage—how cool is that! (The Migliorelli’s are from Lazio, Italy which is not far from Tivoli, Italy and their farm in America is in Tivoli, NY—coincidence?)

The Quattro farm store is fabulous! Imagine an Italian specialty import shop crossed with a game farm crossed with a fresh produce farm in an area with even more local growers. Italian locavore mecca! I scored in the bounty department big time!

A little ways up the road, is Clinton Corners, NY, home to Wild Hive Farm Cafe, where we can get locally grown grains, among other things. Don’s cafe is an exceptional example of farm to chef, farm to table, and farm to consumer implementations. I stocked up on my grains and some other goodies available in this area.

Finally, no Thanksgiving forage would be complete without a stop at Holbrook Farm in Bethel, CT where John and Lynn (and friends) have been keeping it going for 34 years. John is a community resource. With his famous Rolodex, he pointed me in many good food directions over the years. In fact, it was John who introduced me to Quattro Farm and encouraged me to make the trip because he was certain I would love it. He was right!

Holbrook’s has also been busy with late season planting in an array of hoop houses. He’s brought on Jaqueline as the winter farm manager and expects to be able to provide fresh greens for several months through the winter.

Though I’ve said it many times before, I think it’s okay to be redundant in this regard: To all my farmers and farmers helpers, Thank You.

Happy Thanksgiving!

• 2 acorn squash
• 1 butternut squash
• 1-2 spaghetti squash
• 1 orange cauliflower
• 1 bag of salad mix
• 1 bag of sweet potatoes
• 1 bag of bok choy
• 4 peppers, one of each color

This was a fabulous CSA season. We survived hurricane Irene as well as a a number of weeks with many successive rainy days having overcast windless days in between. The effect on the crops was devastating. Despite the elements, Patti and Al managed to deliver a respectable bounty each week. This was definitely a challenging year to be a farmer!

Although the CSA is over, the farm stand at Sport Hill Farm remains open throughout the Fall.

Week 19

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 spaghetti squash
• 3 peppers
• 1 bag of broccoli
• 2 eggplants
• 2 leeks
• 1 bag of lettuce mix
• 1/2 dozen ears of white sweet corn (end of the season treat)

Week 20

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 buttercup squash
• 2 leeks
• 2 peppers
• 2 bok choy
• 1 lettuce mix
• 2 tomatoes
• hot peppers (optional)

Sadly, there is only one more week left of our CSA. I’ve been putting some food by and so will be enjoying the Sport Hill Farm bounty in the dark days.

• 1 bag of red potatoes
• 1 bunch of baby beets and with tops
• 1 acorn squash
• 3 bell peppers
• 1 bag of lettuce mix (Boston Bibb and Mizuna)
• 1 watermelon
• 1 bag of green beans
• 2 tomatoes

The last watermelon. Sigh.

Quite a respectable yield, considering the weather we’ve been having. The remaining weeks likely will reflect the impact that excessive rain, along with very little sun or wind can have on plants. Already Patti tells us the broccoli was a casualty. This is the fun of a CSA—chancing it along with the farmer. You never know what’s going to happen. Even with all the damage that weather’s done to our food stores and crops, we’ve fared better here than some of those in other parts of the country. All in all, we’ve done pretty well for ourselves this year.

Further on in my Saturday forage I scored a Maitake mushroom! Local mushrooms are pretty scarce in these parts, with the majority of growers dealing directly with restaurants. But I was lucky enough to be shopping at Holbrook Farm while their mycologist was paying a call!

The perfect dinner to celebrate the Maitakes:

• Maitake from Holbrook Farm
• pan-seared beef tenderloin from Stuarts Family Farm
• kale, sauteed with garlic, both from Sport Hill Farm
• purple potatoes from Riverbank Farm

Yummm…

• 1 bag of green beans
• 1 bag of potatoes
• 1 watermelon
• 1 eggplant
• 2 leeks
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 peppers
• 1 zucchini
• 1 bunch of kale

Looking forward to some more camponata, giambotta, or ratatouille.

• 1 watermelon
• 1 bag of green beans
• 2 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1 bag of tomatoes (including Sam Marzanos and garlic)
• 2 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 bunch kale

It’s all good.