By Analiese Paik

The Slate or Blue Slate variety was formally recognized in 1874 by the American Poultry Association and is growing in popularity according to the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste. Photo c/o Slow Food USA

Thanksgiving is just weeks away and plans for creating delicious and memorable family feasts are in full swing.  Apples, pumpkins, winter squash, quince, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, turkeys and just about anything else you’d need for this harvest celebration are available locally. While buying pasture-raised turkeys from local farms as well as Heritage breed turkeys has gotten easier, some advance planning is still required. Since these turkeys are highly coveted and in short supply, my best advice is to consult this guide and place your order immediately.

The following guide lists all know sources for locally grown and Heritage breed turkeys in Fairfield County that we were able to reach at publication time. I compile the guide each year to make it easier for you to find and order the bird of your choice. While Heritage birds are considerably more expensive than broad-breasted whites, the once-yearly splurge is worth it when guests tell you it’s the most flavorful turkey they’ve ever tasted.

Turkey Cooking Advice

Turkeys are tricky to cook because the breast meat is always cooked through before the thighs are. Every chef I have spoken to advises removing the thighs and roasting them longer than the rest of the turkey to avoid overcooking the breast. There’s no undoing overdone! So whether you cut off the legs before or after roasting, cook low and slow at 325 degrees, and take the turkey out of the oven when it reaches 150 degrees. Let it rest tented in foil and the temperature should gradually rise by 10 degrees or more. If any juices are not running clear as you begin to carve the bird, return the pieces to the oven until they do. Note: Always take the temperature of the stuffing to make sure it’s reached 165 degrees when removing the turkey from the oven. If it has not, remove the stuffing from the cavity and spoon it into a casserole, then bake it until it reaches 165. I prefer cooking the stuffing as a side dish that even my vegetarian relatives can enjoy and filling the cavity with aromatics instead.

A Word about Heritage Turkeys

According to Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste, the Black turkey originated in Europe as a direct descendant of the Mexican turkeys brought back by explorers in the 1500s. The turkey made the voyage back to the Americas with early European colonists where it was crossed with Eastern wild turkeys to create the Black. Photo c/o Slow Food USA.

Almost all the turkeys grown in the US are broad-breasted whites, an industrial breed created with the singular goal of producing a bird with more white meat that matures as quickly as possible. Although these birds don’t taste like much when grown in confinement on commercial farms, they have become so popular that other breeds of turkeys nearly became extinct. Less than 10 years ago, a concerted effort was made to save these endangered Heritage breeds by convincing consumers to buy them from the few farmers that were still raising them.

Not only are Heritage turkeys richer and more flavorful, they’re part of our cultural and culinary patrimony. These are the turkeys that generations before us ate before broad-breasted whites became ubiquitous. Heritage turkeys bear a close reassemble to their wild ancestors so expect long and lean-looking birds with a lot of dark meat. Heritage birds are raised on pasture on small sustainable farms, allowed to roam freely and forage, are supplemented with organic feed, and take twice as long as broad-breasted whites to mature. The price tag will reflect these additional costs. Note: You won’t typically find Heritage turkeys weighing more than 24 or so pounds.

The Naragansett is named for Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island where it was first developed by early colonists who crossed Eastern Wild turkeys with domesticated European turkeys (that were originally brought to Europe from Mexico) according to Slow Food USA. photo c/o Slow Food USA

I’m happy to report that the efforts of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and Slow Food to return Heritage turkey breeds to their rightful place on our dining tables have been successful and it’s now easier than ever to purchase one of these special turkeys for your Thanksgiving celebration. The following Heritage turkey varieties are cataloged in Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste and some are recognized as either “threatened” or “endangered”. It may sound strange, but the only way to save them is to eat them. This year’s demand for these rare turkeys will influence next year’s decisions by breeders and farmers about raising them.

• American Bronze
• Black, also referred to as Norfolk Black and Black Spanish
• Bourbon Red
• Jersey Buff
• Midget White
• Narragansett
• Royal Palm
• Slate or Blue Slate

Where to buy a local or Heritage turkey

Please read through the entire list before making your first and second choice selections. Pasture-raised turkeys from CT, NY, PA and VT plus a few options for Heritage breeds are available, but only in limited quantities.

Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm in Moosup is the largest grower of free-range, pasture-raised turkeys in the state and this year their turkeys are available for home delivery through CT Farm Fresh Express CTFEE (see more below) and at retail from Saugatuck Craft Butchery (see more below). While the breed is Broad-Breasted White, they taste nothing like supermarket turkeys from industrial farms. These turkeys are raised on pasture where they forage for bugs and insects and are raised without antibiotics and hormones. For anyone accustomed to eating store-bought turkeys, these are an excellent step up and a vote for local food!

Saugatuck Craft Butchery in Westport is offering three different types of turkeys and will take orders as soon as their doors open (any day now!) starting Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11 am when they open for the first time. Their Grand Opening will take place on November 19. Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm’s Broad-Breasted Whites are raised on open green pasture with free access to feed and shelter and full access to green grass, sunshine and fresh air. The turkeys are processed humanely right on the farm in a State Inspected facility by the farmers who raised and cared for them, treating them with kindness and respect throughout the process. The birds are raised naturally, meaning without growth stimulants or hormones. No additives or preservatives are added during processing. The turkeys come to you exactly as mother nature intended. Sizes and pricing TBA.

Owner Ryan Fibiger explained that the shop is making an exception to their local sourcing credo to offer something truly special this holiday season. “We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a relationship with Bill and Nicolette Niman, true pioneers in sustainable farming and raising animals according to the principals on which we built Craft Butchery. Bill and his new company, BN Ranch, are raising some of the most unique and sought after birds in the country from the bloodlines of some of the original Heritage breeds. We have sourced a small number of these birds for a few lucky customers.”  According to BN Ranch, their Heritage turkeys are direct descendants of five distinct old breeds (Standard Bronze, Narragansett, Bourbon Red, White Holland, and Spanish Black) from Frank Reese’s Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch in Lindsborg, Kansas. Frank Reese is a renowned breeder of American Poultry Association (APA) approved breeds and is recognized as a crusader in the movement to conserve Heritage turkeys. His turkeys, and those of farmers associated with his ranch, are otherwise only available to our market through Heritage Food USA, which ships turkeys via FedEx Overnight. On the Niman’s ranch the breeding flock is allowed to roam freely on grassy pastures most of the year, grazing and foraging to supplement their all-natural grain and soy vegetarian diet. They are never fed antibiotics or other chemicals to promote growth or replace good animal husbandry. Sizes and pricing TBA. Broad-Breasted Whites from BN Ranch are also available.

Connecticut Farm Fresh Express (CTFFE), an online seller of exclusively CT Grown foods, is selling fresh, Broad-Breasted white turkeys from Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm for home delivery by their drivers for $4.50 per pound. Ekonk’s turkeys are raised on pasture without growth stimulants or hormones. The majority of their diet has been grass and bugs; they are grain fed as a supplement only. To reserve your turkey, download, complete and mail this form with a $20 deposit to CTFFE. Home deliveries will be scheduled for Nov. 21 or 22.

John Boy’s Farm in Cambridge, NY, a “beyond organic” grower of vegetables, poultry and livestock, is offering something new this year: free-range, Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys. They’re “a cross between the Broad-Breasted White and American Bronze varieties which have the characteristics of both the large breast and the heritage flavor” according to John Boy. These turkeys are GMO-free and are only supplemented with feed grow organically on the farm. Choose from 14-28 pounds at $5.50 per pound for pick up only. To place a turkey order, email johnboysmarket@aol.com right away with the weight and where you want to pick it up.  Pick up options are: Nov. 20 at Muscoot, Pound Ridge or White Plains during farmers’ market hours and Tues. Nov. 22 at Erica’s Kitchen in Bedford from 3-8 p.m. Note: Your turkey is not confirmed without location.

Concierge Foods of Bedford Hills, NY, an online seller of farm-fresh and sustainable foods, is offering two different turkeys this year. Fresh, free-range, Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys from John Boy’s Farm in Cambridge, NY are “a cross between the Broad-Breasted White and American Bronze varieties which have the characteristics of both the large breast and the heritage flavor” according to John Boy. These turkeys are GMO-free and are only supplemented with feed grow organically on the farm. Choose from 14-28 pounds at $6.50 per pound. Also available are two heritage varieties, Bourbon Red and Narraganset, from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative of Lancaster, PA for $5.75 per pound up to 22 pounds in size. These birds are grown on small, sustainable family farms where they are free to roam and forage. Turkeys are delivered fresh to your door up until the day before Thanksgiving. To place an order, contact chef/owner Marc Alvarez with the variety, weight and preferred delivery date at 914-241-9200 or marc@conciergefoods.com. Concierge Foods currently serves Stamford and Greenwich communities.

Mike’s Organic Delivery is selling pasture-raised, Broad-Breasted White turkeys from Hemlock Hill Farm, one of the oldest working family farms in Westchester County, New York. The DeMaria Family raises their turkeys without the use of antibiotics or hormones and feed them natural, locally-grown grains. These birds are free to scratch in the fields and get plenty of sunshine. Size options are: 12-15 lbs, 15-18 lbs, 18-21 lbs, and 21-24 lbs. The smallest size runs about $115 and the largest size is about $175. Fresh (not frozen) turkeys must be ordered by Friday, November 18 for home delivery. Cooking instructions are included. Mike’s Organic Delivery currently serves most of southern Fairfield County, from Greenwich up to Rowayton. Delivery dates are Tuesday, November 22 or Wednesday, November 23, depending on location. All orders must be placed online via the website.

Graze, a specialty provider of Vermont artisanal and farm-fresh foods, is selling fresh, free-range turkeys from Misty Knoll Farms. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of these turkeys goes to support Westport’s Wakeman Town Farm, an organic demonstration homestead open to the public. When you order, please use the code WAKEMANTURKEY to activate the promotion. Misty Knoll Farms’ free-range, Broad-Breasted White turkeys are raised on the farm’s lush Vermont meadows, where they are afforded a natural, stress-free environment, a wholesome, all-natural diet and plenty of access to lush pasture, sunshine and fresh water. There are never any pesticides, hormones or antibiotics used to raise these happy birds.  Graze will deliver FREE to your door throughout Fairfield County on Monday, Nov. 21. Email or call 1-888-WE GRAZE to reserve your turkey. Or, place your entire Thanksgiving order online at Graze.

Sport Hill Farm in Easton is selling fresh, pasture-raised, Broad-Breasted Whites from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. Choose from Naturally raised and Certified Organic turkeys from 12-14 pounds up to 28-30 pounds. Naturally raised turkeys are $3.10 lb.,  certified organic are $4.29 lb., and both need to be ordered by November 10. To place an order e-mail farmer Patti Popp at farmgal596@yahoo.com or stop by the farm on 596 Sport Hill Road. Patti will e-mail buyers when the turkeys have arrived to arrange pick-up at the farm the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Greyledge Farm in Roxbury, well-known for their high quality, grass fed beef and pastured pork and chicken, usually sells fresh (not frozen) pasture-raised, Broad-Breasted White turkeys for pick up at local farmers’ markets. Please direct inquiries to 860-350-3203 or email the farm at inquiries@greyledgefarm.com or in person with Greyledge at the Westport and Darien farmers’ markets. No information was made available to  us by publication time.

If you are unable to source a Heritage turkey locally, visit Heritage Foods USA online to place an order for direct shipment to your home. At publication time, only 8-14 pound turkeys were still available.

By Elizabeth Keyser

Marc Alvarez is the chef/owner of Concierge Foods and is on a mission to change the way you eat. Photo c/o Concierge Foods.

Marc Alvarez wants to be your local food source and cooking coach.  The former personal chef to fashion designer Donna Karan (and celebrities he cannot name) started Concierge Foods, a web-based food delivery service, to connect consumers with the best local and organically raised food – produce, poultry, seafood, dairy products, grains and legumes, honey, jam, coffee and tea.

The Bedford, NY business recently expanded delivery to Greenwich and Stamford, CT. Alvarez picks up products from farms, markets and producers in New York state, New York City and Lancaster, PA, packages customers’ orders and delivers to their door. He makes the first delivery himself and spends a minimum of twenty minutes with the customer sharing information about the provenance of the products they ordered, how to store and cook them, and answers any questions. “A lot of times people don’t know what to do with local products. They would buy more if they knew a few ways to prepare it. Squash for example is so versatile. I make soups, stews, ravioli and gnocchi with it.”

Fresh vegetables are sourced year-round from small and medium-sized family farms dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Photo c/0 Concierge Foods.

His formal CIA training and solid background as a restaurant chef  inform his knowledge of products and quality. His mentor Frank Crispo of Crispo Restaurant in New York City taught Alvarez  to cook with whole animals, a rare talent that’s very much in demand now. Alvarez is fluent in head cheese, guanciale, offal and belly and wants to educate the consumer about these lesser-known cuts.  He encourages people to cook at home and eat healthier. Concierge’s website includes recipes for dishes ranging from Oatmeal & Sweet Potato Breakfast Bars to Braised Lamb Shoulder with Carrots, Fennel and Thyme. Alvarez is ready to answer questions like “What do I do with kohlrabi?”, “What’s the best way to cook grass-fed beef?” or “Oh, no, I’ve ruined the potatoes, they’re way too salty.”  He says his goal is to educate people about the product.

In just six months, business has grown 140 percent, a sign that Alvarez is correct when he says that a lot of people want super-fresh, healthy, local, sustainably and organically raised food, but “don’t have the time to run around to farmers’ markets.”  Concierge’s customers like being able to order whatever they want each week, rather than participating in a farm CSA, in which they must accept what’s in their basket each week. A number of customers have discovered Alvarez’ farm-to-door delivery service after enjoying his food at private events. “I create seasonal menus for private parties that expose people to the best of local food. When they ask where they can get ingredients like the ones I use, I refer them to the website.”

Alvarez makes his rounds to a wide range of farms and markets, and updates Concierge’s website with information on available products every Sunday. Customers order online and Concierge’s vans deliver within 48 hours, Tuesday through Saturday. The delivery fee is $5 for the Bedford, Greenwich and Stamford area, and is $20 for customers in Woodstock, NY and points north. He’s looking forward to serving Connecticut residents as far east as Westport and Fairfield where the delivery fee will be $10.

Fall produce is being sourced from Blue Star Farms in Columbia County, NY. Lacinato kale, Siberian kale, three types of onions, two types of cabbages – Savoy and Tendersweet – plus Kabocha and Sweet Mama squash.

Chickens come from John Boy’s Farm in upstate New York. Alvarez praises the firm texture and off-white color of the flesh. It reflects the chickens being raised in pastures and the high quality of their feed, which is organically grown and GMO-free.

Beef comes from several sources. Snow Hill Organic Farm in North Salem, NY is producing 100-percent grass-fed Certified Angus beef that’s “the best I’ve tasted,” says Alvarez.  He notes that it’s best cooked slow and low or quickly seared. Brandt Beef in California provides what Alvarez calls his “middle tier” offering – cuts of naturally raised, Devon cows that “are tender and have a nice beef flavor.”

Concierge Foods offers a full complement of fresh dairy products from local farms and co-ops. Photo c/0 Concierge Foods.

Milk, from grass-fed, organically raised cows, comes from Natural by Nature in Lancaster, PA.  It is pasteurized at a low-temperature and packaged in refundable glass bottles.

One of the artisan, farmstead cheese available through Concierge Foods. Plans are to continue to grow the offerings. Photo c/0 Concierge Foods.

Artisan and farmstead cheeses are sourced from a small collective of dairy farms in the Hudson Valley called the Pampered Cow. Familiar names like Old Chatham Sheepherding Company can be purchased alongside new ones like Hawthorne Valley, whose Aged Alpine is the only Demeter Certified Biodynamic farmstead cheese available on the market.

Concierge Foods sources fresh, sustainable seafood from Down East Seafood, the first small business in New York City to operate an all-electric delivery truck. Photo c/0 Concierge Foods.

Sustainable seafood comes from Down East Seafood, which he picks up fresh weekly at Hunt’s Point.  Pole-and-line caught Bigeye tuna, Icelandic cod, and Wild King Salmon – all rated “Best Choice” on Seafood Watch’s guide to sustainable seafood, plus black sea bass and lump blue crab meat – both “Good Alternatives” in the guide, are currently available. Alvarez is planning to add American caviar to Concierge’s offerings.

Because Alvarez is an accomplished chef and knows the joys of working with the best seasonal ingredients from around the world, he doesn’t limit Concierge’s offerings.  “People want organic lemons, limes and avocados,” he said.  He gets white truffles from Italy, and “beautiful black mission figs.” Before making additions to Concierge’s offerings, Alvarez cooks with new ingredients and holds tastings with chef friends.

On his desk at Concierge’s facility in Bedford is a book on winter gardening by Eliot Coleman. Alvarez will provide winter produce from Satur Farm on Long Island, the cooperatives in Lancaster, PA, and Blue Star Farms in Stuyvesant, N.Y. “I’m trying to get more farms growing into the winter season. Spinach, carrots and arugula all taste better in the winter.”

Alvarez says Concierge’s business has grown organically. And he’s got plans brewing. He’s looking into getting a commercial kitchen so that he can provide Concierge’s customers with prepared foods.  “I’m getting lots of requests for prepared foods but I’m not going to cook everything for them. The starch and vegetable will be cooked but a protein like salmon will be marinated so it can be cooked fresh at home. Things like braises will be fully cooked because their flavor improves from being made a day ahead.”  A kitchen will allow him to save money and waste little when he buys a whole hog, for instance.  “I’ll make guanciale and head cheese. I’ll brine and smoke ham steaks from one leg and grind the other to make pork sausages,” he says.

His ultimate dream is to have a commercial kitchen and teaching space on a farm – a place to grow, cook and teach.  “I just need the right person to partner with,” he says.  When he visits farms, he notices products farmers might overlook.  Recently, he noticed fennel stalks loaded with seeds.  “What are you doing with those seeds?” he asked the farmer. He was met with a blank expression.  “Grind them up and sell them for dry rubs,” Alvarez said.

This winter he’s planning a test, working with four farmers and providing them with seed money to grow what he knows he can sell. His dream is to get area farmers to work cooperatively and give them some financial security.

“I want to build a community,” he says.

Concierge Foods

Chef/owner Marc Alvarez

357 Adams Street

Bedford Hills, NY  10507

Phone: 914-241-9200

marc@conciergefoods.com

http://www.conciergefoods.com/

Twitter: @ConciergeFoods

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConciergeFoods

YWCA Greenwich invites you to spend an evening with Terry Walters, a sustainable food advocate, nutritionist and author of Clean Food and Clean Start. Guests will enjoy tastings prepared by Chef Andy Burke from recipes in Walters’ cookbooks. Local, organic ingredients for this menu are provided by Mike’s Organic Delivery. The talk and tasting will be followed by a Q&A session, book sale and signing, and opportunity to visit with the exhibitors.

Date: Thursday, October 20

Time: 6:00-8:00 pm

Tickets: $25 per person

RSVP: Tiffany at YWCA at 203-869-6501, ext. 106 or www.ywcagreenwich.org/terrywalters

Barbara Kingsolver advises us in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to make and jar tomato sauce and other “convenience” foods now so we can prepare quick meals in the winter. I’m taking her advice. Memories of arriving home on cold, dark winter evenings with hungry kids in tow is not that distant a memory. I remember being grateful for the jars of organic tomato sauce I had bought from Riverbank Farm each Thursday at the winter farmers’ market in Westport. They were my ticket to a fast, slow food meal. Now it’s time to bump it up a notch and can my own. Goodness knows the farm stands and farmers’ markets are still overflowing in fresh-picked tomatoes.

If canning and preserving are not your strong suits, fear not, because you are not alone. You now have a chance to learn from the pros at Millstone Farm during a preserving workshop on Saturday, September 17, from 1-3 pm. You can even bring your own tomatoes for canning. I had planned to freeze a lot of food for the winter, but the recent, extended power outages caused by Tropical Storm Irene have given me pause. My corn kernels and plums are safely frozen only because I was able to get bags of ice to avoid a freezer meltdown. Canning requires no ongoing use of energy and is immune from power outages. :)

This is the first in a series of workshops Millstone Farm will be hosting about preserving food. Please RSVP directly to Farah at 203-834-2605.

Lentils. Do you cook with them? They are one of the least expensive yet easiest ways to add a tasty vegetarian protein to a meal. Unlike beans, which can take more than an hour to cook, they take only 20-30 minutes. In this recipe, I greatly simplified a traditional Mexican recipe for stewed lentils for a class I taught at Mercy Learning Center two years ago. The students loved it! Lentils are so naturally full of flavor and palate pleasing (even kids like them) that the addition of a few seasonal ingredients and about 20 minutes of cooking times is all you need to make a meal. I stopped using vegetable or chicken stock in my lentils years ago as a shortcut and nobody noticed. All you need is water.

This recipe is great for Meatless Monday and the $5 Challenge event on Sept. 17. If you have other seasonal ingredients on hand, like peppers, Swiss chard or kale, they’ll make a great addition to the meal. Cut the peppers into a small dice and add them to the first step (sauteeing onions and chiles). Wash, de-stem and cut the Swiss chard or kale into strips, then add them during the last 10 minutes of cooking, making sure to cook until tender (test!).

Ingredient Note: If you have any Mexican oregano, add a pinch (1/2 tsp.) with the tomatoes. It’s very powerful and is not at all related to Mediterranean oregano.

Meal Tip: Start your rice just before you start prepping the lentil ingredients so both meal components will be done at the same time. Brown rice takes 45 minutes to cook. Always use 2 parts water to 1 part rice and there is no need to rinse the rice first.

Once the pot has come to a boil, lower it to a simmer and do something else for 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup dried, uncooked lentils (any color but red, which turns to mush when cooked)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 chiles (any fresh, hot green chile), seeded, stemmed and finely chopped (wash hands immediately after handling)
• 2 cloves medium garlic, peeled and finely chopped (3 cloves small)
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups cold water
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (leaves or stems and leaves)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Preparation:

1.     Sort and rinse the lentils in cold water, then set aside to drain.

2.     In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and chiles. Cook until soft, about two minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.

3.     Add the tomato, lentils, water, salt and bay leaf to the pot, cover and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook until the lentils uncovered until soft, about 20-30minutes. Dip a spoon in a have a taste to see if they’re done or still crunchy.

Leave the lid off while the lentils cook so the water reduces to create a stew.

4.    Remove bay leaf and add the cilantro and red wine vinegar. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

5.    Serve with tortillas (organic corn or whole wheat), brown rice or quinoa.

The biggest complaint I hear about local and organic food is that it’s too expensive. For that reason, I think Slow Food’s $5 Challenge is brilliant. It’s like Myth Busters for food – an entire day dedicated to making and sharing meals made from scratch with real ingredients that cost no more than $5 per person.

Are you up for hosting your own $5 Challenge event? It can be as simple as making a meal with your family or for a few friends where everyone helps prepare and cook the food. Or host a potluck event where each guests brings a dish. A helpful list of $5 Challenge ideas is available on Slow Food’s $5 Challenge website. Please click here to register your event on Slow Food’s website.

To help you out I’ve put together a list of my top ideas for keeping meal costs down.

1. Start by designing the meal around what’s available in your or a friend’s backyard garden (or school or community gardens if you’re a member). Tomatoes, corn, eggplant, squash, kale, swiss chard, cucumbers, and fresh herbs are all in season.
2. Go heavy on vegetables, preferably local/organic, and seek them out at farm stands and farmers’ markets. A head of cabbage can make cole slaw or an Asian cabbage salad for a large group and generally run about $3.
3. Use meat and cheese as condiments or eliminate them entirely and serve tofu or beans instead.
4. Buy brown rice and other whole grains in bulk.
5. Buy beans and lentils in bulk. (if you don’t know how to cook beans, head to the event in Fairfield listed below.)
6. A pound of pasta can feed 6 people, leaving you about $26 for other ingredients.

If you’d rather attend an event than host your own, there are several in the area to choose from and the list is growing. Click here to find an event in your area. Be sure to visit the events under Slow Food’s Metro North chapter, which now encompasses Fairfield, Westchester, and Putnam Counties. I am delighted to share that I was recently invited to join the Board and now serve as an auxiliary board member. You can be certain that I’ll be keeping you up to date on the chapter’s events and initiatives and inviting you to participate. (read more about Slow Food Metro North below).

Whole Foods Market Fairfield will be hosting a $5 Meal with Chef Michelle at 12:00 noon on 9/17
You are welcome to attend this unique event where Chef Michelle will be teaching guests how to make $5 meals as part of the Slow  Food Metro North $5 Challenge! Slow food cooking doesn’t have to be time consuming or have high costs. Come learn how to  cook up some high quality meals at a great price!

Mexican Chicken Chili

About Slow Food Metro North

SLOW FOOD WESTCHESTER Is Now SLOW FOOD METRO NORTH

The Westchester chapter of Slow Food was started several years ago by a few dedicated, hard working individuals who championed the Slow Food mission by fostering change in the quality of the food we eat and our food systems. Their work organizing, hosting and co-sponsoring community events stirred interest in good, clean, fair food in schools, with farmers and chefs, gardeners, houses of worship, community organizations and folks in general throughout the lower Hudson Valley.  They connected to individuals and organizations who care about heath, food, food policy, agriculture, and the environment.   “We would like to publicly recognize these leaders for their outstanding commitment to making change by making a difference, one person, one workshop, and one community event at a time.  Thank you for your leadership, your time, and enthusiastic advocacy to the Slow Food mission”.

• Lisa Cohn
• Peggy Clarke
• Susan Rubin
• Christopher Roberts
• Jan Frazier Maltby

In early 2011 the first official board of this chapter was formed by Mimi Edelman and Kathryn Dysart as Co-Chairpersons.  They assembled a group of people with diverse backgrounds qualified to meet the goals of the chapter as well as the strategic plans set forth by Slow Food USA. This group of talented people quickly realized the name of their chapter was not inclusive of all of their members, some of whom reside outside Westchester county.  “We are excited to announce we have changed our name to Slow Food Metro North to embrace our entire community of members”.  The Slow Food Metro North chapter includes the geographic region of the lower Hudson Valley and Southern Connecticut, which includes Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield counties.

Please visit the Slow Food Metro North website at http://slowfoodmetronorth.org/

Lacinato kale (Tuscan) growing in my raised beds. Harvest leaves from the bottom up.

A few years ago I blogged about making kale chips, but it bears revisiting because people are suddenly crazy about kale. Don’t believe me?  Do a quick Twitter search (twitter.com/search), for #kale or #kalechips and you’ll see just how many other people are sharing their love of kale, along with recipes and nutrition facts. Fortunately, CT farmers are growing this green beauty and it’s in season right now.

Exciting Facts:

• Kale is in season (any variety, curly or flat, will do)
• Kale chips are delicious
• Kale chips are easy to make
• Kale chips are kid friendly
• Kale chips last longer than fresh kale

It’s easy to see why kale chips deserve another blog post showing you how to make them. Here it goes, a photo recipe for the easiest vegetable snack (yup!) you’ll ever make and wonder why you never did before. Put them out before dinner when everyone is moaning about how hungry they are, serve them to beer drinkers, put them in your children’s lunch boxes, take them on a picnic and serve them as an extra vegetable with dinner.

Ingredients:

1. Bunch of fresh kale, preferably organic from a local farm
2. Good olive oil, preferably organic
3. Good, fine grain sea salt

Kitchen requirements:

1. Oven with three racks
2. Three rimmed sheet pans
3. Very large bowl
4. Cutting board
5. Salad spinner
6. Very sharp chef’s knife
7. Metal spatula
8. Container or bag for storing the chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to anywhere between 250 and 300 degrees. The cooking will go faster at a higher temperature, but you’ll have to keep a closer eye on the chips to make sure they don’t brown.
   
2. Lay the kale in a pile next to your cutting board. Please the kale leaves, one at a time, on the cutting board and remove the leaves from them stem by running your knife down each side of the center rib, starting at the top and ending where the leaf ends. Compost the stems.
3. Gather the leaves and rinse them in cold water in a salad spinner. Spin until mostly dry, but some water is still clinging to them (it makes distributing the oil easier).
4. Put 2 heaping handfuls of the leaves into a large bowl, drizzle on some olive oil, and toss with your hands to distribute the oil evenly over the leaves. After a minute or two all the leaves will look evenly coated.
   

   They are ready to be placed on the sheet pan now that they're uniformly coated with olive oil.

5. Lay the leaves in a single layer, but snug against one another, on a rimmed sheet pan. My pans are well seasoned from years of use, so chips never stick. If in doubt, line your pans with parchment paper or a non-stick liner like Silpat. Sprinkle all the leaves evenly from a height with fine sea salt. Coarse sea salt will overpower the chips.
   
6. Prepare next two trays the same way, then put all three into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes rotate the trays to ensure even cooking. Move the bottom tray to the middle, top tray to the bottom, and the middle tray to the top. Set time for 10 more minutes.
   

   Be sure to rotate the pans to ensure even cooking.

8. After a total of 20 minutes cooking time, check for doneness on each tray by lifting a chip with your spatula. If it’s light as a feather and doesn’t feel damp at all to the touch, it’s done. Do not let them brown or they will be very bitter. Check again every 2-3 minutes.
   

   Done! Still green, but dry looking and light as a feather.

9. Remove tray and let cool when done. Remove chips from tray with a spatula and store in a lidded container or plastic bag. Store at room temperature for a few days.
   

Variation: replace olive oil with toasted sesame oil (and toasted sesame seeds if you have them) for Asian inspired kale chips.

There are only two ways I know of to get an organic peach grown in Fairfield County, Connecticut (or anywhere else in the state for that matter). One is to have a CSA share in The Hickories, which only distributes their precious orchard fruit to shareholders. The other is to be lucky enough to hit the stand at Warrup’s Farm on a peach picking day. Those days are right now.

Beautiful heirloom tomatoes at Warrup's farm stand.

I visited the farm stand late last week with my son and a friend and we were all disappointed to not find peaches. We killed some time walking around the fields, admiring the basil, tomatoes (lots of them!), and other late summer vegetables thriving in the hot, sun-drenched fields. We secretly hoped someone would show up at the stand with peaches. My friend soon spotted an intern and gave me the high sign. I was delighted to also see farmer Bill Hill since he was sure to give us the scoop. “Not for a few days” he said when asked about peach availability, “then we’ll have them at the stand for $2 a pound. There aren’t enough for our CSA families.” Our collective disappointment must have been palpable, because he took pity and offered to let us pick a few ripe peaches off the trees in the orchard (PYO is closed this year).

Orchard peaches at Warrup' Farm in Redding are not sprayed or otherwise treated for bugs or disease. Get them while you can.

After a short walk to the orchard, we began jumping up to reach the lowest hanging limbs that appeared to bear ripe fruit, hoping for a prize. All the while we were competing with every sweet, orchard fruit-loving insect.  “We don’t touch them” said Hill, referring to the no spray, no hand picking of bugs stance they take with the peaches. “They’re not beautiful” he cautioned. While that was true for a handful of them, we did manage to pick quite a few gorgeous ones that would be ready for eating after a few days of counter top ripening. Extensive surgery would be required on the ones that insects had beaten us to. At $2 a pound, the extra work seemed more than worth it. We returned to the farm stand to weigh our peaches and other produce, fill out purchase tickets, and add our payments to the jar.

Three different varieties of summer squash, new crop garlic, and lots of tomatoes await at the farm stand. Fingers crossed for peaches!

During the ride home my son suggested we use our precious peach cargo to make ice cream. Knowing these would probably be the only local, organic peaches we’d find, it seeded a fitting way to prepare them for enjoyment during the last fleeting weeks of summer. After a few days’ ripening, they were perfect. Ever the frugal and shortcut cook, I searched for an appropriate peach ice cream recipe online and found one from Every Day with Rachael Ray that required no eggs and no custard cooking. Tonight after dinner, two little heads watched intently over our Cuisinart ice cream maker as it churned the thick and peachy mixture until it was frozen thick. Enjoying local, organic peach ice cream on a hot and stormy August evening, we felt lucky indeed.

Whether you eat them out of hand or make them into jam or ice cream, Warrup’s peaches are delicious and healthy. Organic vegetables available at the stand include newly harvested garlic, a wide variety of heirloom and other tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and cabbage. The farm stand is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11-5 through the first frost. The farm is also open seasonally for pumpkins and cut your own Christmas trees. Maple sugar demonstrations are typically held the first three weekends in March from 11-5. It’s best to visit Warrup’s website for posted schedules or call 203-938-9403 to plan your visit.

Warrup’s Farm announced a summer/fall CSA Program last year and it quickly filled up with 30 families.  Please click here to add your name to the waiting list for 2012.

Warrup’s Farm is located on John Read Road in Redding, CT, 1.2 miles north of Redding Center, off Route 107.

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The next best thing to local organic peaches: The CT EcoPeach

Fairfield Green Food Guide readers are invited take the pledge to go meatless one day a week by joining Meatless Monday, a growing national movement to eat meat-free meals one day a week.  Each week we’ll post a seasonal recipe to support you in your efforts to eat a little greener (and healthier too!). We pledge not to compromise on flavor and to inspire you with new and exciting flavors. Area chefs are invited to submit favorite recipes (you too!) and today we’re featuring a delicious, seasonal dish from organic, vegetarian chef Linda Soper-Kolton, chef/owner of GreenGourmettoGo.

By Linda Soper-Kolton, Chef/Owner of GreenGourmettoGo

Photos by Analiese Paik

Peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, chiles, oregano and basil are all in season, making this a perfect late summer dinner.

During a recent class I was teaching to a bunch of carnivorous police officers looking for healthier alternatives to their current diets, I converted a familiar Italian favorite from meaty to meatless.  Sausage and peppers is a dish loaded with unhealthy saturated fat, calories and has very little that would serve to support good health. In this meatless version, we kick the sausage to the curb and replace it with tempeh while preserving the great taste of the dish. Traditionalists do not use tomatoes in their recipe for sausage and peppers. I’ve included it here as optional since there are some folks who enjoy the dish with the taste of tomatoes.  If you have fresh tomatoes, chop and substitute canned for fresh.

Editor’s Note: This dish is delicious! “Tastes just like sausage and peppers” was my husband’s comment at first bite. Peppers, tomatoes, onions, chile peppers, garlic, basil and oregano are in season, making this a perfect late summer recipe. I was able to reduce the water and tamari by half by laying the tamari slices in a single layer in a wide-bottomed pot. The idea is to have the slices covered with the cooking liquid so they are all evenly colored and flavored. To make ground fennel, gently toast fennel seed in a heavy bottomed (cast iron is perfect) skillet over medium low heat until it smokes, then put it in a spice grinder and pulverize it. The fennel and chili flakes (or fresh chile) give the dish authentic Italian sausage flavors.

Ingredient Notes: Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake that is dense, easily sliced, and a convenient meat substitute. It can also be made from other beans and grains.  Tamari is a dark , complex and very flavorful soy sauce made from fermenting soybeans and little to no wheat (It’s available wheat-free for gluten intolerant eaters). It is thicker and more flavorful than most soy sauces that are typically made with equal parts soybeans and wheat.

Give the tomatoes a quick boiling water bath to loosen their skins. Remove tomatoes from the water after they start to split or within 15 seconds to avoid turning them to mush. Let them cool before peeling, coring and chopping them.

Serves 4

20 minutes to prep the ingredients

25-45 minutes cooking time (depending upon whether you’re using tomatoes)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup organic tamari
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 package organic tempeh (any variety of flavors would work), cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and de-stemmed and cut into strips (green, red, yellow or mix them up)
• 2 yellow onions, halved and sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh leaves)
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (1 tablespoon fresh chopped leaves)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 2 fresh chile peppers, seeded and chopped fine)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes (optional) (substitute 1-2 lbs. fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped)
• 4 to 6 fresh whole grain sandwich rolls (optional)

Wash, trim and prepare all the vegetables and herbs while the tempeh is simmering.

Directions:

1.  In a small pot, combine the tempeh, water, tamari and bay leaf. Simmer for 15 minutes and remove tempeh from pot.

2.  Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the tempeh and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3.  Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, garlic, chili flakes and fennel and cook 2 more minutes.

4. Optional step: Add the tomato paste and tomatoes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Almost there. Once the tomatoes have thickened up a bit, it's time to add the tempeh back in and serve the dish.

5. Add the tempeh back to the pan and stir gently to combine. If using tomatoes, cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. If you are not using tomatoes, stir gently to combine and remove from heat.

Serve in bowls, or if serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top and serve sandwiches immediately.

Complete the dish with a fresh, whole grain roll or slices of artisan bread.

Linda Soper-Kolton is the chef/owner of
GreenGourmetToGo, a catering and event business specializing in organic vegetarian and vegan cuisine. GreenGourmetToGo’s weekly newsletter includes the week’s prepared meals menu, which is available for pre-order and in-store pick up each Thursday. GreenGourmetToGo is the partner restaurant in Sport Hill Farm’s Farm to Chef Connect Program, a hybrid prepared meals/CSA program available for monthly subscription. Linda is a registered “Chefs Move to Schools” chef, an initiative that’s part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign, and is dedicated to making healthy meals easy, approachable and delicious.

GreenGourmettoGo

2984 Fairfield Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06605
203.873-0057 (store)
203.615.8139 (cell)
www.GreenGourmetToGo.com

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Rose's Berry Farm grows blueberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, plums and melons which they sell every Thursday at the Westport Farmers' Market.

The dog days of summer are here, and so are some of the most exciting CT Grown fruits and vegetables that require no cooking: heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, and cherries.

Starlight Gardens' organic heirloom tomatoes on display at the Westport farmers' market.

For easy summer meals, visit a local farm stand or farmers’ market and build your weekly menu around what’s available right now, starting with heirloom tomatoes. These beautifully colored and oddly shaped tomatoes are packed with flavor, so I like to use them in dishes like salads, where they take center stage. Starlight Gardens in Durham grows between 20 and 30 varieties of organic, heirloom tomatoes that are among the best grown in the state. At the Westport farmers’ market on Thursday, I overheard one shopper commenting on the incredible flavor of Starlight tomatoes. Just one look at their display makes your mouth water. We’ve been waiting all year for tomatoes, so eat up.

Organic heirloom tomatoes from Starlight Gardens ready for an at-home tomato tasting.

I’ve grown and eaten Green Zebras, Brandywines and even Zapotec Pleated (Mexican) heirloom tomatoes, but many of the varieties grown by Starlight and completely new to me, and quite rare. After surveying the table of heirlooms ranging from beefsteaks to cherries, I decided to buy one of each kind to compare their tastes. These included a Paul Robeson, a Black Russian Heirloom; Amana Orange; Pruden’s Purple, similar to Brandywine (which I mistook it for); German Red Strawberry; Striped German, a showy red and yellow when sliced; Wapsipinicon, a Native American Varietal from Idaho aka White Peach; Violet Jasper, purple with green streaks; Glacier; Great White, creamy white just like its name; and Green Moldova, a lime green Ukranian varietal. Tasting these is going to be fun!

Insalata Caprese is a perfect side dish or starter for a hot day.

One of my favorite dishes to make with heirloom tomatoes is Insalata Caprese, a very simple yet beautiful and incredibly delicious raw antipasto salad. Assemble the salad by alternating slices of heirloom tomato with slices of local, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil leaves, then simply dress it with good olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Add some bread and the antipasto becomes a sandwich. A good wine pairing would be a rose.

Storage Tip: Do not refrigerate tomatoes; it changes their taste and texture. Leave them on the counter and eat within a few days of picking. Do not refrigerate basil; it will turn brown rapidly. Store it in a vase or mason jar out of direct sunlight and it will stay fresh for 1-2 weeks.

A blueberry parfait made with local yogurt and honey makes the perfect summer dessert.

Any fruit – berry, stone fruit, or melon – can be eaten as is, but I also like to pair whole berries or slices of stone fruit – like peaches and nectarines – with local yogurt and honey for a healthy breakfast or snack. If guests are coming, layer the fruit and yogurt in a parfait glass and top it with honey for a beautiful presentation. At an informal gathering, put out all the ingredients – fruit, yogurt and honey- on the table and let guests make their own fruit parfaits.

When you’re wondering what to do with a large quantity of super ripe fruit, make smoothies or freezer pops. Freezer pop molds (look for the BPA-free kind) are pretty inexpensive and last for years. Sometimes I make smoothies and freeze any leftovers as pops. Try blending 2 peaches, 2 cups of blueberries and a cup of milk, plus 1 teaspoon of honey (or to taste) for a delicious, refreshing and perfectly seasonal smoothie. If you’re using a blender, add some ice cubes to make it even colder. If using an immersion blender (ice usually cannot be handled by them), chill down all your ingredients first.