This Week's Food

In our last series, we talked about the year round activities with produce and livestock farms. In this upcoming series over the next few months, we’ll be talking about the ground which grows our food! 

Before we dig into what comprises the soil that grows the food you eat, I figured we could talk about the context of the agricultural landscape of Massachusetts.

This week, with the warmer weather I found myself really craving seafood, scallops in particular.  Some nice citrusy/peppery greens, a glass of crisp white and scallops simmered in a jacuzzi of local butter.  It sounded like heaven. So when Jamey from Red's Best told me a boatload had landed, I couldn't help but order for the Pescatarians in the room. I order them for you, but also for myself. I admit to being shellfish.

We're showing you Tim's beautiful mug today to wish him Happy Birthday, but more importantly to stand with our Asian American customers and colleagues at Family Dinner and in our communities.  We stand against the dehumanization and violence against all members of our community.  I want to respond to these grotesque, racist attacks with expletives and fists. Love and solidarity, however, might be more fitting.

I'm not exactly an inspirational quote kind of a gal, the adjectives "warm and fuzzy" don't often get lobbed my way.  But, at the risk of dipping a toe into the crowded landscape of "Live, Laugh, Love", I wanted to share this quote from Elena Ferrante:

"Nowhere is it written that you can't do it."

The Musical Event of 2021 is brought to you by the Buoys of Summer, a Boston-based Yacht Rock band whose members include several of the Family Dinner All-Star Delivery Team: Peter Danilchuk, Davina Yannetty, and Ben Blanchard (left, center, and right in the photo).  The Buoys of Summer are streaming live from Cotuit Center for the Arts, Saturday, March 6, 7:30pm. 

"Activism can be a march, a boycott, a campaign to knock on a million doors or even a handful of seeds: a future, staked in the earth. It can be voices in chorus and a rising consciousness that the way we eat not only reflects, often ignobly, our choices as a society but shapes them; and that we have the power to change those choices, and the way we live." 

This is A Farmer’s Year, Part 2! Last month we talked about the year-round activities of fruit and vegetable farmers. If you missed it, you can read that newsletter here! 

This time around, I thought we could talk about livestock, and while most livestock don’t really have fully seasonal ties, sheep definitely do. Now before I crack on, wool you bear with me? Ewe’ve heard I like puns, I won’t be sheepish about it. 

In January we committed ourselves to donating at least $3,000 a month to local food banks and organizations fighting food insecurity. We want to do this by buying food directly from local producers, growers, and makers who themselves are struggling in the pandemic. On top of what we have committed monthly, you all donated over $4,200 to add to this effort.

The simple and irrefutable equation that Food = Love led us to draw up a delightfully rich and fun collection of Valentine's Day Add-Ons. Beautiful Rib Eyes from Feather Brook Farms, Lobster Tails from Red's Best, Pasta, Sauces and YES, Focaccia from Fox & The Knife, Baguette, Cheese, Cookies from Forge and more! Plan a fancy dinner or just stock up the freezer with future delights!

This week we are teaming at with the folks at 88 Acres to bring you their delicious seed bars and Seed'nola. 88 Acres is a local business thoughtfully crafting bars and pantry staples with whole seeds and simple ingredients. I met owner Rob Dalton while we were both undergrads at UMass Amherst roughly in the Mesozoic Era while dinosaurs roamed the earth. (Fun fact: Chef Karen from Fox & the Knife was also on campus then. Go, Zoo Mass!)

To say we're excited about launching our collaboration with  Chef Karen Akunowicz and Fox & the Knife  and Fox Pasta is a gross understatement. I've been talking about it for weeks and the team is starting to look at me like I'm someone's Dad droning on endlessly about the upcoming Over 50 Men's Softball tournament. They're like "Yes, Erin - we know. It's the greatest pasta ever and the focaccia is the stuff dreams are made of. You told us 700 times already."

This broth is so tasty it can be enjoyed plain as a beverage. Just heated in a mug it's warm and comforting - like a sweatshirt for your mouth.  If that isn't your cup of broth, try a few of these ideas:

1. Tomorrow January 9th and Tuesday January 12th we will be collecting dry goods for La Colaborativa, a Food Bank in Chelsea, in addition to our new monthly giving initiative at Family Dinner. 

2. Latkes are in the house! We are starting a series of restaurant collaborations with some of the best joints in Boston. We are kicking it off with Mamaleh's Delicatessen. We will have their items in the shares and there are plenty of add-ons to pick from for next week only.