This Week's Food

Shakshuka!

Shakshuka is is one of our favorite dishes of all time. It's perfect for a weekend lunch or for an elegant, but simple dinner to share with friends.

This humble but wonderfully satisfying dish is made of eggs poached in a tomato sauce with spices; often with cumin or chilis. The variations on it are myriad (we share a few options below) but sometimes the recipes can look intimidating from a spice perspective. If you don't have everything on the list, don't fret. You can be creative here; adding what you have on hand and whatever you are happy to see alongside tomatoes and eggs!

We like to serve it right in the dish, with a side of crusty bread and have people share family style. Bon Appetit!

Posted on September 09, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

It's Taco Time.

Happy Labor Day, it's Taco Time!

We're excited to share organic tortillas from Mi Tierra Tortillas in Hadley, MA. A local farmer teaming up with a couple of chefs to make beautiful products. Doesn't get any better than that. Here's their story:

"Mi Tierra started as a dream of Jorge and Dora's to bring authentic Mexican food to Western Massachusetts. We are continuing that dream by making tortillas in the ancient 'nixtamalazation' process, no chemicals, no additives, just 100% corn in the way our forefathers intended.

Mi Tierra Tortillas are made from 100% non-GMO, locally grown corn from the Connecticut Valley Region. Corn, water, and lime. Those are the only ingredients we use and the only ingredients they need!"

We hope you love them, we have focused our recipe suggestions around these little gems.

Posted on September 02, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Let Them Eat Steak

This week's share includes a big, beautiful Sirloin Steak from Tad at Feather Brook Farms. We cooked Tad's sirloin in a cast iron pan and sliced it onto a flatbread pizza, pictured above.

The word sirloin comes from the Old French surloigne meaning above the loin. According to Wikipedia, there is an oft-repeated anecdote that says the name comes from a time when “King James I of England, while being entertained at Hoghton Tower during his return from Scotland in 1617, was so impressed by the quality of his steak that he knighted the loin of beef, which was referred to thereafter as "Sir loin".” Wikipedia goes on to say that this is held to be a myth, but we like the story of “Sir Beef”. Erin wants to use that as the name for our next dog.

The steaks are wonderfully savory and simple. As always, a cast iron or a grill treats 'em right. 3-4 minutes per side (130F for medium rare), a sprinkle of salt and pepper and you're ready. Don't forget to let them rest before slicing to add to your favorite sandwich, flatbread or directly to your face. Cooking the onions and mushrooms in the left over beef fat will introduce a lovely depth to your dish.

Posted on August 26, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

An Odd Couple

Corn and Pasta may seem like a bit of a strange pairing. You might think that adding a starch to starch would leave you with a leaden dish. However, if you cook the corn only slightly it brings a sweet, fresh bite to the pasta. If the idea of doing anything other with Summer Corn than boiling it and slathering it with butter seems appalling to you, we totally get it. That irresistible summer treat isn't going to be around for long. If you were willing to branch out a bit, try one of the Pasta recipes below.

Posted on August 19, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Spice it up.

This week's share contains a little something extra, and we hope you love it.

We have started working with Curio Spice Co. on Mass Ave in Cambridge. Visit their storefront, it is beautiful! Their spice blends are inventive and delicious. More about them below.

This week we asked Claire, the owner, for a suggestion to pair with Chicken and Pita. She suggested her Kozani blend; a Greek herb/fennel blend with saffron. She also included a recipe for using the spice in a Tzatziki sauce - let us know what you think!

Posted on August 12, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Nice Buns.

Nothing says summer like firing up the grill. For carnivores that means endless delicious charred, meaty treats. In this canon of deliciousness, creating the perfect cheese burger is a skill to be honed. There are dozens of ways to cook them and endless toppings. For the recipe, below, we kept it simple and brought it back to the burger you grew up with. Serve it with the quick pickles, corn and watermelon and you have a feast.

Posted on August 05, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Lend Me Your (Little) Ears

Orecchiette is one of our favorite pasta shapes. Its name is a combination in Italian of orecchia (ear) and etta (little) and these little ears have a perfect shape for clinging to whatever amazing sauce you toss them with.

Salmon is an incredible fish year round, but its particularly versatile in the summer. There are dozens of ways to cook it; grilling, poaching, sous-viding, oven roasting. Wanna get fancy? Cook it in parchment. This fish from Red's Best is incredibly fresh and ready for your favorite recipe (or one of ours, below).

Posted on July 29, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Where's the Beef?

We bought a cow!
We've partnered with Tad from Feather Brook Farms to bring you some beautiful beef. Tad is a pure joy and is SO passionate about food. As he shares his knowledge with us, we want to pass it along to you, so that you know your food AND your farmer. We've started with a bang and hope you enjoy this deliciously marbled bone-in rib-eye steak. Loving instructions on how to prepare it are below.

Posted on July 22, 2017

Erin Baumgartner

Gettin' Dirty

We love opening each week's produce delivery. Luke from Brookford Farm brings us a bounty and every week we can't wait to dive in. There is a little bit of dirt, a grit that lingers on some of the vegetables. It's beautiful to see it there, a reminder where these products come from. Local farms, local dirt.

We doubled down on the long red onions this week. They're a whimsical looking vegetable and the taste just can't be beat. Slice the bulb lengthwise and sauté it lightly in butter, or eat it raw in the fattoush below. When Luke dropped them off he said "I've been telling everyone about these onions. Aren't they amazing?" We totally agree.

Posted on July 15, 2017

Erin Baumgartner