Weekly Share Nov 3rd – 9th

corn&squashFall2014Lettuce or Salad Mix, Savoy Cabbage, Collard Greens, Green Tomatoes, Golden Ball Turnips, Truckers Favorite Cornmeal, Fennel, Parsley

 CornHarvest_Oct2014This week we are giving a nod to classic Virginian fare. We had a surprise success this year with our first real corn grain crop of Truckers Favorite, an heirloom  variety that is well adapted to growing in the South and is traditionally used for cornmeal, grits, or flour. In early October we hand picked the corn from our 12 150’ rows, shucked each ear and then laid them out to dry in our greenhouse. Once dry Brian shelled all of the corn using Sub Rosa Bakery’s hand cranked corn sheller. All said and done we have 200lbs of beautiful whole corn.
CornShucking_Oct2014For this week’s share we have freshly stone ground cornmeal that can be used for cornbread, corn cake, corn pone, or whatever you prefer. If you fall in love, we will have grits and cornmeal available at market during the holiday season until we run out. Along with the cornmeal we have a few items for a perfect southern meal: green tomatoes, collard greens, cabbage, and turnips.
CornShelling_Oct2014Hopefully with this cold November weather you can enjoy some tasty hot meals. If you are not familiar with Edna Lewis, please look her up and try some of her recipes below. She grew up in the Virginia Piedmont and went on to become a very influential person in the food world. Due to her farm upbringing, she had a sense of local and seasonal fare long before current trends made these concepts popular. Her cookbooks are a great inspiration for us as farmers and cooks. Enjoy the share….. Brian and Autumn 
Corn Pone The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
Preparation of Leafy Greens The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
SavoyCabbage_Oct2014New Cabbage with ScallionsThe Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis The first time we would cook and serve our newly grown garden cabbage was on a wheat-threshing day. We would cut up many heads and cook them in a large iron pot with liquid from the pork shoulder and a small amount of fat for seasoning. Cabbage cooked that way was a hearty fare, good sustenance for hard working men. We children usually had the food that was left over from the midday meal that night for supper and thought it was just great. No other food in the world seemed to have quite the good flavor of what was left over from a wheat-threshing dinner.
1 2-pound head new cabbage, 1/3 cup tender green scallion tops, cut into ¼” slices, 2 cups boiling water, or preferably stock from boiled pork shoulder, 3 Tbls freshly rendered fat from bacon or ham, salt and freshly ground pepper
To prepare the cabbage, trim away the outside leaves and cut the head into quarters. Cut away the core, leaving just enough to hold the leaves intact. Place the pieces of cabbage in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes or so to wash out any dust or bugs, particularly if it has come straight out of the garden. Remove, drain in a colander, then place in a 3-quart saucepan and add the scallion tops to give added flavor and color. Pour the boiling water or stock over and toss the cabbage with two spoons to make sure that each piece is scalded. Add the fat so that it coats the cabbage, then turn the burner low so that the cabbage boils briskly but not too rapidly for 25-30 minutes –any longer and the cabbage will become too soft and its taste will change. Drain. Toss the salt to taste and a good grating of freshly ground pepper to heighten the flavor. Serve hot.
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Turnip CasseroleMastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
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