Welcome to Week 28

Last Week of Cycle

Week 28 marks the final week of the current seven-week rotation. This means we will change up a few of the meats, pastas, and other non-produce items to try to introduce some different products. We encourage everyone to try all the delicious goodies we have before deciding to trade!

Have you sent your rsvp for the Nolte Hills Farm Tour on Saturday November 5th?

BYOB = BRING YOUR OWN BAG!

Bring your Fair Shares bags, please. When we run out of paper bags, you will be making multiple trips to your car if you don't bring something to put your food in! We don't need everyone's stash of bags, please--with over 400 full and half share members, that can get a bit out of hand, so please just remember to bring your own bags. Thanks.

 

Extras Available

Email your order by noon to orders@fairshares.org, and please include your pickup group in your email. If your name/email is not the one we have on the check-in sheet, please include that too. Remember that fresh produce is not tradable. Some items may be in short supply, so please leave an alternative if you plan to make an even trade.

NOTE: we're out of ground lamb and ground turkey!

Chestnuts: $2.95/.5 lb. Yay! Rejoice! Sara's favorite food is back in season! Carefully score an "x" in the flat side with a knife or good kitchen shears (did we mention "carefully"), and roast in the toaster oven at about 400F for about 20 minutes. The cut skin will curl back a little, and the white flesh will turn yellow. Pluck one out, toss it from hand to hand until you can give it a squeeze to crack the peel in both directions of the "x" you cut in it, and pop it in your mouth to check for doneness. It should be firm, but not crunchy. Remove from the oven when done and wait just until cool enough to handle before peeling. Once they cool, the skin inside the peel will re-adhere to the flesh making it difficult to peel. Eat them up or add to a recipe. They are so good in pasta with greens and mushrooms and maybe sausage all sauteed together. Yay!

From Fowl To Fabulous

- Houston's Homegrown Turkeys: Paul Houston will have 10-12 pound turkeys available next week. Time to practice for Thanksgiving. There's nothing like a smoked turkey on the barby, MmmmMmm! $4.50/lb. Speaking of turkey, have you ordered your natural, free-range, local, happy Thanksgiving turkey yet? In case that link doesn't work, go here: http://www.fairshares.org/content/fs4-week-23-newsletter-9-15-11#fowlstuff

Thrilled to the Grill
Now that the weather has become more tolerable, get on out there and stoke up the coals! Speaking of coals, we've just received some new Missouri-made charcoal...
Dragon Breath Charcoal: 20lb. bag/$16. This is high-end lump charcoal fresh from Missouri! No, it is not too late to barbecue. Get the good charcoal and get-a-grillin' tonight.

American Grassfed Beef makes awesome dry-aged steaks:
Sirloin: $9.50/8oz.
NY Strip or Ribeye: $13/8oz. or 2/$25
Filet Mignon: $11/6 oz. or $15/8 oz. Wrap it in bacon--it's like Christmas!
Flank or Skirt Steak: $9.50/lb. (Skirt steak is flank steak's not-as-cute sister. They range in size from slightly under 1lb. to 1.5 lbs.) Marinate in equal parts soy sauce and cooking wine. Grill to mid-rare. Dee-lish! Great as an appetizer on Crostini, or in fajitas.
Ground Beef ($6/lb.) and Ground Bison ($6.50/lb.) mixed together make an awesome burger--just add a little garlic and hot pepper--zing-a-ling!
Brisket: $5.70/lb. Averaging about 2.5-3+ lb. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Happy Pigs = Tasty Pork!
Pork-Onion Patties: $5.75/lb. These are really tasty and satisfying burgers, four to a package, averaging a little over a pound. (Priced per pkg.)
Sausages-a-plenty: We have a variety of Geisert ($5.50) and Hinkebein ($6.50) link sausages and brats available.
Bacon: $5.99/lb. Priced as marked. Keep one in the freezer, in case of emergencies.
Braunschweiger (aka liverwurst): $5.50/1 lb. package in a bright yellow wrapper! We'll be switching to half pound packages in the near future. Great on pretzel bread with Sand Hill's spicy mustard ($4.50)

Chicken Stock bags: $2.00/lb. in 2-3 pound bags. Make your own stock with these chicken bones. See exciting info here! Replacing water in a recipe with chicken stock is the easiest way to make vast leaps in making your food taste good. Use it to cook pasta, beans, rice, veggies, and any other place you use plain water. Not recommended in dessert recipes. Heh heh.
Salume Beddu Mostarda: $7.50. So good on crackers with cheese or with meat. Yum!
Salume Beddu Fig Tapenade: $9.00. A combination of kalamata olives and figs to send you over the moon. Great with chevre. Mmm hmm.

  Butter!  $5.00/.5 lb. Holy cow, that's expensive! Yes, she held out on us for months and then raised the price 50¢ per piece. And no, I didn't hesitate when she said it, because we all know it's worth it. It's a cheap addiction and you know it, and I'd bet that cow really is holy. We'll be getting more each week, so no need to hoard it!

Apples: $2.80/6. Red and golden delicious and winesap--2 each.
Schwartz Apple cider: $4.50/.5 gallon. The beginning of the cool season makes me happy because I know it means hot cider (with rum and a cinnamon stick for me)!
Organic Blue Heron Apple Cider: $5.50/.5 gallon. A more complex, heartier cider. Just as delicious heated and served with rum...
FIGS!: $6. They're making a brief comeback--get 'em while you can! Wrap them in bacon and broil, because you can.

Broccoli: $2.80/ 1 lb. bag (limited quantities!)
Cauliflower: $3.30/lb. priced by the head (all are over one pound, some close to two pounds; limited quantities!)
Cucumbers: $2/lb. These are super-crunchy little pickling-type cukes.

Summer Squash: $2.25/lb. Not sure what varieties we'll have extra right now, maybe zukes, maybe zephyr, maybe patty pan, maybe yellow. They're back in action, so get in on it.
Winter Squash: $1.50/lb. Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti, and Pie pumpkins! Pair them with their friends the apple and the pecan. Maple syrup wants to be their friend, but they're being a little uppity. Help make the connection.
Jack-o-lantern pumpkins: $3/ea. That's cheap! We have a number on hand. If you want a whole bunch, we can order for next week.

Missouri Pecans: $4.25/.5 lb. or $8.45/lb. Sweet little things. Great for desserts, salads or as an addition to your roasted eggplant dish (don't forget the cheese!). The next order that's coming in is costing more, so the price will be going up to $4.65/.5 lb. shortly. Get 'em cheap while you can!
Potatoes: $3.50/2 lb. bag of red, or white/Yukon golds (um, we can't tell!).
Sweet Potatoes: $3.50/2lb. bag.

Lettuce: $4/.5 lb. Yay, beautiful and delicious. Get more down your gullet by chopping it right in the bowl with your kitchen shears--bam, there's room for more. Dress the salad and it'll wilt a little--ta daa, room for a little more. Add bacon--voila, you're not full after all!
Spinach: $2.00/.75 lb.
Sunchokes: $3.45/lb. No need to peel; just scrub and they're ready. Eat them sliced thin, raw in your salad, roasted, sauteed, boiled, pureed...you get the picture.

Edamame: $4/lb. They're frozen in the pods. Boil five minutes in a pot of salted water, drain and serve. Pop them out of the shells and store in the fridge for use in salads, soups or other recipes.
Garlic: $1.65/share (~3 heads--depends on the head size). Bellew Creek large head of garlic: $1.10 ea.
Onions: $2/lb. Red, white and yellow. Almost patriotic.
Mushrooms: $7.00.

Freeze Your Jalapeños! Did you know you can pop those jalapeños right in the freezer and pull them out to add into recipes as needed? Just place in a freezer zip lock bag and you're good to go!