New Jersey White Sweet Potato Chowder

Yield: 2 quarts; 6 servings

4 thick slices of good bacon, coarsely chopped
4 tbs unsalter butter
4 large leeks, white parts only, well washed and thinly sliced
(about 3 cups sliced)
2 lbs white fleshed New Jersey grown sweet potatoes (3 large potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1 tsp fine sea salt
4 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups light cream or whole milk
fresh chives or scallions for garnish, minced

Saute the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot until crisp.
Transfer the bacon using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper toweling. Remove and discard all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat from the pot.
Add the butter and leeks and saute over medium-high heat until fragrant and limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, sprinkle with the salt and continue to saute for another minute or two. Add the stock (the potatoes should be just covered) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the cover and stir the soup. Add in the cream and reserved crisped bacon. Season to taste with additional salt and plently of freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot bowls of chowder topped with a handful of fresh chives or scallions.

Pam's Winter Squash & Apple Soup - serves 8

This is a great simple recipe bursting with the flavors of fresh fall produce. It's perfect for the Thanksgiving day table. Recipes like this make it easy to enjoy a local Thanksgiving!

4 tbs unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 leeks, well washed and coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 lb peeled, seeded & cubed winter squash (about 4 cups of 1/2" cubes)
2 large tart apples, peeled, cores and coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsps coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried crumbled sage
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup apple cider
grated gruyere cheese or toasted pumpkin seeds(optional)

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onion, leeks, carrots. Sprinkle with the salt and saute over medium-high heat until the leeks are tender and fragrant. Add the squash, apples, seasonings, stock and cider. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, partially covered over low heat until the squash is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Puree the soup in a blender. Return to the soup pot and seaon to taste with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired. Serve hot bowls of soup topped with a small mound of gruyer or toasted pumpkin seeds.

Jersey Tomato Chowder

A versatile meal in a bowl, chowder has been reinterpreted by home cooks for 100 years or more and doesn't always mean fish. In fact, there's a rich tradition of authentic chowders prepared with seasonal farmland ingredients at their core. So, what makes a chowder a chowder and not simply a soup or stew? Salt pork or bacon, potatoes and cream are important ingredients, but they are not definitive components. The Food Lovers Companion, an authoritative guide for food professionals, defines chowder as "a thick hearty soup with chunks of food in a moderate amount of broth." What the ingredients are exactly seems to be unimportant. The history behind chowder is humble. It was created out of necessity, thriftily using everyday local ingredients to create a hearty nourishing one pot meal. My belief is that chowder is best defined by its chunky texture and the enterprising spirit of the preparation. So, enjoy the last of our local summer tomatoes with this simple and satisfying vegetable chowder.

Serves 6
6 ounces thick sliced bacon, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tbs unsalted butter
3 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped, about 8 cups chopped (skins and all along with seeds and juices)
kosher or finely milled sea salt
1 cup chicken broth
small handful fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs from garden
1 1/2 cups whole milk
freshly ground black pepper to taste
more thyme or rosemary for garnish

Combine the bacon, onion and butter in a large soup pot and saute over medium high heat until the bacon begins to brown and become crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes (juice and all) and scrape up the browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pot. Season with a generous teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
Add the stock and herbs, and continue to simmer, partially covered until the soup is fragrant and slightly thickened, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Stir in the milk and warm over low heat for another 5 minutes or so. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and serve hot garnished with fresh herb sprigs.

Sunday3/22WinterFarmersMarket

This Sunday 3/22 from 11-3pm Slow Food New Jersey is hosting its last Winter Farmers Market for the season. The market will be at Tre Piani in Forrestal Village and I'll be heading over from my house at 954 Princeton Kingston Road if any of you care to join me. I'd be happy to carpool. Send me a message if you're interested - I'd love to have some company! Or, maybe I'll just see you over there. Have a great weekend - Happy Spring!

2/20WinterFarmersMarket

I'm looking for input on organizing a carpool to this Friday's Winter Farmers Market at the Museum of Agriculture. Let me know if you're interested. The vendor line up looks great featuring everything from local produce and cheese to wine and baked goods. The market runs from 3:30 - 7:30 pm on Friday. I'll be driving. Let me know if you'd like to join me. We can organize a carpool from my home at 954 Princeton Kingston Road as it's en route. For complete details on the event log onto www.slowfoodcentralnj.org or call 609-577-5113. Send me an e-mail if you'd like to join the carpool.

Kim

WinterFarmersMarket

The next winter farmers market sponsored by Slow Food Central New Jersey will be held on February 20th at the Museum of Agriculture. Vendors will be selling everything from artisan cheese and sausages, produce and wine. For a complete list of vendors as well as time and directions log onto slowfoodcentralnj.org

February Meeting Change

Our conservation meeting is being changed from Tuesday February 10th to Thursday February 19th at 12 noon at Terhune Orchards. Hope to see you all there.

January13th Conservation Meeting

Greeting Conservation Group and Happy New Year!
Our first meeting of the new year is scheduled for this comming Tuesday at 12 noon.
We will be meeting at The Whole Earth Center on Nassau Street (on the left hand side just
beyond Harrison Street). Fran McManus, our speaker from Novembers club meeting at Debbie Jordan's home, will be there to offer a tour of the market and share with us the store's philosophy. Our tour will begin at 12 noon and following we will sit town as a group for lunch in the market's newly expanded buffet style cafe. Everyone should bring their own lunch money for this meeting. It's sure to me fun and informative and this will be a good time for us to share ideas as a group on how to best organize the local food resource guide we hope to publish.
Looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.