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.

Slow Food Central New Jersey Farmers Market

This Saturday 12/13 - from 10am until 2pm, the slow food organization is hosting a winter farmers market at the D&R Greenway Johnson Education Center. For more information including a compete list of vendors log onto www.slowfoodcentralnj.org. It looks like a really nice line up of locally produced delicacies including mushrooms, cheese, bread, produce, pies and other treats - a great opportunity for sourcing local food all under one roof! Make an effort to come it should be fun. There will also be cooking demonstrations and live musical entertainment.

Happy Local Thanksgiving

Wow. I had a great experience preparing a few dishes from our new blog. I roasted my brined Griggstown turkey a la Good Eats Turkey (submitted by Penny Thomas) - it was perfect.
With encouragement from Cecilia I prepared my mashed potatoes the night before and tucked them away in the fridge freeing me up to focus on the beautiful stalks of Brussels Sprouts purchased at the Trenton farmers market on Wednesday. I have to admit right here and now that I have never been a die hard fan of Brussels sprouts but in keeping with the commitment to serve local I chose to serve them at our table this year versus my family's perennial favorite, creamed peas and onions. Simply oven roasted with olive oil, orange zest and strips of prosciutto the sprouts were a hit and I'm a convert. We also enjoyed Kathleen's "Dressed Up" Cauliflower for which I was able to find big healthy heads of local cauliflower at the Trenton market as well.
Finally, instead of a traditional cranberry relish I prepared a simple fresh Cranberry Applesauce with fresh local golden delicious apples and heirloom cranberries from the New Jersey Pine Barrens that I found at The Whole Earth Center. Dessert was a simple apple crisp.
My fifteen year decided we should make paper turkey hats after seeing an episode of Lipstick Jungle in which she reported Brooke Shields coordinated a similar Locavore Thanksgiving meal with her pals! You know your on to something when your 15 year old thinks you're hip (although I'm sure she wouldn't use that word)! Hope to hear from some of you soon with your Thanksgiving experiences.

Brussel Sprouts with Prosciutto and Walnuts
serves 6-8
(submitted by Kim Rizk recipe from Health Magazine)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 lbs trimmed fresh Brussels sprouts
1 1/2 tbs e.v.o.
2 tsps freshly squeezed oj
1/4 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp grated orange zest
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, excess fat trimmed and discarded

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast walnuts on baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove and cool.

Increase oven temp to 425 degrees. Slice large sprouts in half if needed so that all are about the same size. Toss sprouts in large bowl with all remaining ingredients. Spread on rimmed baking sheet and roast in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until browned and tender. Toss with walnuts and serve warm.


Cranberry Applesauce
serves 10-12
(submitted by Kim Rizk recipes adapted from The Expatriate's Kitchen Blog)

8 Golden Delicious or Gala apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider
1 pint fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp five spice powder (optional)

Place the apples and cider in a large pot, cover and heat to a simmer to cook the apples. Meanwhile, put the cranberries in a separate smaller saucepan with the brown sugar and honey. Heat on medium until the berries burst and give up their juice and begin to thicken. Add the cardamom and five spice powder if using. Stir to combine. Stir the apples to break them up into a chunky sauce. Mix in the cranberries. Serve warm or room temperature.