Thursday, November 14, 2013

Heritage Honey buzzes the Bloomingdale Farmers Market

From: "robin.shuster@verizon.net"
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 3:39 PM
Subject: Heritage Honey Buzzes BFM
  
                                                                                               

 
Dear BFM fans!

Two more weeks of market this year....and to celebrate, we have a new producer visiting us for the market--come come out rain or shine

*Heritage Honey Buzzes BFM*
          
I discovered Heritage Honey a few months ago and have been begging them to join us ever since.  Pavel and his family are DC urban  beekeepers and I LOVED their honey.  Here is their story:
     
"Three years ago we decided to reestablish the old family tradition of beekeeping. The great great grandfather of the youngest generation of our family was a very well known beekeeper and writer of several books on beekeeping and bee behavior in the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century Russia. He was first introduced to beekeeping on the apiary of his father. Heritage Honey stems from his knowledge and ideas. Following in his traditions, we define our mission as promoting chemical free, all natural beekeeping with a focus on keeping only strong, healthy, and resilient bees that are well adjusted to local conditions."

|I asked Pavel why their honey tastes so different from other local honeys and why the early honey was markedly different from the later honey:

"The taste of honey mostly depends on the flowers that the bees get the nectar from. DC honey is somewhat unique because of the wide variety and abundance of plants flowering in the Spring and early Summer. And since there are different plants flowering at different times of the year, early honey tastes differently from the late honey. I am not sure why our honey tastes so different from other honeys: it must depend on the plants that are flowering around my apiary. Also we are very careful about purity of our honey and do not feed our bees with sugar (or anything else) unless there is clear danger of them having too little supply to not have enough to overwinter."
 
***Come taste this wonderful honey -- and make them welcome so that Heritage Honey comes back next year.  As you know, we don't currently have honey at the market and I have been looking for a good producer to join us--and yes, you want good honey to glaze your turkey or  your brussels sprouts or your sweet potatoes mash or your salad dressings for an apple and kohlrabi salad....***

Kid Power joins us for their last cooking demo of the year at BFM.  Squash Cider Soup will be on the hob, as they say in England.  Perfect November lunch soup and easy to make.11-12:30.

Two more weeks to put your bike in tip-top shape at the Bike Clinic.  11-1.
             
Don't throw away your chard or beet or kohlrabi stalks!  Chop up several bunches from beets you are  roasting or chard leaves you are sauteeing and toss them into the water you use to simmer Garner's October beans  (flavored with bay leaf, onion, garlic and savory).  I add a few leftovers vegetables:  some fingerling potatoes, a chopped kohlrabi, some beet leaves and a few slices of baked beets from lunch.   Simmered until soft and then pureed, it becomes a soup base for the rest of the week's lunches.  The first day add  some of the dressed October beans salad.  Sprinkle with dried or fresh dill and a little yogurt.   The next day make a carnivorous sliced sausage soup.  The third day add leftover sauteed Napa cabbage and mushrooms.  And finally, chopped roasted beets.   I like my home-dried Dill with most of them and yogurt or parmesan as well.   It was endlessly variable and fun to play with.  And earthy, tasty.  A good alternative to the usual bean soups.
   
Follow our Facebook page for Thanksgiving recipes, cooking tips and interesting articles:  14th and U Farmers Market.  I will be posting interesting recipes and ideas every single day there next week, both for traditional and Vegetarian festival menus.

New or Noteworthy:
  • *October beans and Vitamin Greens at Garner
  • *Every color of Cauliflower throughout the market: white, yellow, even lime green spiral Romanesco
  • *Cabbages in every color, size and shape: green, red, Arrow, Napa, Savoy
  • *Kales - Dinosaur, Red Bore, Green, Russian
  • *Sunchokes at Painted Hand
  • *green tomatoes to fry up or make into chutney or pickles for T-day.
  • *Lots of tender greens, sweetened by the frosts..
Want to special order some Holiday Baking from Whisked ?
   
Whisked is ready to help you prepare for your Thanksgiving feasts.  You can order any of their seasonal treats online for your holiday gatherings and pick them up on the November 23rd market or from several sites nearby.  If you have a big enough order, they will deliver.
Lots of choices!
Email: Info@whiskeddc
Still  time to reserve your grass -strolling, grub -munching, Thanksgiving TURKEY from Truck Patch or North Mt Pastures.

WHISKED: This week's pie: Cranberry Apple Pie,  Classic Apple Pie,  Pear Almond Pie, Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese and Mushroom and Cheese Quiches.

REID:  Asian and Bosc pears this week. Concord grapes, lots of ciders\\; apple grape, apple cherry and regular apple. Even more apples than last week and not limited tothese: Honeycrisp, Gold Supreme, Gala, Pinova, Yataka, Fuji, Macoun, Jonagold, Smokehouse, Empire, Sno Sweet, Baldwin, Mutsu, Stayman, Goldrush, Northern Spy, Braeburn, Pink Lady.  You can sample every single one and chat up Connor who will tell you which ones are best for baking, cheese platters, apple sauce, eating out of hand...


TRUCK PATCH FARMS: Acorn and butternut squash. Heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, chard, kale, mesclun, arugula, and spinach. Romanesco broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and cut flowers.

TP MEAT DEPARTMENT: Eggs, All cuts of pork, like loins and chops,  shoulder and other roasts, plus ham, bacon, jowl, salt pork, lard and scrapple.Whole chickens and fresh chickens parts. Ground turkey and cut up turkey. Did you taste Clem's braised TP shoulder of pork last week?  It was stunning and simple.  The tips:

*Brown the meat 3-4 minutes on every side
*Saute minced heads of garlic and one chopped yellow onion
*Add chopped parsley and 3 or 4 stems of rosemary
*Add the meat into the casserole, pour over it a bottle of dry Italian white
*Simmer for 3-4 hours until you can pull the meat apart with a fork.
*Return the meat and simmer 20 minutes with a box of cooked Garner's october beans
* The beans are best if you quick soak them in boiling water for one minute, let them sit for an hour, drain, add more water and simmer until tender.  Once tender, you can add them to the pork braise.

CARNITAS THIS WEEKEND;  I did not realize how easy it is to make carnitas with TP shoulder of pork.   You just braise pieces of shoulder in orange and lime juices, water, salt and cumin, just enough liquid to cover the meat.  Simmer for two hour uncovered.  Then raise the heat to medium high for 45 minutes. Stir  the meat occasionally until the liquid has evaporated and the pork browns in the sizzling rendered fat.  That's it.   Serve with corn tortillas, avocado, lime slices and some of Number 1 Sons cortido-like kraut. http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/11/homesick-texan-carnitas/#more-7927

PAINTED HAND: Sandy has lots of humanely raised rose veal this week including loin chops and rib chops. \loin chops are actually little T bone steaks and the rib chops are a smaller version of a ribeye steak.  \lighter in flavor and smalle than the traditional beef cuts, these tasty cuts offer a delicious and nutritious meal to help offset all the rich and heavy foods of the holiday season.  \perfect choice for quick and easy dinners.  And stock maker: Sandy will have lots of veal bones this week.

MOUNTAIN VIEW: 
Always pesticide free and certified organic.  Sweet, easy to shred and cook Napa Cabbage. Arugula, Salad greens. Braising greens,  Kale,  collard, Carrots.  Turnips, Hakurei sweet Salad turnips, Daikon.

Bunches of wonderful cooking greens: they are young, they cook quickly, they taste great and they are good for you. (A recent study showed that older people who eat collards and other greens had better memories than people who don't.)

GARNER: Vitamin Greens, Green, Savoy and Napa cabbages, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cilantro, Kohlrabi, White Turnips, Mustard Greens, Kales in Green, Toscano and Redbore varieties, freshly dried beans and Black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, arugula, bok cho, tomatoes, yukon and red potatoes, swet onions, beets, spinach, collard greens and zucchini and yellow squash.

OCTOBER BEANS  (freshly shelled beans that I simmer briefly with bay leaf, garlic, onion and savory and serve drizzled with olive oil, salt and chopped  herbs).  VITAMIN GREENS:  Bernard sautes them in olive oil with chopped onions until tender and sweet.  Recipes at the market table.

NUMBER 1 SONS:  Super Sours are back,  Kicky Koshers, half sours, dills--all the pickles are back.  Think about spiking the cranberry sauce....with kimchi.

PANORAMA:  Not just breads --although they have plenty of baguettes, whole wheat, ryes, pumpernickel raisin, sourdough.  Try the French pumpkin tart, the apple tart, the Breton specialties.  And remember the French Macarons which make such pretty host gifts when yo are invited to dinners.  More unique than wines.

KESWICK:  Stock up for the holidays with your favorite Keswick cheeses.  They last weeks or months in the fridge.  Cheese platters are perfect for nibbles before or after the big feast. 

NORTH MT PASTURES: Sausages, cured meats,  eggs.
                                         
See you Sunday.    Please bring your shopping bags so we can eventually do away with the plastic ones....

First and R nw next to the Big Bear Cafe
9-1

We match with bonus tokens SNAP, WIC, CVC, SENIOR and PRODUCE PLUS checks. 
                                             
Ted, Ted, Charlotte and Robin

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