Winter Buyers Co-op, Week 9

crimini mushrooms, garlic, red onions, yellow onions.

Winter Buyers Co-op, Week 8

Crimini Mushrooms, Bibb Lettuce, Grapefruit, Sweet Potatoes

Dark Days - Meals 5 & 6

Here's the SOLE food that's been served up since the New Year:

 Steak from our 1/16 happy cow, plus potatoes, onion and mushrooms from the winter buyer's co-op.  Let's just say those green beans in the background aren't there - since they are straight-up from the grocery store.

 Husband took a day off during the week last week and made totally SOLE beef stock for me in preparation for the weekend, when I had plans for french onion soup!  In the pot were bones from our 1/16 cow (really trying to clear out the freezer), carrots grown in pots on our deck, mushrooms & onions from the winter co-op, and water!

 Actually, this was the weekend of soups.  Here's a soup I completely made up based on what we had lying around the fridge.  The orange color is due to a puree of sweet potatoes that were baked for another meal and I had a lot leftover.  Mixed that with some of the beef stock, added some SOLE sage pork sausage from the market, a jar of the previously featured, totally SOLE One Straw Farm diced tomatoes and then you'll see my cheat on top - diced jalepeno from the grocery.  I also added chili powder which was not SOLE.

 here's my french onion soup: onions - freshly cut in local raw cultured butter

 After an hour....

 After two hours...

And with the broth added!

Didn't get a shot of the soup in a bowl with homemade herby french bread and local swiss cheese all brown and bubbly on top - but I'll include that in next months wrap-up, since I made this just tonight and the leftovers will surely be eaten this week!

Winter Buyers Co-op, Week 7

Carrots, kholrabi, more carrots, yellow onions

Winter Buyers Co-op, Week 6

crimini mushrooms, greenhouse bibb lettuce, butternut squash, apples

Dark Days - Meals 3 & 4

Rather than presenting two specific meals, here's a smattering of SOLE food that's been spotted in our kitchen in the past couple weeks!

 Tomatoes from our garden - very slowly ripening under newsprint

 An all-SOLE fritatta with eggs, kale, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onion and swiss cheese.

 Mutant Mushroom!

 Mushroom soup (found on http://userealbutter.com/, see below for recipe)

 AMAZING shredded beef made in the crock pot with diced tomatoes and pickles (you add the whole jar - liquid and all).  Used a chuck roast from our 1/16 a cow purchased earlier in the year.

 Picked the last batch of carrots from the garden this week!

Made sandwiches from local bread, completely SOLE smoked turkey lunch meat (such a seasonal treat from our Amish farmers!) and the last of the tomatoes from our garden. 

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Creamy Mushroom Soup with Sherry and Thyme

from Fine Cooking issue #74 (found here)

2 tbsps unsalted butter
2 tbsps olive oil
1 medium onion, medium dice (~ 1 1/2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed, and thinly sliced (~ 4 1/2 cups) – I used crimini
1/2 ounce bag of dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1-2 cups boiling water (reserve the liquid, but leave any sandy dregs behind) – this is optional, I did not have any dried mushrooms, so I just used more fresh
2 tbsps plus 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (from our garden!!!)
1/2 tsp salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper to taste
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup half-and-half
3 tbsps dry sherry (I used balsamic vinegar instead... not a fan of sherry)
1 tbsp soy sauce

In a large stockpot heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high. Sauté the onions until they are browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir about for a minute. Then add the mushrooms, 2 tablespoons of thyme, salt, pepper, and cook until the mushrooms begin to wilt (in a couple of minutes). Pour in the broth and the porcini liquid (if using) making sure to scrape up any fond that has formed on the bottom of the pan (the good browned bits). Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Remove the soup from the heat and let it cool slightly. Either using a food processor, a blender, or an immersion blender, purée about half of the soup. Return the purée to the pot and stir in the half-and-half, sherry, and soy sauce. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Reheat as needed. Garnish with fresh thyme and extra mushrooms that have been browned in butter. Serves six.

(in my soup, the vinegar, soy sauce and olive oil were not local)