the Friday Feeding; VOL. 18

February in New England?? Our bones are happy for this run-on-the-sun and the early sometimes “balmy” weather here, but it sure does make us wonder about how the flora and fauna that depend on consistency will fare.  But it might bring an early run on Maple sap for sugaring season next month. Fingers crossed for our sugaring friends.

In this part of the country it seems like we are always looking ahead, planning for the seasonal changes. With good reason; something too early or something too late can make a hit to farmers, like the late April freeze last year that killed off the apple blossoms that had bloomed early.  

The life of a storekeeper is no different.  The hours we keep are the same as a farmer–up at 4am, to bed early–and we are always planning ahead, swinging with the inevitable changes that come from perishable people, places and things. You know what they say; the only thing constant is change.

Planning ahead… since many of our local jam makers are seasonal we are THRILLED to be carrying Blake Hill preserves. They are an English fruit preservatory in Vermont specializing in small batches.  The cheese pairing flavors designed in conjunction with the awarding winning Jasper Hill Cheese company are out of this world.

Planning ahead…one of our CCS branded mixes needs dried purple basil and we ran out of our stash. So we started the basil plants in our basement green house to get an early crop. The mix will be back on the shelves soon.

Planning ahead…we are already ordering our summer/fall fruit and vegetable crops for the store with our personal local growers Ben, Al, Kathy and Andy.

And because you asked for organic fair-trade coffee, we’ve added a very local, very tasty variety to our shelves.

Valentines Day at the store…

Even storekeepers with long days take breaks…Dave and Buster.

Let’s cook.

If you like caramelized onions like we do, you know how long it takes to make really good ones. I use them in a soup or stew or my go-to favorite (when I need comfort food) is on a baked potato. A trick for planning ahead is to make huge batch then freeze little pods of them. I use a silicone molds that hold around a 1/3 cup then when they are frozen they pop out easy. Zip lock bag the little pods into the freezer for later use. Presto!

Caramelized onions in bulk for freezing

• Quarter and slice thinly a bunch of yellow onions making 4 quarts.
• Melt 2T unsalted butter with 2T olive oil. Add the onions to this.
• On medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes, cook the onions for 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes stirring frequently.
• Reduce heat to very low/simmer and stir constantly for 15 more minutes. Onions should be clear brown and mushy. Makes around 4 cups.
• Use immediately or freeze as above.

And we planned ahead for next week… see our weekly meals menu by CLICKING HERE:

Friday night pizza, February 16 . Order ahead 12” organic sour dough pizzas to take out or sit down and eat here.  $15.95. Call ahead to order and choose a pick-up time slot. 603-783-9933 

Choose:

1. Pepperoni on red sauce.
2. Vegetable choice of mushrooms, green peppers, onions and pepperoncini on red sauce
3. Fig with gorgonzola and a honey drizzle over olive oil (no garlic)
4. Cheese only on red sauce always by request
5. SPECIAL: BLT; bacon, cherry tomatoes and micro-greens

We hope you have a really great week,

Jane and Dave

PS. Our very own Emily needs a car. Working here at the store is her very first job and now she needs her very own car. If you have a good one you can sell her, let her know!