For information about our CSA Program at the farm, click HERE

For information about our Market CSA Program at the Westside Community Market, click HERE

Our memberships usually fill up soon after the CSA Open House in Madison, which takes place this year on Sunday, March 18.  Reserve your spot today!

“To brine or not to brine.”  This is one hot debate in turkey culture.  Brining is a process of soaking the turkey in a salted water bath (sometimes with sugar and additional spices) for a few hours or up to several days before cooking.  The idea is that the brine infuses the turkey with moisture and seasoning to keep the bird juicy and flavorful throughout its cooking.  For a beautiful primer on brining, print out this Cook’s Illustrated Guide for brining turkeys, chickens, pork, etc.  I have done both a spiced brine and a simple salt brine.  I loved the simple one, but our crowd had mixed reviews of the spiced brine–it does change the flavor of the turkey.  Delicious, but a bit less traditional.

A salt rub instead of a brine.  This is an intermediate step you can take to enhance the flavor of the turkey, and it gives you a beautiful golden, crispy skin (a personal favorite part).  There’s also something about massaging your bird in a salt rub that is very calming and I think Julia Child would approve (She once said of rubbing butter all over a chicken’s skin that, not only does it add flavor, it pleases the chicken!).  Check out this salt method from Bon Appetit.

Some other tips.  Still others say not to brine or salt a heritage bird because the flavor takes care of itself.  I tend to agree with that, but like to hedge my bets (as a novice cook) by protecting the breast by rubbing butter beneath the skin, or laying strips of bacon on the breast (Plan to chop and add this to your Brussels sprouts, spinach salad, or other side dish later!).  Check out a few other quick tips from Saveur.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  Need some new ideas for the leftovers?  Mark Bittman’s got them!  Check out his NY Times article.

 Everyone has their own food traditions, and Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday because it’s ALL about food!  I love the Thanksgiving meal, and since beginning the farm I’ve loved providing nearly everything to the meal I share with family.  Two of our heritage turkeys will travel to Ohio with us, as well as a trunkload of sweet potatoes, spinach, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, and squash.   By this week you should have a nice little stockpile of veggies for your holiday cooking.  Add to that a turkey or ham from the farm and you;ll have a farm-raised holiday meal too! 

If you’re new to Brussels sprouts and want a foolproof preparation, try the one below (bacon is my favorite spice!).  Also below is a great recipe to have on hand when you’ve baked your large Blue Moon ham and have some left over–a perfect comfort food!  Enjoy!

This Week’s Recipes:

This week you’ll receive a supply of shallots to carry into the winter.  These small, rich onion-family vegetables will keep well into the winter, so no rush.  Peel and toss a few in a with a beef roast, and quarter some into a pan of roasted veggies.  I think their flavor it at its peak after a long, slow roast… 

Celeriac also makes an appearance this week, a bulbous root that has the flavor and uses of celery but the texture and storability of a root vegetable.  They look a bit intimidating on the outside, but once the outer skin is peeled back, it ressembles a potato or a turnip.  Celeriac is great in almost any soup or stew where you would use celery.  We left ours in the ground longer this year to see if they would grow a bit more–no luck!  They are much smaller that usual, to the relief of some (like my husband–he’s not a fan…)  Cold, cold temperatures await us Wednesday night, so enjoy the greens!  I’m not sure if they will survive into next week in the field.

This Week’s Recipes:

As Thanksgiving approaches, we still have turkeys available for reservation.  The remaining turkey we have to offer are smaller in size–8 to 12 lbs.   They will be available for pick-up the week and weekend before Thanksgiving.  Just email Kristen (bluemooncommunityfarm@yahoo.com) to reserve yours.