Market Updates for May 17 Please note: despite when you receive this weekly update, online ordering is available from 9PM Friday night until noon on Monday. Please bookmark this link: http://cafe.locallygrown.net/market to go directly the shopping part of our website.
Please send prayers Two of our growers, Ann Miller of The Happy Berry and Gaylene Carson of Billy's Goat Hill are receiving critical medical treatment. I have not received detailed information on either but we ask you to send healing energy their ways.
The 2013 Upstate Farm Tour is happening June 1-2! Farms open from 1-6 pm.
Tickets are now on sale. You can go here to do so:br/> http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/buy-your-tickets-for-the-upstate-farm-tour/
Load up a car with your friends and family, choose the farms on the map you'd like to visit and get out in the countryside!
The tour is self-guided and farms and sites are located throughout the Upstate in Anderson, Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Laurens, Greenwood and Spartanburg Counties. Visit any farm in any order.
Our farms on the tour: Friends Farm & Catering, Split Creek Farm, Gibson Farms, Clemson University Student Organic Farm, The Happy Berry and Happy Critters Ranch.
The Best Baked Spinach [Julia's Child's Spinach Gratin with Cheese] Adapted from As Always, Julia and Mastering the Art of French Cooking
I think a lot of us are fixated on the idea that that gratins must always be insanely unhealthy — swimming in cream, broiled in cheese, topped with butter — and that ones made with anything less are simply inferior gratins. It's a shame really, because I think it keeps us away from them on weekday nights, when they could be our best friends, as they can be made in advance, reheat like a dream and can be spooned off as needed. They can be side dishes to a roast, cutlet or fish or they can be the bed in which you nest a poached egg, tear off pieces of a baguette and call it a heavenly meal.
About the recipe: When I got home, I pulled out my copy of MtAoFC and tried to find this recipe. I actually found four that, strung together, led to what she'd discussed: Blanched, Chopped Spinach; Spinach Braised in Butter; Spinach Braised in Cream and Spinach Gratineed with Cheese. I happen to love cooking directly from recipes in that book; I know they're fussy and have a lot of steps but that kind of careful preparation is almost meditative, and leads to amazing dishes that are just rightevery time. Nevertheless, when it came down to the tiny window I had to prepare this, function overtook form and I ended up streamlining the recipe a lot to save time. It was still the best spinach we'd ever eaten and hope you'll agree.
Serves 6
3 pounds fresh spinach
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup stock (your choice; Julia recommends beef) or cream (I used stock; it doesn't *need* cream)
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons fine, dry breadcrumbs
Stem and wash your spinach (see Tips below) well but no need to spin or pat it dry. Place spinach in a large pot over high heat. Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes for baby spinach and 4 to 6 minutes for regular spinach. Transfer to a colander, immediately fill pot with cold water, transfer it back to the pot of cold water to shock it (stop the cooking) and drain again. Squeeze a small amount of the spinach at a time in your hands to extract as much water as possible. Chop the spinach coarsely. You should have about 3 cups of chopped spinach, or about 1 cup per pound.
Wipe out pot then melt 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat and stir in the spinach. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all of the moisture from the spinach has boiled off — you'll know you're done when the spinach begins to stick to the pan.
Lower the heat and sprinkle with flour and stir for 2 minutes to cook the flour. Add 2/3 of your stock or cream, a tiny bit at a time, scraping up any stuck spinach as you do. Once the liquid is added, simmer for another minute or two, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If you're feeling especially indulgent, stir in one more tablespoon of butter. If needed, add all or part of remaining liquid. Season with salt (I found 1/2 teaspoon table salt about right) and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish. Stir 1/2 cup cheese into the spinach and pour it into the baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese with breadcrumbs and sprinkle on spinach. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons remaining butter and pour it over the top. Bake until heated through and slightly brown on the top, about 30 minutes.
Serve with steaks, chops, veal, chicken, broiled fish or, if you're us, eggs, glorious eggs.
Do ahead: Spinach can be blanched and chopped several hours or a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Gratin can be fully assembled and 30 minutes before needed, placed in a preheated 375 degree oven to bake, then served.
To stem spinach, as per Julia: If spinach is young and tender, remove the stems at the base of the leaf. If more mature, fold the leaf vertically with its underside up, grasp the leaf in one hand and the stem in the other and and rip it off toward the tip of the leaf, removing the stem and the tough tendrils. Discard any wilted or yellow leaves.
How I wash greens: Fill a large bowl or basin with cold water. Drop in the spinach and swish it around a few times so it deposits any sand and grit before lifting it out of the bowl (leaving any grit/dirt at the bottom of the bowl and not dragging the clean leaves through it) and drop it in a colander. No need to dry it for this recipe, but in others, I either spread it out on towels or run it through a salad spinner. |
 | UPCOMING EVENTS
Plant Communication, Saturday May 18-19
10:00AM-5:00PM. Cost of the class is $150. Plants have a number of ways of communicating with us if we just slow down and pay attention! Get out of your head and into your heartspace, and open yourself to vibration of the plants and a truly magical weekend. This empowering and heart-opening weekend will include the Doctrine of Signatures, Taste: Flavor & Impression and how it applies to understanding what the plants have to offer, Plant Meditation, and a guided Plant Spirit Journey. If we listen, they will teach us. Class limited to 5-15 students. Registration & deposit due by April 19. Contact Robin.
Green Congregations Meeting, Monday May 20
Noon, The First Baptist Church in Downtown Clemson The church is located next to the parking garage - Winnie will meet us there with passes for free parking. The conversation with Frank Powell will continue: Prioritizing Sustainability Efforts in our Communities and Congregations. We hope to talk about how to pursue activities and education that give "the most bang for the buck" in reducing global warming, addressing climate change, and creating eco-justice. As usual, feel free to bring lunch and a beverage. Our meeting usually lasts one hour.
Got an upcoming event? Please share it with us | | |  | Elian Evans
Business Manager
elian@clemsonareafoodexchange.com
864-372-9004
Lance Howard
Market Manager
lance@clemsonareafoodexchange.com
864-650-4908
Renee Gahan
Volunteer Coordinator
renee@clemsonareafoodexchange.com
Tuesday Pick-up Options:
Clemson 3:30-6 PM
The Arts Center
Seneca 5-6:30 PM
Oconee Medical Center
Outpatient Entrance
Liberty 7-8:30
@ Elian's 322 Summit Dr
Don't Forget, We Recycle We take egg cartons, vases for flowers, containers from plant starts and jars.
What's In Season Asparagus, Beets, Blueberries,
Broccoli, Cabbage, Corn,
Cucumbers, Green Onions,
Herbs, Leeks,
Mixed Leafy Greens
{Collards, Kale, Mustard, Turnips}
Oats, Peaches, Peanuts, Peas,
Pecans, Radishes, Strawberries,
Sweet Potatoes, Zucchini
For more Details:
Certified SC Grown
Featured Products:    Watermelon | | | |  | |
