Some quick things:

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• McGrath’s on Thursday?!? The way schedules worked out this week, we’ll have a small amount of McGrath’s breads on Thursday. Full selection arrives Friday, 9am!
• Spinach seems to be the green thing of the week, but baby chard makes another appearance, and my favorite salad mesclun mix is here as well.
• Small Valley Milling whole kernel Emmer (aka Farro) hit the shelves last Saturday morning, along with their whole spelt Pancake Mix.

Scroll down for the full list of what we’ll have this week!

Last Thursday, no doubt a symptom of the extreme cold weather a few days earlier, we realized that the amount of water coming into our basement seemed out of proportion to the amount of precipitation that had come from the sky in the preceding few days. Turned out, there was a break in the waterline between the main and the house, which was seeping in through the front of the house. We got the water turned off, but, actually, there were two breaks — on either side of the valve — so we had no water, but it didn’t actually stop the flow into the basement. Between the weekend, the holiday, and the snow, we’re now going on a week with no water, though we expect it will be fixed tomorrow. (Apparently the excavator who will dig up the street was up all night plowing last night, and I guess it’s not a good idea to operate a backhoe while sleep deprived. :-/) So, long story short, we didn’t do a whole lot of cooking this week. We did get what feels like three months’ worth of restaurant meals in, including some awesome broccoli rabe pasta at Cork & Fork, an intriguing and delicious Cream of Chestnut soup at Cafe 1500, and whatever it is we’re about to eat at Note this evening. 🙂

Luckily, I made the dish I really want to tell you about before the water saga began, so my plans have not been completely derailed. It’s a rendition of Joshua McFadden’s Freekeh with Mushrooms, Turnips, and Almonds, except I used toasted farro. Of course the almonds aren’t local, but I love that McFadden is writing recipes that can so nearly completely be made with entirely local ingredients.

I also love that the possibilities for variation here are endless. McFadden calls for roasting the mushrooms, thinly slicing turnips, tossing with olive oil and red wine vinegar (and a good amount of salt), with pickled onions and roasted almonds. Next time, I might do half turnips half watermelon radishes. I might throw in a scoop of kim chi instead of the onions. Maybe toss a fried egg on top. Saute some spinach. Anything! Or just about — I think a good framework for construction a grain bowl goes something like this:

-Grain (obvs). I used to turn to quinoa like, 99% of the time, but emmer/farro has replaced that for me. I love that I can get a locally grown certified organic product without some of the ethical issues associated with quinoa, and I find it a little heartier.

-Protein. This could be a chopped or ground meat (great use for leftovers!), an egg or two, almonds, chickpeas, etc. Farro does have a similar amount of protein to quinoa, but you’ll still probably want something else in there if it’s going to be your whole meal.

-Something acidic. Like the pickled onions in McFadden’s recipe, or a scoop of kim chi, you can introduce some flavor here, and keep the whole thing interesting.

For bonus points:

-Something crunchy! Any kind of thinly sliced veggie will do here, I think, depending on the flavor profile you’re going for. Turnips and winter radishes are great, but so are carrots.

-Anything else! This can be a great way to combine leftovers into new meals. I’m thinking farro, leftover sweet potatoes, roasted or sauteed chick peas, and a yogurt dressing (maybe with some bitter lemon!). You could even toss some mesclun mix in there for some added green.

I obviously didn’t get to do it this week, but as I’ve been experimenting with farro to see if it’s something we should have on the shelves, some weeks I’ve enjoyed making a big batch in the Instant Pot on Sunday and using it in various combinations for quick lunches or easy dinners throughout the week. As a whole grain it’s not a super fast cooker (think brown rice), but it is very forgiving because you’re not trying to get it to absorb all of the cooking water (that is, you’ll drain it like pasta). The internet is all over the place for cooking times, but I’ve had good luck with 20 minutes in the IP (natural release) and 45-60 minutes on the stove. Don’t forget to salt the water!

I’m looking forward to getting our water back so I can make a batch this weekend. I hope you will, too, and share your success stories with me!

Julia

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Produce

[one_third]Braising Greens

• Spinach
• Baby Chard

Fruit

• Fuji Apples (IPM)
• Granny SmithApples (IPM)

Herbs

• Cilantro

Mushrooms

• Cremini
• White
• Oyster
• Shiitake[/one_third]

[one_third]Onions & Garlic

• Garlic
• Red Onions
• Yellow Onions
• Shallots

Other

• Green Cabbage

Potatoes

• Red Fingerling Potatoes
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Purple Sweet Potatoes[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Roots

• Red Beets
• Carrots
• Rainbow Carrots
• Celeriac
• Parsnips
• Black Radishes
• Watermelon Radishes
• Rutabagas
• Hakurei Salad Turnips
• Purple Top Turnips

Salad Greens

• Mesclun Mix
• Baby Spinach

Squash & Pumpkins

• Butternut[/one_third_last]

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Bread

[one_half]McGrath’s Brick Oven Bakehouse
(limited selection Thursday; full line-up fresh Friday & Saturday)

• McGrath’s Original
• Sesame Original
• Pumpkin & Butter Pan Bread
• Parmesan Peppercorn
• Cranberry Ginger
• Prairie
• Baguettes (fresh Saturday only; available frozen every day)

[/one_half][one_half_last]Talking Breads
(fresh Thursday)

• Batard
• Ciabatta
• Miche
• Seeded

[/one_half_last]