Quick things:

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• Open weekly: Weds-Fri, 12pm-7pm; Sat & Sun, 8am-5pm.
• This week’s soups: Stuffed Pepper and Mushroom Barley
• Also from the kitchen: Fresh bread every day, turtle bean hummus in three flavors, beet salad with feta & spring garlic, the gone-viral cheese spread with garlic & herbs, creamy lasagna, pizza dough, herby chicken salad, and more that I’m not thinking of or don’t know about yet!
• Current and anticipated availability can be seen here: https://www.radishandryehbg.com/currentavailability.

 

I’m writing today’s newsletter — at least the first draft — with pen and paper because it’s too beautiful to not be outside and I just finally got my home desk situation to a place I’m happy with — so disturbing (and replacing) my laptop seemed like a hassle. You’d think this format would make me less prone to rambling, but so far there’s no evidence that that’s the case.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last newsletter, for which I apologize. I’ve heard some voiced concerns, both of the “Are you all okay?” variety and of the “But how do I know what you have?” variety.

To the former I say, we’re fine! Temporarily distracted by things like IRS deadlines and my contrarian nature that chafes against any sense of obligation (like to, say, write a newsletter every single week) and maybe a little bit by some extra TV binge-watching (of nothing particularly good — just distracting). But the taxes are filed now and my desire to be outside — where it’s too bright to watch Netflix on my phone — outweighs my desire to lie on the couch.

To the latter concern — “How do I know what you have?” I say, perhaps unhelpfully, come see us! But maybe more helpfully, even on weeks I don’t get it together to write a newsletter, I do try to make sure to update the availability list here at least once towards the beginning of the week (like now-ish) after I’ve placed most of our orders and received at least initial confirmation. This usually includes most of the produce we’re expecting and much of what the kitchen is turning out, though again I’d encourage you to come on in as there’s typically a significant number of one-offs or test batches coming out of the kitchen that never make it to the list or the website. (You may want to bookmark that link because I haven’t managed to put it anywhere accessible on the rest of the website. Here it is again: https://www.radishandryehbg.com/currentavailability)

In other news, we were tickled to learn that earlier this month Goat Rodeo’s Bamboozle — one of our favorite cheeses — won 1st place in its category at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. Out of a possible 100 points, Bamboozle was awarded 98.8, edging out competition from some much larger operations.

Goat Rodeo is a family farm in Allegheny County and — as you might guess from the name — their main thing is goats. The Bamboozle is a mixed milk goat/cow’s milk cheese, with the bovine component coming from a neighboring farm. As it ages, the cheese is washed with beer from a Pittsburgh brewery. The end result is supremely creamy — almost-but-not-quite spreadable — buttery, rich, and just a little funky. Maybe like if brie and taleggio had a baby? It’s a great addition to a cheese board for something safe-but-different, or — as I am wont to enjoy it — smeared on baguette and paired with an apple for lunch. Try it — you won’t be bamboozled! (Not only does Goat Rodeo make great cheese, they also have the funniest names — also in their lineup are Hootenanny (a supple goat gouda) and More Cowbell (a lightly nutty Alpine style cow’s milk cheese. They’re all wonderful!)

And lastly, just a little dinner share (pictured above) — based on Toni Tipton-Martin’s recipe for Pork Chops in Lemon-Caper Sauce, served with roasted potatoes (mixed roasted veggies would be awesome, too, and I know where you can get some all ready to go for a weeknight dinner!) and roasted kale. Which! by the way! if I haven’t mentioned, is one of my favorite things to do with braising greens this time of year, when I’ve been braising them all winter — chop ’em up, toss ’em with some olive oil and salt, and roast them at 375ish for 15ish. Also great with additions like garlic or other seasonings, and with a little splash of vinegar on the plate. Anyway! we used the boneless loin chops for this recipe, and 10/10 would make again.

-Julia

P.S. There’s a St Patrick’s Day elephant in the room (okay, maybe not an elephant). Dusty and I usually make something special this week, just for fun, but I don’t think we’re going to this week. As a consolation prize for not managing to get any beef corning, I think I might make this Celery Root, Cabbage, and Potato Colcannon, and probably, for simplicity’s sake, I’ll pair it with a mild sausage, like the Simply or the Farmstead Brat. I’ll also be using green cabbage, as the red appears to be gone for the season, so might won’t be pink — but that seems okay?