October is non-gmo month, zero tannin lentils and much more - chefshop.com/enews
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In this issue:
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Zero Tanin Lentils
Hawkshead Relish
Categories
Back in Stock
Recipes of the Week
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Ohi'a Lehua
This "white" honey is special! At a price so low you can afford to eat it five times as much and still have some left over, especially when compared to the little jar!
This creamy honey spreads easily and, when paired with butter, it's perfect on anything toasted!
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October is non-GMO month
Celebrate the month by learning about and eating non-gmo foods.
Awareness may be the best defense against the modern world of mechanized food production. Food trends come and go. While one positive trend is to eat foods with fewer ingredients, another is to avoid whatever foods the media deems "bad". Unfortunately, popular food "facts" are frequently overwritten by the latest published "study" or by a TV doctor's recent sound bite.
It's not this natural up and down of food trends that we know, or even the things we know we don't know, that concerns us as we can try to make educated guesses on what to eat for dinner. What concerns us is what we don't know we don't know, and those foods trends that involve these three letters: GMO, Genetically Modified Organism. We just don't have enough information, positive or negative. Labeling of foods as GMO is not required or has been blocked. Labeling would be a practical first step to providing the information needed to make educated decisions and learning how GMO foods might or might not effect our bodies.
To clarify, a GM organism is created by taking a gene from one plant or animal species and inserting it into another, unrelated, species. Experiments like a jellyfish gene that makes a pig's nose glow in the dark, or a spider gene added to goat's milk in the hope to make bulletproof vests, or potatoes that glow in the dark when they need to be watered. Grafting trees together to grow healthier fruit, or crossing two fruits to make a sweeter one are not GMO products. This natural blending of plants has been happening in nature since before man.
Scientifically speaking, it all seems very interesting; an intellectual quest to discover what is possible or create something new in pursuit of expanding markets. The problem is that GMO foods usually look the same on the surface, but they appear to be processed by our bodies differently. So, within the modern food system, with no information on what GMO work is being done or where GMO foods are being used, we can't track what they do to our health, or make informed choices.
This is why the Non-GMO project exists.
Zero-Tannin Lentils
Grown in the Pacific Northwest, these non-GMO lentils are special.
Not only are they organic and certified non-GMO, they are fresh! Now, I know we have grown up with beans, lentils, legumes of all kinds. We see bags in the grocery store and never think much about it.
With few exceptions, like all things food, fresher is almost always better even if it is in a jar or dried. And in this case, we go one step further; not only do we know when it was "bagged", we know harvest date, plant date, and the family that grew them. This is true traceability.
Why Zero-Tannins and what does it mean? Well, nearly all lentils have tannins, which darken the seed coat. It is the tannins which makes the water "muddy" when you cook most lentil varieties, including the Spanish Pardina Lentils from the Heart. The Shasta Yellow and Sunrise Red Zero-Tannin lentils have an opaque seed coat that keeps the cooking water clear, and unlike the common "red chief" lentil, the zero-tannin lentils maintain their shape when cooked.
Shop now for GMO-free Lentils
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Cranberry Relish
Cranberry sauce or cranberry relish is made out of cranberries, along with sugar and other flavorings, and is usually associated with Thanksgiving (Turkey) dinner in North America, and Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom. You will find some differences in recipes, depending on where the sauce is made; in Europe it is generally slightly more sour, while in North America it is usually sweeter.
In fact, the North American version often comes from a can and is pretty basic: cranberries, sugar and pectin. But why settle for cranberry-flavored gel? Reach for something more complex and interesting -- in both cranberry and other subtle ways. More savory than sweet, this cranberry relish packs a flavor-and-pickle punch. A perfect side for your holiday turkey - and more.
This cranberry relish is delicious. It's packed with lovely fruits and spices and is fantastic with cold meats, in sandwiches, and with roasts. But it's far too good to save just for Christmas! Cranberries are a superfood and very healthy. So feel good all the time and choose this relish all year round.
Shop now, click here for Cranberry Relish
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Red Onion Marmalade
This is not the type of marmalade you put on your cold morning toast! It is a spread with lots of flavor all put into one jar! Think cold cuts with sliced cheese on thin bread topped with red onion marmalade!
Red onions with raisins and pine nuts, blended with spices and herbs to create a delicious relish, made soft and fragrant with balsamic vinegar. Great with cold meats, cheese, or added to a sandwich for a touch of sweetness. Try serving with a piece of grilled fresh tuna and a crisp salad.
Shop now for Red Onion Marmalade to put on your next cold meat sandwich
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Wei Mountain Zen Tea
Only a small portion of the tea grown and processed at the temple is made available to members of the local community, and only when they visit the temple. The highest grade is never sold, but reserved to use within the temple for special ceremonies. The mid-grade is made available to the lay community, but never sold openly inside or outside China; one must visit the temple to obtain Zen Tea, which is what Becky's brother did not too long ago. The standard grade is what the monks retain for themselves for use during their daily meditations. Becky has agreed to sell us a few more packages for this newsletter. Once gone, we won't see this tea again until next year's harvest.
See Zen Tea from the Buddhist Temple
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BBQ Sauce-English Style
Darker than it's cousin, the No 1 Steak Sauce, the flavors jump at you as soon you spoon it into your mouth. Though not spicy, as in hot, or as spicy as spicy is in the south, it is pleasantly tingly to eat. It's a challenge to identify the flavors; there are onions, sherry, apricots, pineapples, raisins, sultanas, ginger, garlic, and more. A really fruity and spicy sauce. Use as a marinade, dip or pouring sauce, as an easy addition to your favorite marinade, or as a topping to your grilled burger or chicken. Though complex, it comes across as simply delish!
The Hawkshead Relish Company is small and relatively young - they opened their doors in rural Cumbria, in England's Lake District, in 2001 - but they've already taken home more than 30 "Great Taste Awards" for their relishes, pickles and preserves.
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| Just-in-Updates |
Two Great Fruits
Both these fruits, if eaten every day, will help keep the doctor away.
And even if they didn't, both result in a splend’ish’ishness of pure flavor pleasure.
These two fruits are excellent examples of how variety selection, growing conditions, the weather and, of course, the hands that grow them, make an enormous difference, and tastable contrast to what we are used to finding in the grocery store. It is how fruit should be! Catch the fruits of the fall, before it's too late!
Reed Avocados from Herman Ranch
Huge Honey Crisp Apples
Order Now - Summer Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
This is a mountain summer cheese and comes from a farm located near a small village at the base of the Apennine Mountains in Italy. It is aged over 36 months and is made using milk harvested during the summer, and the cheese-making process was begun in the summer. Summer cheeses are often the most heady and dense in flavor - due to the concentration of strong summer grasses where the cows forage during that time of year. There is less than one wheel left, so don't wait to order!
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| Cooking Classes Coming Up |
Cooking with Beans (and Lentils)
NEW: Due to popular demand, we opened up a second Beans Class on Wednesday, the 12th. Chef Lauren is a bean master and will show you how to make some amazing bean dishes that your whole family will love. The new class is filling quickly, though, so sign up now before it is too late.
NEW: La Cocina Mexicana
We are not talking Tex-Mex here. We are talking authentic, Rick Bayless style cooking. The Wednesday Cocina Mexicana class is sold out, but there are still a few seats on the Thursday class. But not for long!
Cooking with Heritage Grains
Learn how to make Quinoa, Emmer, Black Nile Barley and Brown Rice - just to name a few. From appetizer to dessert, upgrade your plate to some of these exotic heritage grains and bring some color, good taste and nutrients to your plate with five recipes even your family will love. Only a few spots left.
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| This Weeks Recipes |
Lesa's Apple Pie Recipe
I don't recommend using our Honey Crisp Apples for a pie -- they are just too good. But you have to do something with all the other apples coming in your CSA weekly box. Right?
Baked Tomatoes with Salmon, Garlic & Capers
Tomatoes and garlic abound. We still have some great hardneck garlic in stock. Perfect when paired with heirloom tomatoes in this yummy recipe.
Pluot Raspberry Crisp
Plouts, plums, raspberries, blackberries, lingonberries, whatever. The great thing about a crisp recipe is that you can really use whatever fruit you want.
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