Home Brew Department Manager (and Guru to many) Scott Russell will be teaching a basic brewing class at the Montshire Museum on Sunday, February 12.
Details on the class can be found at
http://montshire.org/programs/adults/the-science-of-brewing-beer/
The Point radio station ran this “Montshire Minute” on Wednesday 2/1…
Look at sustainability from individual, community, and global perspectives. Join neighbors and friends in a small discussion group (8-12 participants). Course booklet (for purchase @$15 or borrow a loaner copy) provides basis for discussion. Plan on 1 hour of reading outside of class. Meaningful discussion based on personal experience and critical thinking. Seven weekly sessions, 5:30-7:00 pm on Wednesdays starting on February 15. Meeting place: South Royalton Public School library. For more information or to register, contact Elizabeth at the Market: 763-2400 or soromarket@gmail.com.
If you still have incandescent bulbs in any of your light fixtures at home or at work, you may seriously want to consider swapping them out for environmentally and economically friendly CFL bulbs.
The Market has three types for sale at 99 cents/bulb: a small globe (good for bathroom mirrors) to replace 40 watt bulbs, and spiral and a covered spiral (good for general lighting) to replace 60 watt bulbs.
Here’s how the numbers play out in round numbers:
The spiral bulb offers the greatest savings. Your energy bill next year for that bulb could be $1.60 as opposed to $63.00 to pay for the same amount of illumination using an incandescent bulb. In other words, the price of 1 year of incandescent lighting=40 years of CLF lighting. Amazing!
CFLs can and should be recycled. Some of their materials can be reused and it is important to capture the small amount of mercury that they contain. Fluorescent lights are accepted locally at the Bethel Transfer Station for the nominal fee of 25 censt per bulb or 25 cents per foot (tubular).
The original recipe is from the Food Network’s on-line recipe resource. When Patty, the Market’s chef, made this recently, she added extra chicken stock to make it into a soup that got rave reviews. She used ground cardamon rather than cinnamon.
The original recipe suggests serving it over orzo pasta. Patty added that to the soup. Another idea is to serve it with cous-cous–either in the soup or as a bed for the thicker stew. Cous-cous is popular throughout North Africa. This recipe makes 6 servings and takes an estimated 40 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients:
2 TBSP flour for dredging chicken
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken thighs
1 TBSP olive oil
2 red onions, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 tsp EACH: cardamon (or cinnamon), ginger, cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
16 oz tomato puree
1/4 c. honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 sweet (not hot) peppers, chopped
1/3 c. golden or brown raisins
15 oz. cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
As a soup: use 1/3 c. cous-cous.
As a stew: serve over: 2 c. cous-cous cooked in 6 c. hot water and topped with 1/3 c. slivered toasted almonds and 3 TBSP parsley leaves.
Method:
Toss flour and chicken in a bag to coat (this is called dredging). In a fry pan, add olive oil, then chicken. Cook until brown, turning once, for about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add onion to the fry pan; saute for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and spices, including cayenne; cook 1 minute, stirring so that it doesn’t stick. Stir in tomato, honey, and salt. Add chicken and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in peppers, raisins, and chickpeas and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes.
If making a soup, add cous-cous and 1 c. hot water during the last 5 minutes. Add more liquid if needed.
If making a thicker stew, bring 6 c. of water to a boil while the chicken is cooking. Pour 2 c. cous-cous into a heat-proof serving dish; add boiling water, stir, and cover. Stir again after 2 minutes, replacing the cover. Cous-cous will absorb water and will hold until the chicken is ready. Fluff with a fork just before serving.
Chicken mixture is done when the peppers are tender and the chicken is no longer pink near the bone. Serve stew over cous-cous and top with slivered almonds and parsley leaves.
End the meal with a glass of hot mint tea if you like.
Our Produce department has carrots from the root cellars of two local farms!
How great is it to have local, winter storage crops in December?!?
This is easy, delicious, complex in flavor, and is great change from all of those holiday sweets. Use a combination of fresh and dried fruits; it’s all very flexible. Serve warm–as a dessert with a dollop of creme fraiche, or as a condiment for main course meats.
Note: cook at 250 degrees for several hours–I recommend 5 hours.
Ingredients:
Fruits:
4 medium to large fresh apples, cored and chopped (it’s fine to leave the peel on) OR 1 1/2 cups of applesauce
2 cups total of dried fruit in small pieces, such as figs, prunes, raisins, dried cranberries, and anything else that catches your fancy (note: scissors make quick work of this)
1 lemon–juice and peel (grated or chopped fine)
optional: fresh, canned, or dried pineapple, chopped
Spices:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Liquid:
3/4 cup of water or fruit juice (cider, orange, pineapple–whatever you have)
Method:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Combine fruit and spices in a 9×13″ glass pan. Add enough liquid so that its 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep on the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until everything is hot, then cover with aluminum foil to keep the fruit from drying out.
Stir every hour or so until done.
The long baking time softens the fruit and gives the flavors time to mingle. Bland after 1 hour, this is delicious after 3, 4, or 5 hours.
There’s a community effort underway to thank the multitude of people who helped with the post-Irene clean-up. The Town of Royalton has written a letter to thank six organizations as a way to express their appreciation to the many volunteers who gave time, effort, and heart to their neighbors.
You are invited to sign these letters. They are posted on the Market windows near the check-out. Come inside to add your signature–and help pass the word!
With many thanks for your help — The Market
Whether your preference is practical, local, specialty, or “all of the above,” the Market can help with your December holidays shopping list. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking …
However you celebrate, we wish you a happy season!
All of the traditional Thanksgiving foods can be locally grown. The Natives and Pilgrims weren’t logging food miles when they sat down to eat that first meal together!
The Market has a great selection of local vegetables, seasonal fruits, cheeses, and beverages for your holiday celebration. For example …
Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, VT, has a new, all-Vermont beverage: apple cranberry cider. It is pleasingly tart and has a beautiful ruby color.
We have local and regional cheeses from 10 cheesemakers, including Fat Toad, Neighborly Farms, Vermont Farmstead, Vermont Butter and Cheese, Maplebrook, Grafton, Blue Ledge, Lazy Lady, Blythdale, Jasper Hill, Willow Hill, and Woodcock Hill!
We again offer fresh, natural (not organic) VT turkey–whole or in pre-packaged parts– from Misty Knoll Farms in the Champlain Valley. Place your order by the end of the day on Wednesday, November 16th for pick-up on Tuesday, November 22.
Whole turkeys range in size from 12-14 pounds to 24-25 pounds. The price is $4.29/lb, so an 18 pound turkey costs $77.22.
Misty Knoll also offers packages of turkey parts. For example,