Week of November 21st, 2011

In This Week’s Box

[box_list]

• Warren Pears, Frog Hollow Farm
• Shinko Pears, Frog Hollow Farm
• Pink Lady Apples, Frog Hollow Farm
• Clementine Oranges, Olson Family Farms, Kingsburg

[/box_list]

From Farmer Al

Dear CSA Members,

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. Nothing beats it for the simplicity and beauty of the message. …..Friends and family gathering to give thanks for each other, the warmth of home, and the bounty of the Earth.

This year we are blessed with rare beauty! Because of the early November cold temperatures our trees look like Fall on the Eastern Seaboard……gold’s, Reds, Purples, burgundy, and every shade in between! It is spectacular!

And, from the Farmers’ prospective, the other part of this blessing is the early accumulation of chilling hours for next years crop is the best start in 10 years.

Wishing you all a VERY Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Frog Hollow Farm,

Cornbread and Dried Fruit Stuffing
Adapted from a Nov 2006 article from Bon Apetit.

You will need-

1 9×9 or 13×13 inch sheet of cornbread
1/2 C Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
4 C Onions, chopped
4 C Unpeeled Frog Hollow Farm Pink Lady apples, chopped (approx 3-4)
2 C Celery with leaves, chopped
24 Dried Plouts, chopped, (about 10 oz)
12 Dried Peach halves, chopped (about 2 oz)
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Fresh Thyme, minced, (or 1 t dried thyme)
1 c Low Sodium Chicken Broth

The night before you make the stuffing, prepare the cornbread. Cut the prepared cornbread into 1 inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet and let dry overnight. You can also dry out a batch of cornbread out in a low temp. oven if you’re short on time– the cornbread cubes should be on the dry side. Soak the dried fruit overnight so they are easy to chop.

Preheat oven to 375 and butter a 13×9 baking dish. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions until translucent and fragrant; about 10 minutes. Add apples and celery. Sauté these until the celery begins to soften, about 7 minutes. Combine the contents of the skillet with the plouts, peaches, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, and thyme in a large bowl. Add cornbread cubes and toss until combined.

Scrape the stuffing into the buttered baking dish, adjust salt and pepper to tast, and pour broth over the mixture. If stuffing in-bird, let it cool completely before adding to the cavity. Otherwise, bake uncovered until top begins to form a crust, about 40 minutes.