Don’t forget to check out KTC Take Home Meals! KTC Take Home is our line of prepared meals that you can take home, heat in the oven, and eat! Check out the new product category, try one, and let us know what you think! This week we have delicious BBQ pulled beef and Sarah’s special slaw. Pair the two for an awesome, healthy meal on the go!

Every year we choose a different town to visit en route in order to show the children the country and make the travels more enjoyable and educational.  Over the years, we have seen many sites: Monticello, Washington DC, Fredericksburg, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Portland, etc. etc.  Of course, we look forward to seeing our families, but we also relish these side trips as we are interested in history, architecture, art and culture and hope to share our interests with the children.  Ours is not a relaxing vacation by any means.  We rarely visit a beach or an amusement park.  This year our stops included Arlington, Va., Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pa., Boston, and Roanoke, Va.

One major obstacle to enjoying our yearly road trip has always been:  not being able to find decent food along the way.  (needless to say we are not the types to eat at fast food restaurants just because we’re on the road).  Oh my!, did we have a different adventure this year.  Usually we search desperately for something we can eat, travelling far out of the way to do so.   This year, we found a new awakening in the country!  All up and down the east coast, we saw bright, cheerful signs for local Farmer’s Markets.  Good local restaurants were easy to locate and concierges were able to direct us to them.  Billboards on the highway depicted happy farmers, displaying their produce, smiles beaming, leading locals and travelers alike to partake in the local fare and local flavor of the land.  I loved it!  Regional food, seasonal delights, varying all along the coast as we travelled south to north and north to south again.

In Philadelphia, we visited Reading Market that proudly occupies an old train station in the center of the   city since 1892.   The market, almost bankrupt in the 1970’s has seen a great revitalization.  It reminded me of a central market in a European city – bustling customers , local and regional produce, butchers,  bakers, restaurants, cafes, vendors of local wares, honey from local bees, chocolates made on premises – all under one roof.  Reading Market is truly an American market, teeming with local and international fare.  A market where Americans of all ethnicities can proudly display and sell their “gifts”.  How beautiful it is!

On one unbearably hot afternoon in Boston, we noshed on pizza or flat bread topped with an array of local cheeses, vegetables and grass-fed meats, while the children bowled in the fun, friendly, very hip and retro “Flat Bread Co.  at Sacco’s Bowling Haven”.  The local origin of the food was announced with pride on a huge chalkboard entitled “Where on Earth Our Food Comes From”.  We and our Boston friends were able to relax, drink a number of the great offerings of local beers and catch up – while the children played and were well fed.  Heaven in a bowling alley!

The desk clerk at our hotel in Lancaster readily directed us to the lovely restaurant “John J. Jeffries”, featuring local foods and housed in a renovated mill, shared with the very stylish “Arts Hotel”.   One of our favorite dishes was the Johnny Cakes, Fresh Peach Compote, Crispy Pork Belly and Pennsylvania Maple Syrup – aptly named “Crispy Pork Belly Love”.  We did love!   The adults sipped on local Pennsylvanian wines that were really good!  Homemade ice cream followed dinner with delightful flavors such as Singing Dog Vanilla, June Berry and Kallari Single Source Organic Chocolate.

In Roanoke, Virginia we ate at a fantastic restaurant called “Local Roots”. We found “Local Roots” while still on the highway by way of www.tripadvisor.com listings for Roanoke Restaurants under the genre “local”. We told the manager about our adventure and our relationship with local foods in South Carolina and he treated us like long lost friends.  An immediate connection was made – their chef had interned with a famous Charleston chef.  We talked about the restaurant, Roanoke, their small urban gardens, and sources for pork as the chef sent out a sampler of house made charcuterie, house-made ricotta and fried green tomatoes.

We indulged in the fresh Peach Bellini Martini offered by our new friends.  Our meal was more than a meal.  For this family of hungry locavore travelers, it was without a doubt a delicious meal, but it was also a glimpse into the lives of some incredibly dedicated people in another state.  I left feeling buoyed by their kindness, determination and integrity.  Through our interaction, we learned so much about the local movement in Virginia and we got a delicious taste of local color.   When our travels take us to Virginia again we will definitely return to their restaurant and hopefully they will visit us if their travels take them to Charleston.

Next stop was finally – home sweet home – Charleston.   I am always thankful, after a trip, to return home to my own cooking.  I was this year as well; although I did not have that “I never want to eat another meal out” feeling.   These days, I have the added advantage of coming home to Our Local Foods – my family’s source for healthy, local, fresh foods.  Now, with the opening of the retail store, café and kitchen on Clements Ferry Road, even I can take a break from cooking once in a while, knowing I am carrying home delicious, nutritious, locally-sourced, wholesome prepared foods.  It can’t get any better than this!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beets
• 1/2 c pecans
• 1/2 c goat cheese
• 2 or 3 spring onions
• Salad Greens

Preparation:

• Roast Beets for the most intense flavor by washing, drying and wrapping in foil.
• Place in an oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.
• Cool and slide the peels off.
• Slice according to how you prefer them (I love to make them slightly freshly pickled by adding a mixture of 50% white balsamic vinegar and 50% water)
  After sitting in this for just a little while, they take on a tangy, earthy flavor profile that is very pleasing.
• Combine slightly toasted pecans, thinly sliced spring onion and slices of goat cheese atop your spring medley for a pretty complete salad as a light meal.
• Great with a rich bran muffin to accompany it. You can even spread a little jam on it!
• This is wonderful served alongside a carrot soup or any soup of your choice.

Kitchen Table Cuisine provides members access to an online farm store shopping option. Orders can now be placed anytime, for weekly delivery to a designated pick up location in your community.   As a member, you will now have access to locally produced dairy, meat, eggs and other high quality food items as often as you like.  You may receive a delivery from our farm store as often as once per week.
Members are NOT OBLIGATED to order every week.

Here is how KTC works…

• On Friday of each week prior to noon, the team at Our Local Foods will upload and update our available inventory of high quality food items from the farm.
• Customers can shop at anytime
• All orders received by 9:00 am on Monday morning will be delivered the same week to your designated pick up location
• As an example, let’s say Gary shops online with KTC on Sunday evening and places an order.  Gary’s pick up location is downtown Charleston on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.  Gary will receive his order on Tuesday of that week, at his designated pick up location.  If Gary places his order on Monday evening, his order will be delivered the following week on Tuesday, as his order will have missed the 9:00am cut-off for that week’s delivery.

Customers will find the most complete inventory and options for items that a have limited availability by shopping as soon as is convenient after 12:00 noon on Friday, as this is when the inventory availability will be updated from the farm store.  Items are available on a first come, first served basis, so shop early for the best selections!

Important features to know about:

• Kitchen Table Cuisine requires registration as a member with a one-time membership fee of $15.00 (current members do not need to re-register).
• KTC orders are processed on the farm after 9:00 am on Monday morning. All orders received by 9:00 am on Monday morning are delivered the same week.
• Minimum order amount is $35.00.
• Limited availability items are available on a first come, first served basis.
• KTC orders need to be picked up at their designated pick up location.
• Orders not picked up on time will be available for pick up at the farm store.

As always, feel free to call or email with any questions or comments!

Best regards,

Maria

The meal will be prepared on site by award-winning Chef Sean Brock, of McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston with the Our Local Foods team providing the assist!

If you are attending this event and need directions, Thornhill Farm is approximately 2 miles north of the blinking light in McClellanville ,SC. You can also call the Our Local Foods Farm Store at (843) 887-3500 if you need additional directions or have other questions.

The meal will be prepared on site by award-winning Chef Sean Brock, of McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston with the Our Local Foods team providing the assist!  We encourage you to come join us and have a wonderful day on the farm!

We are so happy that the folks from Outstanding In The Field have chosen to include Thornhill Farm as part of their 2010 National Tour. We are also grateful that a portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit Thornhill Farm’s resident non-profit organization, Adaptive Gardens of the Lowcountry. Please visit www.outstandinginthefield.com to learn more or to purchase tickets.

According to Sandra K. Miller, in an article posted on www.localharvest.org, the heritage turkey’s cooking style is as different as it’s lifestyle.  The differences include brining the bird before roasting, adding a liquid to the bottom of the roasting pan, and keeping the bird covered during the entire cooking time without basting.  It is suggested that a slathering on and under the skin with a butter/maple syrup blend will improve the succulence of the part of the bird that often becomes dry during roasting.  Additionally, I sprinkled the surface of the breast with a chopped fresh herb blend to impart some of the delicate flavors of the season from the garden at this time of year (in the south, our herbs are rejuvenated by cool temps and moisture in the fall).

Heritage Turkey (in parchment paper)

The ideal cover for the bird to roast evenly and fully is oiled parchment.  The circulating air of my convection oven seemed to only slightly notice the parchment around the pan, imparting a sleeve of crispy goodness by the sound of the bell.  My first realization when preparing the turkey for roasting was that I would need four hands to place the parchment paper around the roasting pan.  Without detailed instructions, but a fair amount of experience working with parchment paper, I summoned my daughter to the task and we came up with a plan.  We wrapped the long edge of the parchment paper around the perimeter of the roasting pan, overlapping the beginning and ending edges.  Pulling the paper snug around the lip of the roasting pan, we tied a twine “belt” around the paper to tightly secure it.  The cylinder of paper that rose up around the bird in the pan was folded over and in (sort of like folding an origami pocketbook).  As it was folded over, it held itself intact and became a perfect envelope around the bird.

My oven has a convection feature, and so we set the oven temperature at 410 degrees.  Weighing in at 20.63 pounds, we sheepishly placed the timer at 3 hours, shrugged our shoulders and hoped for the best.  When we committed ourselves to this cooking method, we took a “pinkie swear” not to baste and not to open the oven door.
At the end of the torturous three hours of uncertainty and fear of the worst, we pulled the roasting pan from the oven and opened the end of the “pocketbook”.  What we found was that the centerpiece of the celebration was quite extraordinary; it was cloaked in bronze, and the hinge of the bird’s thigh joint was relaxed with juices running clear.

All indications were in line for a completely abnormal result – a perfectly roasted turkey, tender and more full of flavor than we have ever experienced!

Now… well I’m a firm believer in the heritage turkey and the contemporary cooking temperature!

Best Wishes!
Maria