FolkFoods

Extend your FolkFoods season!

2010-10-21T12:30:00.001-05:00

As the end of the Farmers' Market season draws near, we are offering a fun special! The FolkFoods Breakfast Burrito Bundle - Make them all ahead of time and freeze them, or have a burrito party! Either way, you can continue having yummy and nutritious burritos long after the Farmers' Market has finished its summer run. Here are the details:

* 'FolkFoods Burrito Bundle' details, as promised. This Saturday, at the second to last market, you can pre-order your burrito bundle. Each bundle comes with the exact ingredients that we use to make 12 of our Burlington-famous Breakfast Burritos. For 45 dollars, you get the goods, including 1# of Shelburne Farms Cheddar, local eggs from Rockville Market Farm, local black beans cooked by me, and, of course, our taco seasoned Veggie Crumble. In order to pre-order, you'll need to put a $24 dollar deposit down, and then come on October 30 (the last day of market) to pick up your bundles! ** Also, if you get a bundle, we'll give you 50 cents off a jar of Master Sauce!** Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

(If you are receiving this email and are not in Vermont, we are sorry, but are not set up right now to do mail orders.)

UPDATES! Recipe, Farmers' Markets, etc...

2010-05-20T21:31:00.002-05:00

Well, the 2010 Farmers' Market season is well underway and we are excited. It feels like it is going to be a big season for us. We enter the season with our products in 3 cafes, one restaurant and the pretty out-of-the-ordinary cafe at Fletcher Allen, Vermont's largest hospital. We're working on other accounts and finalizing some great labels so we can finally start retailing in stores (thanks Shawn and Devon!)

Big online news is that we finally have a larger presence on Facebook. Please, if you are a Facebook user, search for FolkFoods, LLC and 'Like' us. We are hoping to get some great online conversations and we'll also be posting recipes, specials and other nifty stuff on there! Our website is also finally live (thanks Adam), although we need to add a ton of content - it will be coming soon. Actually this blog will soon move over there (www.folkfoods.com) and you all may have to go through the hullabaloo of subscribing to that new blog. We'll let you know. It is exciting though.

As for the Farmers' Market, it has been going incredibly well. We've started having weekly specials, as a way to promote our packaged products. The last two weeks we've have Taco Seasoned Veggie Crumble and Shelburne Farms Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Cornbread! The recipe is below, it is really yummy and goes well with Master Sauce (of course) and a fried egg. Once the site is up and running completely, we'll post all of the weekly special recipes both there and on Facebook. (We also plan on letting people know what the specials are ahead of time, so you all know to come on out and get some eats!)

Veggie Crumble Stuffed Cornbread

This recipe is infinitely variable. You can add roasted red peppers, jalapenos, fresh corn kernels, etc. The corn bread mix from Great Harvest is on the moist and sweet variety of corn breads, which goes really well with the well spiced and seasoned taco Veggie Crumble and cheese. This bread pairs really well next to a soup (try gazpacho) or salad and is always great with eggs. (Topped with Master Sauce, of course!)

1 package FolkFoods Veggie Crumble (12 oz. or about 4 cups)
1 cup of salsa, ½ cup water
About 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, or make your own
About 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can omit or substitute for vegan)
1 package of your favorite cornbread mix, or make your own
(I used to make it, but Great Harvest makes it so much better than I can!)
9”x13” pan, lightly oiled (this recipe is easily halved)

Mix water, salsa and taco seasoning together and add FolkFoods Veggie Crumble. Stir well and put aside. Make your corn bread batter, according to your mix or recipe. Pour half the batter into your oiled pan and shake gently until level. Sprinkle taco seasoned Crumble over the batter. Sprinkle shredded cheese. With a large spoon, drop the remaining batter evenly over the Crumble/cheese filling. Bake according to mix or recipe. Don’t forget to share!

Post-Market Update

2009-11-09T21:12:00.004-05:00

Good Evening,

The Farmers' Market season has just ended. We had our first "free" weekend in almost six months, but now -- we're ready to get back to work!

So what are we doing?

Well, very soon our new and improved website will be up and running. (Thanks, Adam!) This means that we will re-establish our regular blog posts and recipes. And we'll soon have our online store up and running!

What else? We are working to get our products into stores and restaurants. (If you know of a place where you would love to see our stuff, please send us a note.)
And, soon, you will be able to sign up for updates directly from folkfoods.com!

Thank you for making this past year our most successful season yet! The best compliment you can give us is telling others about FolkFoods...

Eat Well!
Jason, Shana and Micah Baer

First Burlington Farmers' Market a Success!

2009-05-13T08:03:00.003-05:00

Despite the rain, we had a wonderful time, and were excited to see so many people come out and support the market. Of course, we forgot our camera, so we'll post some pictures from next week's market.

People were real excited that we had packaged products to sell... our Veggie Patties and Veggie Crumble are back! (and of course, we have the Master Sauce!!)

Also, here's a cool video that ran on our local news about the market; you can see our booth in the background around 1:40

if that doesn't work click here

See you next weekend!

See You Tomorrow, With Product!!!

2009-05-08T19:17:00.004-05:00

Saturday, May 9, City Hall Park
Burlington, VT
8:30am - 2:00 pm
The Burlington Farmers' Market!!

Well, this blog has been pretty silent for a long time. We've been busy. Our apologies.
But there is LOTS of activity ahead. We've got a lot of new recipes to post. We will soon have an active and updated website where this blog and other information will be found. Saturday farmers' markets begin tomorrow. Our production has worked 99% of the kinks out. Our boy, Micah, turned ONE in March, and now loves our Patties! We did a test run, making tons of sandwiches for our friends last weekend; all of our equipment is primed and ready (and the sandwiches were excellent!) We have a new friend, Brittany, helping us out; come on by and say hi! We are prepped, we are excited, and, well, we're tired.

So, hopefully, we'll see you tomorrow, and other Saturdays as well. Oh yeah, just to make sure that we are really clear...

WE WILL, ONCE AGAIN, HAVE VEGGIE PATTIES AND VEGGIE CRUMBLE TO SELL IN PACKAGES! (AND, AS ALWAYS, LOTS OF MASTER SAUCE!)

(Micah's gotten a lot bigger, you'll see!)

More to Come...

2009-02-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Winter Everyone!

We have been quite absent from the blog world. It has been a crazy year and we are working hard to get everything up and ready for May's Farmers' Market.

We have a ton of new recipes coming; we are working on getting all of our products ready to be packaged and sold at market and at stores; we are getting ready for our son's first birthday; and we are preparing for some new FolkFoods adventures.

Everything will be coming along shortly. One thing to note, however, is that we will likely be moving this blog to our website, which is being constructed as we speak. But more on that as it develops. Until then, you can take a peak at our label's new look and bookmark our website at:
www.folkfoods.com

We'll see you soon!
-Jason, Shana and Micah Baer

Masterful Ginger-Lime Shrimp

2008-06-20T08:04:00.013-05:00

(I wrote this post awhile ago; we've been sort of busy.)

The evening before my first Father's Day, Shana scooted Micah Baer and I out of the house so that she could prep a most wonderful breakfast for us. And thus began, what I hope, will be a yearly tradition: The Pre-Father's Day Boys' Night Out! I went over to my friend's place where we hung out in the garden, ate good food, drank excellent beer and listened to great old records. Dave's wife Jenny was out, so it was a great boys' night. Everyone was psyched to see, "the Baer" and I was really glad that he was in a good mood to hang out with us all.

Anyway, Besides making the best Root Beer on the planet with his wife Jenny (Rookie's Root Beer - get it at the Burlington Farmers' Market, Church Street and at several local restaurants on tap!), Dave is also a fantastic chef. He is a huge fan of our Master Sauce and this evening he introduced me to his most recent Master Sauce creation.

MASTERFUL GINGER-LIME SHRIMP

24 shrimp, skewered
4 Tbs FolkFoods Master Sauce (or more)
salt/pepper to taste
1 lime zested (shaved off the peel with a fine grater)
2 Tbs molasses
Mix Together and Marinate 15 min.

Grill those yummy skewers!
Crushed Ginger Snaps 10- 12 cookies
Sprinkle good quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil over all the shrimp while still warm
Sprinkle crushed Ginger Snaps on after pulling off the grill
Bam! Super-delicious treats.

TRULY, THESE ARE FANTASTIC. TRY THEM AT HOME.
(And, of course, let us know how it goes...)

Master Sauce Travels the World

2008-06-16T21:46:00.006-05:00

Remember our friend Jenn? She described how Master Sauce solved a culinary conundrum. Jenn is a phenomenal cook who always finds creative ways to use our sauce. She is also a great writer and world traveler. She and her partner recently adventured in Belize. Naturally, they took a bottle of Master Sauce with them...

For winter vacation this year I went to Belize. Belize is pretty darned hot, and so is the food. In fact, it is home to a brand of hot sauce exported around the world: Marie Sharp’s. I must say—and I mean no disrespect—I find this hot sauce to be as overrated as the average film touted as a masterpiece by the Academy. Like the typical Hollywood production, it grabs your attention, but ultimately disappoints. It’s all hype.

In my opinion, Master Sauce is the indie hit of the spicy condiment world. To test this theory, I brought along a jar of Master Sauce to Belize, thinking that there I would find the most discerning panel of experts to judge its merits. I quickly learned not to call it “hot sauce.” (Belizeans require that a condiment burn the cilia in your throat to be called “hot.”) Much better to explain the theory behind the appellation “Master Sauce.” Once tasters understood the distinction, it was a hit just about everywhere.

In the photo I am offering a taste to David, a tour guide that my travel companion and I hired to take us canoeing through a beautiful river cave once used for Mayan burial ceremonies. The tour included a lunch of “super burritos” and Belizean beer (quite good!), and I suggested David try some Master Sauce on his burrito. (As you can see, we discovered that a screwdriver works well enough as a spreading utensil.) David loved it, but didn’t find it very spicy. He probably would have dumped half the jar into his burrito if I hadn’t told him it needed to last the whole vacation.

Did you catch that? I’ve become so addicted to the stuff that I can’t even go on vacation without it! My primary motivation for wrapping the jar carefully in a sarong and stuffing it inside one of my flippers was to try it in something completely different. I got my chance when I discovered that the atoll where we spent a week snorkeling and kayaking was teeming with conch. I had never eaten conch before, but by the time we left our island paradise, I had perfected a Master Sauce conch stew that can only be recreated with both rare ingredients. Here it is below.

Honestly, I’ve never seen conch in a store, but I live in a small town. Maybe it’s available in big cities at specialty markets. This recipe will work just as well with any other seafood, though. You could use calamari to approximate the taste and texture of conch, but fish or shrimp would also be tasty.

Conch Stew with Master Sauce:

Spend the day snorkeling, keeping an eye out for conch, which prefer flat, sandy areas. If you don’t have time to spend the day exploring a reef, go to the nearest seafood counter and buy the flesh of your favorite saltwater creature.

Sauté some chopped onion and garlic in oil with a little salt, and then add some cubed sweet potatoes or winter squash, carrots, and tomatoes to the pot. Sprinkle with herbs de provence if you have some. If not, don’t sweat it.

After the veggies have sautéed for a while, add enough liquid to cover the vegetables. The liquid can be canned coconut milk (cut with some water), or you can use the far superior and more exotic method of piercing a whole coconut and draining the water found inside. (To do this, hammer a nail into two spots on one end of the coconut, which will create a nice pouring spout.) I think whey would be good, too, if you happen to have a cheese-making friend.

Simmer until veggies are as soft as you like them. In a saucepan, sauté the seafood with a little garlic, salt, and—of course—Master Sauce! (Conch takes only about 4 minutes.)

Add seafood to stew and serve over rice. Or, if you value simplicity or simply dislike doing dishes, you can throw a cup of uncooked rice in the stew when you add the liquid to the vegetables. By the time the veggies are soft, the rice will also be cooked.

Add more Master Sauce to taste!

Yeah, We Are Still Here!

2008-06-10T07:35:00.003-05:00

We are finished with our backyard asparagus, the greens are overtaking the garden, Ben is shedding like crazy, and the Burlington Farmers' Market has begun again!

We haven't kept up with this blog for a long, long time. It has been quite a year for us, and we will certainly share all of the great news in upcoming posts. For now, however, we just wanted to say hi!

We are still around, and selling at the Burlington Farmers' Market every Saturday. Right now, we are carrying our Master Sauce and making two wraps: the Breakfast Burrito and the Pizza Wrap. Both wraps highlight our Veggie Crumble. We're working diligently on getting production up and running for the packages of our Veggie Crumble and Veggie Patties (sorry that it has taken us this long...) Once that happens, we will also be selling our soon- to- be- world- famous Ruby Sandwich, the Benny (Jason's favorite), and a new sandwich, which is yet to be named.

Wait, that gives me an idea!!

Name the sandwich for us... It's a simple sandwich: small roll, homemade roasted garlic paste, Veggie Patty, and cheese. You can add ketchup, mustard, Master Sauce and/or homemade sauerkraut. I don't really want to call it a Veggie Burger because, as some of you know, our Patties are not designed to taste anything like burgers, sausages, or meat at all. They are just plain good! So, if you have any ideas, please share. If we use your idea, visit us at the Market and we'll give you a sandwich -- on us!

Okay, so this has already become much longer than I originally intended. No recipe today, more to come, as well as a ton of good news, more pictures, and lots of updates!

Have a great day!
Jason, Shana and Micah Baer!

FolkFoods Veggie Crumble Recipe Rocks!

2007-10-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

Crisp Fall Air Calls for Chili!

Happy Fall everyone! I am writing this note two days before the last Farmers’ Market of this season! It is amazing to think about how far we’ve come, and amazing to imagine all of the plans that we have. Truthfully, I can’t even believe that we made it through all of the markets, which were amazing! And a lot of fun. Shana and I have talked about how the best parts of the entire experience were hearing people’s feedback, seeing repeat customers, and sharing time with all of the market vendors. Farmers’ Markets are wonderful; we are definitely going to miss all of the bountiful, fresh and delicious foods. We hope to maintain relationships with many of our new friends and are excited to keep the FolkFoods ball rolling.

A little comment on that: we are committed to the future of FolkFoods. We are right now working on production efficiency, finding a good layout and design person, web designer, and market/distribution person. It is all coming together. Any ideas that you all have, please do share! But more on the business when I write again (I look forward to having the time to begin writing at least weekly again after this weekend!)

For now, if you’ve been to the market in the last few weeks you may have noticed that we have been selling cups of the best darn Veggie Chili in the world. It really is, I am not exaggerating. Alas, I can not take credit for it (other than the fact that it uses our Veggie Crumble.) As the Fall drew closer, Shana and I were talking about how we could finish off the Market season with something new to keep people excited. We also wanted to highlight the Veggie Crumble because we have temporarily run out of the packages of Veggie Patties for sale (we are still doing sandwiches with them – the soon to be famous Ruby and the beloved Benny, and the On The Rise Bakery still has them on their menu, so don’t despair, friends!) Anyway, as we were talking, we found a crumpled note deep in our mailbox, a note that we hadn’t noticed ever before. Below is a copy of that note.

We hope that you will try out this recipe and share it with others. I think that it would make the old man proud!
(I have added some comments in a different color)

O.K., so I am sitting here in the mountain cabin, anticipating the arrival of the North winds. I remember the cold artic-like nights and frigid days. Hot coffee alone doesn’t help to start the old bones to uncurl. I rack what’s left of my mind and kinda remember an olde recipe. I rummaged thru the spice rack, veggie corner and see that all ingredients are available to fend off the future cold. Did I mention that I was going to cook a chili? No? Well that’s what I’m doing. . I recall that on one of my journeys to the south, I met a young couple, patty people or something. They were passionate, informed and had a lot of hair between the two of them. I bought some of their products and thought that they might fair well in a chili. Well, I found the Veggie Crumble and their Master Sauce. FolkFoods, yup that was the name. Nice folks too, they were. (Quiet yoda)

So here it is, Poppi Neshky’s New York Red Hot Chili. Try it and have fun, change it if you must and enjoy.

Ingredients:
· 1 large Vidalia onion or 2 medium onions (I actually used sweet yellow onions)
· 2 Italian frying peppers or 1 large green or red bell pepper (I used 2 small red and 2 small green Italian peppers and I roasted 1 of each of them)
· 4 to 5 cloves of garlic (I have to admit that I used almost an entire head, but it was a small one)
· 24oz of Veggie Crumble
· 40 oz of canned pureed tomatoes
· 30 oz of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
· Veggie soup stock- 1 cup
· 1 teaspoon of Master Sauce(add more to taste )
· 1 tablespoon of oregano(Mexican if you have it , make sure to grind it fine )
· 1 tablespoon of paprika (sweet or hot your call)
· 2 tablespoons of cumin(ground )
· 2 tablespoons of mild chili powder
· 1 tablespoon of chipotle powder
· 1 tablespoon of green chili powder (I couldn’t find this)
· (I added about ¼ a small bar of 70% dark chocolate)
· (I also added about ¼ tsp fresh ground cinnamon – not enough to make it cinnamon-y, but just enough to bring out the tomato flavors more strongly)
· (I was feeling frisky and added about a ½ tablespoon of maple syrup – it worked out well!)
· salt and pepper to taste
· 2 -15 oz cans of red kidney beans drained and rinsed
· 1 cup of corn niblets (optional) (I didn’t use this because I didn’t have any corn and I wasn’t liking yellow that day.)

Method:
1. Onion/ peppers/garlic can be diced, minced, rough cut (I prefer diced for better blending of stuff)
2. Take big chili pot/kettle and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and on a low flame, sauté onion/peppers/garlic until liquids start to ooze out.
3. Add all the spices above including the FolkFoods Master Sauce.
4. While that is happening take a sip of your favorite libation.
5. Add salt/pepper here.
6. Add 1 cup veggie stock here.
7. Take another sip and stir to blend, keeping a low flame.
8. Add all of the tomatoes here and stir around, smiling.
9. Heat all of this through until your kitchen starts smelling real nice, you start feeling really good and the sauce just begins to bubble.
10. Stir FolkFoods Veggie Crumble into pot, after 3 minutes, check the consistency (you might need more liquid, if so add water beer, wine or veggie stock. You might want it thicker and meatier, if so, than add more FolkFoods Veggie Crumble.
11. Cook for about 10 minutes on low flame.
(12. Add maple syrup, chocolate, and (taste first) more FolkFoods Master Sauce.)
12. Cook for another 10 minutes stirring often. Add the beans stirring gently. Cook for about 25 minutes.

Ready to serve. You can serve it alone (for the purists) or over rice with mild cheese, oyster crackers, or diced sweet onion. Goes well with cold beer, red zinfandel, shiraz, iced tea, etc.

Poppi Neshky

Good Things To Come!

2007-09-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!

I haven't forgotten to write, I haven't given up on electronic correspondence, and I haven't deleted you from our email list...

It has been a crazy summer. And the craziness continues. However, I would like to give a quick update and a wonderful recipe.

As some of you know, FolkFoods has been getting wonderful feedback all summer. In fact we can't keep production up with demand! We are sort of winding down a really successful farmers' market season; we have certainly accomplished our goal for the season. People are really happy about the product, we've gotten some notoriety (check out a cool article that refers to us), we've made some money, and we've got a strong foundation to move onward with the company.

Some of the great things that have been going on:

We are on the menu at the On The Rise Bakery in Richmond, VT. This place is yummy! Going there for dinner is the best part of our Friday evening Richmond Market "date".
We are working on an account with Fletcher Allen Health Care, the teaching hospital in Vermont. They are trying to focus on healthier, locally made products, and they served a Sloppy Joe made with our Veggie Crumble that was received so positively that the executive chef is already experimenting with other recipes for use on their menu! (I'll try to get the recipe for their Sloppy Joe - It was incredible.)
We are close to an option for making the Veggie Breakfast Patties in a more efficient manner. That way we are MUCH more likely to be able to start wholesale and shipping.
We may be looking for some part-time help later in the Fall, stay tuned...

Okay, there is probably more, but it is late and we have Burlington Market tomorrow morning very early. I did, however, promise an easy and amazing recipe, so here it is:

The Farmers' Market Master Sauce Dip

This dip has gotten rave reviews from farmers' market shoppes from Richmond to Burlington. Most people ask if we are selling the dip. We could, but that wouldn't be fair, it is too easy to make on your own.

1 block of cream cheese
1/4 cup of sour cream
a handful of sliced scallions
1 tablespoon of FolkFoods Master Sauce

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process on high until fully blended. There. You've done it! Great as a dip for parties for crackers, veggies, or pretzels and chips. It is also wonderful as a spread on sandwiches. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

(Sorry no picture today, I'll get back on the ball sometime soon!)

It's been awhile, I know.

2007-07-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

It is HOT. It is HUMID.
But it is not raining (yet).
The last two Fridays, we got rained on
during the Richmond Market. It is still
really quite fun to be there, though.
Please come by and say hello!

Anyway, It has been super crazy these days. Instead of blogging, we have been:

researching an industrial machine to produce larger amounts of patties (we can't keep up with demand, not a bad problem to have.)
providing Jars of Master Sauce to the Simpson's Movie premiere (That's right. We know that Homer likes the spice, well, he may be eating some Master Sauce straight out of the jar right now!)
working on recipe booklets for our products (coming soon, I hope)
improving the signs for our market booth
creating brochures and business cards
getting excited to try to start wholesaling in the fall (contact us if you have any leads!)

Well, I am supposed to be loading the truck for this evening's market, and I just wanted to send something out, as sort of a preview of what is coming. It may be a slower weekend for us though. We are out of patties! (Go back to the first bullet above.) So, it is a Crumble weekend. We are bringing out a new Crumble wrap: The Saucy! It is kid-friendly (tested and approved) and really comforting. Picture Veggie Crumble cooked in a savory tomato sauce, with tons of mozzarella cheese and then melted together in a 12" tortilla. YUM!

Since it is a Crumble weekend, I am going to leave you with a really fantastic recipe using Crumble. It is a little different, but since fresh local tomatoes will be coming out very soon, it is a perfect time to try it. Give it a try and let us know...

Vietnamese-Styled Tomato Sauce With FolkFoods Veggie Crumble

This recipe freezes really well, so make a lot! It really goes well over rice, or any other type of grain. Enjoy!

1 T vegetable oil

1 package FolkFoods Veggie Crumble

1 ½ T sugar

1 ½ T lime juice

2 Serrano chiles, chopped (or 1 T FolkFoods Master Sauce)

4 ½ T Vietnamese Fish Sauce (optional, kind of. Substitute Braggs Liquid Aminos or a good Soy Sauce, but it won’t be the same.)

¼ - ½ c chopped shallot or onion

4 cloves – 1 whole head of garlic (I like garlic!)

½ t ground black pepper

5 or 6 fresh local tomatoes chopped

¼ c tomato paste

1 ½ vegetable stock or prepared miso

Fresh coriander/cilantro for garnish

Heat over high heat, add sugar, lime juice, chiles, 1 ½ T fish sauce or Braggs. Heat through and add package of FolkFoods Veggie Crumble. Stir and mix flavors, heat through for approximately one minute. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
Heat the sauce pan to medium heat and add garlic, shallots and black pepper. Fry until onions are wilted and garlic is fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes cook down until the mix is reduced to a lumpy sauce. Approximately 5 minutes.
With heat still at medium, return the Crumble mixture to the pan, add tomato paste, remaining fish sauce or Braggs and vegetable stock. Simmer for at least 10 minutes.
BEST SERVED OVER RICE!!

Farmers' Markets

2007-06-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Hello !

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, we have been incredibly busy recently. It is a good problem, but we are having a difficult time keeping production up with the demand from markets! We've been really enjoying the markets and the feedback that we've been getting is truly exciting, inspiring and motivating. Once the website (www.folkfoods.com) is up and running, we're hoping to have a section for food stories and recipes. We'd love to hear what you are cooking and what kind of meals and traditions you share with your friends and loved ones. With that in mind, we would like to share some of the recipes that we use every week at the farmers' markets. But first, some pictures:

More pictures to come.

Below, I've copied a portion of the weekly newsletter that goes out to the Richmond community about their farmers' market. We were highlighted in the newsletter and we included two of our recipes. These recipes were designed and created over many nights of eating laughing and testing with our friends. Thanks everyone! Anytime you use Our Master Sauce, Veggie Crumbles, or Veggie Breakfast Patties in an interesting way with friends and family, we'd love to hear about it. (Even non-FolkFoods product meals, actually, we just like to hear about gatherings and festive meals!)

Come and Meet Shana and Jason, who are new vendors at the Richmond Farmers' Market....
FolkFoods is a small, Burlington-based company owned by Shana Witkin and Jason Frishman. Inspired by cooking and eating together with friends and family, they created FolkFoods to promote healthy fare that tastes great! FolkFoods products include:
* Veggie Crumble: A high protein alternative to ground meat, Veggie Crumble can be used in wide range of dishes. You can try samples of Veggie Crumble in tomato sauce and with taco seasoning at the Richmond Farmers' Market. A 12 oz. bag of Veggie Crumble replaces approximately 1 lb of ground meat.
* Veggie Breakfast Patties: FolkFoods Veggie Breakfast Patties are a healthy addition to breakfast, and make a great sandwich anytime of day. Each ingredient was selected to add both nutrition and flavor.
* Master Sauce: This spicy cooking and condiment sauce adds a unique blend of heat and sweet to any meal. Use it in sauces, wet rubs and marinades, stir-frys, soups, and dressings. It also makes a fabulous hot sauce.

Recipe for the FolkFoods Ruby, Vermont's answer to the traditional Reuben:
2 slices good hearty bread (We use Klinger's Whole Wheat sourdough)
French dressing (We make our own using mayonnaise, ketchup, Dijon mustard, garlic and a dash of FolkFoods Master Sauce) - spread on each bread slice
Thinly sliced local Vermont MacIntosh apples - layered on one slice of bread
Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded - layered thickly over the apples
2 FolkFoods Veggie Breakfast Patties, pan fried until browned on both sides - placed on top of the cheese
A generous portion of traditionally made, lacto-fermented sauerkraut (We use Flack Family Farm's)
Put the sandwich together, and place on a heated and lightly oiled frying pan. Use another frying pan or sandwich press to weight the sandwich down, and heat until nicely browned. Flip and repeat. Cut and eat!

Recipe for FolkFoods Taco Seasoned Veggie Crumble:
First, make the taco seasoning:
2 tablespoons Chili powder
2 tablespoons Onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (or more) teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons flour (we use oat flour because it is healthier than wheat flour)
Mix dry ingredients together and stir into:
2 teaspoons Vermont maple syrup
1/4-1/2 cup of your favorite flavored liquid (we've used veggie stock, dark beer, tomato soup, and blended salsa)
Slowly mix taco seasoning into a package of FolkFoods Veggie Crumble until it reaches your desired level of spiciness.

Thanks!
-Jason and Shana

Eat Well. Eat Together.

Guest Writer! Using Master Sauce

2007-06-10T08:47:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday! This morning, I will be testing a new process for the Veggie Breakfast Patties. They are selling really well, and we can't keep up with our current process. I guess that is a good problem, but it is certainly a little stressful. Anyway, I am also hoping to make a HUGE pot of fish stock (Remember stock? There will be a post about all of those kitchen scraps that some of you have been saving and freezing. Very soon. I promise.) I'd also like to write a lot about the markets; they have been wonderfully successful. We've been told that there is a 'buzz' about FolkFoods. So a post and pictures about all of that is on its way.

In lieu of that post, though, I am going to post something that our good friend Jenn wrote for us awhile ago. We are hoping that Jenn will write a regular column once we get the website up and running. She is a creative and adventurous cook who has used and consumed more Master Sauce than anyone, including Shana and I. Her cooking displays how it is a master sauce, rather than just a hot sauce. (Jenn, I have an extra large jar for you, waiting on our dining table!)

How FolkFoods Master Sauce Saved My Culinary Ass

It was a busy time in my life: I had just started graduate school, and I lived 35 minutes outside of town. Food, although it’s always been high on my priority list, had taken a backseat to other things because of schoolwork, the demands of a long commute, and the lack of a nearby grocery. I had become, against my will, a habit-cook. I could prepare a meal on autopilot, as long as I had all the old standby ingredients on hand. Take away my frozen flour tortillas and pre-cooked chicken sausages, and I’d freak. It was a slow change: the slide from culinary adventurer to kitchen bore was almost imperceptible day to day. But one day I realized that I had to break away from the endless variations of leftover-packed quesadillas and uninspired, whatever’s-in-the-fridge pasta sautés. One night, I stared down at my plate of penne with random vegetables in white wine garlic sauce and said, “I can’t eat this stuff anymore.” My partner breathed a sigh of relief. Turns out, he’d come to this epiphany weeks before, but kept his feelings to himself for fear that I’d take offense and stop cooking altogether. “What do we do now?” we asked each other. For a week, we survived on cereal and peanut butter-slathered crackers. And then, that weekend, there was a miracle.

We were throwing a barbeque potluck, and Jason showed up with a small jar of a dark, rich brown something. “I want you guys to taste my newest creation,” he said. “It’s FolkFoods Master Sauce.” He called it “master sauce” because, while it had a spicy kick, the complexity of the flavor made its potential uses much more diverse than your typical hot sauce. After I placed that first tentative dollop on the tip of my tongue, I knew my problems were solved. Jason’s master sauce spun me out of my culinary doldrums. Soon I was putting it in everything from scrambled eggs to vegetable stir-fry. It even resurrected my good old whatever-I-find-in-the-fridge pasta sauté. (I have yet to get bored of my old standby a second time.) So I want to share the miracle with all of you: In an ongoing column, I’m going to share exciting and surprising ways to use FolkFoods master sauce to breathe life into your own cooking.

My first suggestion: Fish! Fish of any kind. (You’re only limited by your geographical location, your own personal taste, your moral stance on industry practices, and environmental and health concerns about fish farming.) I do two things with master sauce to liven up fish dishes: With flaky, thin fish fillets like tilapia, I smother the fillets with about a tablespoon of master sauce each, and then I dredge the fillets in a mix of rice flour and salt. Then I fry them in an oil and butter mix. It’s good with slices of lime on the side. You can use regular flour if you don’t have rice flour; the only difference is that rice flour is lighter and makes for a crispier coating on the fish. With thicker, steaky fish like mahi-mahi, I squeeze some lime juice on the fish and then slather it with master sauce. At this point, I either grill the fish or broil it. Something happens to the master sauce when it’s exposed to the intense dry heat: it gets condensed and extra savory, creating a yummy coating on the outside of the fish. If you happen to think of it, marinating the fish steaks for a little before cooking while will help infuse more of the master sauce flavors into the fish. And by the way, I once heard Mark Bittman, author of the invaluable tome How to Cook Everything, reveal in a radio interview that marinating any meat for longer than 20 minutes is completely unnecessary. So there! Victory for the spontaneous, discombobulated cooks of the world!

(Jason's Note: That isn't actually Jenn. That is another good friend of ours, Rebecca. I wanted to put a picture into this post and fish seemed appropriate. Rebecca and her partner Chapin have helped to organize a local fish share for a few of us, where we get fresh, sustainably grown fish every other week. We are slowly learning to clean and fillet fish. As for now, Chapin gets the patience award; I generally wind up just hacking away. Either way, we have wonderful fish to accompany the Master Sauce!)

Information about Richmond Farmers' Market

2007-06-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

We just got this email about the upcoming Richmond Farmers' Market. I think that it is going to be a really exciting time. (And a completely different experience than the Burlington Market. I will be sharing pictures and writing about sometime this week, I promise.) Anyway, if you have the time and want to come hang out by the river, please come by and say hello!

(And if you come to either the Burlington or Richmond markets, you really should try our Ruby Sandwich. It is the most amazing mixture of flavors.)

ARE YOU READY FOR JUNE 8th? Buy Local, Buy Fresh.

Welcome and celebrate the coming of the summer season at the Richmond Farmers' Market. The Market will be held every Friday starting June 8th through October 12th from 3:00 to 6:30 surrounding the bandstand on beautiful Volunteers Green. Come and meet your Local Growers and Buy Local.

Are you craving fresh local produce and meats? Eugenie Doyle from The Last Resort will bring asparagus, eggs, garlic, and "greens" such as chives. She will also have some jam and pickles and maybe spinach and rhubarb. Ted Sargeant from Still At It Farm will have lettuce, radishes, rhubarb, maple candy, quick bread and creamed honey. Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting from Maple Wind Farm will have frozen cuts of grass fed beef and lamb, as well as, organic pastured pork and eggs. They will have summer sausage while supplies last and there will sure to be hamburgers and sausages on the grill. Yum!

Has it been a while since you have had some fresh out-of-the-oven homemade bread, cookies or pie and graced your table with fresh cut flowers? Don't forget, Father's Day is right around the corner. This year the Market will have an even larger variety of fresh local produce, meats, prepared foods, flowers, plants, crafts and entertainment for the whole family. All products available at the Market are locally grown, baked or made.

The following special events are free of charge and are all supported by our local Farmers' Market vendors, businesses, families and agencies.

On June 8th - The opening day of the Richmond Farmers' Market will feature Ted Sargeant's Tractor Day. Hop aboard a kid-friendly vintage tractor. Ted will bring his collection of pedal and garden tractors. Thank you Ted! From 4:00 to 5:00 the talented Kelly King will return to the Market to paint faces. Get a new look with one of her whimsical, artistic creations. Also, tickets for the June 8th charity bingo at the Richmond Elementary School that evening will be on sale. Proceeds will benefit the Community Camp.

On June 15th - The Market will host Vermontica the calf and Dairy Day. Vermontica loves all the attention she will get. Stop by for some free milk and giveaways, thanks to the Department of Agriculture. Vermontica will share the stage from 3:00 to 4:00 with face painter Kelly King. Get a new look with one of her whimsical, artistic creations.

On June 22nd - Bill Myregaard and Joe Carlomagno, aka, Dark Star Duo will join us on stage from 4:30 to 5:30. Dark Star is a talented acoustic duo who play folk and Grateful Dead related songs. In addition they also play tunes from Lowell George, Kingfish, Bob Dylan, and Old And In The Way. You may hear songs such as; Cassidy, China Doll, Willin' and I Shall Be Released. Later on in the season you will again see Bill Myregaard, a member of the Willoughbys; a four piece band playing music from the American landscape. The Richmond Area Business Association is sponsoring this event. Thank you RABA!

On June 29th - The Richmond Farmers' Market will welcome back the ever-popular Rebecca Padula. She is a folk singer/songwriter, with a hint of jazz and will play on stage from 4:30 to 5:30. Her beautiful voice and harmonizing guitar will accompany her and wow the crowd. Attorney David Sunshine and Jon Fath, owner of Toscano Café Bistro are sponsoring this event. Thank you David and Jon!

For further information or questions about the Richmond Farmers' Market, contact Carol Mader at 434-5273 or cmader@surfglobal.net.

Also…………….. We need your help to spread the word about the following special event - "Donate Your "CROP" of Hair at the Richmond Farmers' Market to Benefit Cancer Victims and Research"

July 27th – On stage from 3:00 to 4:30 Denise Barnard and her team of talented hair designers from Bridge Street Hair, Inc. will sponsor a fundraiser for cancer victims and research. Starting at 3:00 they will be donating their time and expertise by giving free haircuts and a new look to those who are willing to donate their long hair (over 8 inches) to Locks of Love and Wigs for Kids. This hair will be used to create hairpieces and be given to those undergoing cancer treatment. If you know anyone willing to donate their long locks, please contact Denise Barnard at 434-2220 to register and schedule a style consultation. After the longer locks have been harvested, they will give free haircuts to the general public, with the cost of the cut and donations going to benefit cancer research.

On stage from 4:45 to 5:30, the HIMS will perform. The HIMS are a 'cutting edge' men's group from Huntington Community Church. The name HIMS was given to the group after first performing on Mother's Day many years ago and means Huntington's Incredible Men Singers. Let your hair down and enjoy the harmony.

Burlington Farmers' Market

2007-06-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

Good Evening! I hope your day went well (and if you are in Vermont that you didn't get too wet in the thunderstorm!)

We finished unpacking the truck right before the storm came and were able to sit on the porch and watch the lightning. We were able to watch it right until the big monsoon-like droplets of rain began to blow us over and into the house.

Anyway, we are tired. Tired and happy actually. This was our second time at the Burlington Farmers' Market and it was a fantastic success! We had a lot of fun and talked to some great people and sold a lot of stuff.

If we spoke to you today, please let us know, getting feedback from people really helps us to stay motivated. Also, we would love to hear how people are cooking up their Master Sauce, Veggie Breakfast Patties and Veggie Crumble. Sharing food and stories is somewhat of a passion of ours. We will eventually be offering recipes here, our website (www.folkfoods.com - right now it is in need of some serious work) and at our market table. I will also post some great pictures from last week when we had a ton of helpers for our grand opening at the market. (Thanks everyone!)

I am too tired to write more right now, but once again, thanks to everyone who bought sampled or even smiled at us today. Eat well and eat together!

Stuffed Buns (Steamed or Baked)

2007-05-28T10:41:00.001-05:00

This recipe is time consuming, but worth the effort (and a lot of fun if you want to impress your friends and you have some extra time on your hands.) In my opinion, making the time for something like this is generally a good idea. Put some good music on, gather in the kitchen with some friends, and have a good time - it's more rewarding than TV and cheaper than a movie. What could be better?

These buns can be steamed or baked. They're delicious either way, but the taste of each is quite different. This evening, I baked them because I thought they would go well with the soup Susan was making. The filling can be quite varied. The original recipe calls for spiced pork or sweet adzuki bean fillings. I have used cheese, mushrooms and broccoli, Veggie Crumble (of course), and black beans, garlic, onion and cilantro.

Make the filling:
As I mentioned before, this is where you can get creative. Here is what I have been doing recently:

1 12 oz. package Veggie Crumble

1can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 white onion, chopped small
2-4 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
2-10 cloves of garlic, minced (and about a thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped small, if you want)
1-3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
1-6 tablespoons of FolkFoods Master Sauce (or a chili garlic hot sauce of your choice)
1-3 tablespoons of maple syrup
1-3 tablespoons of rice wine and rice vinegar

(The amounts are not precise - I base my measurements on what I have in the house, who will be eating with us, how lazy I am feeling, etc.)

Heat a wok, frying pan, pot, whatever and add about 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add onion and stir until softened. Add the garlic and stir around till it is perfect. How do you know if it is perfect? Whenever you are tired of stirring that stuff around and the kitchen smells really nice, it is perfect. Add the Veggie Crumble and drained beans and stir to get them all mixed around with the garlic and onions. (You can mash the beans a little bit if you want, only if you want.)

Stir in all of the rest of the ingredients and turn up the heat a little. Stir in the liquids slowly until you get the consistency that you want. How do you know when it's at the correct consistency? Practice. Your filling is now complete.

Make the Sweet Bread Dough:

(This dough can really be used for a lot of different things; I once had leftovers and made onion bialys - they weren't totally authentic, but they were tasty!)
1 envelope active dry yeast
3 Tbsp sugar
1 c warm milk (can use soymilk)
1 egg
1/3 c veg oil
3 1/2 c flour + more for kneading

1. Put the yeast and 1 Tbsp sugar in a small bowl and add 1/4 cup warm milk. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir (it should foam and bubble). Stir in egg, oil and the rest of the milk.

2. Put the flour and the rest of sugar in a food processor. While processing, slowly pour milk mixture into the bowl in a steady stream until it forms a rough dough ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl (if its too wet, then add more flour, c'mon.) Remove to a lightly floured board.

3. Knead dough, dusting as needed, until smooth and elastic (roughly about 2 minutes). Put in a large oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise for an hour until doubled, punch it down. Put on floured surface. Rest for a minute, this is supposed to be fun, don't neglect your friends; give them something to do and to eat or drink.

4. Cut the dough in half. Roll each half into a 12" log and cut into 10 pieces. Press each piece down into approximately a 4" circle, with the outside thinner than the inside. Fill!

Filling the Buns:

Filling the buns is a fun activity to share with friends. For you email recipients, here is a short video about how to fill your buns. Or, just watch below:

After filling the buns, put them on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees (although I am basically making those times and that temperature up - I can't really remember the exact time and that sounds close enough. Take out the buns when they are nicely browned on top, that should work.) OR put them in a bamboo steaming tray over boiling water and steam for about 25 minutes.

They are really good! If I can remember, I will post a generic dipping sauce sometime in the future. (Or you can just dip the steamed buns in your friend's soup!)

R&D: Repetitive and Disasterous?

2007-05-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

This is a FolkFoods business update.

It has a happy ending, so stick with me, ok?

(Because it certainly was difficult for us to get through to the silver lining.)

We went to the Venture Center a few weeks ago, excited and prepared to produce 80 pounds of Veggie Breakfast Patties. This was a major step for us, as we would now have "stock". [We would also know the size of the patties and could move forward with ordering the packaging, printing the labels and getting ready for market.] Now, I was a little anxious for this, as we were still not exactly sure about the process that we were going to use for our patties.

Let me back up a little and explain (which means, "Please allow me to divulge all sort of little details that only a few people would care about, but I feel compelled to share.") The original patty recipe called for shaping the batter/dough into a log, wrapping the log in parchment paper and aluminum foil, and then steaming for about 90 minutes. We want to sell the patties in the freezer section, so logs aren't good for freezing whole and we don't have a way to efficiently and consistently slice 80+ pounds of patty logs. So, we make them directly into patties. That works, right? Well, right, but not easily. Big question: how do we get them into consistent, professional looking patties on a mass produced (small batch) scale? And will doing that change the texture or integrity of the patty? After lots of questions and numerous batches of home cooked patties, we found a process that worked. New question: how to replicate the process in a mass produced way at the Venture Center?

We went to the Venture Center prepared to use a machine called the filler. Long story short, well, it didn't work and we got a VERY intricate, delicate machine VERY clogged up and messy. The batter/dough was too thick for the filler (it is generally used to fill jars of sauce and stuff.) Our second attempt was with a machine called the Pucker. (Yup, we made a lot of rhyming jokes.) Anyway, our dough/batter was too thin for the pucker, as you can see here:
(For those of you getting this in email, you can check it out here.)

So, the Pucker didn't work. I REALLY wanted that pucker to work. In theory, it was supposed to make perfect little pucks in perfect round little shapes, all ready for baking. The problem? The patty mixture was too thick for the Filler and too thin for the Pucker. Puck Me! Anyway, the only solution that came to mind was to either thin it down or thicken it up. Remember that I REALLY wanted to use the Pucker, right? So we decided to thicken it up. With what? Lots and lots of Vital Wheat Gluten. So, now we have 95 pounds of dough that is quickly becoming more and more dense as the wheat gluten does its stuff (it gets denser.) And guess what? It still didn't work in the Pucker! So it's getting late in the afternoon, tension is high and we come up with the final, genius idea of the day:
(Again, you email recipients, check these out here and here.)

We look pretty excited here, right? Those patties look great right? We returned the very next morning to bake those patties. (It took a long time to hand cut 625 patties!)

That's Shana and our dear friend Becky (remember Becky, we'll get back to her) right before they went on a LONG run (they are marathon training!) They put the 31 sheet pans into the ovens, quite excited to go on their run and return to fresh baked, perfectly cute, perfectly round FolkFoods Veggie Patties. I stayed at the center to clean up, and take care of some other stuff. Well, when the patties were done, Shana and Becky had still not returned. I took a little taste. Well, they didn't suck. But their consistency had completely changed! The taste was still good, but so not right. I was more than a little bummed. Two days and lots of ingredients, and we had 625 patties that we wouldn't sell. Andy, is this what you referred to when you said to make sure that we had done all of our R&D?

So I was devastated. Really. Then, I receive a call from Shana and Becky who are on their way back from their LONG run. They are excited to eat some patties, and I almost cry. Becky, a true Renaissance woman, goes directly into 'fix-it' mode. After a lot of brainstorming, she looks at us and says, "Is there any reason that the patties have to be Round?" No! Square patties make more sense from a production standpoint, there's no wasted space on the sheet pan, no worries about perfect little round patties, and hey, it's kind of unique, which sometimes sells. Brilliant!

I went home and we experimented, and tested and ate a lot of patties. And, to end this long story, we succeeded! Our patties are square. Last weekend when we went in for Veggie Crumble production (which was a complete success), we tested a batch of patties on a sheet pan in the convection oven. They were fantastic; the texture and taste were just right! Check it out (here):

So, that's the Patty story. Becky saves the day.

Soon I will post a picture of the coolest tool that we are going to use to cut the patties into perfectly uniform shapes! Anyway, after all of that R&D, we have an even better process and a better product. I just wish we had figured it out earlier in the process!

For those of you who have read this far, thanks! There will be a really good recipe coming up later in the week, and we have two weeks to get everything ready for our first Farmers' Market!

This Just In - Guest Author

2007-05-14T05:55:00.000-05:00

My sister recently took some Veggie Crumble home for experimentation. She shared her success with us in the form of a recipe and pictures:

We are definitely meat eaters. My husband has to have protein - whatever kind it is. I happen to love everything that my brother cooks (with the exception of mistake soups - but thats for another day). So when he told us about the Veggie Crumble, we had to try it. To add into the mix, we keep a kosher house. Which, in a nutshell, means that we do not mix milk and meat. For example, a lasagna would be only cheese, no meat added. No Parmesan cheese on spaghetti and meatballs, no cheese on meat sandwiches, etc. So I was very excited to experiment with the Crumble. Not only was this the first time using the Veggie Crumble, but my first time making lasagna. Here's how it works:

Veggie Crumble Lasagna

Ingredients:
Veggie Crumble
Onion
Olive Oil - I like Exra Virgin
Salt/pepper
Garlic
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese - 1 pack, I used part-skim
Ricotta Cheese - 1 container
Lasagna noodles - I used the no-boil ones, takes out 1 step
Fresh Basil (there is nothing better then fresh herbs)
Parmesan cheese

How to:

1. Chop up onion. In a pot, sauté with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. You add the salt here to release the juices from the onion - you want liquid for the crumble. Once the onions are translucent, add the crumble. I used 1½ cups. Next time I would use 2 or 3 cups, depending on how 'meaty' you like it. (remember, husband - meat eater). You can add about a teaspoon of water here, just to make some more liquid and hydrate the crumble. Once the crumble is fully mixed in with the onions, add tomato sauce, about 2 jars.

2. Build Lasagna. Don't worry here, you can't mess it up. I thought I could - but you can't! Start with a layer of the sauce. Then add the noodles. Then add the ricotta, then the mozzarella. If you love basil, you can put some full leaves in here. Then sauce, then noodle and repeat again. When you get to the top, cover with sauce and tons of mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese - extra yummy. Then you can call it '3 Cheese Crumble Lasagna'. Make sure it has enough sauce, I ran out of sauce, added a little water to the lasagna tray and pushed it down.

3. Bake in oven at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour. Don't be too caught up with numbers, measurements or times, just enjoy - It's delicious!!!

Serve with a great salad, yummy crusty bread and some good wine.

**Note from Jason: my parents, my brother-in-law, and my sister's in-laws all loved this lasagna. I am secretly hoping that my sister froze a piece for me (or at the very least will cook it the next time that she comes to visit.) More guest authors and recipes are coming along as well!

**Also, as soon as I get a chance, there are a lot of updates about the business - we've got some cool videos and stuff...

Quick Request

2007-05-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

Here is a quick and easy way to get involved with FolkFoods. We are planning on giving out a BUNCH of recipes at the Farmers' Markets.
(UPDATE: We are going to be selling at the Burlington and Richmond Farmers' Markets - but more on that in the next post, too busy tonight.)
And this is where you come in: We'd like your recipes! Any of your favorite recipes using ground meat.

These can be simple, like a quick and easy meat sauce or intricate and complex, like, well, something intricately complex. I don't know. If it incorporates ground meat, send it it. We will see how well it works using our Veggie Crumble and if we like it, then it goes onto an index card or into the cookpamphlet. And... There will be some sort of prize if we choose your recipes. I don't know what kind of prize yet, because I don't know what kind of results I am going to get from this post. But it will certainly be worth the time it takes to type a recipe!

Oh yeah, and do it soon, Farmers' Markets start in a couple of weeks!

You can post recipes as a comment or email us at:

folkfoods@gmail.com

Crumbles for dinner:

And Crumbles for breakfast:

Moving Right Along

2007-04-17T20:26:00.000-05:00

OK, so this is a blog about our company, FolkFoods. And the company is really about people and community and good food and all of the benefits of bringing these things together. Most of our recent posts have been about food and gatherings and such, but what about the business??

Starting a business is time consuming. It is stressful and resource consuming. It is also a lot of fun. I think it's cool that we have to make decisions about what size packaging to use or how much Veggie Crumble we think should be in each package, "to feed a family of four." More and more, it is requiring that Shana and I work together to guess at the best answer to those questions. Thankfully, we are getting a lot of help and support from Brian at the Vermont Food Venture Center. That guy knows a lot about the food business!

Last week, we officially went into production! We now have samples of all three products! (And most importantly, we know that the large scale version of our recipes work) Our products: Veggie Crumble, Veggie Breakfast Patties, and MasterSauce (A Spicy Cooking Sauce and Condiment). More on these as time goes by, but I can tell you that they are excellent, versatile, healthy, and really good. (Approved by our meat-eating and veggie friends alike.)

Some of you know how fond I am of the household immersion hand blender (I use it often, sometimes for Kefir Smoothies!). Well in the picture above, I got to use the mother of all immersion blenders! So freakin' cool! Shana, well, she got to play with A LOT of garlic!

There on the left, that's Brian, our food expert! He's showing us how to use and calibrate a filler (that's a simple name for a very complicated machine). Yes, you may have guessed it, that big conical stainless steel thing-ama-jig is now holding many, many pounds of FolkFoods MasterSauce. On your right, you will find both Shana and I hot-packing the MasterSauce into jars. We made 12 cases! Product? We got Product!

Well, that's about it for now. But, first, here's a little look into the beginning process of FolkFoods MasterSauce:

Country Folk, City Folk

2007-04-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

Asher, Tamara and Eran!

Welcome to Vermont!

My sister, her husband and their 3 month old son (Tamara, Eran and Asher) have come to visit! They drove up from New York City on Friday and we've been talking late into the night and eating ever since! (And of course spending a lot of time cuddling and cooing over Asher!)

It has been really fun sharing my Vermont family with my New York family. On Saturday night most of us got together for a pizza fest and baby-filled evening of conversation and laughter. It was Awesome. I learned something, however. I have no idea how to cook for a specific number of people. We had 8 adults and we made enough food for at least 12 (which isn't an altogether bad thing, I now have 2 whole frozen pizzas ready for the next time!)

Tamara and Eran tried some FolkFoods products for the first time as well. I used some of our Veggie Crumble on the pizza, and it was a big hit! To be honest, it is a big thing to me that both Tamara and Eran were such fans; they are veggie friendly, but are certainly bonified meat eaters. They raved about the crumble. So much so, in fact, that we decided to experiment and try to replicate one of Eran's mother's recipes, which is a sort of Turkish, middle-eastern spiced ground meat baked roll-up. On Sunday night we made two of these roll-ups (recipe to follow in the next short post) and did a side-by-side comparison of the crumble version and the ground beef version. We fed 8 adults and all of them loved the Crumble version (3 even claimed that it was better than the ground meat!) I am becoming more and more confident in our FolkFoods products and our vision. After the weekend that we've just had, I am so excited to share recipes, community, experience and practical strategies with people!

Oh, and before I finish this post, I have a new endorsement that I would like to share with you:

Stay tuned for:

- More from our Urban Family! (Perhaps a guest blogger?)

- More Recipes

- Major Business Updates

- Making and Using Stock (Have you been saving your scraps?)

- Reading Suggestions!

Small Steps to a Food Revolution

2007-04-11T21:51:00.001-05:00

Hey there! Remember this picture from awhile back?
I had asked people to give a guess as to what it was and its importance.
Well, guesses were abundant. The two main guesses were compost or soup stock.
In some ways, both answers were correct.
Its importance, however, was never mentioned.
It is quite important. Read on, please.

Making stock is a small revolutionary act. Raise your hand proudly if it is something that is already a part of your kitchen process! I am sometimes amazed at the lack of people who do not make stock. It is easy, time-efficient, crazy frugal, healthy, and adds such a depth to all of the rest of one's cooking! But why revolutionary, you may be asking??

Increasingly, prepared and pre-packaged foods are being used by families and individuals who cannot or will not take the time to cook meals from whole foods. This is not a judgment, it is an unfortunate (in my opinion) result of the culture in which we live. Preparing meals with and for one's family is placed on the back-burner. Other activities have replaced the centrality of the dinner table, the hearth, and the kitchen in general. I feel that this is an unfortunate turn of events for a number of reasons that I won't go into right now (this would become way too long of a post!)

I feel that I must mention one Consequence of the decreasing amount of traditional home cooking. The distance that is being created between people and the food they eat is growing exponentially! I just read a great quote from the book, Coming Home To Eat, by Gary Paul Nabhan, that said something like, "Most people today who eat poultry, beef or pork have never actually met a chicken, cow or pig"! (The book is absolutely fantastic, more on that in a later post, I actually want to quote about 2/3 of the introduction!!) Increasingly, individuals and families have no idea at all about where food comes from, how it gets to their table, and with what processes it has gone through to be presented as beautifully as it needs to be in the supermarket. Meat does NOT come beautifully packaged on Styrofoam trays! Fish fillets do NOT simply separate from their bodies, ready for poaching! (I know, I just gutted two fresh tilapia this evening, what an ordeal!) Vegetables, do NOT grow without blemishes, irregularities, dirt and decay! I think that the further that we move from our food source the less connected that we become with one another and our communities. There are people who kill, clean, butcher, fillet, and care for meat and fish. There are people who spend hours of time caring, growing, and harvesting vegetables. (I hope to highlight some of the local individuals who do these things. They are real and they work HARD!)

Anyway, this has gone way off topic from stock and compost!

And I am tired. So I have a request to make. Bear with me. Read over this rant and see what it may bring to mind for you. Post a comment about it. Maybe you'll help me to organize my thoughts around this topic and write more coherently in the future! But also, from now until next week sometime, I ask one thing. Every time that you do cook something, be it vegetable or animal, save the scraps (separate bags for vegetable and animal, please) If you are cutting up an onion or some garlic, the ends and the skins can go into a bag. If you are peeling some vegetable, those peels can go right into the bag. If you have some chicken, fish or steak the bones can go into a bag. Keep the bags in the freezer in between cooking times. You can put fresh scraps right into the bag with frozen ones. Try it, please. For one week. Maybe two. I will get back to stock and its revolutionary power. I will suggest some cool ideas for using stock.It will be worth it, I promise. (As a notes though, you might want to keep broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and other cabbages in a separate bag altogether. I'll tell you about that in 1-2 weeks.)

Thanks for the indulgence. It has been a long week.

Sharing

2007-03-31T06:29:00.001-05:00

This whole blog thing is pretty nifty.

And I started thinking about them when I first subscribed to my friend Lee's blog.
At first, she was my friend Matt's girlfriend. Since then, though, she's become my friend and Matt's fiance (as well as my blogspiration - I just made that up. Yeah, it's dumb, I know)
Matt, by the way is nicknamed Beef, although I like to call him Tofu. Just thought that you'd want to know.
As of yet, I know of no nicknames for Lee. I am going to start working on that right now.

So, Lee has this engaging and entertaining blog that I've been reading for awhile now. She is a great writer, and takes some fun pictures as well. Her blog is, well, a little slice of her life. It is a really cool way to keep up with what's going on within the worldofLee. WorldLee. Nice. Anyway, you should all go and check out her blog! She turned me on to feedburner.com, which is the site that allows some of you to get this through email. It also has lots of great statistics about who has checked out your site. If everyone goes to her blog from the link below, and then browses around some of her posts, then Lee will think that I am about as cool as I think she is. (By the way the link below is a blog entry about FolkFoods!

http://eatheat.blogspot.com/2007/03/patty-cake.html

Okay, I have heard a lot about Lee and Beef (Leef?) and their cooking adventures. There is some mention of them in her blog. So I have another idea for an interactive moment. (By the way, I will be following up about the picture that I mentioned awhile ago, it was a vegetable stock.) Anyway, the interactivity:

** What is the meal/food that you most enjoy cooking and serving to other people?

So here is how this works. If you have a blog (LEE, JENN, SUSAN, JOHN, soon to be ANDY and TAMARA) then post that on your blog as an entry. (Challenge-by-Choice, of course) Include whatever you want and be as extensive as you'd like, include the recipe if you want, or not. Others without blogs, feel free to join in and add to this entry as a comment. I hope to link all of these ideas to the blog and perhaps we can get a nice good list of recipes, food stories, comfort food, whatever to share! (See, Lee really is a blogspiration - err...that really is a dumb word.)

FolkFoods Business Update

2007-03-28T06:39:00.001-05:00

Here's a really quick update on the FolkFoods business. What you see above is Shana and I holding our recently acquired LLC certificate. That's right folks! We are officially the owners of a limited liability corporation. FolkFoods, LLC.

(We have no stock yet. We do have three products that we are going to be producing and a site where we are going to produce them. We are still working on the label. We are a bit closer to getting accepted to farmer's markets this summer. We have an accountant. We have a lot of excitement. We have 32 subscribers to this blog! We want more. We still have nothing up on our website. We don't have our booth ready for the farmer's markets. We have some great ideas for prepared sandwiches that we will serve at the farmer's markets in addition to our products. We have no idea what we are going to charge for all of this stuff. We have applied for a million dollar liability insurance policy. We are working on getting a health department certificate to sell prepared food at the markets. We don't have the perfect packaging yet. We are filled with excitement.)

Wow. Well, there is a lot to come!

Old Man Stout Cake. Really.

2007-03-15T22:34:00.000-05:00

look at this cake! just look at it! well, don't just look at it. look at it, please, while imagining that i have incredible amazing fantabulous genius mad photography skills. because this is really one of the yummiest, most unique, and phenomenally wonderful pieces of cake that has ever existed. i am serious. i am so serious that i posted two pictures. i ate two pieces as well! (well not really, but my piece was pretty big.)

and there's an interesting (subjective) story to the cake. i came home after a particularly long and emotionally trying day at work, excited to go and meet with these wonderful women about the art for our logo/label (a magical encounter, indeed! - more on that next week) and while i am sitting down, having a moment, shana walks in carrying a container with, you guessed it, cake! "save it for later, after we get back, to celebrate," she says. so we go, meet and talk and dream and visualize verbalizations and eat thin mints. ideas get shared and we love them all. shana and i come home excited, renewed, and joyously tired. we sit down to cake. john made this cake. synchronicitously, we looked up and it was midnight. my birth-day and we are eating cake! pretty random, but not really. jenn and john gave shana the cake, and now it has become a birth-day cake. celebrate good times, come on! really. {shana wanted me to take this out. i refused.}

and the back story (there's always a back story). a main ingredient of this cake is Old Man Stout, a home brewed partial mash oatmeal stout brewed by john and i for his birth-day. we initiated him into the sacred rites of fermentation and introduced him to my personal fermentation god, affectionately called, 'The Yeastie Beastie'. john took to brewing quite well. he also took my keg and CO2 tank to his house; leaving me with a keg and no pressure. oh well. he did make cake! Here is the Old Man himself:

Here is the recipe:

Gingerbread layer cake with candied pistachios (from The Bon Appetit Cookbook)

For the cake:
1 cup dark beer 1 cup molasses (I used the darkest I had)
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 2 cups all porpoise flour
2 Tbsp ground ginger (yes, 2 tablespoons!) 1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
3 large eggs ½ cup white sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar 1 Tbsp minced ginger
¾ cup vegetable oil (you MUST use this much to make the cake as moist as possible!)

For the cream cheese frosting:
1 8-ounce pack of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
¾ Tbsp finely grated orange peel, but I think you could use more
2 cups powdered sugar

For the Candied Pistachios:
(I didn’t make this, but it is in the recipe)
1 cup finely chopped pistachios
1 Tbsp light corn syrup 2 Tbsp sugar

For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 8-inch diameter cake pans. Bring stout and molasses to boil in heavy saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Let stand 1 hour to cool completely.

Whisk flour and next 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk eggs and both sugars in bowl to blend. Whisk in oil, then stout mixture. Gradually whisk stout-egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir in fresh ginger.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely.

For candied pistachios: Preheat oven to 325. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Mix pistachios and corn syrup in medium bowl. Add sugar and toss to coat. Working quickly so sugar doesn’t melt, spread pistachios on prepared baking sheet. Bake until pistachios are pale golden, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

For cream cheese frosting: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and orange peel in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. (Lee, your post is coming.This is a subliminal message.)Chill frosting 30 minutes.Place 1 cake layer, rounded side up, on platter. Spread frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, rounded side up, and spread frosting. Top with third cake layer, flat side up. Spread sides and top of cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle top with candied pistachios.

A Fermentation Prayer:
!Hear us, Yeastie Beastie, oh, mystical yet understandable, rotter of creation, breather of the bubbling fire liquids, and bring us to boil. Infect our controlled rots with pleasant and ever so sensual, mundanely furious and particularly astute spirits. Cake from home brew. thanks ever so much!

A Marathon Breakfast, Part II

2007-03-15T22:13:00.001-05:00

Previously, on a very special, "A Marathon Breakfast, Part I":

Andy and I were cooking. Lots of people were running. They were going to be very hungry. Andy and I were very tired, but getting effectively and efficiently caffeinated.
The menu was awesome.

I made a French Toast Bread Pudding, which I've made before. It is really easy, and amazingly good. Try it! After the picture, I copied down the recipe that Christine Lavin personally handed to me during one of her concerts. (She handed copies to everyone in the audience; I'm not that special. Actually, though, I did get to go up on stage and sing a song with her...) If you don't know Christine Lavin, certainly go and check her out here! My comments are in green.

"This recipe came from a lovely woman in the audience at my concert in Dallas, Texas. I never got her name -- but thank you, whoever you are!
Takes only 15 minutes to prepare the night before (I do it that morning about 1 hour before)

Challah (or brioche or french bread or regular white) (No!No!NO! I say that it must be challah.)
7 Eggs (or 8 -- you just can't mess up this recipe!)
2 1/2 cups 2% milk (or regular milk if you are skinny) (Or real raw milk, if you are smart!)
1/2 cup sugar (No...that just isn't right. Use Maple Syrup! between 1/4 and 1/2 cup, depending on how gluttonous you are feeling!)
2 teaspoons vanilla (the good stuff from Madagascar) (or the cheap stuff if you are cheap. I use a lot of it, up to 2 tablespoons, it is really good, but Rebecca doesn't like it. I also think that you could use 2 teaspoons of dark rum and it would be frickin' excellent!)
1/4 teaspoon or so of fresh ground nutmeg (don't use the powdered stuff). you can add raisins, too! and orange zest! (Yay on the zest, Nay on the raisins; I add cinnamon and sometimes home made dried apples minced small!)

I make this in two aluminum loaf pans (the disposable kind) (I don't. Don't like aluminum very much, i use a glass casserole dish or bread pan - it don't really matter!) Butter them well. If you want to make it extra special, lightly dust the bottom and sides of the pans with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon (in proportion of 4:1 sugar to cinnamon). Tear up the challah into small pieces and fill the loaf pan about halfway to 2/3 with the torn bread.

Mix together the next 4 ingredients (eggs, milk, sugar (Maple Syrup!) and vanilla) with a wire whisk or hand mixer on low and pour over the ripped up bread. Sprinkle fresh ground nutmeg on the tops of both pans (I just mix it into the egg mixture - one less step and gets nutmeg taste into the whole darn thing!) Take a spatula and smush the bread down in the egg mixture so it gets good and soaked. Then wrap both pans in aluminum foil and put it in the fridge. Go to bed (or in my case, frantically get the rest of the breakfast together before the runners hit their halfway mark!) Sweet Dreams! (or funky mornings!)

The next day (or about an hour later), put the pans in a COLD oven (kids can help do this since the oven isn't hot yet.) (Andy can too.) Turn it on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil OFF and continue baking for 35 minutes more (or until the runners can't wait anymore, whichever comes first). It will puff up and be 'set'. If it's wiggly it needs a little more time. The puffing up is the key. Last night I made 4 pans and had to do it an extra 15 minutes, so it depends on your oven.

Serve with maple syrup (of course). It's delicious, and so easy since you can do it the night before. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Bon apetit!
Christine Lavin (and FolkFoods!)

And the festive meal...

A Marathon Breakfast, Part I

2007-03-13T12:47:00.001-05:00

These days, Shana is training for her second marathon .
As is Becky.
Oh yeah, John, Jorg, Susan and Jenn are also all training.
Chapin and I, well, not so much.
I do make breakfast for all of the runners.
That should count.

This weekend was a special one. Andy was visiting from NYC (where he will soon start the mother blog of all blogs). He came in and we spent much of the evening, into early morning, talking in an igloo, sipping Oban, chewing Shana's Granola and listening to music. Only a few hours later (really) we got up to make breakfast for the runners as they left for their 12 mile run.

The menu:

FolkFoods Veggie Patty (coming soon to a farmer's market near you)
Andy's 'Chunks o' Veggie and lots of Cheese' Scrambled Eggs
Singin' Hinnies (recipe below)
Becky's Biscuits (I'll have to ask for the recipe - they are awesome!)
French Toast Bread Pudding (Recipe in the next post)
Home Made Real Raw Milk Butter
Vermont Maple Syrup (of course)
Lots of coffee and tea!

The FolkFoods Veggie Patty (enjoyed by carnivores, omnivores and all varieties of herbivores):
(we will send you some Lee - we know you like patties!)

And now the Singin' Hinnies! I got this recipe from some cookbook years ago and have altered it so much that they really aren't even close to the original. I'll try to find that cookbook at some point, but here is what they look like and my recipe:

Sift together into a bowl:
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour (part whole wheat, white, soy, or oat. experiment, people. it'll be ok.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
cut in coarsely:
2 tablespoons good real butter (no margarine crap in this fine breakfast tidbit!)
stir in:
1/3 cup currants (I like to soak them in warm rum for awhile first!)
about 1 cup of fresh real raw milk Kefir, home made yogurt, buttermilk or just milk
(add the dairy in slowly mixing until the batter is a consistency of a pie crust)

roll out until it is about 1/8" thick (i am guessing here. again, it'll be ok.) cut out the dough into circles, a nice scotch tumbler works well. or i guess you can use anything round. i guess.

heat a heavy bottomed skillet (i will declare the virtues of cast iron in another post, just you wait...) and add some oil. i've experimented with varied amounts of oil. you should too. so i won't tell you exactly how much. it'll be okay, remember. when the skillet is hot, put the cut hinnies onto the skillet and listen to them sing! fry until slightly browned on each side and eat immediately. or eat them later. or eat them in the middle of the night when you come downstairs to go to the bathroom. (just don't come upstairs chewing, you'll get busted.)

anyway, they are great plain. they are great slothered in maple syrup. (decide what slothered means to you and do it. it'll be ok.) they are great used like mini-biscuitish things for holding eggs. they are also great with a schmear of peanut butter as you run out of the house late for work on monday. enjoy them. that is all. really.

Next:
Christine Lavin's French Toast Bread Pudding!

Granola and Yogurt

2007-03-13T06:10:00.000-05:00

I make granola (Jason). I love granola (Jason and Shana). I eat granola every single morning for breakfast (Shana). I make a lot of granola (Jason). {can you see where this is going?} Making granola is super easy and really quite good for you, especially the way that I make it (Jason). I still love to eat a lot of granola every single morning, with the yogurt that Jason makes (Shana). I am liking to make granola less and less (Jason). I want more and more granola and yogurt (Shana). I like to have really really perfect oatmeal in the morning - recipe to follow (Jason). But, then, where is my beloved granola (Shana)? {you get the picture!}

Well, I (Jason) came home to witness this:

That's my honey! That's my wife! And that, my friends, is granola! I didn't take a picture, but there was also raw milk yogurt being made behind us on the counter (process for that to follow as well). And, truth and beauty and food fans, the granola is AMAZING! So, as witnessed by you all, right here, right now, I, jason s frishman, do hereby declare Shana M Witkin to be the grand goddess of granola!! It's so freaking good, i tell you. (Right Becky?)

The recipe that she used is taken directly from a wonderful cookbook called, "Made from Scratch: Daily Bread Bakery and Cafe, Richmond, Vermont" by Betsy Bott. This is the cafe that Shana loved dearly and misses incredibly, since it went out of business. But its cookbook and granola live on in our house! The recipe:

11 cups rolled oats 3 3/4 cups wheat flakes (optional)
2 1/4 cups cashews 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 1/2 cups coconut (optional) 1 cup oil, safflower or sunflower
1 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup barley malt
1 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees. stir together oats, wheat flakes, cashews, bran and coconut in a large bowl. Stir in oil, syrup, barley malt and vanilla in a separate bowl or measuring cup. add liquids to dry and stir just to moisten. you don't want to break up the oats too much or you will have a powdery end product. generously oil baking pans and spread cereal about 1 inch deep. use as many pans as you need, depending upon their size. bake 10 minutes. remove from oven and mix cereal. try to get all of the corners and to get the bottom stirred around. return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. stir again. return and check after 5 minutes. take out when all is light brown and feels just slightly damp to the touch. cool completely, stirring every once in a while. store in tightly lidded container. if you don't go through it quickly, a portion may be frozen.

(Jason's note: i have officially passed the granola making duty on to shana and this batch is Perfect. But, as some of you know, i can never just shut up and be quiet about something. So, i just want to add some thoughts about making the granola a bit healthier - not better, healthier:
Add almonds and/or walnuts. Add lots of dried fruit. add ground flax seed. add a little bit of soy flour. add wheat germ. that's about it, like i said, this is really perfect granola!)

granola is NOT just for hippies. got it?

Our First Spokesperson!

2007-03-12T20:38:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of movement here in FolkFoods world. All of the fun details will come in a post later this week. But first, we hired our newest spokesperson this weekend. (I think that we are marketing geniuses.) So, without further delay, I present you with the first ever FolkFoods commercial (it still needs some editing, but you'll get the gist):
(Wait for it...)

(If you can't see this on the email you get, then go straight to the blog!)
There's a lot more to come, but I have to get to my day job!
By the way, no Andy's were hurt in the making of this film.
(We'll discuss compensation at a later date, Andy.)
Eat Well!

Meatloaf! (Sort of, but just as comforting) Believe It!

2007-03-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

One of the products that we will be carrying here at FolkFoods is the

VEGGIE CRUMBLE!

What is that? Well, we are looking for a better slogan or way of describing it than:
"Well, it's kind of got the texture of ground beef, but it isn't really, it is so yummy, and really healthy for you - solid protein and lots of vitamin B. It can be used for, like, well, anything that you'd use ground meat for, like tacos, chili, pasta sauce, pizzas. Y'know, stuff like that!"

You can see the problem. That won't fit onto a label. And it kind of doesn't make our mouths water. And we made the stuff up. And we love it. Y'get the picture.

So, it's time for this blog to get a little interactive. Post your ideas for a good slogan / short description as a comment at the bottom of this post. C'mon, you can do it. Serious or funny, give it a try, who knows, maybe we'll use your slogan on the label and when we make a few bucks, we'll send you a few free samples. Or our forever gratitude. We'll see... give it a shot.

Now for the title of this post: MEATLOAF!!
Well, I (Jason) like meatloaf. I have fond memories of growing up eating meatloaf slathered in ketchup with tater tots and, most likely, broccoli. It's good. It's nurturing. Shana, on the other hand, does not have fond memories of meatloaf. I don't know exactly, it's got something to do with Star Trek... That, and the fact that she doesn't eat meat, means that we don't have meatloaf in our house. Ever. Well, I've changed all of that! I cannot wait to get home and have a big slice of Veggie Crumble meatloaf. (I may even stop by the co-op for some tater tots!)

I had a Veggie Crumble meatloaf sandwich for lunch already. I closed my office door, heated up the sandwich in the toaster-oven, put on some good music, and relived some great old memories. What a treat!!

I'll post the Veggie Crumble Meatloaf recipe as soon as we are officially selling the stuff. Stay tuned!

AND, I've been told that a blog entry just isn't as, well, good, without a picture. Judy, any tips on photographing food would certainly be welcomed! BUT, the truth is, even the most gorgeous meatloaf isn't all that attractive. Let's be honest. So, I tried taking a bunch of meatloaf pictures, and spent a ridiculous amount of time arranging things on a plate, exchanging plates, getting the brown of the tater tots 'just right', making the 'perfect' dollop of ketchup, trying different garnishes, etc. (not to mention the lighting, background, eesh.) I still like meatloaf (or CrumbleLoaf, i guess), but it just isn't photogenic.

SO.... to keep our readers happy, I will post a picture that is completely unrelated to CrumbleLoaf. And, simultaneously, I will hope to engage the readers with even more interactivity. What, dear readers, is this:

(post your answers in the comments section, I'll post who gets closest, and why you should care in about a week!)

Kefir and Raw Real Milk

2007-03-05T13:09:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon everyone!

I woke this morning to discover that my Kefir grains were still alive and kickin' (or fermentin', rather!) Which is good, because i have missed my morning real raw milk kefir smoothie. I swear, that thing is the best morning tonic around!

So, Kefir? For more information than you'd ever want to know about Kefir, go here! In short, though, it is a wild and amazing live culture ferment that we've been making since the summer. I say 'we', but really, it's me, and everyone else sort of thinks that it is interesting and cool, but have yet to embrace it as warmly as they could (should?)... For now, I will just say, that it is sort of like yogurt, but not. And quite healthy. (Did I mention that it is phenomenal in a morning smoothie?) Oh yeah, the smoothie:

I use this hand blender because it makes a perfect single serving and works great (and not too expensive. Easy to clean and lots of other uses, too! (Yes, it is a product promotion, but, believe me, there are no benefits for this promotion. It is a really good basic blender - see future posts for other uses...)

- Take about 1/2 cup of Kefir (you can use yogurt or even milk/soymilk, but Kefir is best)
- Add a tablespoon fresh ground flax seeds
- about a 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries (other fruit too, but my this is my recipe)
- based on your mood, add a half a banana or even a small piece of dark chocolate!
- Blend till smooth. That's it. Easy, Fast, Nutritious!

Today, as I prepared to take this picture, I decided to throw in some of the raspberries that we have in the freezer. Picked and frozen fresh right from our backyard!! We have a lot of those still in the freezer, so be on the lookout for some cool ideas for using frozen raspberries. (After drinking the smoothie, I've decided that next time, I am going to add some dark chocolate.) Let's see, where was I?

Real. Raw. Milk. yes, that is what I said. Milk, straight from the Cow. (Actually, straight from the bulk tank, but darn near close enough.) I love the stuff. So do many of our friends. We actually have created a real raw milk share here in our neighborhood, where someone drives about 45 minutes once every week or so to pick up everybody's milk, straight from the farm. Yes, milk comes from a farm, not a plastic jug in the grocery store. Even cooler - milk comes from cows. Real milk, then, comes from real cows. Not the hormone filled, genetically modified, slop-fed, cow-like creations that are used in the mainstream milk industry. (Can you guess how I feel about this industry?)

And, as logic would have it, Real Raw milk comes from real cows, pasture fed, that has not been pasteurized or homogenized. Yes, it is good for you. Yes, it is safe. Yes, it tastes so much better. And, yes, there are all sorts of social-political histories as to why you may or may not know or believe me. But it is true. Check this site out just for starters. I am sure that I will rant on about this at a later date and this is already too long of an entry!

Before i finish though, Let me list some of the things that our friends have done with Real Raw Milk: The Best Tasting Chai Ice Cream in the world, Smooth as Butter Raw Butter, Raw Buttermilk Biscuits (the biscuits were baked!), Kefir (of Course), the Creamiest WholeMilk Yogurt in Existence, Fresh Ricotta Cheese (and all of the yummy Italian and dessert dishes that go along with that!), An aged Cheddar cheese (no adjectives here, it is still aging, so we don't know how it came out), and the best cup of morning coffee ever (thanks to skimming the cream off the top!) It is an amazing thing, I tell you!

(Oh yeah, one last thought: those of you who are lactose intolerant, well get over it. Everyone that I've spoken to, my own experience included, has had no troubles with Real Raw Milk! The reason is that before milk is destroyed by pasteurizing and homogenizing, it contains tons of enzymes that aid in digestion and nutrient absorption (including Lactase, imagine that!)

The Real Raw Milk is the larger jar on the left (notice the separated cream). The Kefir is on the right. It is ready and I shook the jar so you can see that it is thicker than milk, but not quite as thick as yogurt.

Another FolkFoods Evening!

2007-03-03T21:30:00.000-05:00

Here's the deal:

Wait for a huge snowstorm.
Make a wonderful, amazing, fantastic, stupendous IGLOO with all of your neighbors.
Spend all day cooking and building, building and cooking.
Eat Pizza. Eat Chocolate. Play with Children. Laugh with Adults. Meet new friends.
Smile at your sore back. Go inside and dry off. Spend time with friends and Lukas, the wonderBaby!
Pour some homebrews. Play some music. Sing along. Play games. Laugh and try to design the FolkFoods Label. Put your hair up. Take your clothes off and jump into the hot tub. Watch some YouTube videos about Chad Vader. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh!

THEN...!
Defrost some hearty barley, mushroom, FolkFoods Veggie Crumble soup.
make Cornbread (recipe below!)
pour more Homebrews!
Eat your fill. Drink what you like. (instead of Homebrew, drink homemade Kahlua, if you like - recipe to follow! It's great with Vanilla Ice Cream or raw real milk! Or... HomeMade Hibiscus Tea, thanks, Jenn **stay tuned to find out how to make really healthy fizzy drinks from this stuff!**)
Eat Soup, add some FolkFoods MasterSauce for spice, rave about how wonderful soup is on a cold day and appreciate the cold day's warmth with friends.
Play Othello. make Brownies. Eat Brownies in the IGLOO. Jump Around. and Smile at the moon! Oh yeah, light candles for dinner, bring them to the IGLOO and kiss your people. on the head. Shake, rattle and roll....

From experience, this is a recipe for a wonderful evening.

Cornbread Recipe (adapted from Didi Emmon's Vegetarian Planet) (Here's her newest gig!)
(preheat oven to 400 degrees and put some cast iron pots into it!)
2 cups Cornmeal
1 whole wheat flour
1 t salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups whole real raw milk
1 cup homemade yogurt
lots of honey (2 tbsp)
3 eggs (or 4, if you are feeling giddy enough)
some canola oil (about 4 tbsp)
mix everything together
fill the cast iron pots about halfway. (take them out of the oven first!)
then put in FolkFoods Veggie Crumble (sauted with red onion, taco seasoning and dark beer)
then add grated cheese (whatever cheese you like - we used garlic cheddar)
then fill the rest of the cast iron with the rest of the batter
bake at 400 degrees until browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean!

Sleep Well and Sweet Dreams!

FolkFoods 'Official' Business Meeting

2007-02-24T13:41:00.000-05:00

Where should we have our business meeting?

Where can we sit and talk and eat (of course)?

Shana and I planned a big meeting, to discuss where we were going with this whole business thing. With a messy kitchen and a beautiful snowy day, we decided to find a local business to support.Several small coffee shops later, we hadn't found the right place. (We were being quite particular - and enjoying walking around Burlington!)

Shana smiled, and suggested Viva Espresso, a small, new coffee shop that I affectionately call, "The Baby Coffee Place". Yes, this is a family-baby friendly cafe that supports local businesses and families alike! Walking into Viva Espresso felt comforting. We met Megan, one of the owners, and ordered our drinks and eats. Then, of course, we wound up talking to her at the counter for about 15 minutes! She was quite interested in our business and mentioned that she was hoping to start offering breakfast sandwiches soon and would be open to the idea of using our breakfast patties!!! That's pretty cool, actually. Also, we were all sorts of inspired about the art for our product labels while admiring the local artist exhibits. (But more on that in a later post...)

So, we got to work. We read through a small food business manual. We made A LOT of lists. We made a time line for those lists. What are some of the things that we have to do?

- Get the product recipes ready for scale up.
- Register the LLC. (Learn more about what the heck that means!)
- Schedule training time at the Vermont Food Venture Center.
- Talk to friends about spreading the word (that would be fun).
- Get ideas and figure out how to work our website - find someone to help us!
- Finish applying to farmer's markets.
- Create more lists and schedules!
- Learn about business and marketing plans.

Overwhelming, perhaps, but also exciting. We are getting closer to making this vision a reality. The interesting thing is that as we get closer, the vision becomes even more detailed, extensive and enlarged. I do look forward to writing more about how the entire FolkFoods business relates to our visions of working as food activists, community developers, individual, family and community therapists, and teachers! But all in good time. Patience is something that I am learning to embrace more and more.

Thank you Viva Espresso. Thank you Megan. We got a lot accomplished today. Energized. We'll be back!

A Perfect FolkEvening!

2007-02-18T10:15:00.000-05:00

Well, Good Morning FolkPeoples!

This whole blog thing is quite an interesting endeavor. Both Shana and I have started taking pictures like crazy, and I am constantly thinking of things to post on here. To whom? No one really, but we'll see, eventually...

As you may know, Burlington, like a lot of the East Coast, got TONS of snow! Fantastic! What does this have to do with FolkFoods? Well, a lot, thanks for asking. In the midst of the snowstorm, a bunch of us ran outside, barefoot, and jumped (carefully) into a comforting, nurturing hot tub!! Still, how is that related to FolkFoods? I am getting to that. It was a perfect FolkFoods evening. We made a huge pot of Glugg (or glowwine, Gluggi or mulled wine - whatever your culture calls it.) Drank it while soaking in the tub, hair and eyelashes frosted with big flakes of snow and laughed together. We talked and shared stories and dreamed of the future and planned in the present. It was nice. Truth is, though, this was only the beginning. We ran (less carefully) back inside, dried off, and then made some homemade pizzas (using, of course, some FolkFoods products and home-grown oyster mushrooms!). The evening just kept getting nicer. Over Drinks and Conversation, we heated up some leftover chocolate fondue and washed the strawberries. This dessert, combined with cuddling on the couch and watching the movie, Chocolat, was the perfect end to a Perfect FolkEvening!

Well, it has been about a week since this happened and I have been meaning to add pictures and links for Glugg/Mulled Wine recipes. Oh well. Next time. We have lots of pictures and I am realizing that we have lots of these types of evening! Pics and Recipes from the next one, then...

Traditional Foods - Farmer's Markets - Business Craziness - Here We Come!

2007-02-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, It seems that it's taken longer than expected to get this whole thing off the ground. (Isn't that always (sometimes) the way?) We were hoping to send out an email with a lot of hullabaloo and fanfare with this announcement. Instead, however, it will be a calmer, more reflective note.

[Some of you already know various details of this message, so please excuse the repetition, and (per some of your requests) this will be a shorter message than some of the previous ones.]

We are starting a small artisan foods business here in Burlington, VT. The official launch date has been delayed, for some busines-y reasons, that we are still not so sure about (any of our business-y friends out there, feel free to contact us to answer some of our questions re: LLC, trademarking etc.)

But, the details so far:
Our company is called FolkFoods. You will be able to find us at http://www.folkfoods.com/; we have the domain name, now we are looking for a web designer to help us get started. You will also soon be able to read our rambling blog (so there is less rambling on these emails) at http://www.folkfoods.blogspot.com/, NOT to be confused with http://www.folkfood.blogspot.com/, which is a cool blog highlighting the Localvore movement in New Hampshire (If you don't know what the Localvore movement is, ask or look it up. It will be sort of important to our business as well.) We have about 4 products that we are dilligently testing and getting ready and are planning to start selling this spring at several farmer's markets around Vermont. Additionally, we will be (hopefully) distributing to local restaraunts, bed & breakfasts, and co-ops/healthstores etc. From there, we shall see!

We are still working on label design (a lot more work to go on that), which will help in designing the website and creating a FolkFoods theme or brand. We are most certainly open to ideas at this point. We would very much like to stay with the ideas of folkfoods and get as much input from our 'folk' as possible. We believe in the promise of creative endeavors that arise within the context of community and connection. As such, longer visions for this company include social action, community building, workshops and more!

Well, this is already longer than hoped (but, realistically, shorter than expected!) This news is really exciting for us, and we welcome any questions, feedback, ideas, comments, etc. If you know someone that we have left out of this message, or someone that would be interested, definately let us know and forward it along. Thanks for reading...!!
- Jason and Shana!