Our first delivery from Acme Farms + Kitchen (AFK) arrived last week, and included an unexpected surprise. I had anticipated the beautiful, high quality organic food. I know some of the farms where the food was grown and they consistently produce nothing less than excellence. The big surprise was the packaging. AFK has taken "reduce, reuse, recycle" to new heights.
First of all, here's what I had ordered for the week: the large Locavore Box (including produce, bread, beef, chicken, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and pasta from various Whatcom and Skagit producers), 2 packages of sockeye salmon fillets (Lummi Island Wild), a package of frozen sliced green peppers (Moondance Farm, Acme), and apple cider from BelleWood Acres (Lynden). The box also included five dinner recipes using the box ingredients (plus a few pantry items). The produce included the biggest, most perfect onion I've ever seen, fresh collard greens, mixed salad greens including baby spinach, a large turnip, red carrots, blue fingerling potatoes, and more frozen green peppers. Altogether, it was easily enough food for a week of dinners for our family of three, plus some lunches besides. The entire order cost $87.50. Not bad at all, especially considering the food quality.
Packaging showed an amount of thought and care that matched the food. Most of the produce and some non-refrigerated items were in a sturdy, reusable wooden box with a lid and a nice woodsy smell. The refrigerated items were in two large reusable insulated bags that zippered at the top and had the AFK logo on the side. Classy! The fresh Bellingham Pasta was wrapped in recyclable brown paper. Frozen products, such as the salmon, were packed inside white recyclable paper bags with reusable ice packs over or around them. Chilled items, such as the yogurt, also had a cold pack wrapped around them. Everything had been well maintained at safe temperatures even though it had been delivered to us a couple of hours before we got it home. It would have held considerably longer, I'm sure. Impressive.
Recipes include family foods, such as Sloppy Joes, and most are quick to prepare. New ingredients are introduced gently, like the Collard Green Pesto for pasta night. I'm looking forward to the Chicken Pot Pie recipe, too, something I haven't cooked for a very long time. It will be made with one of the nicest looking chickens I've ever seen (from Pleasant Valley Farm, Ferndale). Don't you just feel miserable when you see how bruised and battered factory farm frozen chickens look sometimes, even if they're organic? This pasture raised bird was clearly treated kindly.
Needless to say, we're already looking forward to our next weekly surprise package from AFK.
ANOTHER LEMON JUICE ALTERNATIVE?
One difficulty with locavore eating (using only food grown in Whatcom County) is the absence of local lemon juice. Mount Baker Vineyards has announced a new alternative-red and white "verjus," or green grape juice. Here's how they describe it:
"Made from highly acidic underripe wine grapes, verjus is crisp and tangy, and provides an attractive alternative to lemon juice, white wine or vinegar in salads or marinades.
"Verjus has been used in cooking in many cultures for centuries and is made from the pressing of unripened green or red grapes. The red verjus may be used in place of red wine in marinades and sauces - the white verjus is a perfect substitute for white wine in salad dressings and as a marinade for fish. Verjus is also appearing on the drinks menu of some local bar menus.
"Grapes for this Verjus were harvested at Mount Baker Vineyards estate just east of Nugents Corner [Mount Baker Highway]. Cooler temperatures last spring and summer gave Mount Baker Vineyards' owner Randy Finley the perfect excuse to harvest his late season white grapes early for verjus instead of waiting out for an unlikely ripe crop later on. The grapes used were Chassalas Dore' and Muller Thurgau, which are often a challenge to get ripe.
"Verjus is available at the winery and at selected stores in the Bellingham area. Contact Mount Baker Vineyards at 360-303-8969 for hours."
SUNCHOKE POTATO GRATIN
Ingredients
1 lbs. (2 large) sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) (Alm Hill Gardens, Everson)
1 lbs. yellow potatoes (Hopewell Farm, Everson)
2 teaspoons salt (split)
1 tablespoons butter plus some to grease baking dish (Breckinridge Farm, Everson)
1/2 cup chopped shallots (Hopewell Farm, Everson)
2 cloves garlic, minced (Rabbit Fields Farm, Everson)
1 cup heavy cream (Twin Brook Creamery, Lynden)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (home dried from Half Acre Farm u-pick, Ferndale)
1/3 cup bread crumbs (homemade bread)
Directions
Start a large pot of water heating to a boil.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the sunchokes and potatoes into thin slices (about 1/8 inch thick).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In the pan of boiling water, add 1 teaspoon salt, sunchokes, and potatoes. Parboil for about 5 minutes to slightly soften vegetables. Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the shallots and garlic until shallots are translucent.
In mixing bowl, mix shallots and garlic with cream, thyme and another 1 teaspoon of salt.
Grease a 9x15 inch baking dish with butter. Spread the sunchokes and potatoes evenly over the bottom. Try to keep the layer a fairly uniform thickness so it will bake evenly. Pour the shallot mixture over all and distribute evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top has begun to brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle top with bread crumbs. Return dish to oven and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the top is well browned and the potatoes and sunchokes are easily pierced with a fork.
Serves 6-8.
LOCAVORE RESOURCES
You'll find Whatcom County foods at these stores and farms. Many outlets have seasonal hours. We recommend you call or check websites for current hours.
Acme Farms + Kitchen
Appel Farms Cheese Shoppe, 6605 Northwest Road, Ferndale; 360-384-4996; appel-farms.com
Artisan Wine Gallery, 2072 Granger Way, Lummi Island; 360-758-2959; artisanwineclub.com
Bellingham Farmers Market, Railroad at Chestnut; 360-647-2060; bellinghamfarmers.org
Boxx Berry Farm Store and u-pick, 6211 Northwest Road, Ferndale; 360-380-2699; boxxberryfarm.com
Cloud Mountain Farm Nursery, 6906 Goodwin Road, Everson; 360-966-5859; cloudmountainfarm.com
Community Food Cooperative, 1220 N. Forest St. and 315 Westerly Road, Bellingham; 360-734-8158; communityfood.coop
Everybody's Store, 5465 Potter Road, Deming; 360-592-2297; everybodys.com
Ferndale Public Market, Centennial Riverwalk, Ferndale; 360-410-7747; ferndalepublicmarket.org
Grace Harbor Farms, 2347 Birch Bay Lynden Road, Custer; 360-366-4151; graceharborfarms.com
Green Barn, 8858 Guide Meridian, Lynden; 360-354-1008
Hopewell Farm, 3072 Massey Road, Everson; 360-927-8433
Lynden Farmers Market, 514 Liberty St., Lynden, fiveloavesfarm.blogspot.com
Pleasant Valley Dairy, 6804 Kickerville Road, Ferndale; 360-366-5398; facebook.com/pages/Pleasant-Valley-Dairy/161872142667
Red Barn Lavender Farm, 3106 Thornton Road, Ferndale; 360-393-7057
Small's Gardens, 6451 Northwest Road, Ferndale; 360-384-4637
The Islander, 2106 S. Nugent Road, Lummi Island; 360-758-2190; islandergrocery.com
The Markets LLC, 3125 Old Fairhaven Parkway and 1030 Lakeway, Bellingham; 8135 Birch Bay Square St., Blaine; 360-714-9797; themarketsllc.com
Terra Organica, 1530 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham; 360-715-8020; terra-organica.com
