Today I (Ingrid) was up at the Pawtucket Winter Farmers Market to pick up our chickens and eggs from Pat’s Pastured. You may remember that name as Josh and I have mentioned Pat’s Pastured a lot – I think the most recent was in relation to our new favorite chicken – the Poulet Rouge. We signed up this past fall to take part in a six month chicken and egg CSA (community supported agriculture). Basically, you pay for the food up front and then you pick up your goods at prearranged times. So once a month for six months Josh and I get four chickens and two dozen eggs and it’s been great. Pat emailed us earlier this week to remind us that today was pick-up day at the markets and also told us that he’s run out of chickens for market customers but the CSA members would still be getting their chickens. The farmers markets have been so successful that some vendors, like Pat, have been running low. But you know what that is causing? There are new vendors selling these products at the market. I noticed a new chicken vendor today who wasn’t there at the beginning of the winter market. So if you’re looking for chickens, just mosey your way all the way down the hall of vendors at the winter market – you should find someone who has them! But be sure to stop by Pat’s Pastured – though he may not have chickens right now, he has lots of other yummy products!
January 23, 2010
September 4, 2009
Brussel Sprouts
Posted by ri100mi under Uncategorized | Tags: brussel sprouts, chicken |Leave a Comment
One thing that I am trying to do while on the 100 mile challenge is keep the food variety exciting; it’s easy to get into a rut and keep buying the same foods week after week. Luckily, there hasn’t been much of a problem at the markets that we attend…there are plenty of vendors who also like to try growing different fruits and vegetables as well. This week’s challenge was brussel sprouts…something that I’m not too familiar with and have had very little of in the past. I know these little green orbs have a dodgy history with some, so I tried to find an inventive way to dress them up a little. Since the ingredients in our refrigerator are fair game, I was able to find a recipe that ended up coming out pretty well. First, I blanched the sprouts and cut them lengthwise. A broth was made with chicken stock, garlic confit ,shallot thyme and dijon mustard…after the flavors came together and the broth thickened, I added the sprouts and let them simmer until they were soft enough to be pierced with a fork. We had the sprouts topped with some of our favorite chicken which was done on the grill…I think that I see brussel sprouts in a new light…this was excellent and I’ll be sure to include them in a meal in the future!
-Josh
July 6, 2008
All chicken should be this good!
Posted by ri100mi under Uncategorized | Tags: chicken, food miles |Leave a Comment
Who knew that chicken could be so good? Wow – Josh outdid himself today. A whole chicken (from Casey Farm) with a little salt and pepper on the grill. It was super moist and with or without the mustard, it was just perfect. The salad I made for a side paled in comparison – though the colors in the salad were impressive.
Part of the reason we took on this challenge was to decrease our average number of “food miles”. It is estimated that the average American’s meal travels 1500 miles and with my love of Italian wines and Josh’s love of Belgian beer, our average is probably a bit higher. This 100 mile challenge would help bring our food miles down at least for one month plus teach us what foods grown in this area and what is in season at what time. Since the rules allow us to use items we already have (this past week we used some olive oil, had some old crackers, a bit of French cheese we hadn’t gotten around to eating), I’m guessing that our average food miles since the start of the challenge is about 200-300 miles. Seeing how there is very little left in our cupboards and freezer from before the challenge, our average food miles should be dropping to 100 miles very soon – if only those tomatoes would ripen . . .
