Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is all about good food! Remember to purchase extras this week, as we made sure to fill this share with plenty extra to fill your table. This week features Potatoes, Celeriac (please use in place of all your celery needs! More info below), and one of our favorite Heritage Grains grown right here on the Farm- "Floriani Red" Flint Corn (cornbread recipe below). Please refrigerate this bag! It is an open-pollinated, Italian Heirloom that we acquired years ago after reading about it in the Homesteaders publication, "Mother Earth News". Turns out, it grows great here in our region. We hand-harvest and hand-shuck all the cobs, then we rinse all the kernals bucket by bucket and lay them out on screened tables to dry. Then we test the moisture level several times a day for days on end before we know it's just right for milling and storage. We have freshly ground it for you just these past few days on our Stone Mill, so yes, it is stone-ground cornmeal. This cornmeal makes the best cornbread and we offer you our very own recipe...
CORNBREAD
This is a nice hearty cornbread. Can be adapted to dairy-free or gluten-free
1 cup flour- (Aspen Moon Heritage wheat- any type or gluten-free alternative)
1 cup course ground cornmeal (Aspen Moon Farm Red Floriani cornmeal)- this is pretty much the crux of the whole recipe here because the flavor really makes it...
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Mix that all up
2 eggs
1 cup milk or rice milk or almond milk
3-4 TB Oil or butter(melted) – I like olive oil…
3-4 TB maple syrup, honey, or agave
Mix that all up
Then mix it all up.
Bake @ 400 for 20-25 min for a 9-10 inch pie pan, cast iron skillet, or muffin tin. Or lower temp to 375 for 35-40 min. for a loaf pan (otherwise the top will burn before the inside is done). Oh, and do generously oil or butter your pan for that nice greasy southern diner influence- yum!
Serve with baked Winter Squash, Potato soup, cooked beans, or Roasted Carrots…
Recipe by Erin Dreistadt of Aspen Moon Farm
Also try the cornmeal in pancakes, muffins, as polenta, porridge, Atole, pie crust, pizza crust and more.... We do not mill any wheat products on the same mill and we do our best to keep the cornmeal wheat-free, however we do have wheat in the same work areas.
Celeriac! I know it looks odd, but it just might be your new favorite vegetable!! You can use it chopped anywhere you would use celery- in stuffing, in soup, in gravy, great mixed with potatoes (mashed, hashed, scalloped or roasted). You might need to peel it with a small knife. It also stores for weeks or months in the fridge.
With difficult circumstances again this year, we hope you all can still enjoy the nourishment of this good local food grown for you with love and care.
Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe and well!
