So this week’s menu is inspired by one of our favorite grasses.
Mel is turning tons of Jimenez Family Farm’s corn into cold summer soup. It will have a rich corn base with lots of sweet leeks and a touch of cream.
There will be ears of corn in each produce box, along with everything you’ll need to make succotash or corn salad. I’m dreaming of chewy Nueske bacon lardons sauteed with plump corn kernels alongside some grilled trout with crispy skin. And after years of asking, Mel has agreed to make crab cakes! Loaded with lump crab and claw meat, all you need to do is saute them in butter and serve them with a squeeze of lemon and a simple salad or a fresh corn relish. These also freeze well.
When I think of corn on the cob, I see burgers and barbecue. So we’ve got grass-fed ground beef, Hook’s 5 year cheddar, and fresh challah hamburger buns from the Village Bakery and Cafe in Atwater. We’re also making a batch of BBQ sauce to brush on Niman Ranch St. Louis-style spare ribs (we’ll provide a simple recipe for making them in your oven and finishing them on your grill) and free range boneless skinless breasts or whole thighs with skin and bone.
For side situations, our friends at Forage are making us a batch of their dreamy, creamy macaroni and cheese with breadcrumb topping, ready to go in the oven or freezer. We’ve also got one of our favorite pickles, Coldwater Canyon Provisions’ dilly green beans. And to dip our douse your little gems and cherry tomatoes, we’re making a batch of ranch dressing.
There are green tomatoes at the market, so we are selling those as well for you to slice, dredge, fry and eat with some ranch dressing. And Two Pea's in a Pod has fresh shelling beans, so we're offering their cranberry beans and will walk you through how to make a fresh bean salad.
We have frozen buttermilk biscuits from Proof, our favorite employee owned bakery. You can serve these with dinner or load them with butter and Coldwater Provisions’ strawberry rhubarb jam. Or get some Peads and Barnetts’s breakfast sausage to make breakfast sandwiches or biscuits and gravy.
To finish off any summer meal, we’ve got mini peach pies from All Day Baby: little bowls of flaky crust, filled with sweet-tart yellow peaches and a crumble topping with hints of elderflower and cinnamon.
Finally, to wash it all down, we got a few cases of Meinklang’s Mulatschack, Sam’s favorite orange wine.