Harvest Kitchen

Potato Gratin = a new fan favorite

Happy Halloween to one and all from your friends at Harvest Kitchen.  November is upon us at last.  This whole season has been racing by like a whirlwind, don’t you think? It’s hard to believe that winter is just around the corner.  We’ve finally had a really hard frost, which brings sweetness to the brassicas, but signals the true end of the summer. It’s been impending for weeks, but it’s finally come.  Welcome, Frost King!  Out at Community Farm this week is one of preparation for our “Grand Finale” harvest, when we bring in all of the remaining crops and take them home to enjoy through the winter.  I love the feeling of abundance that this time of year brings, with its huge bounty of my favorite autumn crops such as leeks, rutabagas, and more.

Here at Harvest Kitchen we’ve been preparing for winter for many weeks, trying to make sure we’re laying

Cauliflower galore

in the supplies of summer favorites so we can use them for our winter season.  We’re also enjoying using the delights of this special time of year, including broccoli, cauliflower, and of course, Asian greens like Bok choi and more.  It’s these delightful veggies that inspired this week’s Thai menu theme.

So, without further ado,

Omnivores

Pad Thai with Chicken – Pad Thai is what I always order at Thai restaurants–it’s an excellent combination of sweet-spicy peanut sauce, noodles, vegetables, and meat.  Ours will naturally feature our favorite local free-range chickens and plenty of local, seasonal vegetables.

Did you know we make granola? We do! Ask at your pick up about buying a tub.

Beef Satay – Juicy, Thai-style beef served with peanut dipping sauce will have you smacking your lips.  Best when served with Brown Rice.

Curried Winter Squash – Another autumnal favorite, this curry could be a main in itself or a side with any of this week’s dishes.  Enjoy the sweetness of winter squash combined with the spice of curry.

Mount Fugi Salad – Yes, we know Mount Fugi is in Japan not Thailand.  Still, this crispy, crunchy slaw featuring napa cabbage in an Asian-style slaw dressing balances the heavier flavors of some of this week’s main dishes.

Vegetarians

Pad Thai with Tofu – Pad Thai is what I always order at Thai restaurants–it’s an excellent combination of sweet-spicy peanut sauce, noodles, vegetables, and meat.  Ours will naturally feature our favorite locally made tofu from Rosewood and plenty of local, seasonal vegetables.

Chickpea Romanesco Curry- Have you seen the Romanesco cauliflower yet?  Get ready to have your

Romanesco Cauliflower

mind blown by this loveliest of autumn vegetables. It’s a bright green fractal! We’ll be turning it into a delicious and hearty curry.  Best when served with Brown Rice.

Curried Winter Squash – Another autumnal favorite, this curry could be a main in itself or a side with any of this week’s dishes.  Enjoy the sweetness of winter squash combined with the spice of curry.

Mount Fugi Salad – Yes, we know Mount Fugi is in Japan not Thailand.  Still, this crispy, crunchy slaw featuring napa cabbage in an Asian-style slaw dressing balances the heavier flavors of some of this week’s main dishes.

That’s all! Have a good one.

Mary

French Lentil Salad

Goodness gracious, this post is very late indeed.  I hope you’ll all forgive me–I’ve been travelling all weekend! I was in Philadelphia attending the wedding of a college friend, Kate.  Those who’ve been following this blog for a while will know that I attend LOTS of weddings.  In fact, this was my 14th wedding in the past 4 years. It’s kind of crazy when you think of it that way, but I guess it goes with the being-twenty-something territory.  Kate, like Laura whose wedding I attended earlier this summer, was one of my first student workers when I became a supervisor in the dining hall in college.  Apparently she was scared of me at first–I’m not sure why…Anyhow, it was a great honor to attend her wedding to her longtime sweetheart Meghan (yes, a lesbian wedding!).  It was a beautiful day and a wonderful

Mary with Brides Kate and Meghan (and a friend): yay weddings!

celebration–I have to say that the desserts were the best I’ve had at a wedding.  And, as usual, it was great to see old friends.

But enough of my excuses! What a week it’s been at the kitchen.  I’m so excited to be able to share these beautiful pictures of last week’s tasty food.  We had a guest, Mela Belle, who threw herself into doing some “food styling” for us and taking these beautiful pictures.  It was all a revelation for me–she had a lot of fun figuring out the best way to display these items, and I think you’ll agree that they look great on the lovely dishes and table cloth that Mela picked out.

It was a rainy harvest morning on Wednesday, which was my one and only day out at the farm this past week, but the harvest itself was bountiful and beautiful, so we can’t complain about that.  The farm season is beginning to wind down (or wind up?) as we come into Thanksgiving season.  There are still lots of good things to come, though, so stay tuned!

This week, we’re celebrating all the good things of autumn with a Thanksgiving-style autumn feast:

Omnivore

Pot Roast with Autumn Root Vegetables – Slow roasted pot roast and lots and lots of vegetables is a Harvest Kitchen winter classic.  So much flavor!

Roasted Turkey with Cranberries – Fresh roasted local turkey \served with sweet-and-savory cranberry apple sauce for a pre-Thanksgiving treat.

Creamed Brussels Sprouts and Kale – The tastiest of autumn greens make a perfect side dish.

Winter Squash Casserole – A hearty and creamy casserole, full of your favorite sweet winter squash and lots of delicious dairy.

Corn Pudding – The name of this classic autumn dish says it all–local sweet corn, breadcrumbs, and delectable creamy dairy make this hearty side a favorite.

A whole table full!

Vegetarian

Vegetarian Dinner Loaf – Like meatloaf, but with a vegetarian twist! Made with lentils, veggies, and more, this hearty dinner loaf is a healthy, flavorful meal.

Vegetarian Potato Soup – Creamy and flavorful, this meal-in-a-bowl soup is the perfect, satisfying dish for these cold autumn days

Creamed Brussels Sprouts and Kale – The tastiest of autumn greens make a perfect side dish.

Winter Squash Casserole – A hearty and creamy casserole, full of your favorite sweet winter squash and lots of delicious dairy.

Corn Pudding – The name of this classic autumn dish says it all–local sweet corn, breadcrumbs, and delectable creamy dairy make this hearty side a favorite.

Harvest Kitchen at Harvest Festival

Another eventful week here at Harvest Kitchen.  As most of you know, we had the great joy to participate in two awesome events this weekend.  On Saturday night we had a stall at the World Food Day Celebration at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.  Samir, Kat, and Diala headed up the HK team in serving some delicious, local, organic, GMO-free food to the folks who turned out for that event.  According to them, it was a very fun and inspirational night, with lots of neat vendors, music, and a interesting speaker, as well as a great chance to see many of our friends, farmers, and colleagues in the local food movement.

As if that weren’t enough, on Sunday Harvest Kitchen was open for the much-anticipated Depot Town Harvest Festival.  It sounds like Chef Stephanie, Michelle, Cynthia, and Maggie had a great day feeding the festival attendees.  The weather was kind, the kids and dogs were cute, and as always, the food was tasty.  Stay tuned for Harvest Kitchen participation in more events like these in the future.  They’re tiring, but so fun and rewarding, we’re thinking of putting together a team of folks specifically to represent us at these festivals!

Kitchen Rockstar Sara making latkes

In the kitchen, things are going well.  After a few months of fluctuations, we’ve got what feels like a solid, stable team.  Fall is always a challenge, as HK staffers change their schedules and head back to school, but we’ve got a great, motivated, and fun crew in place and I think we’re all feeling good.  We’re all excited about the new online ordering system that we’ve gotten set up on our website .  Consider giving it a try sometime–it’s off to a good start!

At the Community Farm we’re enjoying the bounty of the autumn.  We haven’t had a truly hard frost yet, so we’re kind of suspending our disbelief and continuing to enjoy the milder weather! Still, you can tell that the fall is progressing as  we gradually put the farm to bed for the winter.  Fields where summer crops grew have been tilled and seeded with cover crops.  Irrigation tape is being pulled from the fields.  This week, a crew of friends from Frog Holler came to our aid in planting a huge crop of garlic for next summer.  All the garlic is safely tucked in with a nice straw mulch and it looks very cozy.   Frost is coming….

So, this week the chefs have put together a beautiful French-themed menu.  I have to confess I had to

Ona hard at work on Pierogies

look up some of these titles to find out what they’d be like–I’m excited to try them with a Harvest Kitchen twist!

Omnivore

Pork Shoulder with French Lentils – Classic French comfort food, this hearty dish will keep you warm on these cool autumn evenings.

Chicken with Forty Garlic Cloves – Another French comfort dish, as the name implies, this dish features the rich flavor of our local garlic .

Vegetarian

Pissaladiere – A pizza-like dish from Southern France, the Harvest Kitchen version will have your tastebuds dancing.

French Lentil Salad -A hearty lentil salad with loads of your favorite autumn veggies.

Will keeping the dishroom in order

Side Dishes

Potato Gratin – For most of us, this creamy potato bake needs no introduction.  You’ll be licking your lips when you see our local potato-local dairy version.

Vegetable Terrine with Bearnaise sauce – A colorful loaf-style vegetable dish makes a refreshing side dish.

Bouillabaisse – “What’s that?” said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of stew. “Bouillabaisse,” said Hermione.  “Bless you,” said Ron.  “It’s French,” said Hermione, “I had it on holiday summer before last.  It’s very nice.” – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  You won’t have to take Hermione’s word for it if you enjoy our Harvest Kitchen version!
That’s all from us this week!

peace

Mary

Personal Frittatas!

Hey everyone! Lots of exciting stuff happening at Harvest Kitchen this week.  Despite the warmer days, autumn is clearly upon us.  We’re seeing the end of our summer favorites–tomatoes, basil, and the like are definitely done.  Winter squash like pumpkins and spaghetti squash are making their debuts on the menu.  Still, I’m enjoying summer’s last hurrah.  I commented to a friend the other night that this might be the last weekend for sitting on the porch, so I hope everyone’s taking advantage of the nice weather while it lasts.  As far as the farms are concerned, I asked Shannon of Brines Farm if the warmer days were helping his hoop house plants grow big and strong and he complained that the heat was making them leggy! Last week he was worried that with the cold and the shorter days things wouldn’t germinate well–I’m beginning to suspect that there’s no pleasing these farmers!  Fortunately, the care and attention that farmers like Shannon devote to their plants will pay off in lots of delicious food for us in the coming months.

In the kitchen, there’s no such thing as settling into a rhythm.  We’re constantly trying to improve things on

Beauteous Broccoli

our end.  The big news this week is that we’re experimenting with taking online orders.  Check out our online store and tell your friends!  We’re also now taking seasonal subscriptions for our Winter Season.  Read all about it here.  Remember to sign up early (and often)–if you subscribe before Oct 31 you can take $50 off!

This week our culinary team is going to take us on a tour of the highlights of Eastern European cuisine.  I hope you’re all enjoying these themed menus–I know that the chefs enjoy figuring out the themes, and our (collective) hope is that having a theme will help people combine the dishes in a variety of ways to make different meals that all “work” together.  Anyhow, here’s what we’re cooking up this week:

Omnivore Menu

Mary's Birthday Cake made by Stephanie = YUM

Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings – A flavor-rich Hungarian stew with Calder Dairy sour cream and homemade dumplings.

Pierogies – Everyone’s favorite potato dumplings done the Harvest Kitchen way.

Stuffed Cabbage – Another traditional Eastern European favorite–stuffed cabbage full of spicy ground beef and covered with sauce.

Squash Soup – The flavor of fall: sweet roasted winter squash and pumpkin in a creamy, tasty soup.

Wilted Salad with Bacon – Our fresh salad greens and tasty bacon make the perfect fall salad.

Vegetarian

Vegetable Goulash – Our veggie-rich Eastern European stew is full of hearty flavors.  Perfect for these autumn days.

Pierogies – Everyone’s favorite potato dumplings done the Harvest Kitchen way.

Broccoli Casserole – The perfect vegetable side featuring gorgeous fresh broccoli from Goetz Farm and Community Farm of Ann Arbor.

Squash Soup – The flavor of fall: sweet roasted winter squash and pumpkin in a creamy, tasty soup.

Green Salad with Pickled Red Onions

That’s all!

Mary

Haukeri Turnips

Hi everyone–

Another busy week here at Harvest Kitchen.  It’s October and the weather has taken a sharp turn towards the autumnal, and I for one am ready for it!  It’s nice to pull out sweaters and start thinking about eating warm food and getting cozy.  However, for farmers, this time of year is always full of chance: is it going to frost tonight or not?  This past Saturday, October 1, was the Community Farm’s fall festival.  After a chilly day, the sun came out in the afternoon, just in time for a beautiful festival afternoon, followed by a gathering around the bonfire and a fine view of the stars.  However, those clear skies make for perfect frost weather, and many of our farming friends spent time this weekend scrambling to get the last of their tender crops out of the fields.  I haven’t heard yet if we did get a frost at Community Farm or any of the other local farms, but if it didn’t happen on Saturday it’s bound to happen soon.

Eggrolls in the making

In HK news, we’re getting ready to make the big announcement about our winter subscription season.  We’re really excited about what we have to offer this winter–summer’s freshest veggies frozen at peak harvest, new crops from our hoop house farming friends, and of course, lots of creativity from our culinary team.  The details are already on this website–those who are on our email list should watch for an email this week!  Note that we’re making some semantic changes to how we talk about our program.  We’re trying to make it less confusing to new customers, but that might make it MORE confusing for long term customers at least until we all get used to the changes.  Sorry!

Sooo, this week’s menu has a Breakfast for Dinner theme. Yum!

Omnivore

Chicken with Waffles – The perfect intersection of savory, hearty chicken and breakfast-y waffles. Yum!

Savory Breakfast Pastry – Puff pastry is the ideal vehicle for all kinds of vegetables.  It’s like a savory danish!

Breakfast Sandwich on Biscuit- I’m assuming this is why I bought a huge order of fresh pork sausage

turnips that look like marshmallows

from our friends at Black Oak Farm… yummm.

Vegetarian

Frittata – Everyone’s favorite egg-and-veggie bake is chock full of greens, peppers, tomatoes, and more.

French Toast Casserole with Apples – Sweet and fruity, this casserole is a perfect comfort food.

Spaghetti Squash Salad – A Harvest Kitchen specialty, this citrus-y salad is refreshing and bright.

Sides

Cynthia and the Great Wall of eggrolls

Hash Browns – Tis the season of gorgeous potatoes.  We have a medly from our friends at Community Farm, Goetz Farm, and Louis Mills’ homestead.  This is hash browns as you’ve never imagined it.

Yogurt Parfait – Homemade yogurt, fresh fruit, and a taste of HK bakery’s own granola, this is more than a meal in a cup.

That’s all for this week! See you soon.

Mary

All the weeks are busy at Harvest Kitchen this fall.  A quick review of this blog reveals that I’ve described every week recently as busy–not sure what else I can say about that, except that we’re all working super-hard!  We’re lucky to have such a hard-working crew.  It’s good to have Emmy, our inventory manager, back from her vacation.  We missed her while she was gone, and she’s clearly back to work as everything is looking well organized in the pantry, and I hope she’ll have our basics re-stocked soon.  She’s even established a new (and urgently needed) system for organizing the utensils.  Other rockstars this week include Melanie, who’s doing a great job of helping with distribution and basically keeping the rest of us from going crazy over the details.  I know that Samir is winning hearts and minds as he learns the ropes on member distribution too.  As always, everyone on the crew is giving their 100%, but I especially want to celebrate those three this week.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures this week–I guess I was too busy to pull out the camera.  Next time, I promise!

In farming news, this is a special time of year.  With the autumnal equinox comes a new season and a change in the fields.  More than the cooler temperatures, plants and creatures notice the shorter days and the decreased daylight.  Since the equinox, nights are longer than days, and we’re beginning our descent into winter.  We’re seeing the last of our summer crops: tomatoes, summer squash, and chard are winding down, even as frost hardy fall and winter crops like kale, root veggies, and asian greens come to the fore.  There are some crops that bridge the gap–feeling like summer fruits while still ripening in the cooler days. These include eggplant, peppers, and sweet potatoes.  We’ll be enjoying all these and more in the coming weeks.

This week our chefs have plotted a menu that celebrates some classics from American Chinese restaurant menus.  I hesitate to call this menu strictly Chinese, but we all know these favorite dishes from Chinese restaurants here in the US.  Here’s the plan:

Omnivore Menu

Sweet and Sour Chicken – My personal favorite off the Chinese Restaurant menu, but as you’ve never imagined it: local flour and free range chicken, fresh peppers and other veggies–and a few non-local pineapples thrown in for good measure.

Pepper Steak – Highland Beef from Mclaughlin and tons of fresh sweet peppers from all our favorite farms combine for a new high point of tastiness

Fried Rice – Back Forty Acres eggs, Tantre peas, plenty of ginger, and so much more–this side dish goes beyond

Egg Rolls with Ground Pork – Ground pork from Black Oak Farm and all of our favorite veggies fill these crispy, tasty rolls.

Egg Drop Soup – Chinese restaurant standard re-imagined with all local ingredients from Harvest Kitchen. Need I say more?

Vegetarian Menu

Mu Shu Vegetables with Pancakes – Another old favorite, our tasty fall veggies come with two pancakes, all ready to serve mu shu style!

Stir Fried Vegetables and Greens – Stir fry is one of the best ways to enjoy the flavors of fresh vegetables.  Ours is no exception!

Hot and Sour Soup – A standard of Chinese restaurant cuisine, this vegetarian soup is perfect for an autumn day.

Fried Rice – Back Forty Acres eggs, Tantre peas, plenty of ginger, and so much more–this side dish goes beyond

Vegetarian Egg Rolls -  All of our favorite veggies fill these crispy, tasty rolls.

That’s it! Be excited!

Mary

Samir makes shucking corn look fun

It’s been another busy week here at Harvest Kitchen.  After recovering from last Sunday’s tomato day, we pushed straight into another round of food preservation by putting up 7 bushels of corn on Friday.  We’re also enjoying the change in the weather we’re seeing–these cooler days are a nice change of pace, though farmer friends are bringing in the frost-sensitive crops as quickly as possible.

Out at Community Farm, we’re coming to the end of the most

We're proud of our pretty California rolls!

delicate crops–chard, tomatoes, summer squash, and basil are all pretty much at an end.  Peppers and eggplants may continue a while longer if it gets a bit warmer again. Otherwise, we’ll begin to enjoy the hardy autumn crops like Asian salad greens, bok choi, cabbage, root veggies, and more.  It’s hard to feel sad about the end of the summer with tasty treats like these on the horizon.  Other farmers are also preparing for winter: Shannon Brines of Brines Farms, who grows delicious greens in his hoop houses, reports that this is an important time for seeding crops in the hoop houses so he’ll have greens all winter–he’s glad to clear the summer crops out to make room for the winter seeds!

Cynthia shucking corn

This week’s theme in the kitchen is Cajun/Creole. The chefs have come up with a flavorful menu of favorites for you:

Omnivore Menu

Jambalaya with Rice – Rich flavors, spices, vegetables, and of course sausage and chicken. Couldn’t ask for more on a crisp fall evening!

Grits Supreme – Reimagining a traditional southern food, our grits go beyond: look out for chard, tomatoes, bacon, and more.

Gumbo – A stew so hearty it could walk away! We won’t have seafood, but you won’t miss it in the mix of flavors.

Fried Green Tomatoes – The perfect first-frost food

Vegetable Ribbon Salad – Crisp and refreshing.

Vegetarian Menu

Corn for the winter!

Vegetarian Muffuletta – Roasted eggplant and other veggies with vegetable relish and flatbread.

Red Beans and Rice – Simple, healthy food never tasted so good

Farro Jambalaya – Another vegetarian twist on our favorite Lousiana stew

Grits – For our veggie menu, grits become a classic side dish.

Vegetable Ribbon Salad – Crisp and refreshing.

That’s all!

See you this week.

Mary

Tomato Day madness

I hope you’ll forgive the lateness of this post–I usually write these on Saturdays, and here it is, already past 10 on Sunday! And I’m thoroughly exhausted.  Wait until you hear why–it’s been such a busy weekend here at Harvest Kitchen.

First off, I saw many HK members, friends, and supporters out at the HomeGrown Festival last night.  For those of you who missed it, this annual event takes place at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and is a celebration of our local food community.  Even though I was tired from doing my regular stand at the Farmers Market in the morning, I was excited to be at HomeGrown representing the Harvest Kitchen.  If you stopped by my booth, you would’ve seen me passing out fliers and displaying a slideshow with pictures and videos from the kitchen, many of which have previously made an appearance on this blog.  Later in the evening, I was able to slip away from my table (thanks, Melanie!) to get some dinner and a (local) beer and listen to some awesome local musicians.  If you didn’t make it to HomeGrown this year, be sure to keep an eye out for it next year as it’s a great celebration.

Tomatoes in the sink being washed

But HomeGrown was just a warm up for the real event of the weekend for Harvest Kitchen–TOMATO DAY.  This special day is an annual event for us–the day when we try to put up all the tomatoes we’ll need for the whole winter.  We bought 30 bushels of tomatoes–around 1500 lbs–from our friends at Goetz Farm and began processing them on Friday.  But the official tomato day was today, Sunday, when the HK team kicked it into high gear to get those tomatoes washed, blanched, peeled, packed, and frozen.  Ryan came up with an efficient system for blanching, and Dayna kept us organized, and the rest of us just pitched in and got messy.  I know we’ll appreciate this hard work when we’re eating LOCAL tomatoes this winter!

After two busy days in a row, I know you won’t mind if I keep this post brief.  This week’s menu is a California Theme–I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I know this menu looks tasty!!

Omnivore Mains

Pamela and Dayna hard at work

Chicken Wrap Sandwich – Our “happy hens” local chicken combines with the freshest local veggies and fruit in this perfect “carry to the office” sandwich.

Steak Salad – McLaughlin Highland Beef with with tomatoes, pickled red onions, arugula, fresh mozzarella, radish and more, this is more of a meal than a salad.

Troy and Pamela - score and core team!

Vegetarian Mains

Veggie Wrap Sandwich – Roasted veggies including peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and more make the ideal vegetarian “carry to the office” sandwich.

Tofu Salad – The vegetarian version of a steak salad, crammed with tomatoes, pickled red onions, arugula, fresh mozz, radish, and more. This salad is more of an entree and is another perfect “take to work” food!

Soup and Sides

Tomato Soup – Summer’s freshest flavors–organic, heirloom tomatoes give Campbell’s a run for their money…!

California Rolls – All your favorite seasonal veggies in fresh, crunchy, Cali rolls!

Zucchini Side – It wouldn’t be summer without summer squash.  This chef’s special side will feature summer squash and whatever else the chefs dream up!

that’s all

zzzz

Mary

Kat and Melanie, the cheerful tubbing queens

Here at Harvest Kitchen we’re taking a deep breath this weekend, getting ready for a big week ahead.  Yes, it’s finally upon us, the much-vaunted “Back-to-School” season.  We have quite a few new members for this mini-season (all of our current summer members, of course, will be continuing until November).  We’re especially excited to have all the new folks who found us through Living Social coming on board this week.  Still, it’s a bit daunting–suddenly having to increase production.  I have complete confidence that we’ll be able to do it, but it’s going to be an adventure to make it happen.

Fortunately, there are a lot of good things going for us at this challenging time.  First off, we’ve got GREAT

Ryan processing the tomatoes

support from our community–members, friends, fellow food entrepreneurs, farmers, staff, family, and more.  We were even (apparently) the subject of an engrossing discussion on an Erb Institute email list this week–I can’t wait to hear more about what they concluded!  On the staffing side, it’s a bittersweet time, as several long-time HK workers move on to new adventures.  At the same time, we’re excited about new people coming on board to help us.  This week’s hero is probably Troy, an awesome young man who’s focusing 100% on our dishroom.  We’ve never had one person specifically doing dishes at HK before, and I can’t think what took us so long! If I’d known someone could approach dishes with such a good attitude and

Troy, the hero of the dishroom

work ethic, I’d have hired Troy months ago.  We’re so glad to have him.  We’ve also got Pamela, an ace new prepper, Vik who took charge of the dal last week, and Samir whose friendly demeanor is clearly going to make him a customer favorite. I hope everyone who has the chance to enjoy HK food realizes that it is truly made with love by our awesome team.

Out at the farm, food continues to flood in.  August and September are times of great abundance and bounty.  Fresh tomatoes are at their peak, and other late summer crops like eggplant and peppers are flowing in as well. Yum!

This week’s menu has a Campfire theme, in honor of the Labor Day holiday and the end of the vacation season…

Omnivore Mains

Gorgeous Peppers

Pulled Campfire Beef  The taste of summer campfire cooking: slow-roasted, pulled beef, full of juice and flavor.

Chicken Chili – Our hearty chili is more than a meal in itself–loaded with veggies and our “happy hen” chickens, everyone will be asking for seconds.

Vegetarian Mains

Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini – A perfect summer meal, stuffed squash are filled with a flavorful filling of quinoa and veggies.

Vegetarian Chili – A longtime HK favorite, our vegetarian chili is so hearty and veggie-rich that you’ll never miss the meat.

Sides and Accompaniments

Southwestern Verde Rolls – Flour tortillas stuffed with all the green veggies we can lay our hands on (and believe me, that’s a lot of veggies!)–full of crunch and flavor

Baked Beans – It wouldn’t be a campfire without them! Ours are way more interesting than the traditional out-of-a-can version, but just as filling and warming.  (Omnivore Baked Beans will contain Pork Belly!)

Tortilla Chips and Black Bean Corn Salsa – Need I say more?

Corn Griddle Cakes – All the chefs are bringing in their griddles and we’ve got several cases of fresh sweet corn standing by.

Welcome! See you this week…

Mary

Kim and Stephanie cooking up next week's menu

The big news in the local food scene this past week is Hollerfest.  This amazing music fest features some of Michigan’s top musical talent, all playing their hearts out to an intimate gathering at our friends’ Frog Holler Farm in the Irish Hills of Michigan.  Last year, Hollerfest was one of the highlights of my summer, and I know that many many Harvest Kitchen staff, members, farmers, and friends were out there–hopefully dancing, camping, singing, eating great food, and more.  I, personally, was unavoidably absent!  I had the honor of attending the wedding of my dear friend Laura in Philadelphia.  Laura, the bride, was one of the first student workers I ever supervised, when I first became a food service supervisor at the dining hall in college.  So there’s a food tie-in! However, attending the wedding put me right in the path of Hurricane Irene.  It was quite an adventure, but I’m glad to report that I’m home safely, despite cancelled flights, power outages, downed trees, tornado warnings, and more.  My fancy shoes may never be the same again, though! I’ve never experienced a hurricane before.  The worst of the storm came through in the night, so I actually slept through it, but I did see a lot of preparations, including big signs on the highways saying “Hurricane Warning in Effect–Be Prepared” (helpful).

Tomatoes ready for Caprese Salad

At Harvest Kitchen, this past week has been a rollercoaster.  For those who hadn’t heard, we were the “Local Deal of the Day” on Living Social this past Tuesday.  We have been utterly overwhelmed by the response–it was amazing to have the chance to put our business in front of so many people who would otherwise never have heard of it, and so many people seem so eager to give HK a try.  It’s creating some challenges on our end, but I am totally confident that the HK crew can rise to meet the occasion.  Watch out, because here we come!

Here’s the menu.  It’s an Indian Themed week this time!

Omnivore Mains

Tandoori Chicken- Chickens from our local “happy hen” farmers roasted with brilliant homemade tandoori sauce

Lamb with Green Curry – Local, organic lamb with spicy, delicious green curry sauce

Served with a side of creamy, bean-y Dal

Vegetarian Mains

Vegetable Curry – All our favorite summer vegetables in a flavorful, spicy curry

Cumin-Spiced Lentil Burgers – Another veggie-burger creation–this time with an Indian spin.

Served with a side of savory Spiced Potatoes

Sides

Stephanie carving the Capiccola (homemade smoked ham)

Homemade Chutney – No curry dinner is complete without this sweet-and-savory condiment

Cucumber-Yogurt Salad – Creamy and refreshing, a perfect pair with spicy Indian food

Jasmine Rice – Fluffy and perfect to accompany any of this week’s mains

Chickpea Stew – Loaded with fresh vegetables, our chickpea stew is an ideal main or side.

That’s all for this week!

Mary