Warm weather? Wow! What a day it was earlier this week!  A warm breeze blew through our area, and gave us such a welcomed sign of days to come.  Don’t take off too many layers yet.  It’s not quite spring, but I am getting excited to be outside in the sun again.  Even on the cold days when the sun hits the green houses it can get hot in there.  So, we are already preparing flats with seeds to put in the greenhouses for the CSA Program this year.  If you haven’t signed up the CSA program, you’re running out of time. Here’s how to sign up http://www.griggstownquailfarm.com/csa/how-to-join/.

When we aren’t filling flats with soil, we have been working hard here at the farm to improve all aspects of the farm business.  This winter season we have been making more Chicken, Turkey, and Beef Pot Pies than even before!  With production up, we have decided to increase the size of our kitchen! This year we’re getting a bigger kitchen.  It’s pretty exciting for us.  With a bigger kitchen the possibilities are endless! J  Keep an eye out in the store for new products, new prepared foods and more outstanding Griggstown Farm Market products.

With improvements to the store, we have updated the address for the store.  It was on Canal Road.  But the entrance for the store is actually on Bunker Hill Road.  So, our new address is 484 Bunker Hill Road, Princeton, NJ 08540. This will make it much less complicated when you put the address in your GPS.  We hope that this improvement will make the farm more accessible.

Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 potatoes, cubed

2 pints fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup white sugar

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

3 slices pancetta or bacon, cut into thin strips

6 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

2 pounds bok choy, sliced

4 (8 ounce) boneless duck breast halves

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl mix together the salt, ground black pepper, thyme, and rosemary; set aside. This will be your spice blend for seasoning the roasted potatoes and the duck breasts.
2. Place cubed potatoes into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of your spice blend over the top of the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the pan until they are evenly coated with oil and seasonings. Spread into a single layer across the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
3. While the potatoes are roasting, stir together the blueberries, water, apple juice, sugar, and jalapeno in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of syrup, about 10 minutes.
4. Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the pancetta to drain on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Add the shallots and the mushrooms to the hot skillet; stir and cook them until soft and just beginning to brown. Remove the shallots and mushrooms and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high and place the bok choy in the hot skillet. Stir and cook the bok choy until the leaves are wilted and the white stalk pieces are tender, about 5 minutes. Return the shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta to the skillet, turn off the heat and set aside.
5. Rinse the duck breast halves and pat dry. Rub the remaining spice blend onto both sides of the duck breasts. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, when the pan is hot put in the vegetable oil and butter. Immediately place the duck breasts in the pan, skin and fat side down. Do not move the duck breasts until the skin is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part is 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done. Remove the duck from the pan and place on a plate, covered with foil to rest for 5 minutes. While the duck is resting, place the skillet with the bok choy mixture onto a burner over medium heat to warm through.
6. Slice each duck breast diagonally into 1/2 inch strips. Divide the bok choy mixture among four plates and drizzle each serving with 1/2 tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar. Arrange the sliced duck breasts on top of the bok choy mixture; ladle on blueberry sauce. Serve with oven-roasted potatoes on the side

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pan-seared-duck-breast-with-blueberry-sauce/Detail.aspx

The Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. There also are feralbreeding populations in North America in and around public parks in nearly every state of the USA and in the Canadian provinces; feral populations also exist in Europe. Although the Muscovy Duck is a tropical bird, it adapts to icy and snowy conditions down to –12°C (10°F) and below without ill effects.^[2][3] In general, “Barbary Duck” is the usual term for C. moschata in a culinary context.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_duck

Forecast says…  Seeds are Here!!!    That’s right, we’ve already received the seeds, and throughout the next few weeks we will be starting the plugs for this years CSA program. If you haven’t signed up already, you are running out of time.  Follow this link to find out how to sign up -http://www.griggstownquailfarm.com/csa/how-to-join/

When it’s this cold outside and snowfalls each week, it’s hard to think about planting; but the warm weather will be here before you know it.   In the mean time, stop by the farm to pick up a Pot Pie or Quart of Soup, both are great this time of year.  We are open seven days a week!  We are trying a number of great prepared foods with time of year.  When you stop in, feel free to let our New Sous Chef Alyssa know how you feel about the new prepared food ideas.  If you don’t live in the area or can’t make it the the store, we also sell to a number of retail grocery stores throughout New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.  Give us a call any time to find out where you can find our chicken, beef and turkey Pot Pies.

Here are a few recipes that I tried this week.  both are great!

Roasted Griggstown Chicken Sausage, Apples, Leeks, and Potatoes

Serves 4

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 Small Crisp Red Apples (empire or braeburn), quartered

2 Leeks (white and light green parts only), halved crosswise and lengthwise

2 Yellow Potatoes (about ½ lb total), cut into ½-in-thick wedges

8 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

2 Tbsp olive oil

Kosher Salt and Pepper

8 Griggstown Chicken and Apple Sausage links (24 oz)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large roasting pan, toss the apples, leeks, potatoes, thyme, oil, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper.  Roast for 15 minutes.
2. Stir the vegetables and add the sausages to the pan, nestlings them among the vegetables.  Roast until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes more.

• Try substituting Pears for the apples in this recipe.  Like apples, the pears will add caramelized sweetness to this savory dish.

Womensday.com – February 2011

Spring Greens with Quail Eggs

-         10 ounces fresh spring greens

-         6 quail eggs

VINAIGRETTE

-         ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

-         ¼ cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

-         1 clove small garlic, minced

-         1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

-         Salt (to taste)

-         Ground black pepper (to taste)

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t–1790/spring-greens-with-quail-eggs.asp

Food of the Week:  Quail eggs are considered a delicacy in many countries, including Western Europe and North America. In Japanese cuisine they are sometimes used raw or cooked as tamago in sushi and often found in bento lunches.

In some other countries, quail eggs are considered less exotic. In Colombiaand Venezuela, a single hard-boiled quail egg is a common topping on hot dogsand hamburgers, often fixed into place with a toothpick. In the Philippines, kwek-kwekis a popular street food delicacy, which consists of soft-boiled quail eggs dipped in orange-colored batter before being skewered and deep-fried. In Vietnam, bags of boiled quail eggs are sold on street stalls as inexpensive beer snacks. ^[1]

Quail eggs are often believed to be very high in cholesterol, but evidence is showing that cholesterol levels are about similar to chicken eggs.^[2]

References

1. ^ “Eat Cheap, Top 7 Street Foods Around the World”. Backpacker Ben (travel blog). August 2010.
2. ^ Bragagnolo M, Rodriguez-Amaya D. B. (April 2003). “Comparison of the cholesterol content of Brazilian chicken and quail eggs”.Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 16 (2): 147–153. doi:10.1016/S0889-1575(02)00129-1.