EcoFriendly Foods

Have a Great Weekend

Just a quick reminder that while the farmers markets are open this weekend, EcoFriendly Foods is taking the time off for the holidays. We'll see you again the first weekend in January and we wish you a healthy, happy, safe, and ecofriendly new year!

At the Markets - December 20 and 21, 2008

Here's what you'll find at Arlington and Dupont Circle farmers markets this weekend...

In the beef department we have a limited selection of grass-fed, dry-aged bottom round steaks, a couple of roasts and ground beef for that chili pot, meatballs or meatloaf. If you’re an offal fan, you’ll find an awfully (I had to!) good selection of beef kidneys, livers and hearts.

We have frozen whole chickens and parts (including livers) this week. And as we mentioned last week, approximately 25 whole turkeys for your Christmas holiday table. They will be available on a first come first serve basis. We also have a selection of frozen turkey parts right now, mostly breast cutlets. A reminder that with the exception of a couple more poussin harvests, fresh chicken season is over. We will have frozen whole birds and parts for several more weeks, otherwise we can dream about the season starting again in the spring.

The pork supply is limited this week with everything frozen. We have ground pork, ham steaks, ham roasts along with a good selection of our pork sausages including hot and mild Italian and our breakfast. We should have most if not all of these in bulk packs and links. We hope to bring some pork livers, too.

If you had our lamb last week, you probably found out how delicious those cuts were. This week, there are a few lamb shoulder chops, shanks, whole or boned out legs and ground available. We also have a few whole rabbits (frozen).

The BIG NEWS is that our pastured-raised country hams cured for us by Kite’s Hams in Wolftown arrived Monday. These are classic, southern VA hams. These are unsmoked hams, cured only with salt, pepper and time. Very intense and you’ll note a European-style to them. We have whole hams, portioned pieces (butts and shanks) and slices. Be sure to drop by, see these treats, and take some home.

Finally, a reminder that EcoFriendly will not be at the farmers markets the weekend after Christmas. So stock up now. See you this weekend! (And if we don’t, we’ll see you in 2009!) Thanks for making 2008 a great year for EcoFriendly AND your family’s table.

An Update and a Neat Column About Changing the USDA

First, a quick note about what we have at the markets this weekend.  We don't have those ribeye and New York strip steaks this week.  Sorry for the false alarm.  But I will say there was one ribeye this morning at the Arlington Courthouse market that was at least two inches thick.  Definitely one of those steaks you'll want to fire up the charcoal grill for.  The lucky person who picks that up at Dupont tomorrow will be eating mighty fine!

In other news, we thought you'd be interested in this column by Nicholas Kristof in this week's New York Times where he made a pitch for changing the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Food.  Kristof is hoping for change we can believe in.  Check it out.

At the Markets - December 13 and 14, 2008

Here's what you'll find at Arlington and Dupont Circle farmers markets this weekend...

In the poultry department, we have frozen whole chickens along with a good supply of frozen parts, including livers. We have approximately 25 whole turkeys remaining for your Christmas holiday table. We’ll be bringing a few of them this week and the balance next weekend. We will NOT be taking pre-orders for the remaining turkeys. They will be available on a first come first serve basis. We also have a selection of frozen turkey parts right now, including breast cutlets. These make great turkey nuggets for the kids, stir-frys, kabobs and can even be chunked up for some turkey chili or stew. Pounded out a little, they make great turkey piccata. We also have frozen poussins to round out our poultry selection. Note that with the exception of a couple more poussin harvests, fresh chicken season is over. We will have frozen whole birds and parts for several more weeks. Once those are gone we will wait with anticipation for spring and greener pastures to arrive once again.

In the beef department we have a limited selection of grass-fed, dry-aged rib-eyes, NY strips and sirloin steaks along with ground beef for that chili pot, meatballs or meatloaf. We also have a limited supply of beef livers and hearts.

In the pork department we have fresh blade steaks, center cut and rib chops, tenderloins and plenty of ground pork. Frozen, we’ll have ham steaks, ham roasts (boned, netted and ready to cook!) along with a good selection of our pork sausages, including hot and mild Italian and our breakfast. We should have most if not all of these in bulk packs and links.

And in the “What’s Extra Special Department” this week, I’m bringing a nice selection of fresh lamb. There are rib, loin and shoulder chops, shanks and whole or boned out legs. We also have a few whole rabbits (frozen).

And last but not least, here’s a sneak preview of something special for next week. Back in June we delivered several dozen of our pasture-raised pork hams to Kite’s Hams in Wolftown, VA (near Madison, VA) to be cured into classic southern VA hams (think Smithfield without the nitrates). We have Kite’s do this for us because curing hams is a little science and a lot art, both of which Kite’s has perfected over many years of practice. For those of you unfamiliar with ‘country ham’ as this is often called, these are not a sweet, smoky product like most commercial hams in the US. In fact they are not smoked at all. These are more akin to a European ham, cured only with salt, pepper and time. The flavor is very intense and absolutely unique in its salty, pork flavor. We will have whole hams, portioned pieces (butts and shanks) and slices. The whole and portioned pieces are meant to be roasted, glazed and sliced at the table while the slices are often pan-fried and served for breakfast. Have you heard of ‘red-eye’ gravy? Well it’s what you get when you pan-fry a slice of country ham then deglaze the pan with coffee… yes coffee! It’s a southern classic! And DON’T throw away that bone as it’s essential to seasoning a great pot of southern style pinto beans or collard greens! So get ready to enjoy one of the great culinary treasures of the south and particularly of Virginia. There’s nothing like it! See you this weekend!

At the Markets - December 6 and 7, 2008

Sorry to be so late with our "At the Markets" post this week, but EcoFriendly will be back at the markets this weekend and here's what you can expect to find at Arlington Courthouse and Dupont Circle. For fresh beef this week, we have eye round, skirt steaks and short ribs.  Fresh pork, too. Boneless hams, both netted and un-netted, sirloin chops, shanks, and the ever-popular tenderloins. 

And here’s what our frozen selection will be: Lean ground beef and 85%, ground lamb, the usual large selection of pork sausages, too. Chicken-wise, we’ve got boneless, skinless breasts and the French cuts, as well as leg parts. We also have medium and small size whole birds. And because one can never have enough turkey even after all the Thanksgiving leftovers are done, you can also pick up some breast cutlets, wings, and drumsticks. And as the chill is in the air, it’s a perfect time to get back to making stocks. We have our special stockpot packets set and ready to go for you in both chicken and turkey. Just add water and vegetables!

See you this weekend!

Bill Moyers Tackles the Way We Eat on PBS

For many, the insights of Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, represent the most straightforward, salient arguments about what's wrong with our nation's food chain and what we can do to help fix it. It's probably no surprise to you that we're big fans of what Pollan has to say and we're always glad to see him out there fighting the good fight on behalf of the farmers who grow our food sustainably and humanely and the consumers who choose to make a difference by opting for the products that come from EcoFriendly and the many other companies like ours.

So we're always proud to share with you what Pollan has to say and just last week he was on Bill Moyer's Journal on PBS. You can find the video clips and transcripts here.

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday and check back here in a couple of days (or simply subscribe to our feed!) and we'll let you know what we'll have available for you at the markets this weekend.

Meanwhile, tell us about what you thought of our turkeys this year! We'd love to read your comments if you put them under one of our turkey posts from November. If you want to send some photos, recipes or longer stories, send them to feedback@ecofriendly.com.  Or feel free to join our Flickr group and post them there, too!