Spring is waning, Summer is waxing

-pictured, heirloom apriums-

Spring is waning, Summer is waxing.

Think strawberries, stone fruit and Equinox greens.

Coming up this week: strawberries will be coming from Connecticut.  We have local chocolate mint.  And maybe if we all behave and think pure thoughts, the gods of stonefruit will bless us with some Santa Rosa plums mid-week–no promises.  In mushroom world, it’s all about porcinis, morels, and imported chanterelles.  Get some wild pousse-pied: they’re at their best right now.

Stone Fruit: there are a handful of chefs that call us on a regular basis to chat about what tastes best right now.  We love those conversations, and it’s the best way to get the real scoop on which lot or variety is truly primo and belongs on your plate tonight.  We get in all kinds of heirloom variety stone fruits.  They ripen at different rates, so the variety that we had last week will be different than today’s, and that means it will eat different, cook different, and taste different, and that you’re going to go through a lot of printer ink if you want the varietal name on your menu.  Right this moment: cot’n candy white apriums are super sweet and tender, Fitz Kelly “modesto” apricots are seriously off the chain.  And all of these could be gone in a hot second and we’ll be onto the next variety.

86: The last of the ramps are gone.  Green garlic has about one week left, maybe a week and half.  Knoll fava leaves and rapini are done for the season.  Baby artichokes continue to be short in the market, so if you want regular as a substitute, it would be good to note that on your order.

Also notable: we have a Soom tahini update: in addition to the 1# units, we now have big 40# buckets in stock.  If you use a lot of tahini, you’ll save some significant bucks buying the large bucket. We are also expecting a visit from the sisters producing this awesome tahini in July, so let us know if you’d like a visit from them to learn more about the story behind the project.  Staff meal education?

Maine Grains: a few new varieties in the mix

Available in 5# bags:
Heritage Wheat Flours
Hard Red “Magog” Wheat Berries
Spelt Flour
“Red Fife” Flour
“Marquis” Flour
“Overland” Pastry Flour

86% “Magog” Wheat Flour

72% “Magog” Wheat Flour

Rye, Triticale & Buckwheat
Rye Berries
Triticale Berries
Coarse Rye Meal
Rye Flour
Organic Japanese Buckwheat Flour

Triticale Flour

Heirloom Stone Fruit
Crimson Lady Peaches
Helena Apricots
Cot’n Candy White Apriums
Maycrest Peaches
Rose Diamond Nectarines
Modesto Apricots
Local Produce
Connecticut Strawberries
Native Fiddlehead Ferns
Native Chocolate Mint
 Native French Breakfast Radishes
Native Easter Egg Radishes
MA Spring-dug Parsnips
Chive Blossoms from Allandale Farm
Equinox Mesclun
Equinox Baby Arugula
Best of the Season
Field-grown Rhubarb from Oregon
Fresh Green Almonds
Oregon Morel Mushrooms
Oregon Porcini Mushrooms
Wild Oregon Pousse-Pied
Fresh Jersey Peas
Spanish Chanterelles
Black Mission Figs
CA Cherries
CA Peaches, Apricots, Nectarines
Champagne Mangoes
Fresh Fava Beans
Fresh Garbanzo Beans
CA Sugarsnap Peas
Spring Onions

amp it up.

Smoked Cherrywood Honey: pretty good in a whiskey sour, also makes a cool ice cream
Marrow Beans: one of the original varieties used for New England baked beans
Red Flint Grits : exceptional coarse grits from a small family farm in Columbia county, South Carolina
Dukkah: spice mix of toasted almond & hazelnut meal, with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sumac, chili and aleppo, nice on roasted veg
Maine Duck Eggs: duck egg carbonara with Jersey peas and La Quercia pancetta?
Maine Grains Coarse Rye Meal: real Danish rye uses rye meal, not flour.  Make some house smørrebrød and put some beet-cured gravlax on there
Heiwa Tofu: if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should.  This Maine-made tofu has a just firm enough texture, gentle taste of fresh peas, from organic Maine-grown soybeans
Pear Mostarda: make your grilled cheese sandwich come alive, just like the hills in the Sound of Music
By Diego Maldonado