Charlie's Pick of the Week: Wild Rose Honey

A rose is a rose, is a rose.

Except if it’s a wild rose- especially wild rose, hunny- then it’s nothing short of awesome.

My pick this week has a sweet romantic taste with floral undertones to finish. It can be used for tea time, dessert time or my personal favorite: eating it with a spoon and peanut butter.

This honey is raw and unfiltered. Since it’s not heated, this wild rose honey maintains all the natural residue bees bring to the hive. Supposedly helps with allergies because it boosts your immune system- I know, fascinating.

I find that honey can be infused throughout your menus- drizzled on fresh bread with cheese, over a pork roast with apples or maybe a wild rose panna cotta? Oh my.

Hope to see you at the upcoming farm dinner with Lyon Hall!

Until next time…Stay Fresh!

CBV  

Charlie's Pick of the Week: Pink Banana Squash

Day-o, me say day-ay-ay-o. Come, Mister tally man, tally me (pink) banana squash...

I'm so excited about this winter squash! And look who came to help showcase my pick this week, Lyon Hall's Chef Andy Bennett and Wine Director Andrew Limberg. Long-time friends, Andy and Andrew were kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules and travel from Arlington, VA to help me introduce Fresh Link's pink banana squash.

As you can see this squash is JUMBO. While I used to be a champion shot putter back in the day- I was unable to hoist this delicacy (that's why I invited Andrew). 

Pink banana squash features a dry, firm delicious yellow-orange colored sweet flesh and begs to be used in pies, baking, soup or canning. It was extremely popular in the 19th century among American pioneer families for its versatility and ability to feed many mouths!

You'll be able to find Fresh Link's pink banana squash on Lyon Hall's menu. "Right now we're using a lot of it raw, in salads. It's got a great cucumber mango flavor," Chef Bennett said.  

 If you're smart you'll follow suit and incorporate this winter squash in your restaurant today!

 Until next time...Stay Fresh!

CBV

p.s. We'll be doing a Game Dinner with Lyon Hall on October 23rd at Locust Hill log cabin! For more information see the post below!  

Game Dinner with Lyon Hall: October 23

Sunday, October 23rd 

5 courses with wine pairings - $100 per person (plus tax & tip). Email sarah@thefreshlink.com about local pricing

5pm arrival - 6pm dinner 

Charlie's Pick of the Week: Amish Pie Pumpkins

Ahhh autumn...falling leaves, turtlenecks, apples, corn mazes, hot chocolate...and Amish pie pumpkins.

I can't tell you how excited I am for this season. Fresh Link is really ramping up their fall produce with kabocha squash, baby greens, pears, raspberries and plenty more! These next few months are going to be busy for me, I'm going to have difficulty deciding what to feature-  not to mention, there's a baby on the way. 

Now back to the task at hand...It's pumpkin season folks. These small round, some might call "cute", pumpkins really pack a punch.  While I myself am a jack-o-lantern perfectionist, these Amish pie pumpkins are super meaty and way better suited for pie-making and freezing. This year they're coming from a family owned and operated farm called Public House Produce in Luray, VA (Hi David, Heather & Lauren!) 

Whether you're making pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soufflé, pumpkin crème brûlée or the classic pumpkin pie, you can't go wrong with putting these little Amish pie pumpkins on your menu. 

Now last time my good friend Charlie from Rounton Farm (we get lots of wonderful herbs from them)  visited Fresh Link, he kindly asked if he could try one of our Amish pie pumpkins. My ladies, said "Of course!" and sent him home with a petite pumpkin that he turned into... 

 

A lovely, heart-filled pie. Way to go Charlie!

Until next time...Stay Fresh! 

CBV 

Charlie's Pick of the Week: Sweet Corn

This week I wanted to highlight a "last of the season" product like it's going out of style- because, well...it is.

Miller Farms' sweet corn crop is finally coming to an end and what a sad week it is. This, by far, is some of the best sweet corn I've ever had. And I'll say it again- this is some of the BEST sweet corn I've ever had.

It is so tasty I know you could incorporate it into every course: corn fritter appetizers, corn chowder, corn salad, frittata - if you make it- you should add this corn to it. It's a guaranteed way to make any dish better.

Hurry- you don't want to miss sweet corn's final days! It would be a tragedy...

Until next time...Stay Fresh!

CBV