Food & Gourmet Items

Item Description

Insta Pot Game Day Gift Package

• Jacob’s Cattle Beans from Morningstar Meadows (Glover, VT)
• Sugar Bob’s Smoked Maple Syrup (2 fl oz ) (Londonderry, VT)
• Shito* (Hot Pepper Sauce) from Mawuhi African Market (Burlington, VT)
• Cornbread Pancake & Muffin Mix from Nitty Gritty Grain Co. of VT (Charlotte, VT)
• Blueberry Bourbon Fruit Jam from Potlicker Kitchen (Stowe, VT)

*Shito, a Ghanaian hot chili condiment, has a potent smoky flavor that comes from the addition of ground smoked fish or prawns.  Use sparingly as batches can be extra hot.  Ingredients may include vegetable oil, various types of peppers, ginger, dried fish, shrimp, crayfish, tomatoes and spices.  Shito is similar to the Malaysian condiment sambal belacha or to a Sichuan chili oil.

Jacob’s Cattle Bean Soup with Kale & Chevre

This is a delicious and hearty soup using the gorgeous Jacob’s Cattle beans that we grow. The heavy cream helps to bind the beans and to make the soup thicker, so we recommend not using any low-fat substitutes. Make sure to save any leftovers because after you serve this for a winter dinner party, it is even better the next day. It also freezes well. Recipe adapted from LocalHarvest.org

Ingredients

2 cups Jacob's Cattle beans rinse and soak overnight (3parts water to 1 part beans, soaking water reserved)
2 Tb salt
2 Tb olive oil
1 carrot diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 onion diced or use 4 shallots
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 1/2 cup tomatoes coarsely chopped, or use tomato puree when fresh is unavailable
1 cup roasted red peppers chopped
1 bunch kale stemmed and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 Tb dried thyme
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup soft goat cheese
1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
kosher salt
Instructions

Prepare the beans as instructed, soaking them over night for easy digestibility.

Put the beans and the reserved soaking water in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add the salt (the water should taste lightly of salt). Cook about 1 hour, until the beans are to your liking in texture and flavor.

While this is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in another saucepan and cook the carrot, celery, yellow onion or shallots and garlic, until the mixture becomes soft and translucent but don’t allow to brown. Stir in the tomatoes, red peppers and kale of your choice. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until it all becomes tender and add salt to your taste.

When the beans are finished, add in the vegetable mixture, herbs and spices. Cook for about 20 minutes to meld flavors, then add the heavy cream, goat cheese and black pepper. Cook for 15 minutes more, then season to taste with salt.

If making this soup in the summer, feel free to adjust the vegetables and use fresh herbs. 

Marie Nightingale’s Baked Jacob’s Cattle Beans

Halifax-based food writer and Maritime icon, Marie Nightingale, was pulling together an article on beans and found this great recipe on the back of the package of Webster’s Farms from Cambridge, Nova Scotia.  Calling the family to ask their permission to publish it, she was greeted with a laugh.  Turned out that it was one of her own that they’d used because it was so delicious.

Jacob’s Cattle Beans, the prettiest beans I’ve seen, are an old variety which were specific to the Maritimes and New England for many years and most certainly migrated north with the Loyalists.  But food is always on the move and the beans in the image to the left were grown in Wellington County, Ontario.   For this recipe, white beans or any other heirloom bean will work well.

Ingredients

1 – 1 lb/454 g package dried Jacob’s Cattle Beans
2 tsps (10 mL) dry mustard
1/3 cup (75 L) packed brown sugar
2/3 cup (150 mL) molasses
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) freshly ground pepper
4 oz (115 g)  salt pork or bacon
1 tsp (5 mL) white vinegar
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
Instructions

Cover the beans with cold water and soak overnight. Alternately place beans in a large pot with 6 cups (1.5 L) water, cover and bring to a boil.  Boil 5 minutes, remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.  Drain and discard water, then rinse.

Place drained beans in a large pot with 6 cups (1.5 L) water, after boiling for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about 30 minutes.  To see whether a bean is tender, simply remove it from the boiling water and blow on it.  If the skin cracks and peel back, it’s ready. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 mL) of the liquid.   Transfer to a slow cooker, bean pot or casserole with a lid.  Combine the reserved water with mustard, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper, pork or bacon and vinegar.

Cook on high in a slow cooker or at 300’F (150’C) in the oven.  Beans done in a slow cooker will take about 6 hours; in the oven from 4 to 6 hours.  Add water during cooking as needed to keep beans moist.

Makes 6 servings.

Item Special Note

All proceeds will go to the United Way of Northwest Vermont.  Thank you for your generous support this holiday season.

For items which require mailing or shipping, we will either pack and mail them ourselves or bring them to a local pack-n-ship.  Please note that packaging, mailing and shipping costs will be applied separately and are not included in your winning bid.  We will make every effort to keep the cost as low as possible for you.