RAW LAVENDER & CACAO CAKE with BEET & CASHEW FROSTING

Happy (belated) Valentines Day! 

Our Community Care team member, Simone, made these beautiful raw, vegan lavender & cacao cakes with cashew & beet frosting for her valentines this past weekend. Her photo was such a hit on Instagram that we thought we'd share the recipe! 

Cake:

2 cups of walnuts 1 cup of raw cacao powder ½ tablespoon dried lavender flowers 1 cup dates (or more, depending on how moist they are) 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Frosting:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours ¼ cup coconut oil, plus extra to coat cake pans ½ small beet, shaved zest of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Extra:

Heart-shaped cake pans, individual sized.  Food processor Lavender sprigs to garnish

*Before you begin, soak cashews in a bowl of water for at least 4 hours.

For Cake:

In a food processor, combine walnuts, cacao powder, lavender, and salt and blend until it becomes a flour-like consistency. Taste flour and add more lavender if you want a stronger floral flavor. De-pit dates and add them to the running food processor one by one until the flour becomes moist. You do not want to add enough to make it batter-like, stop adding dates when the flour is still light and fluffy but holds it form when squeezed together with your fingers. How many dates you add will depend on the moistness and freshness of the dates.

Coat each cake pan with a light coat of coconut oil and then press the walnut/cacao mixture into the pans with your fingers. Pack it densly. If it is not sticking together, put it back in the processor and add more dates. You want it to form together in one heart shape, not be coming apart in pieces when you remove it from the pan. Put in freezer to chill. The cakes can be made far in advance of the frosting and kept frozen.

For Frosting:

After Soaking the cashews for 4 hours, strain them and put them in the food processor or vitamix. Heat coconut oil until it is liquid and add to cashews. Add maple syrup and blend the cashew/coconut oil/maple syrup mix. Grate lemon zest and half a beet into the food processor/vitamix and blend until smooth. Taste and add more lemon zest and/or maple syrup to desired taste. Put into jar and let it harden in the freezer.

Check frosting every 20 minutes or so and stir to mix frozen and unfrozen layers, as if you were churning ice cream. When it has reached spreadable, frosting-like consistency, take cakes out of their pans and frost them with the beet frosting.

It's that time of year when we're swimming in apples. Strawberry and melon season seem like an eternity ago and even the pears have started to suffer in this brutal northeast winter. Apples, the ever-hearty fruit, are the lone survivors and therefore the only remaining fruit in our fruit bowls each week. Sound familiar? It's tempting to get sick of apples but luckily they are the most versatile fruit out there. They can be used in everything from pies to kraut to tamales. 

Here's a recipe from our customer Cristina of the blog The Roaming Kitchen who simmered her everlasting apple supply into a savory-sweet garbanzo bean mixture and served it alongside garlicky sausages. Yum! Get her recipe here. 

As we approach the end of 2014, let’s take a moment to think back to our most memorable eats and consider which foods and drinks will stick around next year. Here’s what we predict will shake up the food world in 2015!

Switchel: The New Kombucha? Switchel is the “colonial farm drink that’s fast becoming the borough's hottest beverage,” according to our friends at Modern Farmer. The concoction of ginger, cider vinegar, and maple syrup was a popular thirst-quencher for farmers centuries ago, and it's made a comeback thanks to Ely & Garrett of Up Mountain Switchel. The spicy-yet-slightly-sweet drink is a natural energy booster, not to mention has probiotic and anti-inflammatory superpowers. It’s brewed right around the corner from our Good Eggs foodhub so you can often find us with a jar of the Switch in hand. 

Schmaltz: An Underappreciated Animal Fat “Schmaltz doesn’t get the respect it deserves,” wrote food writer Melissa Clark in a recent New York Times article. And we concur. Schmaltz is one of the most versatile and flavorful fats you can imagine. (Really!) “Imagine the gentlest of butters infused with the taste of fried chicken, but with a fluffy lightness that melts in the mouth,” Melissa goes on to say. We love roasting veggies in schmaltz (our favorite is locally made at Peck’s Food in Clinton Hill) or smearing it on toast.

Sweet on Bitters Bitters seemed to be on every cocktail menu, everywhere, this year. Not to mention at home, where folks are developing their own bitters collections. We’ve been digging the cherry bitters & apricot bitters from Cecil and Meril, made in small batches at James restaurant in Brooklyn. A little goes a long way with these guys—just a few drops will add a punch of aromatics or fruity essence to your cocktails and fizzy water. You can even whip up your own bitters at home, which is a great way to preserve late-season fruits. Learn how here. 

Souping is the New Juicing If you’ve ever been on a juice cleanse, you know it can leave you feeling pretty hangry. Souping, on the other hand, feels more nourishing and soul-satisfying. Bone broths became especially popular—special shout-out to Mountain, whose bone broths we’ll be carrying in our marketplace soon. And in the meantime, try Splendid Spoon if you’re looking for a New Year’s detox after all those gingerbread cookies. Yogurt 2.0 We’ve long been fans of savory yogurt, especially the tangy yogurt made by our pals at Sohha Yogurt. Instead of thinking inside the yogurt-with-sweet toppings box, they’ve introduced us to many wonderful savory toppings like “Everything Bagel” and “Za’atar Bliss.” A little spoonful atop yogurt makes a great breakfast, especially for those of us with a salty tooth. 

Spatchcock Your Bird Many of our customers told us they spatchocked their turkeys this Thanksgiving. What is spatchcocking, you ask? It’s a game-changing technique where you cut out the bird’s backbone, flatten it, then cook it skin side up. And what you end up with is juicy, golden-skinned, delicious turkey. Because the bird is butterflied, there’s more surface area so the skin evenly browns, and the meat cooks up in half the time of traditional roasting techniques, without overcooking. So there you have it friends. Spatchocking. 

Eggs: They're What's for Dinner We’re excited to see eggs-for-dinner getting more play. Can we all agree that eggs are pretty much the most perfect food? When you have no energy left after a long day at work, not to mention an empty fridge, it’s all about the eggs. We recommend the pasture-raised eggs (some of our favs are from Handsome Brook Farm), which have bright yellow yolks and a rich flavor. We love them in shakshuka, frittatas with any veggies lying around, and poached on leftovers. Put an egg on it!

Good Eggs Team Lunch: Roasted Butternut Squash, Warm Puy Lentils with Oven-Dried Tomatoes & Brooklyn Cured Sausage

Another beautiful, not to mention absolutely delicious, lunch whipped together by our incredible chef, Audrey Snyder. This meal was the perfect thing for some of the first seriously chilly days of winter. 

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Serves 8-10

Double your recipe and use leftovers for your next week-day soup! The roasting caramelizes this sweet and creamy squash adding a sweet-savory depth to a simple soup.

1 medium butternut squash

couple pinches kosher salt

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

seasoning of your choice: thyme, lavender, chilies etc.

Preheat oven to 375. Begin by peeling the squash with a vegetable peeler, If the skin seems too thick you can always skip this step and carefully do it with a knife. Remove the stem and bottom of the squash then slice in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice into even, 1/2" pieces (about bite-sized) and toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and any herbs or spices you have. The key to a good roast veggie is to season it just before roasting, the salt draws moisture out allowing the sugar in your veggies to caramelize to perfection! if you leave salted veggies for too long before putting them in the oven they will sweat out too much water and have a tendency to steam (think not crispy!). Roast Squash for 20-30 minutes or longer until they are golden brown and soft in the center. 

WARM PUY LENTILS WITH AND OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Serves 8-10

This is the perfect for those hydroponic tomatoes! or even whole peeled tomatoes right out of the can! 

Lentils:

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoons red wine, sherry vinegar, or rose wine vinegar

1 1/4 cup dried Castellucio or Puy lentils

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 tablespoons chopped parsley (or chervil)

3 tablespoons chopped chives

salt for seasoning

Tomatoes:

3 medium Tomatoes, alternatively one can of whole peeled tomatoes

8 sprigs of thyme 

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons raw sugar (or honey)

a couple pinches salt

Preheat oven to 350. First make the oven roasted tomatoes, slice them into 1/4" slices and lay them on a baking sheet, if you are using canned tomatoes slice them in half, remove some of the seeds, and flatten onto baking sheet. Sprinkle with thyme, oil, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bake for 40 minutes-an hour until they have become soft and caramelized. 

Meanwhile, place the red onion in a medium bowl, pour over the vinegar and sprinkle with the sea salt. Stir, then leave for a few minutes so the onion softens. 

Place the lentils in a pan of boiling water (the water should just barely cover the lentils) and cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Drain well in a colander and while still warm, add to the onion-vinegar mixture. Add the olive oil, garlic and some black pepper. Stir to mix and leave to cool. Once cool, add the herbs and gently mix together. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt.

To serve, pile up the lentils on a large plate or bowl, mix in tomato and drizzle with tomato cooking juices.

BROOKLYN CURED SAUSAGES

Serves 8-10

2-3 packages of Brooklyn Cured chicken garlic sausages

If serving a large group (like our team!), places sausages on a baking sheet and cook at 350 until the skin starts to get a little crispy. If you are prepping for a small group, place the sausages in a frying pan with a a 1/4 inch of water and cover. The water will help steam the sausages and keep them nice and juicy. 

Enjoy together with a bright, crisp salad to balance the rest of the meal. 

Recipe by Audrey Snyder, Good Eggs Chef

GOOD MORNING! BREAKFAST SCRAMBLE WITH CRIMINI MUSHROOMS, KALE & ONION

Our new customer Sylvie started off her Saturday with this veggie scramble made entirely with Good Eggs ingredients. She sent this recipe our way and we're excited to share it with you! - 3 Handsome Brook Farms pasture-raised eggs - 1/4 Fishkill Farms red onion, sliced - 4 cloves of Rogowski Farm garlic - 5 stalks of Rogowski Farm curly kale  - 4 sliced Lancaster Farm Fresh crimini mushrooms - 2 tablespoons of Seka Hills olive oil - Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare everything before scrambling: - Wash and tear apart your stalks of kale into smaller pieces; set aside. - Slice your mushrooms. - Slice your red onion. - Slice your garlic. - Crack open your eggs in a small dish. 2. Pour olive oil into a hot cast iron skillet. Allow it to heat up before adding the mushrooms and red onion. Let those two cook down for a few minutes. 3. Add your kale and sliced garlic to the pan, and a couple shakes of salt. Watch it cook down to a dark green color. 4. Push your veggies to the perimeter of the pan to make room for your eggs, which you'll pour directly into the middle. Turn your heat down low and with a wooden spoon, continue scrambling the eggs, eventually mixing it in with the veggies. Almost immediately, take it off the heat. 5. Spoon it into a bowl or onto a plate. If you have a good bread to pair it with, don't let me stop you. Enjoy!

The beautiful and talented Homa Dashtaki of White Moustache Yogurt, photographed by Nicole Franzen. We can't get enough of this yogurt, especially the Date Persian!