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What's Cooking at Walpole Valley Farms?

If you’re reading this, you probably love small farms, and if you love small farms, you probably love food. The two go hand in hand, like pasture-raised bacon and eggs, or pork chops and coffee. Yes, you read that correctly: Pork. And coffee. Press on, fearless reader.

Before I go any further, I should mention that mine is a new voice on this blog. Hey there, I’m Chris. Originally from Massachusetts, I joined the team last spring as one of the farm’s seasonal apprentices. I loved the experience so much that I decided to stay on as assistant farm manager-- though between you and me, the alternative was to drag me out of here with a chain! After seven months of bucolic views and farm-fresh food, it’s hard to imagine living any other way.

There are many wonderful aspects to farm life, but I’m joining this blog to talk about the food. I consider myself an amateur cook -- amateur, from the Latin “amator,” meaning lover (ooh la la). I mention the etymology of the word because I want to impress upon you, dear reader, that I have no cooking credentials beyond a deep enthusiasm for futzing around in the kitchen. Because I don’t claim to be a professional chef or recipe-writer, I offer this blog as more of a way to share what I’ve been doing in the kitchen, rather than as some authoritative treatise on gourmet cooking. Food is the ultimate conversation piece, and I want these blogs to function as a discussion. Please, feel free to share your tips, tricks, and tweaks in the comments section.

One of the things that I love about cooking is that it is an imprecise art. Some people (especially those who bake frequently) like to carefully measure out every ingredient. I, on the other hand, don’t like to measure any of my ingredients, preferring instead to prepare everything to taste. Now, some of you may hear that and think “oh, I’m not going to be able to replicate these dishes.” To those individuals, I offer the following: Stop, take a deep breath, it’s not as scary as it sounds. Cooking is more about technique than about the relative quantities of ingredients you use. If you really like the taste of a particular ingredient, use more of it! Contrariwise, if you dislike an ingredient, you can give it the old “it’s not you, it’s me” speech, and go your separate ways.

Another caveat that I will issue is that you, the reader, are likely working with more comprehensive appliances than I am. My kitchen is currently under renovation, so I’ve been cooking with a two-burner hot plate and toaster oven while I wait for my range to be installed. If you have more burners available to you, you may have more flexibility with timing the different components of these recipes. Or you might just make more dirty dishes.

Alright, I think that’s enough introduction. Let’s dive into this! The inspiration for the recipe I am sharing today came from the digital equivalent of pulling ingredients out of a hat -- a “random ingredient generator.” After a few clicks on the “OMNOMNOM!” button, the program finally spit out the following: “coffee, pork, squash, and hazelnuts. Pick three.” After mulling over various possibilities, I finally came up with an idea for coffee-brined pork chops with maple and spice butternut squash puree, steamed broccolini, and candied orange peel.

What you’ll need:

2 pork loin chops, preferably from a local, pasture-based source

1 quart of freshly brewed coffee

~1T ground coffee

~¼ cup of sea salt

1 bay leaf

Freshly ground peppercorns (optional)

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

Maple syrup, to taste

Butter, lots of it, preferably from grass-fed cows, divided

Ground ginger

Ground cinnamon

Ground nutmeg

1 bunch of broccolini

½ shallot, minced

¼-½ cups marsala, or other fortified cooking wine

¼-½ cups chicken stock (homemade is infinitely superior to store bought)

Candied orange peel for the garnish (I found some at a local candy shop)

Brew coffee the night before, or early on the day you plan to cook. Add a hefty amount of sea salt (¼ cup or more), bay leaf, a touch of maple syrup, and ground pepper (if using) to the hot coffee, and stir thoroughly. Chill the mixture in the fridge until it has cooled to at least room temperature, so as to prevent unwanted cooking of the meat.

Submerge your loin chops in the cool coffee brine and let it chill out in your refrigerator for a minimum of one hour prior to cooking. You’re going to get better flavor penetration the for as long as 8 hours.

Fast forward to dinner prep time. Remove loin chops from the brine, and pat dry with a napkin or towel. Rub each chop with a small amount of fresh, coarsely ground coffee beans. You may choose to brush a small, additional amount of maple syrup onto each chop, if desired. This will improve caramelization of the meat during cooking, giving the dish great flavor and color.

Place your cubed butternut squash in a large steamer basket and steam over boiling water for 7-10 minutes, or until a fork is easily pushed through the squash. About halfway  through the steaming process, begin preheating a large, cast-iron skillet over high heat.