December FM: pinks, greens & golds!



We bought 5lbs of fresh shrimp, heads intact and caught that morning, for, if I remember right, $8 total.  Peeled, we ended up with a robust 2lbs of succulent meat.  (Our local grocer(s) sell the same peeled product, frozen, for $7.99 per lb, so we got one pound free).




However, I also made stock with the heads and shells, using a little leftover sugar pumpkin, leeks, onion, celery (all of which came from local farms), parsley (the very last from my garden) and a couple bay leaves.




Yield: just over a gallon (one more jar was left out of the picture) of crystal clear*, intoxicating shrimp stock to be used for a special bisque for our New Year's Eve party.  I'll serve it in small sippers, garnished with some of those delectable shrimp (which, yes, are now in the freezer, but that's no problem at all).
*The key to producing a consomme style stock is to avoid boiling it.  Skim off impurities after initially coming to a near boil, then just let it barely simmer.  I used all the heads and shells from the 5lbs of shrimp, and ~4 qts of cold water, and simmered for an hour.

 This market's take home list:

Animal Kingdom
fresh cod
fresh shrimp
fresh scallops (our first scallops since...last winter?)
various heritage and traditional breed pork products
fresh chicken, whole and legs
2 dozen eggs
quark (traditional, old style cottage cheese)
camembert cheese
2 kinds of goat cheese

Plant Kingdom
arugula (really beautifully done by Garen...)
beans (dried, 6 kinds: Bumblebee, Peregion, Black Coco, Jacob's Cattle, Soldier, and "heirloom soup")
beets
broccoli
buttercup squash
butternut squash
carrots
garlic
garlic scape pesto
kale
leeks
onions
potatoes (4 kinds)
shallots
spinach
sweet potato!!! (Farmer Dave's)
and...
turnip (small, white "tokyo"--perfect for braising)

Phew!  That was a lot of luggin'!  Good thing the hubby joined me!