August Newsletter

Turns out, Local food is still kind of hard to get when it comes right down to it. Our whole raison d'etre has been to make it easier to our hands on local and I think Pip is making it pretty darn easy and maybe even a little fun these days but, getting it TO Nantucket, to supplement what our island farmers are growing is still pretty complex. As we have grown and stretched a bit further to find both the fun things for the shop (like A2 milk and Kefir, more spices and sparkly bevvies!) as well as some of the staples, we have run into many hurdles to leap and hoops to jump through. Which has made us all the more thankful and appreciative for our keystone partner, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, lovingly known as FFRI.

We love how easy they are to work with, their attention to building community food systems, equity and diversity.

We love their Harvest Kitchen line of goods (think strawberry applesauce, stewed tomatoes, pickles) that is being made by the 16-19 year olds in their culinary training program.

We love their new location, a beautiful facility right in Providence. It is well worth a visit if you are ever in the area as it is not only a depot for FFRI but also has several shops and kitchens where many of the producers you know from our market are making their goods. PLUS a Saturday Farmer's Market. PLUS a brewery on site. PLUS a distillery next door. FFRI has become the cornerstone of quite the neighborhood.

They have been doing good things for a while and continue to be an essential partner for us as we continue to grow and look for more local goods to bring over.

We recently had the opportunity to head over to their annual summer event wich was a beautiful opportunity to connect with farmers and producers and get inspired by some of the creations local chefs came up with as they were paired up with producers.

Favorite Plates From the FFRI Farm to Table Event:

Melon and Tomato Gazpacho from Avvio and Four Town Farm

Blueberry Dumplings with basil icing from Mei Mei and Schartner Farms

Fejoada made with Vermont Bean Crafters black beans from Gnarly Food Truck

Pork Sliders with Candied Jalapenos from Easy Entertaining and Little River Farm

August Maker Feature: Seaweaver Studios

Cara DeHeart is the magic behind the beautiful handwoven textiles we have in the shop. If you pop in often, you may have noticed the colors shifting and changing from greens and pinks to browns, greys and soft blues. Cara weaves these pieces for us throughout the year with the only instruction from us being - we will take them in any colors you are feeling inspired by at the moment. We hesitate to name them as they are so multi-functional but there is ALWAYS one hanging in my kitchen so for me, these beautiful cloths are functionally the dish towel but truly, they are a little work of art hanging next to the sink. They can be used for so many different things and make the perfect housewarming gift. Cara does much, much more than just these smaller towels that are perfect for Pip and you can read more in this month's Maker Feature. Photo credits to Emily Scannell and Seaweaver Studios

Recipe/Ingredient Highlights: Gazpacho, Jalapeño Poppers, and Jowl Baco

We are entering that time of year where trying to choose just one ingredient or one recipe is too hard, as the harvest season really kicks in.
Gazpacho is perhaps one of the most lovely and healthy ways to cool down when the days get hot if jumping in the ocean isn't possible. One of my favorite recipes is here BUT if you are not in the DIY mood and just need to cool down, we have gazpacho ready to go for you at Pip!
The other recipe I have shared was one that was a beautiful way to use the bumper crop of jalapeños I had in the garden. I stuffed with a mix of cream cheese and Narragansett Creamery Ricotta and I wrapped them in Silk Tree Farm's Jowl Bacon and let them cook a little bit longer. SO easy, so lovely and brought me back to the 90s when for some reason, Jalapeño poppers were at every party and on every menu.

Sleeper's Pick: Rosato di Ampleia

You may have heard of Elisabetta Foradori. She’s a legendary winemaker and one of the leaders of female winemaking. Elisabetta is arguably the most famous female winemaker in all of Italy. She’s a boss, and she wanted to create unique expressions of natural wine in Tuscany that pushed the boundaries of classic Italian winemaking.
Ampeleia is based in Roccatederighi, Tuscany and now sprawls over 120 hectares of land, but just 35 of them are vineyards. They also have vegetable gardens, animals, and a massive olive grove. They believe in biodiversity and unique winemaking practices that most Tuscans would turn their nose to…until they take a sip.
This is the Ampeleia Rosé and I dreamed of sharing it with all of you when I first tried it last summer out on a farm while eating chicken livers. Chicken livers and rosé?! Who woulda know this could be a perfect pairing. The reason why is because this wine drinks more like a chilled red wine that has light tannin structure and is bursting with dark red fruits.
You’ll notice this wine is a bit deeper and darker in color compared to your traditional rosé. This is because of the grape Alicante Nero, which is a red skinned and red pulped grape. So, when the grape juice is pressed through the juices are already a red hue, then when the typical skin contact that is necessary for producing rosé happens, it produces an even darker pink wine. The Ampeleia Rosato was born for cooking out on a beautiful summer afternoon at the beach. Get it nice and chilled and make sure you’ve got a charcoal grill. This one deserves the extra flavor of the charcoal grill.

Inspiration: Family Table Collaborative

Jeni Wheeler from Family Table Collaborative in Hyannis is a one-woman nutritional security powerhouse and advocate. She is making change happen on the Cape for the food insecure by getting 400 meals/week out the door to people who otherwise would have minimal or no access to fresh food or healthy meals. What started during COVID as an emergency response has become a sustained effort as, much like our experience on Nantucket, COVID brought to light the level of endemic food insecurity all around us. You can read more about Jeni here or if you happen to see an August Cape Cod Life around look for her feature article.