January Newsletter

January 15, 2022 6 min read

Happy New Year!

As you may have seen in our Monday Market email, we’ve been thinking a lot about neighbors recently. This is the time of year where we turn to our neighboring towns for local food. The island crops are sleeping and currently a lot more infrastructure exists at off-island farms.

A change is coming and we can feel it! Don’t forget this email, because in January 2023 we will all be looking back at 2021 and 2022 and how they changed the landscape of food on our island.

The island winds are blowing whispers of change and we can feel it in the conversations we’ve had with local nonprofits, local farmers, and our neighbors. We’ve started to see articles about land use, food security projects, and overall community health awareness. In this coming year we not only anticipate the opening of the island’s first all local food hub, but we anticipate this being a part of a local food revolution for Nantucket.

You already know we need your help and that’s why you even signed up for our emails. We are in this together and we want to continue to remind you of the power of your purchasing. Choosing to drive out to the farms, visiting the Green Market, grabbing granola at Born & Bread, finding an island farm on a restaurant menu, and shopping at Pip & Anchor are just some of the many ways you can lead your community in this local food revolution.

In addition to your purchasing power, we also promise that your support means you’re supporting Nantucket’s food insecure. As Pip & Anchor grows, so does our Nourishing Nantucket program that continues to provide local food weekly to our neighbors in need. 40% of Nantucket public school is on free or reduced lunch. 1 in 5 children on the island are unsure of their next meal. These problems are growing, but in 2022 we have an opportunity to move the needle in the opposite direction.

Last year as a community we provided over 400 boxes of food for food insecure families. We have seen an incredible amount of generosity from our customers and local nonprofits have taken note. They want to join us in this fight. We believe that in 2022 food insecurity will be reduced on island and as our project grows we believe these numbers will continue to shrink. So, we thank you for your support last year and we look forward to reporting even more good news throughout the year.

Winter Vegetable Series: Cabbage

Now that we've entered the quiet months when the produce selections slim down we've decided to use this opportunity to highlight a winter vegetable every month. This month (and most months) we're all about cabbage.

This versatile veg should make its way into everyone's fridge this winter. It is super resilient to these cold temperatures and has quite the shelf life when refrigerated.

Storage Tips

Properly stored the tougher styles of cabbage heads (i.e. savoy, green, red…not Napa cabbage) keep for up to 6 months in ideal conditions.In a refrigerator, up to 2 months.
Keep the outer leaves on as they protect the cabbage and help it last longer.
Handle carefully as bruised cabbage degrades more quickly

Nutritional Highlights

Packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin K
Packed with fiber so great for digestion

Simplest Preparation

Steamed with a pat of Casco Bay Butter melting on top. An excellent and easy side all winter long OR the base preparation method that you can then jazz up with sauces and seeds and nuts and more!

Plan Ahead

Rita's Pick of the Month

Remnant 'Dream Pop' Hazy IPA

We love how this flagship brew meets the season wherever it is at. Summer heat….this lightly textured, bright hazy IPA made from locally grown oats is perfect on the beach. But, we are choosing to feature it this month because we think that light, breezy texture also pairs well with the heavier fare of winter meals. The soft oat body with a pinch of citrus pretty much captures winter in a beer and then paired with cabbage, root vegetables and sausage or shepard’s pie leaves you feeling full and cozy without the weight of some of the heavier beers and just a little more complexity than a pilsner, which would be a typical pairing for cabbage.

Remnant is a wonderful little microbrewery located in the Bow Market of Somerville, MA.They feel driven to serve great beer to their community in an engaging and welcoming space. They host some fun events and have a menu that changes constantly, so well worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

Dream Pop is one of their few ‘almost-always’ beers, which was a pretty happy circumstance they didn't necessarily expect! Their brewer, Charlie, brewed this beer with the idea that it would be hazy, and tasty, but a bit lighter in texture and ABV than your typical IPA. He used locally grown oats from Valley malt to give this beer a unique touch. It's been a best seller for Remnant just about ever since they started brewing it!

Tasting notes: soft oat body, bright citrus notes from Mosiac and German Mandarina hops, with very low bitterness. It's an easy drinking beer for the entire year, and the name "Dream Pop" was partially inspired by a fluffy, European music genre with the same name.

Napa Cabbage & Sausage Sautée over Smashed Red Potatoes

We wanted to give you an easy and simple recipe that you could make any morning, day, or night at home this winter. This simple sautée over delicious and garlicky potatoes is the brainchild of Chris' boyfriend, Dylan. It was one of those nights where the fridge was pretty empty, but we had trusty potatoes and cabbage to get us through.

Heres what you need...

Head of Pip & Anchor napa cabbage cut into bite-sized pieces
Weatherlow Italian sausage (sweet for breakfast or lunch, hot for dinner)
Curio Maras Chili
8-10 Pip & Anchor Red Potatoes (peeled)
4 minced Pip & Anchor garlic cloves
Full Moon Ghee
S & P of course!

In an effort to make recipes more approachable, we're stepping away from exact measurements and specifics so that these dishes can be unique to its maker. We treat our recipes more like guidelines and less like rules so that there is plenty of room for your own creativity to sneak in as the secret ingredient.

Boil some water with a decent amount of salt.
While you wait for it to boil, peel your potatoes and set your oven to 400.
Once that water boils throw those potatoes in and cook them until a fork can go in and slide right out.
Let those cool for a bit a heat up a cast iron skillet (or whatever you have) with a little bit of ghee.
Slice up your sausage, or take it out of the casing and crumble into bite size bits. Then cook in your pan. Once they're browned and have a bit of texture pull from the pan and set aside.
Add your cabbage to the pan with a few pinches of chili (or more if you like it hot hot hot). Season everything with salt and pepper.
Cook until cabbage is somewhat translucent but keeps it texture. Add back in the sausage and mix. Then set aside.
In another pan, preferable a small cast iron skillet, heat up a decent amount of ghee (a couple spoonfuls). Add in your garlic, but don't let it brown.
Smash your potatoes to the consistency you'd like then mix them in a bowl with the cooked garlic, ghee, salt, and pepper.
Put the potatoes in that small skillet or another oven safe vessel. Bake for 10 minutes.
Heat your cabbage and sausage on low heat.
Pull the potatoes and serve cabbage sautée over the potatoes, which should have a bit of a crisp.
Enjoy!

What has us thinking

New York Chef, David Chang is taking charge. He's a food industry leader who is using his fame in all of the right ways. His podcast has inspired us because he is using his platform to tackle some of the world's food issues head on. Specifically, his recent episode on Food, Farming, and the Climate Crisis introduces a whole new way to approach climate change.

The episode calls for the leader inside each and every one of us to do our part in our own lives and inner circles. Please take some time to listen and please take some time to share with your friends and families.