-13 Below...and Piglets

So here we are two weeks later and I figured it’s about time that we posted some pictures of the farrowing that happened on the 14th, the coldest night of the season so far. The day after the last post.  Bungie had a long and difficult time that started somewhere around the time the Pat’s scored their 1^st touchdown against the Broncos on Saturday night and didn’t end until the next morning around 09:00. Charlie from Tandem Glass assisted until about 1:30 in the morning and then Christine took over at 5:30 a.m.  It was -13 when I went inside. She gave birth to 6 piglets and at this point we have four survivors. The two smallest ones succumbed to the weather and circumstance but not before Christine brought them into the house and tried to nurse them back to health.

January 15th

January 27th

I realize the second picture is a bit blurry but you have to understand the context in which it was taken.  This is after the house they were living in caught fire.  Christine went out to check on them this morning and smoke was billowing out of the house.  Evidently Bungie knocked one of the heat lamps down that we had rigged to keep the kids warm and it caught the hay on fire.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, the fire was put out and fresh bedding supplied to all.  Of course the entire area smells like a burn pile now but at least that’s it.  So we have 4 Red Wattle/Tamworth piglets out of this litter, 3 boys and a girl.  The girl is the only one with a name at this point, Spaz, as when she was born she wouldn’t stop running around the hut and even went up to her Mom’s nose the next morning and told her what she thought of the whole experience.

Okay, so this week we are bringing you a new Chile Powder for your culinary explorations. We’ve carried the whole chile for a while but now we have:

De Arbol Chile Powder ~ A favorite in Mexican cuisine, de Arbol, meaning "treelike", have a bold heat and a nutty, grass-like flavor with hints of smoke.  Use them in sauces, soups, stews, rubs, stir fry’s, chili, and flavored vinegars and oils.

Approximately  25,000 ~ 35,000 Scoville Units.

Since the beginning of the year we’ve also expanded to a few new stores.  You can now find us at all three Rosemont Markets in Yarmouth and Portland, as well as Whole Foods in Portland, and Eventide in Boothbay Harbor.  At the present time Whole Foods is only carrying the Whole Dried Chiles but that can change if you request them to carry particular items.

Enough of that.  I'll try and have a new recipe for you with the next post and hope to be able to tell you that the Jamaican Curry Powder is now available...

A New Year and Still No Piglets

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that you are working on those New Year’s Resolutions. It was an exhausting December for us and we are glad to be taking some down-time these next two weeks to regroup.  Yes, you heard right, we are taking time off.  We will not be at the Brunswick Winter Market this Saturday Jan. 14th. 

We hope you all understand and we thank you for making us work so hard throughout 2011. Without all of you we would be a lot less tired but nowhere near as grateful for having such great customers and clients.

We wish we could report that we are sitting on some sunny beach in the Grand Caymans, soaking up the rays and drinking some outstanding beverage with Anthony and crew. But we can’t.  We are here in wonderful Maine watching it snow and hoping that Bungie our Tamworth sow will hold off having her babies for a bit longer.  Thought for sure she was going to have them last weekend.  I think I can speak for all of us up on the ridge; sitting in a farrowing hut on a snowy day is not at the top of the list of things to do.  

If any of you missed the wonderful article Meredith Goad wrote for the Portland Press Herald here is the link: http://www.pressherald.com/life/foodanddining/spicy-and-hot_2011-12-21.html.  We were shocked when we reviewed the article in print, all we could say was, WOW!  Anyone in the food business knows, food critics can make you or break you and this was excellent for us.  I would also like to point out the great article John Golden did on Winter Markets for Downeast.com:  http://www.downeast.com/the-golden-dish/2011/december/thriving-winter-farmers-markets . It’s wonderful to see how the local movement has grown and how Maine is a leader for other states to follow. 

Any new stores for 2012?   Yes, we would like to welcome, Rosemont Market on Brighton Ave., in Portland to the Gryffon Ridge family; you will find over 21 of our items lining their shelves.  We would also like to welcome Eventide, a new store at 5 Boothbay Hill Road, Boothbay Harbor.  They will be opening their door this next week; if you’re in the area stop by and say hello to Kim and crew.  

As for a great recipe for all of you to try, this holiday season we gave new life to a dish my grandfather Bolton introduced me to.  We hope you enjoy!

Tourtiere (Pork Pie)

• 2 tablespoon light olive
• 1 pound ground Gryffon Ridge Pork
• 1 pound ground Eastern River Veal
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 2/3 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 1/3 cup beef stock
• 4 teaspoons Cognac
• 2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 4 tablespoon dry bread crumbs

Two-Crust Pie:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt 
•  2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons lard
• 4 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water added 1 tablespoon at a time

 
Toss with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Preheat an oven to 400F. Roll the pastry dough into 2 equal-sized circles to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Line the bottom of the pie pan with 1 circle and set aside the prepared pie pan and remaining pastry for later.

Using a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the pork, beef, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until the vegetables are tender and the meat is cooked through. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add the beef stock, Cognac, herbs, and spices to the meat and vegetables; simmer the mixture over low-medium heat, covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir the dry breadcrumbs into the mixture. Allow the meat filling to sit for 3 minutes. Spoon the filling into the prepared pie pan and top with the remaining pastry dough. Crimp the dough shut, flute the edges, cut vents in the top, and bake the pie for 12 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350F and continue baking the pie for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. 

We hope everyone has a wonderful week and we will see you at market January 21, 2012.