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W E E K LY / B I -W E E K LY S H O P N E W S
THE PENDULUM
Thoughts on meats...
Shop hours: Tu-Fr 11-7
Sa 10-6, Su Noon-5
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at Allen’s C
Spring Lamb
Pendulum is so pleased to see the bounty of Spring!
Changing seasons means fresh appetites for lighter
fare, and new green things to put in the larder.
Spr in g F ood Tr a d i t i o n s
pring brings us many
interesting food traditions,
including Passover, Easter and
the Spring Equinox. After reading the
Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean
Auel, I was fascinated by the
importance of Spring for early humans.
Essentially starving as the new shoots
broke ground, they were rescued from
the banal storage foods by these
vibrant green things. The gravity of the
bounty of Spring was not lost on me.
As this Spring approaches, with the
winter of ’13 behind me, I consider the
opportunity of Spring foods all around
us here in Virginia.
S
Spring food traditions across cultures
have many similarities, and include
roast meats and fresh greens, like roast
baby lamb with mint and new
potatoes. Eggs, traditionally abstained
from in Lent were then celebrated as
the fast ended. The Passover tradition
of the shank and the egg round out the
similarities of these collective human
experiences.
We are looking forward to the lighter
fare as we shed our scarves and heavy
coats, toboggans and ear muffs, in
favor of cotton and
windbreakers...Ahh, Spring!!
White on rice!
http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/
sausage-potatoes-au-gratin-recipe/
Baconwurst
The ultimate sausage sammy
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/
views/Grilled-Sausage-Sandwicheswith-Caramelized-Onions-and-GruyereCheese-104588
Ground Lamb
Turkish Pizza
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/
turkish-ground-lamb-pizzas-recipefw0512
Beef stew
French Beef- in honor of Stephane
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/
articles/2011/02/20/
three_classic_french_beef_stews/
Cubed pork shoulder
Carnitas @ home!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/
melissa-darabian/pork-carnitasrecipe.html
The microbiome and why we love fermented
foods.
W
e are always thinking about
the connections between food
and health. We recently
talked about fats in the diet. Now we
are turning our attention to fermented
foods. What’s the big deal about
fermented stuff? Well.....
Fermentation is a process that
converts foods from one state to
another, whether its converting juice
to wine, milk to yogurt, carbohydrates
to carbon dioxide in wine, or the
sugars become an acid that preserves
pickles and kraut. This process breaks
down foods into forms that are more
digestible. Aging meats is another form
of fermentation that we do here at
Pendulum. Humans figured this out a
long time ago and have been thriving
on this method for millennia. The
enzymes, beneficial bacteria and
partially digested food material are a
virtually complete microbiome that, as
you eat it, supports your own gut.
The human microbiome is a hot topic
in medicine right now. The nonhuman population of your body
The human microbiome project is an ongoing study from the National Institutes of
Health. Joe Hanson, Ph.D. goes in depth at his website, www.itsokaytobesmart.com
outnumbers your human cells 10 to 1!
Current research implicates abnormal
gut populations with several diseases,
ranging from depression and diabetes
to autism. We are just at the dawn of
this new field of understanding how
truly interrelated we humans are with
our environment- both inside our body
and outside! New research indicates
that the population of your gut can
also rapidly change, so the good news
is that it appears to be something we
may be able to use to influence disease
risks or treatment! With food, even!!
Two new producers of fermented foods
Pendulum is proud to introduce Nuggets Raw Kombucha and Farmstead Ferments,
both from the Charlottesville area, as providers of products in the shop right now.
These products are rich in the probiotics which are helpful in digestion and maintaining
the flora of your gut. We will keep our fingers on the pulse of the research in this area,
and in the meantime, be happy to have the products within easy reach.
Farmstead Ferments graced our shelves as we opened with their Apple Kraut and
Garlicky Greens. We now also have a kraut with beets, turnips and another with
turmeric- a powerful stimulant for your antioxidant system.
Peter Roderick and Kelsey Hickman of
Nuggets Raw Kombucha.
The Nuggets Raw kombucha will be available on draft once we have our taps installed,
which will make a great nonalcoholic option for your quaffing pleasure!
Spring feast meats and pre-orders for Easter
endulum is taking pre-orders
for meats and sides for your
spring feasts. We are excited
to bring high quality
specialty cuts of meats, well-made
sides, and other fun things such as
specialty breads, tarts and sweets from
Artisan Bakery and chocolates from
Cocoa Nouveau.
on fresh brined roasting hams or
skinned , cured and smoked hams for
$7.99/lb. The sides include:
Meats will include whole milk-fed lamb
and Berkshire Hams. Milk-fed lamb
will weigh 15-18 pounds, available by
the whole ($11.99/lb) or half ($13.99/lb.)
Larger milk-fed lamb (30 pounds) are
9.99/half and 11.99/whole. We offer
cooked packages of whole small lamb
for $300 which includes sides for 20
people or a larger lamb for $450 with
sides for 40.
➺ risotto
P
Fresh hams will be available in a variety
of sizes and will be offered either skin-
➺ mashed potatoes(white and sweet)
➺ roasted new potatoes with chives
➺ spring peas,
➺ asparagus
➺ glazed carrots
➺ kale salad
Sweets include Rowena’s cakes, Artisan
tarts, and Cocoa Nouveau bunnies
which you can reserve or pick up in the
store. Please call 962-6990 or email us
at [email protected] for
questions and to order. For best
service, order by 4/13/14.
Ask our chefs Dylan or Kilan about
roasting a whole lamb either on a grill/
smoker, spit, or in the oven. Here are
some recipes, too. Roast Baby Lamb
with Wild Fennel. Abbachio al forno.
Lamb Mechoui.
L a mb and M i nt
Classic Mint Sauce
1 1/2 cups (packed) m
int leaves
1 c. sugar
1 c. apple cider vineg
ar
Fattier cuts of meat taste great
with a bright flavor like citrus,
apple, or mint which balance
the flavors. This is the basis
for the classic pairings of
apple and pork, lamb and
mint, or duck and orange.
This recipe is the classic
British version from the
Oxford Companion to Food.
Wash and then dr y
the mint leaves.
Pick them from the
harder stems.
Finely chop the min
t. Mix the mint
and the sugar and all
ow to macerate
for 30 minutes. Add
the vinegar and
mix thoroughly.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Serve as part of a ro
ast lamb meal
with roast new potat
oes, asparagus,
and mint sauce.