Local Eating in January

Greek-Style Kale and Sausage Stew with Egg-Lemon Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Small onion, diced
1 pound uncooked Italian hot sausage
6 cups (4 ounces) coarsely chopped kale leaves (trimmed of thick stems)
1 ¼ cups hot chicken broth, divided
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat Olive Oil in large pan.
Add onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender.
Break sausage into bite-size pieces and add to pan.
Brown sausage on all sides for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
Add kale and ½ cup chicken broth. Stir.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until kale is tender.
Beat eggs with lemon juice in heatproof bowl.


Gradually add remaining ¾ cup hot chicken broth to egg mixture while beating consistently so eggs do not scramble. Pour egg mixture into kale and sausage mixture. Simmer over low heat 1 to 2 minutes, or until egg mixture is slightly thickened. (Do not bring mixture to a boil or eggs will scramble). Serve immediately and enjoy!

Local Connection -or- Where to get things:
For the sausage and eggs, I headed up to Keymar to JaStay Farm at 11830 Keymar Road. They have quite a diversified farm, though their primary focus is dairy. I chatted with Stacey in her kitchen for about an hour, while her son brought in freshly laid eggs and a couple of hens for me to meet. They have an especially cute ruffled bantam named Pinecone that I held in my arms and petted her neck. The chickens roamed the farm, truly free-range, and looked beautiful and healthy, not to mention friendly!

I got the kale from Dave Elliott of Blue Mountain Farm, 1149 Ridge Road North, Hedgesville, WV. He provides us with fresh winter greens each week for our CSA subscription. Kale was not included in this week's drop-off, but I asked him if he had any and he was glad to bring some by.

Onions are available much of the year because they keep so well, but today I just bought an onion from the Common Market. I just got back from a long holiday and was exhausted when I was out getting food, so I didn't even notice the label. The Common Market is usually very good about labeling items "local" or "organic." If an item is local, they will name the farm as well.

Chicken broth or stock is a staple in any chef's kitchen. Moms and average cooks, like me, also ought to have a pretty steady supply. For the healthiest and best-tasting stock, you'll need a chicken carcass to make your own. Making stock isn't that hard and you can freeze it to use later, but since I've been away I used pre-packaged stock. When you can't by local, buy organic. Plus, the kind I bought assured me that the chickens were free-range. Happy, healthy chickens make for happy, healthy meals.

Olive oil and lemon juice cannot be grown in the Mid-Atlantic. Don't sweat the small stuff. These two ingredients are only a small fraction of the recipe.

So, here you go: a recipe you can enjoy in the wintertime! Thanks to my neighbor, Pam, for introducing me to this household favorite.