White Hot Chili!
Every time I took Inquisitive Palate to the Boyertown Farmers Market these last few months, I featured the fruits, vegetables and cheeses being sold at the market in my samples. And each time I was there, I would say hello to Nitya Akeroyd who runs Woodsong Hollow Farm in Pike Township while thinking to myself that I wanted to feature her wonderful chicken in a recipe. So when my last time at the Market was fast approaching along with the cooler weather of fall, I began to day dream about using her chicken in a chili.
I brought Woodsong Hollow chicken home several times this summer and always enjoyed it. Her chicken – sustainably-farmed and free-range – has a more chicken-y taste than what I was used to having from a store. Free range is a very loosely defined term but I have been to the farm and seen those chickens scooting around the farmyard - with Nitya chasing after them to keep them away from the family garden plot! So I know her birds are truly ranging freely. And, without the synthetic hormones and preservatives that most store bought meat contains, I think her chicken is also healthier for my family. She does occasionally use antibiotics but as she explained it to me - and I have heard other farmers concerned with this issue say the same - she uses it only as needed and not as a preventative measure.
When I first tried one of Nitya’s chickens, I remember distinctly that the strength of the flavor caught me off guard. But soon enough, it was more noticeable when it was missing. After a few times, nothing else tasted like real chicken any more.
But chicken isn’t the only meat I get that is sustainably-farmed, free range and generally drug-free. I was lucky enough to find Green Haven Farm in Blandon, about two townships over from mine along the Pricetown Road. The farm’s proprietor, Brian Moyer, runs a meat CSA from his farm. A CSA, as recognized by the U.S.D.A., stands for Community Supported Agriculture and allows members of a community to buy shares of a farmer’s future production. In turn, when it’s harvest time the produce is distributed back to the members of the community. The members also share in the benefits and risks of the farm endeavor. So, for example, if there is an extra bountiful crop of red bell peppers, there will be lots of stuffed bell peppers that fall. Did mold get the potatoes? No vichyssoise until next year. Most often people associate a CSA with fruits and vegetables. But Green Haven Farm grows chicken, lamb, and pork. And, once a month or so, I go by the farm and pick up my share. The pork is particularly delicious.
But I had a hankering for Nitya’s chicken - and for chili. Usually chili is a meat and bean mixture - although the Texans disagree -redolent of spices, herbs and alliums such as garlic and onion. This recipe calls for cumin and green jalapeno chilies, both common ingredients in white chili; and, fresh oregano and roasted garlic for something a little out of the ordinary.
You carry a bowl of chili to the table and it warms your hands; you eat a bowl of it and it warms your insides. What’s not to love about chili as the cold winds start to blow? I hope you enjoy…
