Warm Turnip Green Dip

• 5 bacon slices, chopped½ sweet onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 bunches of fresh turnip greens, cooked and chopped
  (or 1 16 oz package frozen turnip greens, thawed and chopped)
• 12 oz cream cheese, cut in pieces
• 1 ((8 oz) container of sour cream
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 

1. Cooke bacon in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towel, reserving 1 tbsp drippings in Dutch oven.
2. Saute’ onion and garlic in hot drippings 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of Dutch oven. Stir in turnip greens, next 4 ingredients, and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Cook, stirring often 6 to 8 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is thoroughly heated. Transfer to lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining parmesan cheese.
3. Broil 6 inches from heat 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Sprinkle evenly with bacon.

Serve with pita chips or bread. ENJOY!

Butter Bean Village Market
January 28, 2011
Weekly Newsletter and Recipe

Hello everybody! What’s new at the Butter Bean? We are getting ready for Valentine’s Day.  Stop in Saturday February 12^th from 12-4 pm for our  Sweetheart Wine Celebration.  We will be featuring wines from two local wineries, Grove and Dennis Vineyards.  Dennis Vineyards, located in Albemarle NC,  has created a special muscadine wine for Valentine’s called Sweetheart.  A bottle of Sweetheart wine, some fresh roses and chocolate from The Butter Bean are sure to win your Valentine’s heart. 

We’ve got plenty of Midas water in the store right now.  Midas is bottled right here in Huntersville, NC.  Midas is one of the two oldest bottled water companies in the country.  Legend has it that the water was first discovered by the Catawba Indians.  A brave was left behind because he was ill.  The following spring he was completely healthy and attributed his restored health to drinking water from the spring.  Unlike most bottled water, which is drawn from the municipal water supply and purified by reverse osmosis, which removes beneficial minerals, Midas contains beneficial minerals like calcium and magnesium.  The Midas plant is located next to The Latta Plantation on Beatties Ford Road.  Drinking Midas is a great, easy way to support local. 

Another great local product is farm-fresh eggs.  The local farmer who we get our eggs from, Don Raborn, is the proud new surrogate father to the cutest little lamb.  The lamb and his brother were born Sunday but this particular lamb was abandoned by his mother at birth.  Fortunately, someone spotted him and brought him to Don  Everyone who knows Grandpa Don knows he has a soft spot for an animal in need.  The little guy is in good hands now.  Thanks for supporting local.

 The Bean

 
Warm Turnip Green Dip

• 5 bacon slices, chopped½ sweet onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 bunches of fresh turnip greens, cooked and chopped
  (or 1 16 oz package frozen turnip greens, thawed and chopped)
• 12 oz cream cheese, cut in pieces
• 1 ((8 oz) container of sour cream
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 

1. Cooke bacon in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towel, reserving 1 tbsp drippings in Dutch oven.
2. Saute’ onion and garlic in hot drippings 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of Dutch oven. Stir in turnip greens, next 4 ingredients, and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Cook, stirring often 6 to 8 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is thoroughly heated. Transfer to lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining parmesan cheese.
3. Broil 6 inches from heat 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Sprinkle evenly with bacon.

Serve with pita chips or bread. ENJOY!

Butter Bean Village Market
January 15, 2011
Weekly Newsletter

Hello everyone! Hard to believe we’re already midway through January 2011 already!  Where does the time go? The recent winter storm has left many of us with cabin fever, even The Bean was closed Monday and Tuesday due to all the snow; and although our winter hours are shorter, our market is still the best place to find fresh, local foods and beverages for you and your family. For many of us, food is a relatively inexpensive commodity that we take for granted. Questions such as how, where, or by whom the food is grown aren’t topics of conversation around the dinner table. However, there is a movement afoot that centers on becoming more in touch with what we eat. This is not to say one must sprout a green thumb to enjoy farm fresh goodies. Instead, you can become a locavore – someone who commits to focusing on eating locally produced in-season food.

When you buy local, you support the efforts of area farmers, which in turn strengthens the economy and preserves green space and farmland. Buying local also shrinks travel time and distance, not only reducing the carbon footprint, but ensuring that your food is at its freshest, tastiest best. And the fewer steps it takes to get that head of lettuce from the ground to your plate, the less chance for contamination.

There is a cornucopia of foods grown and/or produced in the Charlotte area. We go to great measure to bring you the best this area has to offer. This week our featured product is LARRY’S BEANS –an organic Coffee Beans company from Raleigh NC. The facts behind their Lip-Smackin’, World-Changin’ coffee is: it’s all Fair Trade, it’s ALL ORGANIC, it’s all slow roasted to bring out the delicious flavors their farming partners work so hard to achieve, it’s DELIVERED BY VEGGIE BUS (they fuel up with cooking oil from area restaurants), and it’s roasted in their GREEN-O-VATED BEAN PLANT. Butter Bean carries six varieties of Larry’s Beans and we are pleased to say our price is well below some of our competitors. In the weeks to come we will feature more about who and where we get our products from.

Challenge yourself to eat locally for one week, and perhaps it will inspire you to do more. Any small steps you take will help the environment, protect your family’s health, and offer support to farmers in your own proverbial backyard.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we are gearing up to be your one stop wine, roses, chocolates, and handmade card store. On Saturday, February 12^th, Dennis Wines will be on hand for a wine-tasting, featuring a special Valentine Wine. Mark your calendars! Please note our winter hours are Monday – Friday 1pm-6pm, and Saturdays, 10am-4pm.

Sincerely,

The Bean

Braised Cabbage

•  1/2 head of shredded cabbage
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 medium onion, shredded 
•  2-3 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar 

Core cabbage. Shred. In a saucepan, steam cabbage, uncovered, in 1 cup salted water over high heat with water boiling for about 20 minutes, making sure to stir the cabbage frequently. Add caraway seeds, butter, vinegar and sugar (vary the amounts of these to your desired taste). Cover saucepot and reduce heat to medium or medium low; continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Watch carefully because cabbage will burn when liquid has cooked off. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with an extra pat of butter, if desired. ENJOY!!

Three Bean Soup

• 3/4 c. each dried yellow eye beans, dried lentils& dried butter beans
• Water to cover
• 1 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 1 c. diced celery
• 2 qt. beef stock or veggie stock
• 1 qt. water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (1 lb. 12 oz.) whole tomatoes
• ¾ lb of country ham
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Wash dried beans and cover with water. Cover and soak overnight. In the morning, drain and add fresh water. Heat slowly to boiling. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy soup kettle. Add garlic, onion and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain beans and add to onion and celery mixture. Pour in stock and water. Add bay leaf.  Heat to simmering. Over low heat simmer for 4 hours. Add tomatoes. Cut country ham into bite size pieces heat thorough. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 servings. (to make vegetarian friendly omit ham and use veggie broth)
ENJOY!!

The Butter Bean Market
January 1, 2011
Weekly Newsletter and Recipe
 
Happy New Year!  So long to 2010, here we come 2011!! Thank you for all your support through out the past year at the Bean!  We hope that Christmas was full of joy for you and your loved ones!  We are having a SALE, SALE, SALE to bring in the New Year! Holiday wine 25% off and Indian River fruit 25%.  Come in and grab Christmas Decorations for next year for half off.  Don’t forget to go to the website and sign up for the new newsletter. Also the new store winter hours are Monday-Friday 1-6 and Saturday 10-4.  
 
 Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850
 
Try this weeks New Year’s recipe of the week to bring some good luck!
 
Sincerely,
 
The Bean
 
www.butterbeanmarket.com
 
 
Recipes of the Week
 
Three Bean Soup
3/4 c. each dried yellow eye beans, dried lentils& dried butter beans
Water to cover
1 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 med. onion, chopped
1 c. diced celery
2 qt. beef stock or veggie stock
1 qt. water
1 bay leaf
1 can (1 lb. 12 oz.) whole tomatoes
¾ lb of country ham
Salt & pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese

 Wash dried beans and cover with water. Cover and soak overnight. In the morning, drain and add fresh water. Heat slowly to boiling. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy soup kettle. Add garlic, onion and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain beans and add to onion and celery mixture. Pour in stock and water. Add bay leaf.  Heat to simmering. Over low heat simmer for 4 hours. Add tomatoes. Cut country ham into bite size pieces heat thorough. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 servings. (to make vegetarian friendly omit ham and use veggie broth)ENJOY!!

Braised Cabbage
 1/2 head of shredded cabbage
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 medium onion, shredded
 2-3 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
 
Core cabbage. Shred. In a saucepan, steam cabbage, uncovered, in 1 cup salted water over high heat with water boiling for about 20 minutes, making sure to stir the cabbage frequently. Add caraway seeds, butter, vinegar and sugar (vary the amounts of these to your desired taste). Cover saucepot and reduce heat to medium or medium low; continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Watch carefully because cabbage will burn when liquid has cooked off. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with an extra pat of butter, if desired. ENJOY!!