Adios: The Last Week
Sigh. Can you believe it? Week Twenty. I don’t know what else to say. Truthfully, I’m too wind-whipped and tired from attempting to stay warm to say much else. Except of course, “How about this weather, eh?” Jesus, Mary and Joseph has it been a wild 48 hours around the farm! We usually get some pretty good winds around the place but yesterday evening the gusts were slamming doors, sending vegetables flying and bending truck doors hinges the wrong way. Not to mention the power outages, consistent drizzle and brief flurries we had this morning! And a major freeze on the way tomorrow night. I think this all means that it’s time to hunker down and make some soup. Luckily, you’ve got just the final box for that activity!!
Your farewell 2010 Rusty Hoe Box contains:
a buttercup squash
a pie pumpkin (or two depending on the size)- if you’ve never made pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin, or never made one at all, now is your chance!! it’s fun and amazing. i promise. just cook this pumpkin in the oven, scrape out the seeds and puree and viola! just follow your favorite recipe – or look one up online that involves pumpkin puree. (the buttercup squash makes an amazing pie as well.)
two rutabagas
three celeriac
a few watermelon radishes (in a bag with the carrots) – these are my favorite radishes! they are so pretty inside – slice through the “equator” and check it out – and they remind me of my dear friend anne dougherty because the last time i bought them was with her at a farmer’s market in berkely last january.
a bag of carrots
a bag of beets
a bag of parsnips – the parsnips had great potential, and then they got that disease i couldn’t identify. at any rate, here they are. roast them, puree them, saute them in butter!!
a bag of brussels sprouts
a bag of shallots, garlic and almost dried cayenne – put those on a plate by a window!
a bunch of leeks
a head of savoy cabbage
a head of broccoli
a bunch of broccoli raab
a bunch of arugula
a bag of spinach
and a small portion of Alissa’s experimental herbal tea blend. it’s not really technically “tea” of course, since it’s not from the tea plant. it’s really just dried herbs, but we can call it tea. it’s not much, and i think it’s sort of funny-looking. and i almost didn’t include it, but then trent was like, “hey, why not?” and that’s all it took. plus, trent as well as both of my brothers, both of my parents, my uncle bill and probably several friends were all put to the task of picking those tiny chamomile flowers. so for the sake of their labor, i give you the herbal tea. i guess i’m taking for granted the fact that you all have a tea ball, or some sort of method in which to easily make loose leaf tea. if not, and you don’t despise tea, you should really invest in one. (in my personal opinion.) this is because loose leaf tea is immeasurably tastier than tea bags, and in my experience isn’t more expensive. ok, snobby remark for the week. at any rate, it’s just chamomile, mint and lemon balm. a good mix for relaxing or when you have a tummy ache.
last round of recipes:
rutabagas were never my favorite food, but i think this recipe looks pretty awesome…
Roasted Parsnips, Turnips, and Rutabagas with Ancho-Spiced Honey Glaze
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted, divided
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
12 ounces parsnips, peeled, thin ends halved lengthwise, thick ends quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces turnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch wedges
12 ounces rutabaga, trimmed, peeled, cut into 3/4-to 1-inch wedges
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt
Ingredient info: Look for ground ancho chiles in the spice section of many supermarkets and at Latin markets.
Stir 1/2 tablespoon melted butter, honey, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, ground chiles, cumin, cinnamon, and pinch of cayenne pepper in small bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt. Let glaze stand at least 45 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Do AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread parsnips, turnips, and rutabagas evenly on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and olive oil over; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat well. Roast until vegetables are soft and browned in spots, tossing occasionally, about 50 minutes.
Pour glaze over vegetables; toss to coat evenly. Roast until glaze is absorbed and vegetables are browned, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Serve warm.
Carrots and Rutabagas with Lemon and Honey
yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup chopped shallot
Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.
Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add lemon juice, honey, and peel. Bring to boil. Add vegetables; cook until glazed, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Mix in shallots.
i thought this squash recipe looked good too:
Buttercup Squash Bread
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup mashed, cooked butternut squash
3 cups all-purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add molasses, salt, caraway, squash and 2 cups flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to greased top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; turn onto a floured surface and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.
Well, this is almost it. The second to last week of deliveries has arrived. Remember when I sent out that email and I was like, “Well folks, I really don’t know about these last four boxes – they might suck”? Well, I was wrong. There is so much stuff out there I’m not sure that I’m going to be able to FIT everything in in the next two weeks! Plus I have a couple of fun dried items that I want to include in the last delivery. So, expect a fair amount of grub to come in the last two boxes! And remember, there will be NO DELIVERY NEXT WEEK 10/21. I will send out an email reminder as well.
How about this weather?? I have an aunt that lives in Mountain Home, Arkansaw – yes, that’s really the name of the town – as opposed to my aunt that lives in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. But I guess my zip code is for Arkansaw, Wisconsin so who am I to poke fun? Anyway, my Aunt Kathy is always telling my family about how gorgeous the weather is there and it seems like it’s always 75 and sunny in the fall and I’m always so jealous. Not that I don’t love the crispness of 50′s and 60′s, but I’m sure we’ve got some of that on the way. Later this week, in fact.
Box innards:
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch beets – now, i know we’ve discussed this before, but these greens are edible – don’t forget. just like chard, but better!
1 bunch leeks
1 bunch turnips – new item!!! these are called “golden turnips – they look rather white to me, however. i’m not someone who really loves turnips, nor do i usually find them all that fun to grow, but i really like these for some reason. i think they are lovely. ooh, ooh, and the greens are also edible!!
a few shallots – red and yellow
two bulbs of evan’s garlic – it’s getting rather small so i put two in…
a few cayenne peppers
a head of broccoli – here it is! the decently large sized broccoli i’ve been trying to grow since june! i thought the black rot would have its way with it but NO!! i gotta say, it feels good to set goals and achieve them. know what i mean?
a miniature head of cauliflower – and on the other hand…who loves mini vegetables??? sigh. you should see these cauliflower plants folks. they are really trashed. barely any leaves, mostly brown, but still – they managed to put forth that tiny head just for you. so, although it feels somewhat silly and embarrassing, i’ve decided to include it. enjoy!
1 butternut squash
2 delicata squash (or 1 delicata and 1 acorn or sweet dumpling)
1 bunch of cilantro – i know these bunches are not the giant ones we are used to, but this poor planting just didn’t get in in time so it was a bit stunted…i’m really just including it because it goes in the amazing butternut squash recipe i have given you below.
1 bunch of broccoli raab
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of kale
a bag of salad mix
whew! that is a lot of stuff my friends. ok, here are some recipes. oh! and here is what Molly, one of your fellow members, had to say about butternut squash – i think it’s a FABULOUS idea and am going to try it myself, “I made a butternut squash soup this week and there was just way too much to eat at once (overload on creamy deliciousness). The leftovers made an interesting pasta sauce when I added it to the sauteed kale and shallots. I don’t know if other people have tried this, but it’s a pretty tasty way to eat leftover squash soup.” I really like the recipe sharing folks, and I know it’s a little late in the game but if you’ve got others, esp. for these fall crops, please feel free to send them to me and I will pass them on!
ok, so like i said i’m not crazy about turnips, but i will admit i do love them roasted. i think it’s the way they were meant to be. so, check this out – and i bet you could substitute this week’s thyme if you don’t have last week’s rosemary lying around…
Roasted Turnips, Shallots, and Garlic with Rosemary
Serves 4
1 medium head garlic
1 1/2 pounds turnips or rutabagas, peeled and cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
4 shallots , peeled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, or vegetable or olive oil, or a combination
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crumbled), or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or thyme
table salt
ground black pepper
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. If roasting garlic cloves in skins, simply break head into individual cloves. If you wish to roast cloves out of skins, put whole, unpeeled head in a small saucepan with water to cover. Bring water to boil, then simmer to soften cloves and loosen skins, about 10 minutes. Drain and refresh garlic head under cold water. Separate cloves and peel.
2. Put vegetables (excluding garlic) into a roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding. Toss vegetables with butter and/or oil, rosemary or thyme, and sprinkle with salt. Roast, stirring or shaking vegetables every 15 minutes for 30 minutes. Add garlic. Raise heat to 425 degrees and continue roasting until tender and evenly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper; taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot or at room temperature.
and another – a soup! and it makes use of the greens – hurray for you!
Soup with Winter Greens and Chickpeas
Serves 4 to 6
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 turnip, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound chopped mixed greens (mustard, kale, turnip, etc.)
Salt
1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary
1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or more, to taste plus additional to pass at the table
16 slices baguette, toasted
Freshly ground pepper (I used red pepper flakes)
1. In a heavy soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and turnip, cover and cook until they have softened and become aromatic, about 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 or 3 minutes.
2. Add the mixed greens, a big handful at a time, stirring and giving them time to soften and shrink before adding the next handful.
3. When all of the greens have cooked, add 8 cups of water, one-half teaspoon salt, the rosemary and chickpeas. If you have a rind of Parmesan cheese lurking in your freezer, add it now. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; cover and lower the flame to maintain a simmer. Cook until the broth is deeply flavored, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. When ready to serve, stir in one-third cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (taste and see if the rind did its job – you can eschew the grated cheese here, if you like) and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange two toast slices (rubbed with garlic) in the bottom of each warm soup bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Sprinkle with more cheese to taste. Serve immediately, passing a bowl of cheese to be added at the table.
ok, and here is a link to one of my favorite butternut squash soup recipes, and the whole reason why the b-nut squash and the cilantro (though small) are together in the box. if you love squash and coconut milk you will obsessively love this soup, i promise. this website, though admittedly somewhat odd, has a lot of good recipes for the veg matter. happy eating!!
The Daikon Cometh. (An Ode to my Old Boss Dan Hayhurst)
Welcome to week eight-motherlovin’-teen folks. Also, welcome to October share boxes, and with them the last three deliveries of the season. I almost miss it already. Wow. It is really sinking in right now as I type this that I am almost done with my first season of real farmer-dom. Perhaps a miniature reality, but reality none-the-less. OK, pulling myself out of that black hole of thought and onto this week’s news. A couple of noteworthy items – a) we had a frost!! More like two or three now, but who’s counting? I covered the things I cared about (like the red and hot peppers – last week for these) and brought in the squash. Everything else of importance can hack those 29 degree nights. The other exciting piece of news is the two new items in this week’s box – well, technically the Sunshine Kabocha squash is a new variety of squash, and also gorgeous!!! But the things I wanted to touch on are the two funky brown root/bulb looking things (called celariac) and the rather large, white item (called the daikon radish).
Celeriac, sometimes called celery root, is a wonderful, and in my opinion underutilized, member of the Umbelliferae or Apiaceae family (we had a quick botany lesson on this family a few weeks back). It is a wonderful substitute for celery in certain instances, can be made into a yummy soup or puree and is excellent roasted in the style of oven fries. (You know the recipes are coming).
The Daikon Radish comes to us from the East Asia and is very common in Japanese cooking and culture. (Fittingly enough, the Kabocha squash also comes to us from Japan.) The name “daikon” literally means “large root” in Japanese. You have received a carrot-like variety, which is the most common type in Japan as well. However, I learned tonight that the Japanese also cultivate a variety called “Sakurajima daikon” which is a turnip-style daikon that can be up to 20 inches in diameter and weigh up to 99 lbs. Crazy huh? I was introduced to the daikon radish by my first farming boss, Farmer Dan. Farmer Dan loves planting, growing, harvesting, cutting up, cooking and eating daikon – and he’s pretty fond of most things Japanese, actually, especially if they have to do with Japanese vegetables. In my opinion, it’s really a sort of ridiculous vegetable (I mean, look at it) but it’s pretty mild compared to other radishes and it’s pretty fun in general. I was reminiscing about the last time I harvested daikon radish. It was last fall in Connecticut and I was with my friends Cody and Pearl (and Farmer Dan) and while harvesting we all got to witness the adorable bull Litmus try to impregnate Cocoa the Cow, over and over again. Due to the fact that Litmus is a very small bull (he’s young, and a mini-Jersey) and Cocoa is a full-grown 12-year-old Lady Cow, he was having a real tough go of it. (Those of you who have seen this type of event before will understand Litmus’s logistical difficulties. Those who have not, I suggest you take the opportunity if ever it presents itself.) Anyway, after many tries Litmus got so frustrated he just lost track of which end was up and gave it to dear Cocoa right in the face. Mounted the old girl straight in the eye. And Cocoa, in the style of most cows being impregnated by bulls, just stood there like it was the most normal thing in the world. It was a real sight to see. And sometimes folks, that’s farming.
In the box:
a bunch of carrots
a couple of leeks
a bunch of arugula
a bag of spinach (yay! been a while since we’ve seen that stuff – as it happens I have two more successions out there, but I’m not sure we’re going to see them in the boxes. We are just having a heckuva time of it with the spinach this season.)
a bunch of red russian kale – another new item!! sort of. this is the sister (cousin? i’m not familiar enough with plant genetics to say for certain) of the white russian kale we’ve been eating but it’s the baby size – cuuuuuuuuuuute!! treat like kale, but it is more tender so you can eat the stem. and you can easily saute.
some shallots – red and yellow
garlic from evan
a sunshine kabocha squash – this is your farmers FAVORITE type of squash. yummy!
2 sweet dumpling squash
a bunch of rosemary
a couple of red peppers – like i said, last week!
a few hot peppers – did you know that the green jalepeno are hotter than the red ones? i feel a taste test coming on!
two celeriac roots
a daikon radish – the greens are edible!!!! i suggest a google search for the daikon recipe of your choice. there are just so many crazy ways to prepare this thing, and all i ever do it stir-fry it so i’m not much help…
recipes time! let’s conquer that celeriac root…
my favorite way is to peel off that crazy skin/root matter and then slice into thin french fry type shapes. coat with lots of olive oil, salt and pepper and put on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for perhaps 20 minutes a side. they just melt in your mouth!!
people really seem to like the apple and celeriac combo – check out this recipe at the Kitchenist blog (another superb food blog, if you ask me) http://www.kitchenist.com/cooking/soup/match-made-celeriac-and-apple-soup/2073
i also find this to be a popular one:
Celeriac Root Puree
Ingredients
1/2 cup cream
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 large celeriac knob
3 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
Bring 2 quarts of water, 1/4 cup cream and the lemon juice to a boil, and add 1 tablespoon salt. Peel and roughly chop the celeriac knob, add to the boiling water and cook until softened, about 25 minutes. Strain, reserving the cooking liquid. Put the celeriac root in a blender and puree with the remaining cream, butter and cooking liquid as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Published 2005)
also, I always notice a lot of recipes for Celeriac Remoulade, which I discovered today is basically France’s answer to coleslaw. It’s quite tasty.
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Dark Mornings
Hello everyone and Happy Delivery number 17. It’s about 5:30 am as I write this, and still very dark outside. Both a white half moon and a giant Orion were shining overhead, making everything visible when I made the short trek across the lawn from my sleeping quarters to the Harvest Kitchen around 5:15. If I am remembering correctly, I saw Orion for the first time in that position a week ago Wednesday morning. I always loved Orion as a child because it was the only constellation (besides the Big and Little Dippers of course) that I could identify. Now it tells me that chilly weather is rapidly approaching. We are due for our first hard frost on Saturday night, which means there is some work to do gleaning veggies from the field and making sure the storage crops are well protected. When I go out in the field on Sunday morning many once-green plants will be a toasty black and brown. This makes the removal of infrastructure (tomato trellises, for example) easier to manage if the plants are less tenacious (aka: dead.)
Fall crops cometh.
1 butternut squash – these have not been cured so please eat sooner rather than later. you’ll have a few weeks on it for certain, but don’t try and keep it around until February. there should be some squash coming later that has been cured a bit and will store a bit longer. also, i didn’t include it but there are some AMAZING soups to be made with a butternut squash.
1 delicata squash
1 acorn squash
2 yellow onions
3 yellow shallots
2 red shallots
1 head of garlic – grown by Evan
a few green tomatoes – thought i’d get creative here and send these out before they freeze and are useless! i LOVE fried green tomatoes, which are very easy to make. i have included a couple of other recipes below.
a bunch of carrots – this is a different variety than we have been eating, these are a fall “storage” variety called bolero
a bunch of beets
a bunch of arugula
a bunch of white russian kale
a small head of cauliflower – thanks black rot! these plants have been infected with the black rot most of their lives so i’m actually rather shocked that they produced anything at all. cauliflower can be an extremely fickle beast and when it’s growth is interrupted it can go completely dormant. so i’m grateful that we got these tiny heads, even if it does feel a bit silly to be giving them out.
1 bunch of parsley
a bag of salad mix
OK so. you might have to half this fried green tomato recipe…
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES serves 4-6
1/4 cup flour
1 TBS cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large green tomatoes, unpeeled
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 TBS butter
sugar (optional)
fresh ground pepper to taste
Mix flour, cornmeal and salt. Wash and core the tomatoes and slice them. Coat the slices with the flour mixture.
Brown on one side in hot oil and butter, sprinkle with sugar. Using a spatula, carefully turn each slice over to brown the other side. Sprinkle the brown side with pepper. Do not overcook or the slices will fall apart. Serve immediately.
ORANGE-GREEN TOMATO RELISH
Makes 4-5 cups of relish
4 medium green tomatoes
1-2 medium vidalia onions
6 oz orange marmalade
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Core bottom of green tomato and cut into quarters. Peel onion and cut into quarters.
In food processor, chop green tomato and onion. Do not puree, but chop into “pickle-relish-size” pieces.
In a 4 quart heavy sauce put all ingredients in at once. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring until blended and sugar begins to dissolve.
Turn the heat to medium and cook for 40 minutes. The relish should be thick. If it does not seem “syrupy” then cook 10 minutes more.
Can or put cooled relish in zip-lock and freeze. Orange-green tomato relish will last refrigerated for two weeks.
OK, here is a basic technique for cooking that butternut squash you’ve got there…
BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, and then across into quarters. Remove the seeds and fibers and brush cut surfaces with melted butter.
Place on a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake until almost tender when tested with a knife, about 25 minutes. Uncover, brush again with butter, and continue leaking until tender and light brown.
Now, from here you can mash it up, stuff the cavity with something and put it back in the oven, add brown sugar or maple syrup or whatever spices you’d like.
FRIED (TINY HEAD OF) CAULIFLOWER ex-boyfriend and farming intern Cody used to make this all the time – it was quite yummy.
Cut a head of cauliflower in 1/4 inch thick pieces. Put a tablespoon of olive oil (or more, depending on how greasy you like your veggies) in a cast iron, place pieces of cauliflower in pan and saute them up. Turn over after the first sides have begun to brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cody says not to worry if it falls apart, it’s supposed to. Also, grated parm is lovely on top.
CREAM OF CARROT SOUP Fall is the time for soups folks.
4 carrots, sliced (1 cup)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 celery stalk with leaves, sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
generous pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup cooked rice
3/4 cup cream
diced pimiento for garnish
1 Place the carrots, onion, celery and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
2 Transfer to the container of a food processor and add the salt, cayenne, and rice. Process briefly and, with the motor running, pour in remaining stock and cream.
3 Chill and serve garnished with diced pimiento.
Harvest of the Autumnal Equinox
Friends! Hello! Welcome to the blog post for week sixteen. Sixteen of them. The news from this week is that my darling cousin Lebo was here for this week’s harvest – she came last night (Tuesday) and stayed until this afternoon, getting out of Dodge just as the rain hit. She helped me with the leeks, harvested rosemary, washed a few things and spent almost a full day harvesting with the crew. Her parents are both seasoned gardeners, so she is well acquainted with these earthly pursuits. It was great to spend some Q.T. together and discover some similarities between us such as first child syndrome and a love of a certain rather corporate yoga studio.
Speaking of rain, it is raining as I write this, was raining during work this afternoon, and as you probably know is supposed to rain all day tomorrow and into the night. This rain we do not really need. It’s probably not doing much for that whole black rot thing we’ve got going on. Like John Fogerty, I wonder Who Will Stop The Rain.
Your Box Contains:
bag of carrots – tops to resume next week, i think
bag of potatoes – same kind as two weeks ago – Sangre. Blood. good for boiling, mashing, souping etc.
large bunch of leeks (if i were you i’d look up an amazing-looking leek tart recipe for those…)
large bunch of arugula
bunch of cilantro- perhaps the last of this business. there is one more planting out there but i’m not sure it’s going to big up in time. csa member martha has been freezing her cilantro into ice cube trays for later use – just a tip you might want to try!
a few red peppers
one tomato – ok, this is really it for the tomatoes.
hot pepper trees – one last time. i have been stringing some hot peppers and would definitely recommend it as a drying mechanism – you just take a needle and thread and thread the top of the peppers. it’s really cute and would probably look awesome in your kitchen – esp. those tiny thai hots. however, if that seems a bit on the laborious side you can also just put them on a plate on a single layer, preferably in front of a window and they will dry nicely.
a bunch of chard. yums!
a very small (thank you black rot) head of cabbage. it’s so small you might miss it. coleslaw for two? cabbage rolls for one? don’t get mad, get even.
three more of those delicious delicata squash (some of you might get 2 delicata and one sugar dumpling – it’s essentially the same thing…) these squash are the ones that had a bit of damage – insect or otherwise – and won’t store very well. There will be another round next week that will be cosmetically “nicer”.
shallots!!! this week’s new item – my darling shallots. few yellow and a few red for each box. enjoy!
here’s a soup recipe to warm you up!
Ingredients
Croutons
| 1 | tart green apple | |
| ¼ | cup light brown sugar |
Soup
| 2½ | lb. Delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed | |
| 2½ | Tbsp. unsalted butter | |
| 2 | large leeks, white and tender green parts, chopped | |
| ½ | tsp. dried thyme | |
| 2½ | cups vegetable broth or “no chicken” chicken broth | |
| ¾ | tsp. salt | |
| ½ | tsp. freshly ground pepper | |
| ~ | Sour cream, for garnish |
Steps
- Make the croutons: Peel and core the apple and halve it lengthwise. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the apple into very thin slices.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread one layer of apple slices on top. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
- Bake slices for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until crisp. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely.
- Make the soup: Leave the oven at 350 degrees. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly and gently scrape or cut the flesh away from the skin (Delicata skin is edible, but not tasty in this dish). Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the leeks and thyme and stir occasionally until soft and brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the stock and the squash and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Using an immersion hand blender, purée the soup directly in the pot until smooth. (Alternately, purée the soup in batches in a standard blender or food processor.)
- Season with the salt and pepper. To serve, ladle hot soup into individual bowls, then top with sour cream and the apple croutons.
I LOVE wilted arugula – check out this nummy looking recipe:
Walnut Vinaigrette Over Wilted Arugula
Walnut Vinaigrette Over Wilted Arugula
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 bunches of Arugula
¼ cup walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1-tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil
1-tablespoon sherry vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 ounces goat cheese
Prep the Ingredients
Arugula can be very gritty so be sure to wash it several times until there is no evidence of that nasty grit that can ruin a meal instantly.
Remove the stems; tear the leaves into 3 inch pieces and reserve in a serving bowl.
Sauté the garlic and walnuts in the oil over medium high heat until the garlic starts to turn golden but not brown. You don’t want to burn the garlic or all you will taste is burnt garlic!
Remove from the heat and add the walnut oil, sherry vinegar, sugar, a little bit of salt and a bunch of pepper depending on how spicy you want the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients together.
Pour the hot vinaigrette over the arugula and toss. Let the salad sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the arugula wilts.
You can serve this separately by plating four servings and top with some crumbled coat cheese or you can serve it in the serving bowl with the crumpled cheese on top. Either way you have a great looking and better tasting salad.
Fall Feastings
Howdy everyone! Welcome to week…um…fifteen. Yep, fifteen. Not much news to report from the plot, except that I remain unsure about a few of the crops infected with our friend Black Rot. And it’s also time to fess up to the yellowing and brown fungal-ness on both the celeriac and the parsnips. I’m wondering if it’s somehow related to something called Alternaria dauci, which is a fungal thing that the carrots can get which turns their leaves yellow and brown. This is based only on the fact that all three of them are members of the Apiacae, or Umbelliferae, Family (along with dill, cilantro, parsley, celery, fennel, poison hemlock and angelica – to name a few.) See, isn’t it fun to read the blog post and learn about all of the random fungal-ness that abounds at your CSA? Anyway, re: said fungus, I don’t think it’s going to wipe out either the parsnips or the celeriac completely, I think they might just be smaller than anticipated. Like our friend broccoli from last week. I’m learning to cope, I hope you will too.
The lovely fall weather is keeping my coworkers and I in good spirits – we’d take 75 and partly cloudy all summer if it weren’t for our heat-loving crops!
Box Box Box
carrots in a bag (ok, I know you are getting a lot of carrots – but check this out: http://www.carrotrecipes.net/)
a bunch of beets – multicolored!
a couple of yellow onions
and a red onion
an eggplant – yes, just one. they are really done for, but there were enough for one little one for everyone so i thought, “why not?” you can probably think of some reasons why not, but perhaps you will be making a stir fry or a curry or baba ghanoush for one and it will be the perfect addition
tomatoes - which, i think are done and done as of this week.
red peppers – these are slowing – i think the bumper crop weeks are behind us…
a different kind of sweet pepper called Jimmy Nardello - those are 4 the long skinny red things in your box that kind of look like hot peppers but they are sweet! all of the hot peppers are in a bag.
a variety of hot peppers – in a bag with the:
garlic – again grown by my friend Evan
a bunch of thyme (see previous post about drying herbs)
a bunch of cilantro
a bunch of while russian kale
a bunch of broccoli raab (remember this from June? yay! I love it.)
three delicata squash. for those not familiar with delicata, i’m making it the featured recipe item this week. btw, the skins are most edible. and a note about this particular squash – along with the acorn and sweet dumpling from last week – it doesn’t store as long as some of the other types of squash you might be familiar with. so please don’t stick it in a cupboard somewhere for Thanksgiving – it might be a rotten yellow mess by then. Eat it now! In one of the following ways:
Delicata Squash with Garlic, Butter and Bacon a la Alissa, via her friend Pickler Josh
slice a delicata or two (or three) in half the long way and scoop out the seeds. place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until tender – perhaps 30 minutes? in the meantime, melt some butter – perhaps a tablespoon per half and smash up and chop a couple of cloves of garlic and saute in the butter if you wish, or leave raw depending on your love of raw garlic, or you could even roast a bulb and use roasted garlic if you are feeling fancy. also while the squash is cooking, fry up a few strips of bacon – perhaps one or one and a half pieces per squash half.
once the squash is done cooking let it cool before removing it from its skins. this is crucial, because you want the skins intact so you can return the squash to them later. (think twice baked.) mix the cooked squash up with the melted butter and garlic and return to skins. top with bacon and consume. i eat the skins, you can too.
Twice Baked Delicata Squash – from my old boss Jagger of Blue Fox Farm (from my memory, anyway, this might not be the exact Jagger/Kuegler way…)
slice the delicata in half the long way and scoop out the seeds. place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until tender – perhaps 30 minutes? once the squash is done cooking let it cool before removing it from it’s skins. this is crucial, because you want the skins intact so you can return the squash to them later.
add (in your own desired quantities using your common sense): butter, sour cream, salt, pepper – perhaps some cayenne if that’s your thing – you get the idea. return to skins and top with some grated parmesan or pecorino and let the cheese brown up. serve!
also, there are some lovely soup recipes out there – here are a couple from the interweb:
http://www.rd.com/home-garden/delicata-squash-soup-with-parmesan-croutons/article169593.html
Vegetable Believers
Guess what folks…I took a vacation! My dear cousin Leah got married last weekend in Steamboat Springs, CO and much of the large Moore clan made the trip to the Rockies to partake in the festivities. And quite the party it was. (By the way, did you know that one beer at high elevations equals three at sea level?) It was gorgeous all around and, aside from the maddening amount of time I spent in the Denver International Airport after my initial flight home was canceled due to “an unacceptable fuel leak”, it was a fabulous trip. What this means, dear members, is that things in Hoe Land have slowed down a bit, so much so that I can leave my plot behind for nearly four whole entire days and not be behind. YAY!!!!
Some other good news is that the dreaded Black Rot I posted about last week seems at least to not have totally destroyed everything I was afraid it might totally destroy – as evidenced by the fall broccoli in this week’s box. Unfortunately, it did affect the size of the heads so even though I had planned for the fall broc to absolutely DWARF the spring broc, the Black Rot had other plans. But, it exists! So not too much complaining from me. It also looks like some of the cabbage will be fine, (come on, be excited) and the jury is still out on the brussel sprouts, cauliflower and other rounds of broccoli. But as usual, the cooler weather is playing for Team Brassica.
So then. Box items.
more of those topless carrots
a sack of potatoes – this variety is called Sangre (which is, of course, Spanish for blood – hence their red color.) the internet tells me this variety is excellent for baking and boiling.
a head of fennel – last of the fennel!
zucchini – ok, so remember that vacation i told you about? well, i forgot to ask cheryl to pick my zucchini for me (people who pick your zucchini for you are the best kind of people, by the way) and even with the cooler temps there were some very large zoochs out there. so this week i’m giving them out big and including my favorite recipe for zucchini bread. apologies if you are a crazy zucchini fiend and you didn’t receive enough normal size zucchini over the last roughly 2.5 months. and also, this is IT for zucchini. crazy zucchini lovers who didn’t get enough – try to hold it together.
red peppers – again, oodles. this might be the last large deposit, however.
toe-maters – slowing down, getting cold, leaves are dying due to fungal conditions…
hot pepper trees – i told you those suckers were spicy!
a bunch of arugula – the greens return!
a bunch of cilantro – i kind of figured that if you still have tomatoes you can still use some of this stuff.
2 squash – one acorn and one sugar dumpling. i think these are basically the same squash with different coloring and slightly different shape. but you’ll have to decide. remember, the skins are edible!
a bunch of sage – culinary, that is.
ok, so here’s the zucchini bread recipe (this makes 2 loaves and can easily be cut in half):
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar or honey
3 -4 zucchini (enough to grate 2 cups)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup walnuts
Directions:
Prep Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2 Grate zucchini on grater or in a food processor. This should not be liquidy but it isn’t necessary to squeeze it dry either.
3 Grease 2 9X5 glass loaf pans.
4 In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy.
5 Stir in sugar, zucchini, butter, yogurt, vanilla and spices.
6 Add flour, baking soda and baking powder.
7 Mix well.
8 Add nuts.
9 Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes.
now, the fact that fennel and squash are both in the box means i have to include a favorite recipe of mine – roasted winter squash and fennel. there are a few variations of this so I’m just including links for some ideas – don’t be fooled by the recipes that call for other kinds of squash, these will do just fine:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spiced-Winter-Squash-with-Fennel-230945
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/roasted_squash_onion_and_fennel_toss.php
http://www.feelgoodeats.com/fall-recipes/squash-fennel-soup.html
and lastly, this potato recipe from my new favorite blog mentioned last week – The Wednesday Chef…
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes with Sage
Serves 6 to 8 with leftovers
3 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed, skin on, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
24 fresh sage leaves
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Put the potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by at least half an inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. When it begins to foam, add the sage leaves and gently fry until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel and reserve. Continue to cook the butter until it’s golden brown and nutty, watching so that it doesn’t burn, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat just until hot, careful that the milk does not boil. Remove from heat and reserve in a warm place.
4. Drain the potatoes and place them into a large bowl. Using a masher, mash the potatoes to the desired consistency. Stir in the hot milk, yogurt, salt and pepper and browned butter, making sure to get all the dark butter solids. (Recipe can be prepared to this point a day in advance; refrigerate the potatoes tightly sealed and keep the sage in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.)
5. Garnish with the fried sage and serve. (If you have refrigerated the potatoes, gently reheat the mashed potatoes before serving, thinning if needed with additional milk. Garnish and serve.)
