Thursday, October 29, 2015

October 28 or 31 Extended share

1 bunch Juane du Doubs yellow carrots, 1 bunch red beets, 1 head of sugarloaf radicchio, 1 # arugula, 1 bunch radish, 5 # carolina ruby sweet potatoes, 1 bunch of thyme.

The yellow carrots are an heirloom variety from France.  Their flavor is best when cooked.  We love them and hope you do too. 
Roasted Carrots with onion and thyme
1 bunch of carrots, tops and root tips trimmed off)
1 small red onion, diced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 T olive oil
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and scrub the carrots.  Slice the carrots in half or quarters the long way.  In a mixing bowl, combine the carrots, onion, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper and toss with olive oil.  Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and roast until tender and slightly caramelized, 15 to 30 minutes.

Sugarloaf Radicchio is a chicory so is somewhat bitter.  It is good fresh in salads, grilled, an excellent wrapper.  We like to wrap chicken or egg salad in a leaf and use it like a tortilla.

If the arugula is more than you can eat fresh, it makes great pesto that you can freeze for later use.  Just substitute arugula for basil or combine with parsley.


 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October 21 or 24 Extended Share

1 bunch Hakurei turnip, 3 Kabocha Squash (1 dark green, 1 gray, 1 orange), 2# russian banana fingerling potatoes, 1 head of cabbage, 1# broccoli, 2 small heads of romaine, 1 bunch black radish, 1 bunch mustard greens, 1 bunch kohlrabi, 3 bulbs garlic, 1# red sweet peppers.

Last of the peppers as we had a killing frost over the weekend.  The kabocha squash are very sweet, dry fleshed winter squash.  They will keep well so no hurry on eating them.  Potatoes need to be refrigerated because we washed them.  The black radishes are good keepers if you take the tops off and store in refrigerator drawer.  Cabbage and kohlrabi will keep for 3 weeks in fridge.
Click on this link for: Great recipe with radishes.  This recipe calls for any radish but the black radish is good in it. 

Kabocha squash make really good pie and soup and are also good by themselves roasted.

We have been enjoying slaw made with cabbage and shredded kohlrabi with radish greens and a mustard vinaigrette dressing.
Digging forks taken by Marc LeMauviel

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

October 14 or 17 Extended Season Box

There is only 1 size box in the extended share.  This week is a lot of fresh foods.  The future 4 weeks will be fresh foods and storage items.
Box contents:  1 bliss pumpkin, 1 bunch of carrots, 1 head of frisee, 1 head of radicchio, 1 bunch of amethyst radishes, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of baby bok choy, 1 pound of red onions, pears!

The pears are from a tree Aaron's Dad planted and it is loaded for the first time this year.  I'm not sure of the variety name but they are delicious.  They are hard pears that will keep well in cold storage but are ready to eat now too.
We put radicchio in the box so you could make one of our favorite salads.
Cut or tear the radicchio into 1 inch pieces.  Toast 1 to 2 cups of walnuts. Cut 1 to 2 pears into 1/2 inch chunks.  Crumble some or a lot of blue cheese.  Combine all and dress with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

The bliss pumpkin some of you will remember from last year.  They are great keepers, so you can enjoy it as a decoration until you're ready to eat it.  They have a rich, sweet flavor and dense, creamy flesh.  They make great soup.  We are in love with this squash!
A recipe for stir-fried Baby Bok Choy

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

October 7 or 10, Last CSA box of 22 week share

Party reminder!  October 10, 4 pm and on!  222 Sluder Branch Rd. Leicester 28748.  Bring a friend!

If you want to leave your wax boxes with us, bring a bag and unload.  If not, you can bring the box back next week or to the party Saturday.

Small boxes:  3 # Carolina Ruby sweet potatoes, 1 head escarole, 1 head bok choi, 1 bunch pink beauty radishes, 1 mix root bunch, 1 celeriac, 1 garlic, 1 bunch carrots.
Regular boxes:  All the above plus 1 more garlic and celeriac, 1 bunch baby beets, 1 # broccoli, 2 fennel bulbs.

Storage:  everything except the sweet potatoes and garlic need to be refrigerated.

The mix root bunch in small boxes is 1 watermelon radish, 1 scarlet turnip, 2 hakurei turnips.  In the regular boxes, it is 1 watermelon radish, 1 scarlet turnip, 1 rutabaga, 4 hakurei turnips.  These roots are good used together with the celeriac and some potatoes in a root roast or a soup.  Use the greens too!  If roasting, toss with some oil and salt and just roast for the last 5 minutes or so.  If making a soup, add them in the last 20 minutes or so.
The Carolina Ruby has deep orange flesh and is sweet.  These are ready to eat but will also keep for months under proper storage (60 degrees, dry, darkish).  They are great for savory dishes and mashed.  Taste is similar to pumpkin.

Escarole is a mild flavored relative of the chicory family.  Eaten raw in a salad it has a slight bitter flavor.  Cooked, the bitterness fades to barely noticeable. I like it in soup, raw, braised with white beans.  I'll give you a recipe to which I add 1 can of cannellini beans and top with grated parmesan.
WILTED ESCAROLE
1T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
crushed red pepper flakes
1 head of escarole, washed and cut into 1 inch square pieces
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lemon
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic, pepper flakes to taste, salt.  Saute until the onion is translucent (5 minutes).  (If you're adding cannellini beans, do it now and let them get warmed thru before moving on with the recipe.)  Add the escarole and saute briefly (2 minutes).  Add the stock and stir until the escarole is wilted slightly (1 to 2 minutes).  Squeeze the lemon over the greens, taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Following are pictures of everyone's hands that have been bringing the food to you for 22 weeks.  There are a few pairs missing because they've already left.  I got this idea from John Fleer at Rhubarb and thought it a cool idea to show you. 
THANK YOU for being in our CSA this year and giving something to do!  We really appreciate your support and the challenge to keep it all going.  We hope to see you at the party and in the future!  If you have credit to spend, come see us at North Asheville market Saturday mornings or the RAD market Wednesday afternoons.  If you got the extended share, we'll see you again next week at the same place.

Catherine with radish mud

Maddy with turnip mud

Hayley with clean Carolina Rubies

Anne with mixed root mud

Paul with tractor grease (he's been grading all the roads after the rain).

Aaron!  He does most of the washing, hence the cleanliness...