Wednesday, September 27, 2017

September 27 or 30

This weeks' share:  1 pound broccoli, 1 bunch baby carrots, 1 bunch turnips, 1 watermelon radish, 1 head of green bibb lettuce, 1 pound braising greens, 1 kohlrabi, 1 pound onions, 2 heads of garlic.

Storage:  All things except garlic and onions in the refrigerator, in bags with air squeezed out.

The turnip bunch includes 1 scarlet turnip and several japanese white turnips that are quite mild.  These are great for eating raw in salads or dipped in pesto.  They are also good in soup or roasted or braised.

The braising greens are mustards, tatsoi, leaf napa, arugula, baby bok choy.  The mix would be good sauteed with a little (or a lot) of garlic.  Also would be a good addition to soup.  The baby bok choy heads will need to be cut into individual leaves.

Watermelon radishes are a bit stronger in flavor than the french breakfast radishes.  They are good sliced very thin or shredded into salads.

Watermelon radish, Baby turnip, And Kohlrabi Slaw
Remove the greens from 1 watermelon radish, wash the radish, and thinly slice into coins
Remove the greens from the turnips and wash the tops and set aside.
Wash the turnips and thinly slice into coins.
Shake excess water from the turnip greens and slice into thin ribbons.
Remove the greens from the kohlrabi, peel, and shred.
Combine all the vegetables in a bowl.
Thinly slice 1 small red onion and add to bowl.

Make a dressing of Lemon Vinaigrette from Root to Leaf
Makes 1 1/2 cups (more than enough for this salad)
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
In a blender, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Cover and blend at medium speed until all the ingredients are smooth.  With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream until the dressing emulsifies- it will be a lemony yellow and a little creamy.  Taste for seasoning.

Pour desired amount of dressing over the vegetables and combine well.  Extra dressing can be stored in an airtight jar for a week and used on other salads!

Next week is the last share of the regular season CSA.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

September 20 or 23

The waiting continues...diversity is a little hard to find right now in quantities large enough for the CSA boxes.  Cyril and I did see a few heads of broccoli yesterday and we will be digging the first sweet potatoes this week so you'll get some in one of the last 2 boxes of the regular season share.
This week:  1 head of romaine lettuce, 1 bunch of radish, 1 head of bok choy, 2 pounds of onions (red and yellow), 4 pounds of potatoes (papa cacho fingerlings and satina), 1 bunch of sorrel.
Help yourself to hot peppers if you'd like some!  Those who don't generally pick up at makret, stop by for hot peppers or let us know you want some.

Storage: everything in the refrigerator.

Sorrel and potato soup, sorrel pesto over oven roasted fingerlings, radish/red onion/sorrel salad, mashed potatoes rolled up in romaine leaves served with a spicy radish slaw...


Apple, Bok Choy, and Radish Slaw
from Steven Satterfield's Root to Leaf

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 medium tart, crisp apple
1 medium watermelon radish (or several smaller radishes)
1 medium head of bok choy
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Place the apple cider in a medium bowl.  Quarter and de-seed the apple.  Thinly slice the apple quarters.  Julienne the apple slices into matchsticks.  Thinly slice the radishes, then cut the thin slices into matchsticks; add to the bowl with the apple and vinegar.  Trim the bok choy by removing the core at the base.  Separate each leaf and rinse well.  Cut each leaf lengthwise down the center of the rib.  Lay the trimmed leaves one on top of another and cut them crosswise into thin pieces.  Add the leaves to the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss with the olive oil.


Wednesday, September 13, 2017

September 13 or 16 CSA

This weeks' share:  1 bunch of radishes, 1/2 pound cut lettuce, 1/3 pound arugula, 1 pound of goose beans, 1 small fennel bulb, 1/2 pound of garlic, 2 butternut squash.

Storage:  garlic and butternut out of refrigerator, all else in refrigerator.  We do not have a giant lettuce spinner so the lettuce and arugula are rather wet.  If you'd like them to keep longer, either spin them yourself or put a cloth or paper towel in the bags to take up some of the moisture.

Goose Beans need to have their strings pulled off.  The pods that have blushed to mostly pink can be shelled and the pod discarded.  The pods that are still green can be snapped and cooked with the beans in them.  Pole beans are high in iron, fiber, and protein.

I like to string and snap / shell the goose beans, place them in a pot of water that just covers the beans along with an onion and a bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and let simmer until tender; about 45 minutes.
In the mean time I peel and dice several cloves of garlic and place in a pool of olive oil.  Add to that the zest of half a lemon, the juice of a whole lemon, course salt to taste and black pepper.
When the beans are to desired tenderness, strain off the water (save the water!, which by now has good flavor and makes good soup broth or rice cooking water).
Put the beans in a bowl and pour the garlic dressing over them.  Stir well and let sit 30 minutes to marinate.  Enjoy with some good, crusty bread.  Nice with a side of fresh radish...


Wednesday, September 6, 2017

September 6 or 9 CSA

This weeks' share contains:  1 pound of curly green kale, 1 head of Chinese golden celery, 2 pounds of Papa Cacho fingerling potatoes, Sweet peppers, 1 pound of summer squash, 1 pound of red onions.

Storage:  all but red onions and peppers need to be refrigerated.  If you plan to keep the onions longer than a week, they will last longer refrigerated.  Same with the peppers.

Celery, Apple, Pecan and Watercress Salad
from Chez Panisse, what would I do without this cookbook?
(You can substitute kale for watercress in this salad)
2/3 cup pecan halves
1 tart, crisp apple
several ribs of the golden celery
1/2 cup Creme Fraiche
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch watercress, thick stems removed (or several kale leaves, thick stems removed and leaves torn into smallish pieces)

Heat the oven to 300.  Place the pecans on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.  Roast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Let cool.  Meanwhile, cut the apple into quarters and remove the seeds and core from each quarter.  Slice each quarter into 3 pieces lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise.

Trim the ends from the celery ribs, wash the ribs, and slice into small pieces.  In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, and pecans.  In a small bowl, mix together the creme fraiche, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper.  Spoon the dressing into the celery mixture and stir well to combine.  Toss with the watercress just before serving, or with the kale 10 minutes before serving.  Taste for seasoning.

The Papa Cacho potatoes are a fingerling type so they have a waxier texture.  They make great potato salad and are great roasted.
The golden celery is great in stir fries, soups, and small amounts in salad.
This is the last of the summer squash.  We've been enjoying it sauteed with red onion and sweet peppers and a little salt and pepper.