What’s in This Week’s Share

Vegetables:

Corn – Butter & Sugar

Savoy Cabbage

Green Oak Lettuce

Heirloom Tomato

Regular Tomato

Grape Tomatoes

Fruit:

Red Gravenstein Apples

Yellow & White Peaches

Raspberries

 

Cabbage

Storage & Handling Tips:

Cabbage should be kept cold to retain it’s Vitamin C amount. Savoy cabbage will keep for about a week in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. A cut, unused part of the cabbage should be wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in the fridge. It should be used quickly as cut cabage will continue to lose its beneficial vitamins.

Fact: The world record for the largest cabbage is ranked at 124 lbs from Wales.

Medical: Cabbage retains the most nutrition when eaten raw. It is said to reduce colonic cancer risk, perk up the immune system, and eradicate bacteria. Cabbage juice is apparently good for preventing and curing ulcers.

Cooking: Remove any tough, fiberous outer leaves. Quarter the cabbage, remove the core, and then cut into the desired size slice, either shredded in a food processor or cut with a stainless steel knife (certain phytonutrients react with carbon, so stainless steel will prevent the leaves from turning black). Only cut and wash cabbage right before using it. After cutting the cabbage, it is possible to soak the leaves in cold water to not only keep it crisp, but to draw out some of those sulfurous chemicals that put many people off cabbage.

Cabbage can be steamed or blanched for 6-8 minutes. After washing, shredding and blanching for 1 minute, cabbage can be frozen in plastic bags. Cabbage can be stir-fried, baked, braised, the thick, waxy leaves of cabbage are great for acting as carb-free sandwich wraps, salad cupping, or for stuffing. Add thin cuts of cabbage to soups to sweeten and thicken the broth.

Raspberries

Storage & Handling Tips:

Raspberries are extremely perishable and are best eaten within hours of picking – you will undeniably discover the way they tenderly melt in your mouth unlike the tough commercially sold ones. They should be refrigerated and eaten within one or two days. To avoid mushing, raspberries could also be stored on a flat towel-lined plate and covered in plastic wrap. Raspberries can be frozen after lightly washed and patted dry then placed on a single layer in the freezer. Once frozen, they can be moved to a plastic bag. A bit of lemon juice will help them maintain their color.

Medical: Raspberries are high in antioxidants and are protective against cancer.

Cooking: Raspberries are obviously great as jams, jellys, infused in lemonade or tea, over ice cream for dessert or yogurt and granola for breakfast. Try raspberries sprinkled into a salad or with fresh spinach, paired excellently with some crumbled goat cheese.

Savoy Cabbage, Carrot and Apple Salad

*From Gourmet

3 tbsp apple juice

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp carraway seeds, lightly crushed (apparently help in the digestion of raw cabbage)

1/2 head Savoy cabbage, cored and cut into 1/4 inch strips

2 large carrots, cut into 1/8 inch slices

1 tart apple (Red Gravenstein), cored and sliced lenth-wise, 1/8 inch wide

Whisk together the first four ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Toss with the cabbage, carrots and apple in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for about 40 minutes, tossing occasionally so that all the flavors combine and the cabbage slightly wilts.  Unlike other greens that wilt when mixed with dressing, cabbage absorbs the flavors and improves the dish.

Savoy Cabbage and Grape Tomato Slaw with Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette

*From Bon Appetit

1/3 cup Sherry wine vinegar

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp mustard seeds

1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

22 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (1 2-lb head)

10 green onions, thinly sliced

12 oz grape tomatoes, halved