FarmShare C.S.A. Newsletter week of October 28th, 2014
Hey Folks!
Last pick up is upon us! We hope that you have had a wonderful season and enjoyed everything our hard-working field crew tended to this year.
It has been a true pleasure getting to know you at pick-ups and we can’t wait to see all of your faces next year (Sign up here!)
A few reminders for your last pick up:
- Please return all of the boxes you might have at your house
- Bring a few shopping bags or a box to transport your goodies home.
- If you would like to purchase your CSA share box you may do so for $20.
What’s in this week’s box?
Cabbage
Kale
Swiss Chard
Carrots
Beets
Green Beans
Head Lettuce
Fruit:
Apples
Our Own Fresh Pressed Cider
Storage, handling and general cooking tips…
Beets
Storage – If your beets still have greens attached, cut them off, leaving an inch of stem. Keep these greens unwashed and refrigerated in a closed plastic bag. Store the beet roots, with the rootlets (or “tails”) attached, unwashed, in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks, but their sweetness diminishes with time; so try to use them within a week.
Handling – Just before cooking, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut them according to your needs.
Just before cooking or consuming, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut them according to your needs. Try baking beets at 350-400 degrees for an hour or until they are easily pierced with a fork. Cut the tops and bottoms off and the skin should easily slip off. Why not add some other root vegetables to the dish along with olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salt. I like to boil beets as well. Boil beets 45 minutes to an hour depending on size, they should easily pierce when done. Plunge them directly into cold water after boiling and the skins will slip right off. Then slice and top with fresh lime juice. Please don’t miss the opportunity to have your kids taste beets! My daughter loves them and they are chock full of fiber, vitamins (lots of Bs and C!), minerals (iron, magnesium), and antioxidants. Plus, they look beautiful on the plate.
Carrots
Storage- Remove the leafy green tops, leaving about an inch of stems. Refrigerate dry, unwashed carrots in a plastic bag for two weeks or longer.
Handling– Organic carrots fresh from the farm generally don’t need to be peeled, but should you decide to peel them, the nutrient loss is negligible. Peel carrots or scrub them well with a stiff brush just before using. Trim off any green spots, which can taste bitter. When slicing or chipping carrots for cooking, be sure to make all the pieces relatively the same size. With their tapered shape this can be a challenge, but your efforts will ensure an evenly cooked dish.
Cabbage
Storage– Cabbage is cleverly self-packaged. Just stick dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate it; it will keep for several weeks.
Cabbage will lose freshness rapidly once the head is chopped, so plan on using it within a day. If you only need half a head, place the remaining half in a plastic bag and shake a few drops of water onto the cut side. Close the bag and refrigerate. The cut half should last another few days if it was fairly fresh when you cut it.
To freeze cabbage: Cut into coarse shreds and blanch for 2 minutes in boiling water. Remove, drain, and chill. Pack into airtight containers and freeze up to one year. Once thawed, frozen cabbage will only work well in cooked applications. Cooked cabbage may be refrigerated in a covered container for up to four days.
Handling Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. You’ll need a big, sharp knife and plenty of elbow room. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage in half through the stem end. Lay it flat and quarter it, again through the stem end. Then balance each section upright and slice away the triangular core that is exposed at the base. From there you can chop, sliver, or grate the quarters.
Apples
Our summer apples are in, and you guys are getting the cream of the crop. Jersey macs, related to the famous Mackintosh, are tart and tender. If you are a Mackintosh fan, you need not wait for them to ripen, these Jersey macs will keep you satisfied for now. Gravenstein apples are native to Denmark and were discovered in the 1600s as a chance seedling. These early guys are excellent for cooking and make fantastic cider and apple sauce.
Storage and Handling
Apples should be kept uncovered or in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Warm temperatures will cause apples to lose their crispness and flavor, so if they are kept out of the refrigerator, make sure it is in a cool, ventilated place far from direct sunlight. To prevent cut apples from turning brown, sprinkle with lemon juice or soak them in a bowl of ½ cup water and 2 tbsp lemon juice.
Recipes of the Week!
- Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Spicy Lime Dressing
- Slow-Cooker Corned Beef with Cabbage, Carrots and Potatoes
- Borscht a la Andrea
- Kale Salad with Roasted Beets
- Cider Braised Greens
- Best Green Beans Ever
- Dutch Apple Pie with White Chocolate Butter Sauce
- Spiced Apple Rings
- Mulled Apple Cider
Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Spicy Lime Dressing
From The Kitchn
Juice of 3 limes (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional – leave out for a vegetarian or vegan dish)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Lime wedges, to serve
1 head cabbage
Grapeseed or canola oil
Heat a gas or charcoal grill. Whiz the limes, olive oil, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, salt, cayenne and sugar in a small chopper or blender until the sauce is pale orange and the garlic is pulverized. Set aside.
Remove the loosest, toughest outer leaves from the cabbage, and cut into 8 evenly-sized wedges. Do not remove the stalk or inner core. Lightly brush the wedges with grapeseed or canola oil.
Place the wedges on the grill and cover. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the edges of each layer are blackened and the cabbage is beginning to soften. Flip each wedge over, cover the grill, and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on the other side. Remove the cabbage when it is beginning to wilt, but is still firm in the middle. (This will also be somewhat a matter of taste; I like it fairly crispy still, but you may prefer it more well-done.) If necessary, turn the heat down or move the wedges to a cooler part of the grill so they don’t burn. But don’t be afraid of those blackened edges; you want a lot of grill and char marks on the cabbage to give it smoky flavor.
Take the cabbage off the grill and arrange the wedges on a plate. Pour the dressing over top and serve immediate, with wedges of lime to garnish.
Slow-Cooker Corned Beef with Cabbage, Carrots and Potatoes
From Food & Wine
- One 6 1/2-pound corned beef
- 6 heads of garlic
- 10 cups water
- 6 medium carrots, peeled
- 6 medium red potatoes, halved
- One 2-pound head of green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
- Mustard and horseradish, for serving
- Put the corned beef in a large slow cooker. Add the garlic and 6 cups of the water, cover and cook on high for 5 hours and 30 minutes.
- Add the remaining 4 cups of water and cook on low until the corned beef is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes longer. Transfer the corned beef to a large pan and cover with foil. Discard the garlic.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the cooker, cover and cook on high until almost tender, about 2 hours. Add the cabbage wedges and cook until tender, about 45 minutes.
- On a carving board, carve the corned beef across the grain into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Keeping the slices together, return the meat to the slow cooker and cook on low until heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve the corned beef and vegetables in the cooking liquid, passing mustard and horseradish at the table.
Borscht a la Andrea
From Seattle Foodshed
Ingredients
- 44 ounces stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)
- 4 red beets (1 shredded, 3 in 1″ cubes)
- 4 small carrots (in 1″ cubes)
- 4 red potatoes (in 1″ cubes)
- 2 golden beets (in 1″ cubes) (can be replaced by red beets as well)
- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
- a splash of white vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup pickle juice
- 1 chopped tomato
- pepper
- sour cream
- dill
- dark hearty bread, like rye bread
In a large stockpot, pour in 44 ounces of stock (vegetable, chicken, beef, your choice). Start the stock to boiling.
Shred one beet. Quarter 3 more red beets into 1″ cubes. Add them to the boiling stock, turn down to a simmer and put the lid on, and let it simmer for 15 minutes to really get the color going.
Then, add 4 small carrots, 4 red potatoes, 2 golden beets (all chopped in 1″ to 1/2″ cubes).
Bring the pot back to a boil, then put the lid on and turn it down and simmer.
While that’s simmering, chop up your yellow onion and sauté that over medium-high heat until translucent. Once it starts to turn brown a bit, add a little bit of white vinegar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Bring the frying pan to a boil, add 1/4 cup tomato paste, about 1/4 cup of pickle juice, and simmer until everything’s cooked down. Then, add one chopped tomato, deglaze with a bit more pickle juice, and add some pepper. Taste the mixture. You’re looking for something sweetly tangy. This will form the baseline for the whole soup.
Add this mix to the big stock pot.
Chop up 1/2 head of cabbage and add that to the stock pot as well. Now, time for the secret ingredient of Melanie’s own invention: Three chopped up dill pickles. Cover, and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill.
Serve with more fresh dill, sour cream, and a hearty rye bread.
Kale Salad with Roasted Beets
Ingredients
- 3½ Tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 apples (any kind of apple)
- ½ – 1 Tablespoon honey
- 6-7 cups kale
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 small beets
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- ¼ cup golden raisins (or craisins)
- Romano or Parmesan cheese (goat cheese or blue cheese would be great in this salad too)
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1-2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 – 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- Roast beets ahead of time:
-
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets and cut off the tops and the roots.
- (Save the beet greens to use in other recipes. I add beet greens to Borsch and they really add great flavor to the soup.)
- Wrap the beets in aluminum foil. I like to wrap the beets in a double layer of aluminum foil; it just gives an extra layer of protection from the heat while the beets steam and roast inside their aluminum coat.
- Place the wrapped beets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 35-65 minutes, depending on the size of the beets.
- Beets aren’t fussy vegetables. If you have something else in the oven, you can put the beets in there too. As long as the temperature is anywhere from 350-450, the beets will roast right along with whatever else you’ve got cooking, you just have to adjust the cooking time of the beets, depending on how hot the oven is. Keep checking the beets for doneness every 20 minutes or so. The beets should be tender enough to be pierced with a fork or a skewer.
- If the beets are starting to scorch but aren’t tender yet, add a Tablespoon of water into the wrapped beet, rewrap it and continue baking.
- Peeling beets is really easy too. When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel and just peel off the skin. It slides right off.
- Store the roasted beets in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you’re not going to use them right away, it’s best to store them with the skin on and peel before using them in a recipe.
- Peel the apple and cut it into slices. Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the apple with the honey and cook it for about 5 minutes, until the apple slices are tender and slightly caramelized. (You can also use brown sugar instead of honey.) Set the apples aside until they cool completely.
- Another great addition would be a splash of apple cider. Add the liquid to the vinaigrette later.
- Massage the kale for at least 5 minutes with 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and season with salt. The kale will become much more tender and soft and will decrease in volume significantly.
- Peel the beets and cut them into slices. Season the beets with ½ Tablespoon of olive oil, ½ Tablespoon lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley.
- Mix all the ingredients together for the vinaigrette.
- Layer the kale on the bottom of the plate and arrange the beets and the apples on top of the kale. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the salad, discarding the garlic. Garnish the salad with raisins, walnuts and Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Cider-Braised Swiss Chard with Apples
From Bites of Life
– 1 small onion, chopped (the recipe calls for 1 cup, but I only had a small one)
– 2 cups apples, peeled and diced (I used Suncrisp, but Jonathan or Golden Delicious might work better — I also doubled the recipe’s suggestion; it only calls for 1 cup)
– 1 bunch chard, rinsed and chopped (I left the stalks in, cutting them into small pieces — they add a nice crunch)
– 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
– 1 cup apple cider
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– salt and pepper, to taste
1) Heat the oil up in a large skillet and add the onions. Cook on low heat until the onions are translucent.
2) Increase the heat to medium. Add the apples, tossing them around to coat them completely in the fat.
3) Mix in the chard and stir a few times to make sure everything is well incorporated. Then add the cider and vinegar and cover, cooking until the leaves are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
4) Remove the cover and increase the heat to high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the water boil off and evaporate, stirring constantly. (Like I said above, the liquid never evaporated for me, so I just pulled mine out after about 20 minutes, when the apples were tender and the chard was wilted.
Note: The recipe called for bacon as well, but I was out of bacon — and a little bacon-ed out. If you’d like a little pork in your dish, simply cook the bacon first until it is crispy and has rendered off all of its fat. Then remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the onions and follow the recipe from there.
Also, any type of green would work, you can always add in spinach or kale.
Best Green Beans Ever
From Ree Drummond
1 pound green beans
2 tablespoons bacon grease (can substitute 2 tablespoons butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth, plus more if needed
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (can substitute regular tablesalt, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black pepper
Snap the stem ends of the green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you’d prefer.Melt the bacon grease in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add the green beans and cook until the beans turn bright green, about a minute. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to low and cover the skillet with a lid, leaving the lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook until the liquid evaporates and the beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp, 20 to 30 minutes. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can start to caramelize.
Dutch Apple Pie with White Chocolate Butter Sauce
From Oh, Sweet Basil
ingredients
- 1 foolproof pie crust recipe
- 6 baking apples, crisp and sweet, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine in a food processor
- 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons white chocolate melts or almond bark, melted
instructions
- make the pie crust and set aside.
- in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the apples, sugar, flour, and seasonings. cook, stirring occasionally for about 10-12 minutes or until slightly tender. if your stove heats up pretty hot and the apples are cooking faster just turn it down to medium low and make sure you watch the apples. you still want them to have a bite to them. pour the apples into the uncooked pie crust and top with the topping. bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbling. serve with ice cream and butter sauce.
- combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together. using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter and then use your hands to finish mixing (squeezing the crumb mixture together to gather all the flour and break up the butter bits in your fingers). proceed with pie per above instructions.
- using an electric mixer, mix together everything but the white chocolate. when you are ready to serve, heat up the sauce mixture and the white chocolate in separate bowls. once heated quickly stir them together and serve over the hot pie.
Spiced Apple Rings
From Oh My Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 extra-large, tasty apple (Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Fuji work well)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Core the apple and use a mandoline slicer to slice it between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. (If you don’t have a slicer, don’t worry, you can do it by hand too!) Place the apple slices in a large bowl.
- Combine the spices in a small pinch bowl. Sprinkle the spices over the apple rings and use your hands to gently toss to coat.
- Transfer the apple slices to the baking sheet. Bake the apples for 60-90 minutes, or until they’re dried and shriveled, but still tender.
Notes
This recipe is easy to double; just make sure you rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. The baking time can vary depending on how thick your slices are, so check your apple rings often!
Mulled Apple Cider
From The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
- 4 whole Cinnamon Sticks
- 1/8 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 8 whole Allspice Berries
- Orange Peel From 1 Orange
- Lemon Peel From 1 Lemon
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 6 cups Unfiltered Apple Cider
- 1/2 cup Dark Rum (optional)
Preparation Instructions
Place cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, allspice berries, orange peel, and lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Pour in maple syrup and apple juice, then bring to almost a boil. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and serve in mugs.
(Add a splash of rum for adult version)
As a reminder, part of the fun of being a member of a CSA is collaborating with your community, so always feel free to post cooking suggestions or feedback on recipes that we post, or favorite recipes of your own that you’d like to share.
