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Tuesday October 4, 2011
Greetings CSA Members,
"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
George Eliot
We are approaching that time in the season when we pull out the list of Fall crops to harvest and begin to prioritize what comes out of the ground for winter storage. We have all onions, garlic, and shallots neatly packed away. Potatoes and leeks continue to be dug, picked, and washed. The Winter Squashes are being piled at the end of their rows and transferred into large bins. We always celebrate the complete harvest of one of these winter storage crops - crossing it off our list with a satisfied grin. And then we move on to the next....
I have been thinking about a question for quite a while now and looking for the right opportunity to pose this question to you. This is the week!
"What does CSA mean to you?"
Please email me your thoughts and let me know if you would be willing for me to share your thoughts with others.
I am hoping that you will enable me to define CSA in terms that non-members can understand. I also am very interested in receiving your feedback about what works and doesn't work for you in the CSA. Does it enrich your life - how is it different from shopping at a Farmers' Market or grocery store.
Why join a CSA? What have you learned? Are there any health-related anecdotes you wish to share.
I am really looking forward to hearing back from you!
Have a great week and enjoy your share - Justine
This week in your share, you will most likely receive:
Salad Mix, Potatoes, Leeks, Celeriac, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato Greens, Shallots, and
one of the following: Bok Choi, Broccoli Raab, or Broccoli
Fruit Share: Macoun Apples
Bread Share: Baker's Choice (Butternut Squash Bread, I think!)
A Bushel of What?: CSA and Gardening Adventures, Tips, and Recipes
(Blog Author Nicole Kutcher)
This afternoon, I sat in front of the open fridge after picking up our CSA share crying and mumbling something about being a terrible mother. I'm pretty sure it stemmed from not being able to fit all the veggies in the fridge; Clearly these two things are connected. Lately, I've been struggling to keep up with life's demands. In addition to raising my now 14-month old, I'm running a new business. Add the usual housekeeping and garden-tending and the kitchen remodeling that we're gearing up to have done next month, and I'm just about ready to wave the white flag.
I received my first Celeriac, or Celery Root, from the CSA a few weeks ago. I'd never seen or held one before, and let me tell you, it is one ugly vegetable. Pale green and brown, gnarly and nubby, and just overall unattractive. It does, however, give off a pleasant, concentrated celery scent. I have been storing my celeriac in my refrigerator crisper drawer, and they've lasted for over 2 weeks. I've seen soup, remoulade, salad, and gratin recipes that utilize celeriac, and after the soup I just made, I'm hoping I'll get another in my CSA share this week so I can try a new recipe with it!
Celeriac, Leek and Apple Soup
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 3 cups sliced leeks
* 5 cups (approx. 3 lbs) celeriac, chopped in approx 1 inch cubes
* 1 large apple, peeled and cored, and coarsely chopped
* 5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (or more if you would like it thinner. you can make this decision at the end when you're blending the soup)
* 1/2 cup half and half
* salt and pepper, to taste
In soup pot, heat olive oil. Add leeks and cook, approx 3 minutes, or until leeks begin to soften. Add celeriac, apple, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add the half and half and blend. (The soup will be thick. If you'd like it thinner, add some more broth or water) Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Celeriac
Jack Staub (NPR)
In Europe, celeriac is a historic favorite. The vegetable's most classic employment is in the cold French salad celerie remoulade, in which the root is peeled, grated, "cooked" in lemon juice (or blanched briefly in acidulated water) to lose a bit of its rawness, then dressed with a mustardy mayonnaise.
Celeriac is cousin to anise, carrots, parsley and parsnips, some of which are bred for their edible stalks and tops, others for their edible roots. Celeriac is a celery variety refined over time to produce an increasingly large, solid, globular root just below the soil surface.
Also known as celery root, knob celery and turnip-rooted celery, celeriac developed from the same wild species as did stalk celery. It had medicinal and religious uses in many early civilizations, including those of Egypt, Greece and Italy.
Market tip: Celeriac (celery root) is a variety of celery cultivated for its large root instead of its stalks. It has a mild flavor reminiscent of celery and parsley.
To prep celeriac: Carefully peel the celeriac with a sharp knife. If you think this is going to take a little bit of time, prepare a bowl of acidulated water (add lemon juice to a bowl of water), and drop chunks of celeriac as you go along to prevent it from browning.
French-Fried Celeriac
1 large celery root, peeled
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1 cup vegetable oil
Salt
Juice 1/4 lemon into a big pot of water and put it on to boil.
Julienne the peeled roots by using a mandoline (a device with adjustable blades) on the French-fry setting. If you don't have a mandoline, peel the roots, cut them into 1/4-inch slices, then into 1/4-inch sticks, and put them in a bowl of acidulated water.
Add celeriac to the pot of boiling water and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and dry well.
In the same pot or a deep-fryer, heat the vegetable oil until smoking (about 350 degrees) and start deep frying in batches until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Reheat in the oven before serving.
Celeriac Mash
Bon Appétit | February 2005
3 cups 1/2-inch dice peeled celeriac (celery root; from about one 18-ounce celeriac)
1 12-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
Cook celeriac in large saucepan of boiling salted water 15 minutes. Add potato and boil until celeriac and potato are very tender, about 15 minutes longer. Drain. Return to same saucepan; stir over medium-high heat until any excess liquid in pan evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add cream and butter; mash until mixture is almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Chicken and Bok Choi Soup (Kansas CSA Farm)
2 large chicken breasts
2 small or one large head of bok choi finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 TB Olive Oil
1 TB Tamari Soy Sauce
4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups water and chicken bouillon
one handful of angel hair pasta cooked (about 3-4 cups cooked)
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil over med. heat until hot.
2. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes until garlic aroma is strong.
3. Add chicken and cook until done.
4. Add bok choi finely chopped and cook until greens are just darkened and stems are somewhat transparent.
5. Add water and bouillon or chicken broth and Soy sauce, bring to simmer.
6. Add cooked angel hair pasta and enjoy!
Bok Choi (Broccoli Raab will work as well)
(Steamykitchen Blog)
1 1/2 pounds bok choi
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons broth or water (or 2 tablespoons broth/water + 1 tablespoon wine)
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1. Start by trimming the stem off - don't trim too much - just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choi cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
2. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers
3. Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choi leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 seconds. Pour in broth, water or wine. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.
I'd say, the key to roasting is threefold: High heat, Olive oil, and
only turning the veggies ONCE.
Easy Roasted Potatoes with Leeks
(abushelofwhat?.com Blog)
4-6 potatoes
one small leek, cut lengthwise in half, washed, and sliced 1/2" thick
olive oil
kosher salt, sea salt, or some sort of coarse salt (table salt just won't do)
fresh ground pepper
(if you want a little herb flavor, grab a pinch of dried or fresh rosemary)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
After washing and drying your potatoes, cut them in half or quarters, depending on size. Place the potatoes and leeks in the baking dish and drizzle on a generous amount of olive oil. Toss the veggies in the olive oil to evenly coat, sprinkle with a few pinches of salt, and grind a little black pepper over everything. Make sure the potatoes are lying in a single layer in the dish.
Place the dish, uncovered, in the top half of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Turn potatoes and leeks ONE TIME. Roast for another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown and smelling delicious.
The following excerpt is taken from the September 7th newsletter:
From the Blog The Bitten Word
One of the best things about belonging to a CSA is being introduced to fruits and vegetables (such as kohlrabi) that we've never cooked with before. In this case, we met a vegetable we'd never even heard of. Of course it stands to reason that sweet potatoes would have greens. We mean, something's got to come out of the ground, right? But it never occurred to us that they'd be something you'd want to eat. And we really never thought they'd turn out to be so delicious.
When faced with a new vegetable or leafy green, we've adopted a pretty standard operating procedure: Heat some fat (butter, oil, bacon grease) in a pan and soften a diced onion. Throw in the vegetable and sauté until it's ready to eat. Toss in some salt and pepper. Most of the time, that'll get you 90% of the way there. Then you just decide what extra flavor you want to add (something spicy, like Sriracha? or savory, like soy sauce?) to complement the vegetable in question.
In this case, we wanted to play up the subtle sweetness of the greens, so we stirred in a little maple syrup. The result was fab: The greens were fresh yet earthy, with a hint of sweetness. A perfect side dish for an early fall meal!
If you can find some, don't pass them up. They may be the best new thing you discover this fall!
Sautéed Sweet Potato Greens
1 large bunch sweet potato greens (about half a pound)
1/2 small white onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
Remove sweet potato leaves from stems and set aside. Remove smaller stems from the larger, tougher stems. Discard the larger stems and roughly chop the smaller stems.
Heat olive oil in medium-sized pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté until just softened, about 3 minutes.
Add stem pieces and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and maple syrup. Sauté until leaves are wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve.
More information about Sweet Potato Greens…
The sweet potato is one of the world's most cultivated crops, and is grown all over the world, but especially in Asia and the Pacific. The leaves are good forage for domestic animals, so consumption by humans is looked down upon in some places as the food of the poor. However, because some varieties of leaves are high in protein, they can serve an important place in a diet that is based on tubers and other grains. Chinese herbalist lore says that the leaves can improve the respiratory and renal system function.
Like spinach, chard and other greens, sweet potatoes leaves are highly versatile. Cooking with Asian Leaves has two recipes: sweet potato leaves in a coconut milk sauce, and stir-fried sweet potato leaves. Since it was still close to my Eat Local month, I used the second one as my inspiration. I found the leaves to be quite tasty: tender, a nicely balanced flavor, not even a hint of bitterness, and none of that strange astringency that greens like spinach and chard possess.
Here is my version of stir-fried sweet potato leaves:
One bunch of sweet potato leaves
1-2 hot dried red chilies
1-2 cloves of garlic
Salt, soy sauce, pepper to taste
1. Fill a pot with water and put it on the stove over high heat. The pot should be large enough to hold the leaves, and there should be enough water to cover the leaves.
2. Strip the leaves from the branches. The thin stems that attach the leaves to the branch are tender enough to eat, so there is no need to remove only the leaves. Wash and drain the leaves.
3. Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.
4. Chop the chilies fine, and combine with the garlic.
5. When the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and carefully add the sweet potato leaves. After 2 minutes, remove and rinse with cold water. Chop the leaves. (This step was recommended by the cookbook to remove traces of natural slime from the leaves.)
6. In a large skillet or wok, heat some vegetable oil over high heat. When it is hot, add the garlic and chilies. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
7. Add the greens, then stir-fry the mixture until the greens are tender, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce, or other flavorings to taste.
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