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Friday October 14, 2011
Greetings Farmers' Market CSA Members,
"In the great silence of my favorite month,
October (the red of maples, the bronze of oaks,
A clear-yellow leaf here and there on birches),
I celebrated the standstill of time.”
Czeslaw Milosz, All Hallow's Eve
This week I am helped out enormously by a Purchase CSA Member and Rebeca Torres, our right arm on the farm. Rebeca is a chef extraordinaire, our barn manager, and our Troy Farmers’ Market stand manager. She has wonderfully provided you with not one, but eight turnip recipes – Enjoy!
I have been asked at times about sources for gluten-free products along with good sources for local and organic meat. And I now have a few sources to share with you! This week I am promoting a local, home based gluten-free bakery in Saratoga. Carin creates a dessert that is both very high quality and delicious along with being absolutely beautiful.
Bryan Street Bakery is a home-based bakery business located in Saratoga Springs, New York. We use only the finest and freshest gluten-free ingredients. Our desserts are seasonally inspired and use local and organic ingredients whenever possible to further enhance quality and flavor. Here at Bryan Street Bakery we have been perfecting gluten-free dessert recipes for your enjoyment and health. All of our baked goods are made in small batches to ensure quality and freshness. We are committed to providing the tastiest treats you've ever had. Our desserts are so good that only you will know that they are completely gluten free. Special orders are welcome.
I would also like to share with you a response to my question – “What does CSA mean to you?”
I am grateful to those of you who have already responded and look forward to hearing from more of you!
“For me the CSA has been positive on so many levels. I feel good about having a share in the farm, contributing in a small way (albeit only financial) to the successful operation of a local farm. Community supported agriculture is a concept that I believe in. I also shop at the Farmers' Market in my town which I enjoy, partly for the same reason--to support local farmers from several different farms--but I do think that the quality of the fruits and vegetables is better and purer and healthier than what I buy in the supermarket, even when I am buying organic produce. The other fun thing about my membership in the CSA with you is that each week I get a box filled with surprises. I do read your emails usually before I open my box but I never know exactly what I'm going to get each week. And it has encouraged me to be more adventuresome in my cooking since there are often things in the box which I have never bought or tried before. Before I joined the CSA, I had never cooked swiss chard, kale, collard greens or celeriac. One of my sons, who is interested in cooking and has just started culinary school, taught me how to make a celeriac puree and I love it and make it all the time now.”
Take care and have a great week - Justine
This week in your share you will most likely receive:
Mesclun, Turnips, Beets, Onions, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Cabbage, Garlic,
and Sage
I thought since I was promoting Gluten-Free this week, I would offer a few recipes!
Karina's Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe
(Glutenfreegoddess)
6 apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons tapioca or arrowroot starch
1 cup quinoa cereal flakes
3/4 cup brown rice flour (or sorghum flour)
1 cup organic light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup organic coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x11-inch gratin or baking dish with vegan buttery spread. Set aside.
Peel and core the apples. Slice them and toss into a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Add the maple syrup and stir. Dust with tapioca starch and stir again to coat the slices. Pour the slices into the prepared baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, combine the quinoa flakes, brown rice flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt and whisk to blend. Add the coconut oil in pieces and using a whisk or a pastry cutter, cut the coconut oil into the flour blend until you have an even, sandy mixture. Spoon the mixture over the apples.
Bake in the center of a pre-heated oven for about twenty minutes. Cover the top loosely with a piece of foil and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the apples are tender and the sides of the crisp are bubbling. (The foil will keep the topping from browning too much.) Allow the crisp to cool before serving- though slightly warm is luscious. We had leftover apple crisp the next day, chilled, right out of the fridge, and Darling, it was fabulous cold, too.
Syrian Beet Salad
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special)
3 large beets, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp chopped scallions (or chives)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1 tbsp seeded and chopped fresh chile or about half of a medium-sized poblano
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
Bring water to boil, then gently add the peeled and chopped beets. Lower the heat, cover pot, and let simmer, approx 10 minutes (or until beets can be easily pierced with a knife). While beets are cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients, and combine in a bowl.
When beets are ready, drain thoroughly and add to bowl, tossing well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour prior to serving, so that all the flavors have time to mingle.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Beet Cake (This cake is absolutely fabulous!!)
(Shared by Jeannine Laverty – Crew Member and one of the very first CSA members)
1 1/4 C beet puree (see below)
3 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C cocoa powder
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C All-purpose gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill works great)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp Xanthan gum
The beet puree can be made ahead of time. Basically, cook them any way you like... boil, bake, whatever, then puree them. A 'done' beet can be easily pierced with a fork or knife tip. The fastest way to cook beets, however, is in a pressure cooker. Scrub but do not peel them, and cook over an inch or two of water (at least 2 C of water for large beets), at high pressure for 11-13 min for small (3-4 oz) beets, or 20 - 22 min for med to large beets (5-6 oz)*. After they’re cooked and cool enough to handle, cut off stems and root and slip off skins. Cut cooked beets into chunks and puree in a blender or food processor. If your puree is too 'dry', you can probably add a tiny bit of water or beet cooking water, but only enough to make it whirl. It should be pretty thick. When I made my puree, I was short quantity-wise, and so I simply added some homemade apple butter to make up the difference (don’t be afraid to be creative, I say!).
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease and dust with flour a bundt pan (or 8-9" square pan). In a large bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in sugar, oil, vanilla, salt & beet puree. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and soda. Add to wet ingredients a little at a time until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45 - 50 min., or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and serve (with sliced strawberries & ice cream -- mmmmm!!).
*This information courtesy of a wonderful cookbook called "Cooking Under Pressure" by Lorna J. Sass
Cabbage-Beet Slaw with Ginger Vinaigrette
(TheBittenWord.com)
1 small head red or green cabbage
1 medium-sized beet
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Salt & pepper to taste
Chop the cabbage into 4 wedges. Trip away any of the tougher core. Cut the remaining cabbage into thin strips. Place in a bowl.
Peel the beet using a vegetable peeler. Using a hand-held grater or box grater, shred the beet into the bowl with the cabbage, being careful to not stain clothes with beet juice.
Make the vinaigrette. Combine vinegar, honey, and ginger in a small bowl. Add oil and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss vinaigrette with cabbage-beet mixture. Allow the slaw to stand 20-30 minutes before serving, tossing regularly. Add salt and pepper if needed, and serve.
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