Tuesday October 16, 2007

Greetings CSA Members,

Brian and I subscribe to a lovely magazine entitled Farming. It hails from Amish country in Mt. Hope, Ohio and provides a varied selection of articles along with a softer, slower, and community/family perspective so often missing from today’s rapid pace. Here is an editorial from a reader:

“I was thinking about the word ‘organic’ while thinning radishes this morning. Such a humble task takes little brain power, and so I spent my time in the garden listing the many aspects of ‘organic’ that are important to me: Healthy, tasty, safe, fair to farm workers, enriching communities, constantly improving soil, and respecting plants, soil, animals, and people. Whew! In my mind, there’s no single word that can replace ‘organic’ for all those meanings.

However, the government and corporations have taken over this word and it no longer includes these values…. When large corporations claimed ’organic’, organic as we knew it died. So, what do we do now? I think we have no choice but to begin again. It seems to me the place to begin is educating ourselves and the consumer. The first thing that comes to mind is that most food labeled ‘organic’ uses an immense amount of fossil fuel to produce, process, transport, and prepare. Can organic be good for us when it’s killing our planet? Additionally, to survive transportation, most food is harvested before it’s ripe and never has the vitamin content of locally grown, ripe produce… By this time the radishes were thinned and I was on to the turnips. Actually, I was thinking about the USDA’s suggestion that non-organic additives be permitted in organic-labeled foods if the additives are not available organically…I want to find a way to communicate all the positives we want our food to represent: food safety, flavor, good nutrition, social concerns, and protecting our soil for the future. I see that Eliot Coleman uses ‘Authentic Food’ and Joel Salatin coined ‘Beyond Organic’. Perhaps one of these good phrases will be what the next wave of informed consumers can seek out.

I think that the signs and phrases we use for our produce can be educational in themselves. For starters, I’m using Locally Grown and No Chemicals…We want our concept of how to raise food to again include good health for people, animals, soil, and community.”

I think that by now you probably know that my sentiments echo those of this writer. I am thinking of using the phrase: Locally Grown and Beyond Organic.

Any other suggestions? Just let me know.

In your share this week, you will most likely find:

Lettuce, Buttercup Winter Squash, Onions & Garlic, Braising Greens, Radish, Celeriac, Spinach, and LaRatte Fingerling Potatoes (Yellow skinned and fleshed, when in flower, had beautiful purple blossoms. They are a favorite of European chefs and have a flavor “reminiscent of hazelnuts or chestnuts”)

Enjoy and take good care - Justine

Fingerling Potatoes: I highly recommend slicing these potatoes down the middle, rolling them in olive oil, and then roasting them on a cookie sheet or in a glass pan that has been lightly oiled. Slice garlic and onion and place in the pan (if desired), sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees until soft.

Buttercup Squash: Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and place the halves, cut-side down, on a glass-baking dish filled with about a half inch of water. Bake at 350 degrees until soft. Either eat plain or buttered or stuff them before serving with a rice and nut pilaf.

Braising Greens: Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and stir once. Add the greens and stir for several minutes until wilted. Lightly salt and pepper and stir in red wine or balsamic vinegar, if desired.

CELERIAC

NPR.org, November 29, 2006 · Greet celeriac, the unsung frog prince of winter vegetables. Pare off its warty exterior and you'll uncover the royal vegetable within: a perfect, ivory-fleshed, winter alternative to potatoes and other starches.

It is surprising that a vegetable that is so delicious, wonderfully hearty and eminently storable

-- and makes such a boldly verdant show in the garden

-- is practically unrecognized in the try-anything United States.

In Europe, however, 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.

While what the early Greeks called selinon is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey in 800 B.C., celeriac did not become an important vegetable until the Middle Ages. It was first recorded as a food plant in France in 1623, and was commonly cultivated in most of Europe by the end of the 17th century.

Aboveground, celeriac is a gorgeously symmetrical crown of green, celery-like growth radiating from the central knob to about 12 inches. However, pull up this pretty green crown and what you unearth looks like a troll's orb of warts and roots.

Do not be dissuaded. When peeled, celery root's creamy white flesh resembles that of a turnip and tastes like a subtle blend of celery and parsley. Additionally, half a cup contains only 30 calories, no fat and provides an excellent source of dietary fiber.

This time of year, celeriac can be a perfect non-starch substitute for potatoes in a warming meal, and can be prepared in a similar way. Mashed, shaped into batons and boiled, or even French fried, celery root can provide a winning accompaniment to a fresh green vegetable or salad and anything roasted or grilled.

I find a paring knife, rather than a peeler, works best for peeling the root. Shave downward with the blade in broad strokes to remove the thick skin. Drop the peeled bits into a bowl of acidulated water (water into which some lemon juice has been squeezed) immediately after cutting to prevent discoloration.

Even if you are planning to fry or bake the celeriac later, parboiling it first for 5 or 10 minutes in acidulated water will soften its raw edge.

When peeled and cooked, this ugly duckling vegetable will become a true culinary swan.

French-Fried Celeriac

3 large celery roots, peeled

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 cups vegetable oil

Salt

Juice 1/2 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.

Mashed Celeriac with Truffle Oil and Deep-Fried Apple Bits

3 large celery roots, peeled and cubed

2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 pint light cream

2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick)

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons truffle oil (optional if unavailable)

2 crisp apples, cored, peeled and diced fine

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Boil cubed celery root and potato in a large covered pot until soft. Drain thoroughly and return to pot.

Add cream, butter, salt and truffle oil, and mash and whip until integrated and smooth.

Dredge the diced apple in the flour. Add 1/2 cup of oil to a saute pan and heat over high heat until smoking. Add apple bits and "flash" fry (quickly over high heat) until crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

To serve, reheat the mashed celeriac until warmed through, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the apple bits over the top.

Boiled Celeriac with Butter and Herbs

3 large celery roots, peeled

Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus extra for acidulating water

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 cup chopped parsley, chives, tarragon, mint, lemon balm or basil (you can pick one or use two in a savory combination)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fill large bowl with water and add lemon juice. Add celery roots as they are peeled.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Cut peeled celery roots into three or four thick slices, then cut each slice into three or four fat sticks, returning them to their bowl of acidulated water after each step.

Shape the sticks into "batons" by shaving off the square "corners" and pointing the ends (like sharpening a fat pencil) with a paring knife.

Place the batons in the boiling water. Add juice of half a lemon. Bring water back to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until batons are soft but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot.

Add butter, herbs of choice, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through before serving.