Week 22 - Catching Up

[Posted by Ruth]

Our older son is finished with his Master's Degree and came back from Texas last week so there hasn't been much time for posting.  To make up for it, here is a longish post with a couple of recipes.

This week was week 22, the last week of the regular farm share.  As you can see, we got a terrific assortment of goodies.  This has been a wonderful experience which will continue as we have also purchased a fall share which takes us into December and then will continue to use what we've frozen and put by and also focus on buying local produce.Without any reservations whatsoever, we will definitely sign up the CSA next year as well.  We've enjoyed it and have definitely saved a considerable amount of money as well.

Here are some things I've learned along the way:

• The day the farm share arrives is the day to prep as much as possible.  Wash, spin and bag the greens right away they're much more likely to be used throughout the week.  A paper towel thrown in the bottom of the bag keeps them fresh longer.
• Be realistic about what's actually going to be used during the week and blanch, roast, can, freeze the rest in the beginning.  Otherwise, the vegetables will wither and age while waiting in the fridge.  Ask me how I know.
• Plan the meals around the vegetables.  For me this didn't mean eliminating meat but it did take a back seat and I think we've had a much healthier diet because of that.
• Be open to new combinations.  I probably wouldn't have gone to the supermarket and bought turnip greens, hot peppers, eggs and goat cheese with the plan of combining them in an omelet for dinner, but the results were delicious.

We used the cabbage from last week as part of our son's first dinner home.  I love the name of this dish, which comes from the sounds it makes while cooking.

Bubble and Squeak
1 small head cabbage, cored and coarsely shredded
1 medium onion, finely chopped, or 2 small leeks, white part only, finely sliced
4 -5 medium/large Potatoes, preferably a yellow or gold variety
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
Salt, pepper
1 T caraway seeds, optional

Scrub the potatoes and partially cook, leaving the skins on.  The quickest way to do this is to pierce them a couple time with a knife and microwave for about 4 minutes.  Let sit until cool and then cut into 1/2" cubes.

Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy skillet and cook the onions or leaks over medium/low heat until softened.  This will take about 10 minutes for the onions or up to 20 minutes for the leeks.  Do not brown.

Add the cabbage, potatoes and salt and pepper, stir to distribute the butter and oil and cover.  Cook over medium, low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has softened.  If it begins to stick, add some more butter or oil and lower the heat, if necessary.  When softened, raise the heat a bit , adjust the salt and pepper, add 1 T caraway seeds, if using, and cook, stirring often, until some of the potatoes brown a bit.  This works well  as a side dish for salmon, which is what we had, or pork chops, ham or corned beef.

Here, by the way, is the previous week's farm share.

For the last two weeks, I've been roasting and freezing the butternut squash for use later.  This turns out to be an incredibly easy process.

Easiest Roasted Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Poke a few holes in the squash but don't bother to peel it or cut the ends off.
Place in pan or on baking sheet and bake, uncovered until it's softened and the skin is beginning to brown.  Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the squash.
Remove from oven and while still fairly hot, slice in half.  Scoop out the seeds and strip the skin off.  The skin strips off very easily, which if you've ever peeled a raw butternut squash you'll love!

To freeze as a puree just process in a food processor and, when cool, bag in freezer bags.  If you leave it unseasoned, you'll have the option of using it for either sweet or savory dishes later on. 

Week 14/15 - A Couple of Pies

[Posted by Ruth]
With the arrival of the cooler weather, I've been getting reacquainted with my oven.  The fist pie is a long time favorite of mine that I first had at my sister Phyllis' house.  This is one of the tastes I think of when I think of summer.  You have to make it when there are good, ripe tomatoes to be had.  It's fast and simple and is a great picnic dish. 

Tomato Pie
1 unbaked Pie Crust (you can refer to the "Veggies Night Out" post from 6-18-10 for my pie crust recipe, use your own, or use a prepared pie crust)  I do this in a large, 12" pie plate.  Alternately, you can use a tart pan - just do only 1 layer of tomatoes if using a tart pan.

Approx 2 T flour (Wondra if you have it),
2 or 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced (if they are very juicy tomatoes, remove the seeds and pulp)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, white looks better in the finished product
Approx 6 T mayonnaise (as much as you need to place even 'dots' over the top)


Preheat oven to 375.  Sprinkle flour in bottom of pie shell.  Use more or less depending upon how juicy the tomatoes are.  Arrange tomato slices in 1 layer, slightly overlapping.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and about 1/3 of the cheese.  Put a second layer of tomatoes on top of the first, sprinkle with salt and pepper and the rest of the cheese.  Dot the mayonnaise all over the top of the pie.  Bake until top is browned and bubbly, approx 30-40 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature and serve.


The second pie I made this week was a cabbage pie from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.  We were happy enough with the results but think this one still needs work.  It is a cabbage pie with a biscuit-like topping.  The filling was very good but I would have liked the crust to be a bit more biscuity and less eggy.  My husband liked the crust the way it was, so who knows?

Cabbage Pie adapted from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"
1 small/medium head cabbage, shredded
1 small onion, chopped
4 T butter
1 tsp caraway seeds
Salt and pepper to taste


Top and Bottom
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk yogurt or sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
3 T mayonaise
1/2 Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups flour.
1/2 tsp salt 


1 cup shredded Gruyere Cheese


Prereheat oven to 375.  Melt butter in large skillet and cook cabbage and onions over medium heat until softened, but not browned.  Add salt, pepper and caraway seeds.


Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl, combine yogurt and mayonnaise.  Whisk in the eggs.  Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.  


In a 9" x 12" glass baking or casserole dish, spread a little bit less than 1/2 of the biscuit mixture on the bottom.  Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese over the biscuit.  Top with the cabbage mixture and then the remaining cheese.  Spread the remaining biscuit mixture over the top.  Try to cover the entire top.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is puffed and shiny brown.  Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

This also reheated well the next day.

Here is the week 15 haul.  We got edamame, which was a cool surprise!

Week 9 - Cabbage and then a reward

[Posted by Ruth]
The heat continued this week and the cabbage continued to age in the bottom of the fridge.  Time to take action.  In his book "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" Mark Bittman had a recipe for whole bean Dal with cabbage that sounded interesting.  With a few tweaks, it turned out very well.  The walnuts add texture and 'meatiness'.  Note, this recipe made a huge quantity, most of which we will freeze for colder, winter days.  If your motive is to make dinner and not to use up vast amounts of cabbage, you may want to cut this in half.

Whole Bean Dal with Cabbage and Walnuts adapted from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"
8 cups cooked chickpeas (I do them in the pressure cooker - reserve the cooking water)
8 cups shredded cabbage
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T curry powder
1 T garam masala (or use a 4th T curry powder)
1 cumin
4 T butter or olive oil
3 cups roughly chopped walnuts
salt, pepper to taste.

Heat butter or olive oil in heavy pot.  Saute the onions, garlic and spices until onions are soft and spices are fragrant.  Add the cabbage, and continue to cook until the cabbage softens and takes up the spices.  You may need to add a bit more oil or butter here if the cabbage begins to stick.  Add the beans and enough of their cooking water (or stock, if using canned beans) to just cover.  Simmer, covered over low heat for about 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chopped walnuts and simmer another 10 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Serve with Jasmin rice.  Suggested toppings: plain yogurt, mint, cucumber, cilantro.

Then, it was time to deal with the remaining cabbage, especially since I know we're getting more in our week 10 farm share.  I remember reading you can give it a light char on the grill and then use it in salads, slaw, etc.  Since we already had the grill up and running to grill some eggplant and summer squash, we gave it a try.  I like the result.  This will go into a lunch salad today, mixed with the other grilled vegetables.  No recipe here.  You don't need to put anything on the cabbage, just pop in on the grill and keep an eye on it.

Now, for the reward... 
With plenty of mint growing in a pot on the deck and PLENTY of heat and humidity, a mojito seemed in order.  I had one on vacation this summer with a sugar cane stick as a stirrer and my husband found sugar cane at a local market.  We just had to try it!

Mojito - makes 1
1 1/2 oz light rum
juice of 1/2 lime
2 T simple syrup (heat equal parts sugar and water until fully dissolved - will keep for a couple weeks in fridge)
10-12 mint leaves, stems removed
3 oz. seltzer
plenty of ice
garnish - 1/4 piece of lime, mint sprig and sugar cane stirrer.


Place the mint leaves and syrup in a tall glass and muddle for about 1/2 minute until the mint is really fragrant.  Add the lime juice and rum and stir.  Fill glass with ice and top off with the seltzer.  Give the 1/4 piece of lime a squeeze and drop in.  Stick the sugar cane stirrer in and garnish with a mint sprig.  Grab a straw and head for the deck.

Aaaahhhhhh!
 

Week 6

[Posted by Ruth]

With the heat finally breaking somewhat this weekend and the fact that we're leaving this Friday for vacation, it was time to get caught up on some of the vegetables I hadn't gotten to yet.  Unfortunately, my garage refrigerator was cranking out so much cold during the heat that I found a few things had frozen in there.  So, it was time to get going.  I roasted and froze the cauliflower and all of the kohlrabi and made coleslaw out of the remaining head of cabbage.  My husband likes a mayonnaise-based coleslaw, while I prefer one with a bit more spice and acidity.  I put this together to try to keep up both happy.

Compromise Coleslaw 
1 head of cabbage, shredded (preferably by hand)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T prepared mustard
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T honey
3/4 cup to 1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk garlic, sour cream, mustard, vinegar and honey.  Gradually add the olive oil in a thin stream while whisking constantly.  Toss with cabbage, add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for at least one hour to let flavors blend.