July 30, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Sweet Corn!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Sierra Blanca Onions: Beer Battered Onion Rings; Chopped Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad; One-Pan Chicken with Potatoes & Tarragon

Missouri Garlic: Roasted Garlic Butter; Chinese “Dry-Fried” Green Beans; Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Herbed Yogurt

Green and/or Italian Zucchini: Grilled Corn Kale Salad (see below); Crustless Quiche with Summer Vegetables; Summertime Beer-Battered Fried Zucchini with Honey Mustard Ranch Dipping Sauce

Green and Silver Slicer Cucumbers (included in some boxes this week): Chopped Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad; Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts

Green Beans: Chinese “Dry-Fried” Green Beans

Green Curly Kale: Grilled Corn Kale Salad (see below); Vegetarian Kale Taco Salad

Red Prairie or Gold Carola Potatoes: Crispy Smashed Potatoeswith Herbed Yogurt; One-Pan Chicken with Potatoes & Tarragon

Sweet Corn: Sweet Corn Pancakes (see below); Grilled Corn Kale Salad (see below); Cornbread with Fresh Sweet Corn

Sunorange, Chocolate Sprinkles or Red Grape Tomatoes: Chopped Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad; Tomato Basil Scrambled Eggs

Tomatillos: Grilled Tomatillo & Pineapple Salsa; Roasted Tomatillo and Black Bean Chili

Cauliflower OR Broccoli: Chicken Broccoli Quesadilla; Grilled Cauliflower Hummus Sandwich; Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Pizza

Orange Carrots: Ranch Fun Dip; Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Pizza

Black Eggplant (included in some boxes this week): Eggplant & Chickpea Patties; Baked Eggplant Parmesan Penne

This week’s box is full of summer!  Rays of sunshine all soaked up and transformed into deliciousness by these beautiful vegetables!  Lets dive in and get cooking…and eating!  We’re talking sweet corn in this week’s vegetable feature, and what is summer without sweet corn!  Sweet corn is one of those vegetables you just can’t rush.  Even though we want a crop to be ready by a certain harvest date, it just doesn’t work that way.  Every crop matures on its own time and there’s nothing we can do except wait for the point of perfection and pick it!  This means sometimes we have a lot and sometimes we have a little. Regardless of how much you have, there are so many ways to use sweet corn that go beyond just corn on the cob.  You know I love to start the day off with vegetables in my breakfast, so why not kick off your morning with Sweet Corn Pancakes (see below)!  Top them off with some fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup and I guarantee you’ll have a good day.  If you’re looking to stay in the category of savory, consider this week’s other featured recipe for Grilled Corn and Kale Salad (see below).  Summer is the time to get creative with making and enjoying non-lettuce based vegetable salads.  This Grilled Corn and Kale Salad is a substantial salad that can serve as a meal all its own.  Massaged kale with grilled zucchini, corn and slices of fresh onions piled high.  If there’s room in your bowl, feel free to add some avocado, grilled chicken or poached fish as well!

Vegetarian Kale Taco Salad
photo from thealmondeater.com

Before we move on to other topics, I have a few more summer salad options to mention.  If the Grilled Corn and Kale Salad isn’t on your list for this week, you might want to use the kale to make this Vegetarian Kale Taco Salad.  I also want to mention this Chopped Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad.  This is a simple salad, but if you use good ingredients you don’t need to do much to make it delicious!  Add parsley from your herb garden, dress it with a simple basic vinaigrette of honey, Dijon mustard and lemon juice or vinegar.  Eat it just as it is, or serve it spooned over grilled bread for bruschetta or with hummus and pita chips.  I also have my eye on this Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts.  The thing I like about salads with Thai influence is how they utilize fresh, simple and clean ingredient combinations.

Did you notice how beautiful the dark, shiny beans are this week?  If you aren’t afraid of a little spice, try these Chinese “Dry-Fried”Green Beans.  This utilizes a stir-fry method from the Szechuan region of China where the food is spicy and flavorful!  On the other end of the spectrum, did you notice the brilliant white Sierra Blanca onions!  So beautiful, mild, tasty, and perfect for Beer Battered Onion Rings!  I know, we just talked about healthy kale salads and now I’m suggesting deep fried food?  Yes, at least once a summer we need to put a pot of oil on the stove and make fresh onion rings.  While you’re at it, you might as well make some Summertime Beer-Battered Fried Zucchini with Honey Mustard Ranch Dipping Sauce as well!

One-Pan Chicken with Potatoes & Tarragon
photo from alexandracooks.com

We are so grateful for this year’s potato crop!  This really is the time to indulge in potatoes, when they are fresh and so delicious.  I still think it’s wise to keep the preparations simple, such as Andrea Bemis’ recipe for Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Herbed Yogurt.  We featured her recipe in a previous newsletter.  This recipe actually employs a combo cooking method.  First you boil the potatoes, then smash them and roast them so they get crispy.  Then you serve them with a creamy yogurt based sauce laced with fresh parsley, dill, lemon and garlic.  Of course you could just boil them and slather them with some homemade Roasted Garlic Butter!  I also found this recipe for One-Pan Chicken with Potatoes & Tarragon.  You could substitute chervil from your herb garden in place of the tarragon, or really any other fresh herb of your choosing.  In this recipe, you roast the potatoes alongside the chicken which has a marinade made of Dijon mustard and mayonnaise—so odd I have to try it!

I like quiche any time of the year, so this recipe for Crustless Quiche with Summer Vegetables caught my eye.  I also like recipes that are intended to be versatile, as this one is.  Use whatever summer vegetables are speaking to you.  Potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, or peppers are all great selections.  We’ll have many more tomatoes yet to come, but even if you only have a few you can still make Tomato Basil Scrambled Eggs for breakfast!

Roasted Tomatillo and Black Bean Chili
photo from recipewisdom.com

We weren’t sure we’d be able to harvest tomatillos again this week, but the plants pulled through for us and we have enough to send another pound your way this week!  This was our featured vegetable last week, so if you didn’t have a chance to read the feature article, check out our blog and you’ll find twelve delicious recipes using tomatillos!  This week I want to try this Grilled Tomatillo & Pineapple Salsa.  You could just eat it with chips, or serve it over grilled fish or chicken.  Of course, you could also make this tasty Roasted Tomatillo and Black Bean Chili and serve it with Cornbread with Fresh Sweet Corn!

Quesadillas are on our dinner rotation pretty frequently, mainly because they are quick and easy to make and you can put nearly anything in them.  So, lets give these Chicken Broccoli Quesadillas a try!  I also want to try this Grilled Cauliflower Hummus Sandwich.  I don’t think I’ve ever eaten cauliflower on a sandwich, but why not?  While we’re trying new things, I’ll also mention this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Pizza.  That’s right, cauliflower and carrots on pizza!

Ranch Fun Dip
photo by Kristin Miglore for food52.com

So, over the weekend I watched the most recent Genius Recipe video on Food52.com.  It caught my eye because it was described as a recipe that will get you eating more vegetables.  Ok, I need to know how this recipe will do that and I have to admit, this is a pretty genius idea.  In fact, I wish I had come up with it myself!  So the original idea behind this concept was to create a healthy snack that could travel well without having to be refrigerated.  Vegetables and dip is a great snack, but most dip options need to be refrigerated.  That’s where the genius part of this recipe comes in—this dip is totally dry and shelf stable!  Remember Fun Dip candy where you dip the stick into candy powder?  That was the inspiration for this concept.  All the flavor is packed into a dry mix that you dip fresh vegetables in.  The vegetables need to have a little water on them which will make the dry seasoning mix stick to them!  The recipe on Food52.com is for Ranch Fun Dip, but feel free to get creative and make up your own flavor combinations and pair them with any vegetables you want to starting with this week’s fresh carrots!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Penne

We’re nearly at the bottom of the box, but before we finish we need to talk about the glossy, elegant black eggplant.  I was taking a look at our recipe archives and wanted to mention a few delicious recipes from the past featuring eggplant.  The first is Eggplant & Chickpea Patties.  These are so tasty and make a great main dish item for a vegetarian dinner.  The second is for Baked Eggplant Parmesan Penne, which was a hit in previous years even amongst the crowd of individuals who are a hard sell when it comes to eggplant!

Ok, that’s a wrap for this week.  Next week we’ll likely have some delicious sun jewel melons for you and hopefully a few peppers and more tomatoes…and corn!  Enjoy the last week of July and I’ll see you back here next week for more summer recipes!---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Sweet Corn

By Chef Andrea

Summer isn’t summer without sweet corn and we work really hard to grow the sweetest, best tasting corn we can!  Sweet corn is not always the easiest crop to grow.  Variety selection is a big part of the picture and there’s also the issue of pest control because, unfortunately, we are not the only creatures who like to eat sweet corn in the summer!  If you’re interested in learning more about what it takes to grow sweet corn, I’d encourage you to read the article we published on our blog last year entitled “The Journey of Sweet Corn:  From Seed to Table.”

Icing corn after harvest

Sweet corn is a crop you can’t rush, it’s ready when it’s ready and you just have to do your best to determine when it’s at its optimal maturity.  Sometimes you’ll have a lot and sometimes there will only be a small amount to pick.  Regardless of the quantity, I want to encourage you to think about ways you might enjoy and use corn that go beyond the classic Corn on the Cob.  Before we jump into preparation, I need to mention one very important thing about sweet corn that you need to remember.  Keep It Cold!!!  When you get your sweet corn home, please put it directly into the refrigerator and keep it there until you’re ready to cook it.  If refrigerator space is an issue, remove the husk and put the ears of corn in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  Keeping sweet corn cold is important for maintaining the sugar content.  Time and warm temperatures will cause sugars to convert to starch which will negatively impact both flavor and texture.

Corn cut from the husk after cooking

As for using corn, you may choose to cook it in the husk or without the husk and you also have the option of cooking it on the cob or cutting it off the cob before cooking.  Often people will choose to cook corn on the cob and in its husk if they’re cooking it on a grill or open fire.  If you do this, you should soak the ears of corn in their husks for a bit before putting them on the grill, otherwise the husks will dry out and burn more quickly.  If you choose to remove the husks first, you have several options for cooking the corn if left on the cob.  You can roast it in the oven or place it directly on the grill.  You can also boil ears of corn in salted water.  Once cooked, you can either eat it directly off the cob or cut the kernels off the cob using a paring knife. Whether cooked or raw, cutting kernels off the cob can sometimes get a little messy.  I like to prop my ear of corn up on end in a shallow bowl when I cut the kernels off the cob.  This way the kernels will fall into the bowl instead of all over the cutting board.

photo by Marcus Nilson for epicurious.com

Once corn is cooked you have many options for how to use it.  You can incorporate it into pasta dishes, risotto, vegetable salads, soup, chowder, quesadillas, tacos and salsa!  You can also use fresh corn kernels in cornbread, muffins, waffles, pancakes or even to make desserts such as ice cream or a blueberry sweet corn crumble!  A little fresh corn can really brighten up any dish with its sweetness, color and tender texture.  If you need a little help finding recipes or ideas, check out this article from Epicurious that includes 79 recipes using corn!

We always focus on the kernels of corn, but if you really want to maximize each ear of corn we really should look at how to use the entire ear!  For starters, don’t discard the cobs!  Corn cobs have a lot of flavor and can be used to make a flavorful Corn Cob Broth or stock.  Corn cob broth can be used when making risotto, poaching fish or chicken, or as the base for sauces and soups.   There are many ways you can do this, but here are a couple versions to get you started.  

Corn Stock by Martha Stewart

Corn Stock by Saveur Magazine

I also learned that corn silk has health benefits and can be made into tea using either fresh or dried silks!  If you’re interested in learning more about these health benefits or how to make corn silk tea, here are a few articles to consult:  www.stylecraze.com/articles/health-benefits-of-corn-silk-tea and www.healthline.com/nutrition/corn-silk#bottom-line.

Lastly, I want to mention that sweet corn is very easy to freeze so you can savor it during the winter.  I recommend cooking it on the cob and then removing the kernels after cooking.  Simply put it in a freezer bag and pop it into the freezer.  It’s that easy!  Use the corn cobs to make corn stock and you can freeze that as well!

Grilled Corn & Kale Salad

Yield:  2-3 servings

4 cups green curly or lacinato kale, torn into bite-sized pieces (½ bunch)

1 Tbsp olive oil (for massaging the kale)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (for grilled vegetables)

1 medium zucchini

½ of a medium white or red onion, thinly sliced

2 ears fresh corn, husked

½ cup grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 avocado, diced (optional)

½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

Dressing:

3 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup lime juice

2 cloves garlic 

¼ to ½ of a jalapeño, seeds removed

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp cumin

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. First, preheat your grill or prepare a grill pan if you’re using the stovetop.
2. While the grill is preheating, prepare the kale.  Strip the leaves off the main stem and tear them into bite-sized pieces.  Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Using your hands, massage the kale to ensure all pieces are thoroughly and lightly coated with oil.  Set aside.
3. Make the dressing.  Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until everything is combined.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Pour about half the dressing over the kale and toss to combine.
4. Prepare the zucchini and corn for grilling.  Slice zucchini into ¼ inch slices.  Brush each side with a little vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.  Brush the ears of corn with vegetable oil as well, and season with salt and pepper.  Lay both vegetables on the grill and grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, or as needed to get nice grill marks and cook the vegetables until tender.  Remove from grill and set aside to cool slightly.
5. Once the vegetables are cooled enough to handle, cut the zucchini into small diced pieces.  Using a paring knife, cut the corn kernels off the cob of corn.  Add both zucchini and corn kernels to the kale along with the onion and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.  Add more dressing as needed to nicely coat all the vegetables.  You may choose not to use all the dressing.
6. Allow the salad to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.  This salad is durable enough to be made in advance and served the next day, in fact the flavors and texture are actually a bit improved!  Top each portion with toasted pumpkin seeds and avocado if desired.

This recipe was adapted slightly from an original recipe published on www.thealmondeater.com.  This is a great “make in advance” salad to take with you on a picnic or pack for a portable lunch!

Sweet Corn Pancakes

Yield:  About 9-10 4-inch pancakes

2 Tbsp butter, plus additional for the pan or griddle

1 cup fresh corn kernels (cut from 1-2 ears of corn)

⅛ tsp salt

1 large egg

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp sugar

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornmeal (finely ground)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1. Melt butter in a large skillet or on a griddle pan over medium heat.  Add the corn and saute for 4-5 minutes, until it begins to brown ever-so-slightly.  Season with salt and transfer to another bowl to cool slightly.  Wipe out the skillet so you can use it to make the pancakes.
2. Lightly beat the egg in a large mixing bowl, then whisk in buttermilk, vanilla and sugar.  In a smaller bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda.  Stir dry ingredients into the egg and buttermilk mixture, mixing just until combined but still a little lumpy in appearance.  Fold in the sweet corn.
3. Reheat your skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.  Brush the pan with butter and ladle ¼ cup batter at a time, keeping pancakes spaced so they don’t run together.  When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, flip them over and cook them until golden brown on the other side.  If they seem to be cooking too quickly (dark on the outside, but still raw in the center), turn the heat down slightly for the next batch.  Brush the pan with butter in between each patch and continue until all the batter is gone.  If you aren’t serving and eating them right out of the pan, place the cooked pancakes on a baking rack on a sheet tray and hold them in the oven turned on to low (150-180°F) until you’re ready to serve them.
4. Serve warm with butter, fresh fruit and warm maple syrup.

Recipe sourced from www.smittenkitchen.com, with slight adaptations made by Chef Andrea.