Wednesday, November 18, 2020

November 19, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Tat Soi!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Tat Soi: 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below); Tat Soi Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing (see below); Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below); Freezable Stuffing with Kale and Caramelized Onions



Covington Sweet Potatoes: Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below); Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin and Apple Hash; Roasted Sweet Potato & Apple Ham Sandwich; Sweet Potato Raisin Bread; Paleo Pumpkin Cheesecake

Broccoli Romanesco OR Cauliflower: Cauliflower Pumpkin Fettucine Alfredo



Cilantro: 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below); Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below)



Baby Ginger: 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below); Tat Soi Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing (see below); Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below); Warm Brussels sprouts Salad with Apples & Pecans; Paleo Pumpkin Cheesecake

Beauty Heart Radishes: Tat Soi Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing (see below); Watermelon Radish Salad with Orange & Goat Cheese; Watermelon Radish Toast with Orange Mascarpone and Honey

Italian Garlic: 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below); Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below); Cauliflower Pumpkin Fettucine Alfredo; Warm Brussels sprouts Salad with Apples & Pecans; Vegetarian Wellington


Brussles Sprouts Pumpkin and Apple Hash
photo from runningtothekitchen.com
Thanksgiving is coming up next week and for many this holiday may look a bit different than in years past.  You may find you have a bit more time on your hands once you cut out the time needed to travel and make plans for big get-togethers, which could be just perfect!  That leaves more time for cooking food, spending time with your immediate family and members of your household, perhaps doing things you may not otherwise take time to do.  Make that super fussy dessert that is so delicious, play a few games of cards or break out those board games you used to play as kids.  Build a fort in the living room out of sheets and have an indoor campout….Let your imagination go wild and have some fun!  Think of ways you can bless others and enhance your life and the lives of those around you throughout the next year.  In this time of thanksgiving, lets consider the power of gratitude to heal the wounds of this year and create space for the blessings you’ve received to grow and lead you into another season.

With those thoughts in mind, lets plan some meals!  We had a major problem packing this week’s box—there were too many vegetables and they all didn’t fit!  We needed to make space this week for the gorgeous tat soi!  If you are not familiar with this vegetable, please take a moment to read this week’s vegetable feature article.  If you’re looking for a quick way to use this green, here are my two suggestions.  First, use it to make this week’s featured recipe for 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below).  It’s super-simple and tastes great with this week’s fresh ginger!  I also recommend using the tat soi as your salad green this week.  I don’t have an official salad recipe, but here’s what I do.  On Sunday I chop a big bowl of tat soi, grate a few carrots and thinly slice some beauty heart radishes.  Mix the vegetables together in a bowl with a sealable lid.  Throughout the week this is your go-to salad, already prepped.  All you have to do is toss a portion with some dressing and add toppings.  I did share my dressing of choice to accompany a tat soi salad.  Credit for this Maple Mustard Dressing (see below) actually goes to Sarah Britton from MyNewRoots.org, but I like to add my own variation by adding finely chopped fresh or pickled ginger.  Of course you can add other items to this salad such as chopped nuts or seeds, hard boiled eggs, fish, chicken, etc.  Lastly, we’ve included one more feature recipe for Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi (see below)  This is a spicy flavor-packed vegetarian dish which also features fresh ginger as well as the tat soi.

Cauliflower Pumpkin Fettucine Alfredo
photo from rhubarbarians.com
I want to introduce you to Rhubarbarians.com, a new blog I discovered this week featuring seasonal vegetarian recipes.  The gal who writes it is quirky and fun, is cooking from the Pacific Northwest and focuses on CSA food—perfect!  While her seasons and veg might be a little different than ours, there’s a lot of overlap.  Check out her site and see if her style resonates with your likes.  In the meantime, I selected a few of her recipes to share with you. Turn the last of this season’s cauliflower or broccoli Romanesco into this Cauliflower Pumpkin Fettucine Alfredo.  The cauliflower will add creaminess to the sauce that is enriched with pumpkin puree.  The recipe calls for a can of pumpkin, please don’t use canned pumpkin.  Rather, bake this week’s black futsu pumpkins or heart of gold squash, scoop out the flesh and use it to make the rest of the sauce.

She also has several recipes using beauty heart radishes, otherwise known in some circles as “watermelon” radishes.  Check out this Watermelon Radish Salad with Orange & Goat Cheese, a simple salad that requires just a little bit of prep time.  You want to make sure you slice the radishes thinly and allow about 30 minutes for them to marinate in a simple mixture of orange juice, white wine vinegar and honey.  This marinade will essentially become the “dressing” for this salad.  The recipe calls for green onions as a garnish, which are not in season around here.  I’d suggest some finely chopped red onions or shallots.  You can plate this salad on a large platter for passing, on individual plates, or feel free to mix it all up and deal with it that way if you don’t want to get fussy.  Any way you do it, the flavors will be bright.  The sweet oranges and touch of honey bring out the sweetness in the radishes and complement their radish bite that is mellowed by the fatty goat cheese.  If you don’t have goat cheese, you could substitute feta cheese as well.  If you like the flavor combination of oranges and beauty heart radishes, you might also like her recipe for Watermelon Radish Toast with Orange Mascarpone and Honey.  If you don’t have mascarpone, you can substitute cream cheese.  You’ll use this as the spread, while first mixing in some orange juice and the zest of the orange.  Don’t skip the step of adding the orange zest as this is where the real orange flavor will come from.  I’d recommend adding the orange juice gradually.  You don’t want your spread to become too runny and might need to reduce the orange juice a bit.  Spread this on top of the toast, layer on thin slices of radish and drizzle with a little honey.  You just made a simple breakfast, or light lunch, or appetizer for dinner!

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
with Apples & Pecans
photo from rhubarbarian.com
As I was poking around, I found a few more recipes on this blog including Beer Marinated Fries with Thyme Mayonnaise!  This week’s russet potatoes will be perfect for this recipe.  These fries are baked, which is always my preference.  I have also reserved her Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples & Pecans as a recipe to make for our Thanksgiving dinner.  This recipe will make good use of both the Brussels sprouts and fresh ginger in this week’s box. You can thinly slice the Brussels sprouts using a food processor, a mandolin or simply with a knife.  They are then sautéed briefly along with onion, just until wilted then tossed with a sweet & sour dressing made with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, fresh ginger and garlic.  As if this isn’t delicious enough, top the salad off with fresh apples, crumbled blue cheese and pecans!

That is all for recipes from Rhubarbarian.com, so lets move on to one of my favorite blogs, AlexandraCooks.com.  Ali has some tasty recipes in her collection of 25 Thanksgiving Side Dishes, including her Freezable Stuffing with Kale and Caramelized Onions.  Her recipe has loads of caramelized onions and wilted kale.  I haven’t tried it, but I would think you could easily substitute tat soi for the kale.  Ali also offers the suggestion of making it in advance and freezing it.  You could take this suggestion and make this dish while you have a little extra time over the holidays, and the greens with which to make it, and pop it in the freezer.  You might want to pull it out and serve it with ham at Christmas or use it for a convenient dinner accompaniment to roast beef or roast chicken in the middle of winter!  Of course, it could also be served as part of a vegetarian meal, maybe with some sauteed mushrooms and roasted sweet potatoes!

Roasted Parsnips with Spicy Honey Butter
photo from alexandracooks.com
Before we leave AlexandraCooks.com, I want to call attention to her recipe for Roasted Parsnips with Spicy Honey Butter.  You can use honey or maple syrup for this recipe and if you have any Korean chili peppers hanging around—use them here!  I also want to try this Creamy Parsnip & Pear Soup.  This is a silky, smooth way to enjoy the sweet, earthiness of parsnips.  This soup gets its creaminess from parsnips as well as celeriac and just a touch of cream or half and half just before serving.  Ali recommends a drizzle of truffle oil just before serving.  This is quite decadent and I’m guessing most of you don’t have truffle oil hanging out in your kitchen, so I’d suggest a drizzle of something as simple as a good olive oil or a toasted nut oil such as hazelnut or walnut oil if you have it.  She suggests serving it with crusty bread, but you could also choose to make croutons to put on top.

I’ve used a few recipes from RunningToTheKitchen.com in past articles, but I was drawn to revisit her site this week because she had called attention to some tasty fall recipes in her prelude post to the holidays.  Check out this recipe for Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin and Apple Hash.  I would not recommend using this week’s Black futsu pumpkins as you need to peel the pumpkin for this recipe.  I would recommend substituting butternut squash, or you could use sweet potatoes instead.  There’s a touch of bacon for some fattiness, a little tang from dried cranberries and a bit of vinegar at the end, along with the sweetness of the apple which helps complete the lovely balance of flavors to complement the Brussels sprouts in this dish!  If you’re looking for a less labor intensive alternative to yeast rolls to fill the “bread” slot in this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, you might want to consider these Parmesan Pumpkin Scones.  The black futsu pumpkin would be a good selection for this recipe, but you could also use butternut squash puree.  The dough is seasoned with Parmesan cheese along with sage, pecans and pepitas.  Before you bake them you garnish the tops with a bit more cheese and dried sage, which makes them very attractive to serve.  Of course, you also might want to reserve this recipe for a post-Thanksgiving brunch item to serve with leftover turkey and cranberry or as an accompaniment to scrambled eggs.

Vanilla Carrot Parsnip Puree
photo from runningtothekitchen.com
We’re not done with runningtothekitchen.com yet!  I want to try this Vanilla Carrot Parsnip Puree.  This is a lovely dish featuring very simple flavors.  Carrots and parsnips have very different flavors, but they go together quite well.  I’ll admit—I have no idea what this might look like if you make it using purple carrots!  If you’re up for an experiment, give it a try.  If you’re not—go for orange or yellow carrots in this recipe.  I also found this  Roasted Sweet Potato & Apple Ham Sandwich.  Wow, this sandwich looks really amazing!  Slices of roasted sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, salty ham and fresh apple slices!  This recipe was created to promote a honey mustard spread that I’m not familiar with.  My suggestion is to mix equal parts mayonnaise and Dijon mustard and then sweeten it with honey to your liking, or use your own favorite honey mustard spread as an alternative.  Lastly, I wanted to share this recipe for Sweet Potato Raisin Bread, another way to incorporate sweet potatoes in some less traditional ways.  While this is a quick bread, it should have enough density that you could slice it and toast it a bit.  Eat it with a bit of butter for breakfast or enjoy it as an afternoon snack.

Vegetarian Wellington
photo from foodwithfeeling.com
Moving on, I have some more recipes to share from a variety of other sites.  If you’re vegetarian and you’re looking for an alternative to turkey for Thanksgiving, check out this Vegetarian Wellington.  The filling is made from vegetables including celery (substitute celeriac), carrots, garlic, mushrooms and onions held together with lentils and wrapped in puff pastry.  You also might want to try these Garlic Parmesan Potato Stacks.  Thinly sliced potatoes are tossed with butter that is mixed with Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper.  Then you layer the potato slices in muffin tins and bake them until the edges are crispy!  I also have my eye on this Creamy French Onion Mac-And-Cheese.  This recipe calls for one Spanish onion.  I’m guessing they’re using one large onion, so I’d suggest one large or two medium onions and you can use this week’s yellow onions as they are a Spanish cross and perfect for this type of application.  Finally, before we move on to desserts, here’s a simple recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Carrots.  Have some fun with this weeks’ colored carrots and keep it simple with a pan of roasted roots seasoned with cumin, paprika and rosemary!

Paleo Pumpkin Cheesecake
photo from theroastedroot.net
Alas, we’re nearly at the end of the box AND the end of this week’s article!  Before we close, we have to talk dessert!  I’m excited to try this Paleo Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Whether or not you are looking for paleo recipes and/or vegan recipes, this cheesecake looks so creamy and delicious.  The recipe calls for pumpkin, so you could use the black futsu pumpkins, but you could also make this with sweet potato or butternut squash.  The crust is made from walnuts and dates with a touch of cinnamon.  The cheesecake part gets its creaminess from soaked, raw cashews and coconut milk.  Of course you need some spice in the filling which includes dry pumpkin pie spice along with fresh ginger!  Oh, I forgot to mention there is no baking involved with this recipe!  At the very least you need to refrigerate it for 3 hours before serving, but you can also pop it in the freezer as long as you allow some time for it to thaw before serving (guidelines in the recipe).  So, if the rest of your Thanksgiving dinner is taking up space in the oven and you want to make something in advance, this just might be the recipe for you.

If you’re more into pies or cookies than cheesecake this year, I encourage you to try my Grandma Yoder’s Squash Pie.  This is a simple alternative to a traditional “pumpkin” pie.  You can use the black futsu pumpkins, butternut, kabocha or any other winter squash that has a rich flesh.  Lastly, I want to remind you of this recipe for Parsnip, Oatmeal, Chocolate Cherry Cookies which is the creation of the very talented and loving Annemarie of Bloom Bakeshop in Madison, Wisconsin!

And that is a wrap!  I’ll see you back the first and third weeks of December for our final two CSA deliveries of 2020.  Happy Thanksgiving!—Chef Andrea  

Vegetable Feature: Tat Soi

By Chef Andrea

We are trying as hard as we can to keep green vegetables coming in your boxes for as long as possible!  This week we were lucky enough to have a few afternoons that were above freezing to return to the field and harvest some of our late season crops including the gorgeous Tat Soi!   This time of year the flavor of tat soi is a very mild, slightly sweet mustard flavor and its green color is so deep and intense!  While it can take some cold weather and frosty nights, repeated cold exposure can result in frost damage.  We took the time to put wire hoops in the field and draped a double field cover over the tat soi, anchored with lots of sandbags to keep it in place even with the 30 mph winds we had!  The cover added extra protection for them on frosty mornings the past few weeks.  It’s always a gamble as the tat soi may still freeze under the cover and by the time we’re ready for it, sometimes it can look pretty rough.  But this year’s crop looks very nice and some of the tat soi were huge!

Vegan One Pot Ramen Noodles with Tat Soi
Tat soi is a relative of bok choi.  It has spoon shaped dark green leaves and light green stems extending from the base.  Nearly the entire plant, leaves and the stems, is edible and you’ll find both to be tender enough to eat raw as well as cooked.  One of my favorite ways to eat this green is as a raw salad tossed with shredded carrots and beauty heart and/or purple daikon radishes.  This week I included a recipe for a Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette (see below) which has become my go-to vinaigrette to use throughout the year.  Recently I’ve been adding pickled or fresh ginger to the dressing which is a nice complement to tat soi.  I didn’t include a full recipe for the salad, because you can make it whatever you want it to be.  Turn it into an entrée by adding a protein such as seared beef, fish or tofu, top it with toasted seeds or nuts, get creative!  I like to think of Tat soi, like many tender greens, as “Nature’s Fast Food.”  Incorporate it into a quick stir-fry or pasta dish such as this week’s 15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles (see below) or last year’s Ramen Noodles with Tat Soi.   It’s also a nice addition to soups such as miso or hot and sour soup.  I tend to pair tat soi with flavors such as ginger, sesame and soy, but really you can prepare it with many different ingredients and use it in place of other greens in recipes calling for bok choi, spinach, chard, mustard greens, etc.  I have used tat soi to make Red Lentils with Winter Squash & Greens, featured in our newsletter in 2015.  Another one of my favorite recipes to adapt to tat soi is for Bok Choi Salad with Sesame Almond Crunch, featured back in 2016.

It’s best to store tat soi in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.  Prior to use, turn it over and use a paring knife to cut the stems away from the base.  Wash the stems and leaves vigorously in a sink of cold water.  If you’re using it to make a salad or stir-fry, make sure you pat the leaves dry or dry them in a salad spinner. If you’re using them in a soup or just wilting them, just shake a little water off of them.  Savor one of the last of this year’s greens!

Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Tat Soi

Yield: 4 servings

photo from olivejude.com
Sweet Potatoes:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp pepper

Tat Soi:
1 medium to large head tat soi, leaves and stems kept separate and cut into bite-sized pieces 
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbsp olive oil for sautéing
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
Whole milk Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)
Cilantro, coarsely chopped, for serving (optional)

Sweet Potatoes:
  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss until well coated.
  3. Transfer to the baking sheet and spread the potatoes out, making sure to scrape the bowl of all the ginger and garlic.
  4. Roast for 35-45 minutes or until the potatoes are beginning to brown on the edges and the green onions are charred.
Tat Soi:
  1. Just before the potatoes are done, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the tat soi stalks first and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add the tat soi leaves and sauté, tossing frequently until the leaves are tender and wilted but still green, about 5-7 minutes.
  5. Pour in the coconut milk, tossing the greens so all are evenly coated.
  6. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as desired.
  7. Pour the greens and all the juices into a serving dish.  Top with the roasted sweet potatoes, and onions.
  8. To serve, add a dollop of Greek yogurt and cilantro if desired.
Recipe borrowed and adapted from olivejude.com.

15-Minute Sesame Ginger Noodles

Yield: 4-5 servings

1 Tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
5-6 cups Tat Soi, leaves and stems chopped into bite-sized pieces
8 oz rice noodles (may substitute spaghetti or any other long, thin noodle)
Toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Cilantro, coarsely chopped, for serving
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
6 Tbsp  soy sauce 
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  1. Prior to cutting the tat soi, wash the leaves and stems well, then cut into bite-sized pieces for 5-6 cups total.  Keep the stems and leaves separate.  Set aside.
  2. Boil the rice noodles according to the package directions.  When cooked, drain and set aside.  
  3. While the noodles are cooking, mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.  Set aside.
  4. Heat 1 Tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil in a medium skillet or saucepan over medium heat.  Add the tat soi stems and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Add the sauce to the pan and bring it to a simmer.  Once the sauce is bubbling gently, add the tat soi leaves.  Simmer for about 2 minutes or until the leaves start to wilt.  
  5. Next, add the cooked noodles.  Stir to combine the noodles with the vegetables and sauce, cooking long enough to ensure the noodles are heated through.
  6. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning to your liking with salt and black pepper as needed.  Serve immediately, garnished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro if desired.
Recipe inspired and adapted from choosingchia.com.

Maple-Mustard Dressing

Yield:  about 1 cup

4 Tbsp whole-grain or Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp maple syrup
¾ cup cold-pressed olive oil
4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger or pickled ginger
  1. Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  2. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, salt and black pepper.  Whisk to combine.
  3. Slowly drizzle in the oil, stirring as it is added.  Once the oil is fully incorporated, stir in the ginger and taste.  Adjust to your liking with additional salt, pepper and/or vinegar.
  4. Store in a jar in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.  Use to dress your favorite green salads!
Recipe borrowed and slightly adapted from Sarah Britton’s book, My New Roots:  Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season.
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