Wednesday, October 25, 2023

October 26, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Sweet Potatoes


Cooking With This Week's Box



Sweet Potatoes:
Sweet Potato & Carrot Cakes with Cashew Lime Sour Cream (See Below)
Thai Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps (See Below)

Yellow Onions:
Onion Cake 
Cream of Onion Soup 


Here we are, wrapping up the final week of October and just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving!  We’re preparing for our first potential ‘hard’ frost of the season coming this weekend, which means we’re harvesting cabbage, sensitive greens and as many root crops as we possibly can!  We’re also putting out row covers to protect our late season fall greens including escarole and radicchio.  One of the benefits of this cold weather is the effect it will have on the Brussels sprouts.  We’re planning to harvest them for the next two boxes and they should taste exceptional after this weekend!  While there are still some fun selections yet to come, we’re excited to be sharing sweet potatoes with you this week! 

Sweet potatoes are a very versatile vegetable and may be used in many ways.  This week’s recipes pair sweet potatoes with some of this week’s other vegetable selections.  Check out this recipe for Sweet Potato and Carrot Cakes with Cashew Lime Sour Cream (see below).  This is a recipe from Amy Chaplin, a very accomplished vegetarian chef and cookbook author.  The other recipe makes use of this week’s lettuce for Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps (See Below).  Of course, I sprinkled a few other sweet potato recipes in amongst the list this week with crossover pairings with other vegetable selections.  This recipe for Ginger Coconut Sweet Potatoes is one of my favorites.  You may also consider pairing this week’s fresh baby ginger with sweet potatoes to make this simple, yet elegant Silky Ginger Sweet Potato Soup.

This week’s Peter Wilcox potatoes are one of my all-time favorite varieties.  I think they would pair nicely with this week’s carrots and cauliflower in this ChickenPot Pie Soup.  If you’re looking for some other main dish inspiration for the week, check out this Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta or perhaps you may choose to make an entrée salad with this recipe for Kale Power Salad with Sweet Potatoes & Spicy Almond Dressing.

This week’s box has not one but two varieties of squash!  Butterkin squash may be used interchangeably in recipes calling for butternut squash.  There are plenty of recipe options contained in these two recipe collections entitled 28 of Our Best Butternut SquashRecipes To Make This Fall and 30 Butternut Squash Recipes To Make This Fall.  Jester squash is similar in use to either delicata or acorn squash, so you may choose to look for recipe ideas that use these two varieties and may be adapted to the Jester squash.  I am looking forward to trying this recipe for Cranberry Apple Stuffed   Squash.

I’m going to wrap it up here with one reminder for everyone.  Next week is the week when we will be delivering both Green & Brown week deliveries in the same week!  So, if you are a brown week customer typically receiving a box every other week, make sure you check your calendar and give yourself a reminder to go pick up your box!  Have a great week and I’ll meet you back here next week!

---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Sweet Potatoes

by Andrea Yoder

Sweet potatoes seem to be one of our most popular fall crops that CSA members look forward to every year. They are a staple fall vegetable with a long storage potential that will sustain us for the next 4-6 months! They are also very versatile in their uses, which means you have the opportunity to get creative and enjoy sweet potatoes in a wide variety of recipes over the next few months!  

Freshly Harvested Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a tropical vegetable, which makes it a bit of a challenging crop to grow in our northern climate. Over the years we’ve learned a lot about growing sweet potatoes and have refined a pretty good production system.  We wait until we are past the last frost in late May before we plant our sweet potato slips (slips is the term we use for the young plants we transplant into our field). We plant them into raised beds that are covered with a dark green plastic mulch to trap heat, making the plants think they are in a tropical environment. This summer’s heat wave was actually not too bad for the sweet potatoes, although we had to make sure they received enough water and nutrients through the drip irrigation lines buried under the plastic mulch.  Harvest typically happens in late September or early October. We always cross our fingers for a stretch of several dry days without precipitation to finish the harvest. This fall we were not so lucky as to have the “Perfect” harvest conditions, but with rain in the forecast we knew we had to get them out of the field. So, over the course of just a few days, we had two separate harvest crews in the field at the same time and raced against the weather! Despite a rainy afternoon, the crew pushed on and managed to finish the harvest. Yes, we brought in a lot of mud, and we had a huge pile of very muddy gloves at the end, but it felt great to have 34,000 pounds of sweet potatoes safely tucked away for storage! 

Crates of sweet potatoes ready to "cure" in 
our greenhouse
Straight out of the field, our sweet potatoes taste ok, but not good enough to eat (in our opinion). That’s right, we have a rule around here that you don’t really eat sweet potatoes until they have been 'cured'.  When first harvested they are starchy, not very sweet or tasty, and the skins are very tender requiring careful handling.  Sweet potatoes aren’t truly sweet potatoes until we “cure them.”  Curing is a process by which we hold the sweet potatoes at high heat and high humidity for 7-10 days. During this time, the starches in the potatoes are converted to sugars and the skins become more stable for long term storage. Richard checks the brix levels (a measure of sugar content) before, during and at the end of this process. Once they are cured, we reduce the temperature and humidity levels for longer storage. 

If stored properly you can eat sweet potatoes all winter! The ideal storage temperature for cured sweet potatoes is 55-65°F. If you don’t have the perfect location to store them at their ideal temperature, it’s better to store them at room temperature instead of putting them in the refrigerator.  

Harvesting sweet potatoes!
Sweet potatoes are less starchy and more sweet and moist than a regular potato and have a wide variety of uses. You can simply bake them whole until fork tender and eat the flesh right out of the skin. They are also delicious, cut into bite-sized pieces and roasted or cut them into wedges or thin slices and make roasted fries or chips. Sweet potatoes also make delicious, hearty soups and stews, may be added to chili, shredded, and fried like hash browns, or just simply cook and mash or puree them. They are also delicious incorporated into biscuits, rolls, quick breads, cookies, bars, cheesecake and more! 

Sweet potatoes are also very nutritious! They are a great source of complex carbohydrates and are high in fiber as well as vitamins and antioxidants that are helpful for preventing cancer, reducing inflammation and boosting immunity.  If you’d like to read more about the health benefits of sweet potatoes, you may enjoy this article entitled Sweet Potato—A Valuable Medicinal Food:  A Review.  I also came across an interesting research article entitled Sweet Potatoes for Cancer Prevention citing the health benefits from eating sweet potato peels for cancer prevention! While sweet potatoes are often peeled, they don’t have to be, and you just might want to take advantage of those valuable nutrients!  


Sweet Potato & Carrot Cakes with Cashew Lime Sour Cream

Makes about 14 2 ½-inch cakes
1 ¼ cup red lentils, rinsed
1 ½ cups water
2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, plus more for brushing pan and cakes
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt, to taste
1 tsp dried turmeric
1 red chili, thinly sliced, plus more to garnish
⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro stems, from one bunch cilantro
3 medium carrots, grated, divided (about 6 cups)
2 small sweet potatoes, grated
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves, plus more to garnish
2 scallions thinly sliced
1 tsp tamari, plus more to taste
1 ½ tsp brown rice vinegar

Cashew Lime Sour Cream
1 cup cashews, soaked 4 to 6 hours
Zest of one lime
3 to 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
½ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
  1. Combine lentils and water in a small pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, remove from heat and set aside covered while you prepare the other ingredients.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, brush paper with coconut oil (you may have to melt it first) and set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 375°F if you have a convection setting, or 400°F if you don’t have a convection setting.
  4. Warm coconut oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and add onion. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and a large pinch of salt and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Stir in turmeric, chili and cilantro stems and cook 2 minutes longer. Reserve about 1 cup of grated carrot and add the rest to the skillet along with the grated sweet potato. Cook, stirring for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not soft. Remove from heat, stir in remaining carrot, cilantro leaves, scallions, tamari, and rice vinegar and set aside.
  5. Remove 1 cup of red lentils from the pot and save for another use. Place remaining red lentils into skillet and mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and tamari and set aside until cool enough to handle.
  6. Shape into cakes, using a ¼ cup measure as a guide. Flatten them a little, place on prepared tray and brush with coconut oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until browning on the bottom. Flip over and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on each side.
  7. To prepare the Cashew Lime Sour Cream, drain and rinse cashews and place in an upright blender. Set lime zest aside and add remaining ingredients. Blend until completely smooth and velvety, scraping sides, as necessary. Season to taste and add reserved lime zest. Pulse to combine and pour into a bowl. Place in the fridge for an hour or until ready to serve. This will last 2 to 3 days in an airtight container.
  8. Serve the Sweet Potato and Carrot Cakes warm and topped with the Cashew Lime Sour Cream.
Recipe borrowed from www.amychaplin.com.


Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps

Yield: 2-3

1 cauliflower
Photo from www.cupfulofkale.com
2 medium-large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
Salt and black pepper, to taste
250g firm tofu, drained
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
Fresh lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Thinly sliced red onions (optional)
Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
Sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Peanut Sauce:
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp coconut milk 
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp red Thai red curry paste
½ lime
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into ½ inch cubes. Cut the cauliflower into similar sized pieces and place in a large roasting pan with the sweet potatoes.
  3. In a small bowl mix together the oil, garlic, onion, Thai red curry paste and some salt and pepper.
  4. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and toss so they are all coated. Pop in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
  5. Make the peanut sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl. Thin with a little water if needed. Set it aside for later.
  6. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat with 1 tbsp soy sauce and some oil. Using your hands crumble the tofu into the pan.
  7. Fry for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and cook until the tofu turns brown and crispy.  When done, remove from heat and set aside.
  8. Check the roasted vegetables. The sweet potato should be soft through and the cauliflower crispy and browned. 
  9. When the vegetables and tofu are finished, put both in a serving bowl and mix together. Serve with the peanut sauce, lettuce leaves and toppings ready to assemble your lettuce wraps!
Borrowed from  www.cupfulofkale.com.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Fall Pasture Update

By Richard de Wilde 

Muscovy Duck with ducklings.

While our focus is on growing vegetables, animals have always been an important part of our farm. At present we care for our small herd of goats and Angus cattle along with pigs, ducks, and chickens. Not only do they add ambiance to our farm, but they also help us better manage our land. Given our valley location, we have hillside areas that are too steep for vegetable production and are better managed as pastures. Without proper management, these hillside pasture areas can quickly be overtaken by undesirable “weed” trees and invasive species such as garlic mustard, honeysuckle and buckthorn which would choke out more desirable pasture grasses. Our animals also help us by fertilizing the land which keeps the pastures nutrient-rich and lush with vegetation to prevent hillside erosion. Pasture grass is also a great way to capture carbon and store it in the soil.

All of our animals, as well as the land they graze and live upon are certified organic.   Every year at our organic inspection, the inspector asks to see our animals, where they reside, records of feed purchases, etc. Our beef cattle are all grass-fed. We use managed or rotational grazing for our beef cattle, which means our pastures are divided into paddocks and the animals are rotated systematically through the different areas. They are only in a paddock until they have eaten the grass to 4-6 inches high and then we move them to the next paddock. After an area is grazed, the animals don’t return for at least 30 days which gives the grasses time to regenerate.  This system also provides a great habitat for grassland bird nesting!

Pigs hanging out in their pasture.
We choose to raise our animals in an environment that allows them to exhibit their natural behaviors and characteristics. We treat them gently and with respect so they do not live in fear of human touch or presence.  This creates a much more pleasant environment for them to live in and allows us to work amongst them more safely. Our pigs have a 20-acre pasture which they cover daily eating grass and clover as well as digging up roots with their amazingly strong snouts! We often only see glimpses of them moving through the woods throughout the day, but rest assured they return to their home base for dinner at night and they are front and center for breakfast in the morning! We feed them a modest ration of organic corn, barley, and flax seed, but they also enjoy a wide variety of vegetable trimmings that we take to them from the packing shed every day. In the fall they enjoy checking on the wild apple trees in their pasture where they gobble up the dropped fruit. They also fill up on hickory nuts, acorns, and hazelnuts. They have a pretty good life, eat well, and from time to time they appreciate a little scratch behind their ears.  

Cattle grazing in their pasture.
Our black Angus beef come to us each fall from John and Denise Hildegard who farm in Auburndale, Wisconsin. They are set up more appropriately than we are to raise calves. The young animals come to us when they are fully weaned and weigh about 500#.  Their farm and animals are also certified organic, but the thing we really appreciate about John and Denise is that they are excellent animal caretakers. The nature of their animals clearly demonstrates they have been raised with love, care, and gentleness. While they are very large animals, they are also very gentle and calm.  Our cattle are on pasture their entire lives. They eat only pasture grass and clover during the summer months and in the winter, we feed them hay that we bale from our hillsides. They also get a free choice mix of kelp meal and natural mineral salts mixed with garlic and diatomaceous earth (DE). This mix is kind of like their daily “multi-vitamin,” plus the DE acts as a natural wormer.  When they stick their head in the feeder their face gets wiped with a blend of organic sunflower oil mixed with citronella which helps to keep the flies away from them. They also meander down to the creek bottom each day to get water. They are large creatures to be respected, but we also appreciate how they contribute a serene vibe to our farm.

Healthy animals that are allowed to live in a natural environment seldom have health problems. However, sometimes in the cold of winter or during the changing of seasons they may get a little sniffle or a cough. During these vulnerable times, we feed them pellets containing aloe, garlic, and molasses. Sometimes we put them in a feeder, but some of the cows really like them and are tempted to take more than their fair share which leaves us feeding them by hand. 

While we do enjoy living amongst our animals and they serve an important role in helping us manage our land, we do also raise our pigs and cows with the intention that they will be harvested for meat.  We realize the decision to include meat in your diet, or not, is a very personal one and may be based on a variety of reasons. We certainly respect each individual’s decision and do our best to be transparent about our practices, so our customers have the information they need to make a fully informed decision when purchasing meat.  Unfortunately, there is a wide array of practices amongst meat producers, so it is important to make sure you know what your purchases are supporting. Our fall meat delivery dates are quickly approaching. At present, we do still have beef & pork available for November and December. However, we are likely going to sell out pretty soon for November delivery.  If you’re interested in purchasing meat this fall, we encourage you to send your order in as soon as possible!

In closing, we just want to reiterate how important it is for consumers to be well-informed with their purchases. Not all meat is produced similarly and there are some practices in the industry that are, in our opinion, unacceptable. We value our animals, the value they add to our farm and our lives, and we will continue to do our best to treat them with the respect they deserve. If ever you have a question or would like to see them for yourself, don’t hesitate to give us a call!


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October 19, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Fresh Ginger

 

Cooking With This Week's Box

Fresh Baby Ginger:  
Golden Milk
Photo from www.teaforturmeric.com
Easy 5-Minute Carrot Miso Ginger Dressing (See Below)
Pear Ginger Walnut Muffins (See Below)

Orange Carrots: 

Orange Marmalade or Bon Bon Winter Squash:  

Starry Night Acorn Squash: 
Japanese Roasted Kabocha Squash
Photo from www.justonevookbook.com

Yellow Onions: 

Italian Garlic: 

Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco or Broccoli: 

Onion Tart
Photo from www.tasteofhome.com
Salad Mix: 

Purple Majesty Potatoes: 

Red Summercrisp or Green Boston Lettuce: 

Mibuna: 

Purple Daikon Radish:  

Garlicky Roasted Purple Potatoes
Photo from www.foodabovegold.com
This week is definitely feeling more like fall, complete with changing leaves on the trees, a cool, crisp air hanging in our valley in the morning, and a shift in cooking from tomatoes, peppers and summer vegetables to winter squash, root crops and very soon…sweet potatoes!  This week we’re featuring another one of our unique tropical vegetables, Fresh Baby Ginger!  I included a few recipes for you to consider, the first being Pear Ginger Walnut Muffins (See Below). This is the perfect muffin for a fall breakfast on the go. I also included a simple recipe for Easy 5-Minute Carrot Miso Ginger Dressing (See Below). This recipe will be a great accompaniment to a green salad topped with shredded daikon radish, carrots, and grilled steak! I also included a recipe for Homemade Pickled Ginger in case you want to give that a try.  Lastly, I love a hot cup of Golden Milk so thought you might enjoy it too!

I enjoy purple daikon radish because it’s beautiful, but I also like having a smaller radish to work with.  One of my favorite things to do with purple daikon is to make Soy-Pickled Daikon Radish.  This is a great condiment to have in the refrigerator. Enjoy a few slices alongside fried rice, grilled steak, ramen noodles, etc. If you want something that is a bit more of a complete meal, check out Andrea Bemis’ recipe for Daikon Radish & Soba Noodle with Chickpea Miso Ginger Sauce.

I hope you’re ready to make winter squash part of your weekly line up, and for starters try Roasted Acorn Squash with Sesame Seeds & Cumin or Sourdough Stuffing with Apples, Acorn Squash & Hazelnuts.  I seldom do anything with kabocha squash other than bake it, season with salt, and melt some butter on it. But if you do want to get a bit more adventurous, check out this recipe collection for 8 Kabocha Squash Recipes to Keep In Your Back Pocket.

Ok, there’s another load of carrots coming in from the field very soon so I’d better wrap up and head back to the packing shed!  Richard has been monitoring the sweet potato curing process and, hopefully, we’ll be able to start washing them next week for your boxes!  We’re also saving Brussels sprouts for next week.  Plenty to look forward to! 

Have a great week-----
Andrea 

Vegetable Feature: Fresh Baby Ginger

by Andrea Yoder

Newly planted Ginger
Along with this year’s lemongrass and jicama, baby ginger is another unique crop that is on our list of crops we grow periodically, but not every year. Our growing season is much different than Hawaii and other ginger-producing regions, however it is possible to grow ginger in this climate! Ginger is actually a rhizome, which is a stem that grows horizontally underground.   It produces roots to anchor it and sends up shoots to grow into foliage above ground as it grows and expands. In our northern climate, we have the best results growing ginger in a greenhouse as we just don’t have a long enough growing season to get any kind of appreciable yield when grown in the field.  The ginger we produce is actually referred to as baby ginger as we don’t have enough warm days, even when grown in the greenhouse, to produce fully mature ginger.  

Harvesting Ginger
Baby ginger is different than fully mature ginger, which is what you have likely purchased if you’ve bought ginger from the store.  Baby ginger has very thin skin with some pink coloring, especially at the points where the stems have grown from the main rhizome. This is very different from the thick, brown skin you are likely most accustomed to seeing in the store.  Due to its thin skin, baby ginger is more perishable and should be used within about a week for optimal quality. It is best to store it at room temperature as it can get rubbery in the refrigerator. When you cut into a piece of baby ginger, you will notice it is more tender, juicy and has a bright and perhaps a bit more mild flavor than some fully mature ginger that can be quite spicy.  In many ways, young ginger versus fully mature ginger is very similar to the differences you experience with using fresh garlic harvested in late June versus mature garlic that has been cured.  We also chose to leave some of the stem and a bit of leaf attached to the ginger. These stems are also edible, although the flavor is milder than the main rhizome. I like to add them to soup, stews, tea or broth and use them to infuse additional flavor into the liquid.

Freshly washed baby Ginger
Ginger is used as both medicine and food. As a medicine, it has anti-inflammatory properties, can sooth a whole host of gastrointestinal maladies, and helps to boost the immune system. When used in cooking, you will find it is a common, if not staple, ingredient in many Asian cultures. It is often paired with garlic and scallions in Chinese stir-fry or combine it with chiles, lemongrass and a variety of other ingredients to make Thai curry pastes. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to pair with other warming spices and rich, comforting foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. It can be used extensively to make beverages, teas, baked goods, stir-fry, salad dressings, vegetable dishes, curries, and much, much more!

To use baby ginger, simply cut a piece from the main chunk and peel if necessary. The skin is so thin and tender that it usually comes off quite easily. As I mentioned above, it’s best to use baby ginger within about a week.  If you do not think you’ll be able to use all your ginger within a week, consider preserving it for later use.  There are several options for ways to preserve ginger. First, consider making a ginger syrup that you can keep in the refrigerator to use as a base to add to beverages or just eat a spoonful each day for an immune boost. You can also turn fresh ginger into pickled ginger. Traditional Japanese pickled ginger that is commonly served with sushi is made with baby ginger. The pink hue of pickled ginger comes from that pink color you see on the skin of baby ginger. This is also the preferred form of ginger to use as it’s more tender and delicate compared to fully mature ginger.  Pickled ginger is very easy to make and will keep for up to six months in the refrigerator.  Lastly, you can freeze fresh ginger. Just wash it well and cut it into smaller pieces, about the amount you may want to use at a time. Place the clean ginger pieces in a freezer bag and freeze it raw. When you have a recipe that calls for fresh ginger, pull a piece of the frozen ginger out and let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. The ginger may be a little soft once fully thawed, but that doesn’t really matter.  Just chop it up and use it wherever you need “fresh” ginger! We’ve come to appreciate this crop over the years and hope you enjoy this little taste of the tropics!  


Pear Ginger Walnut Muffins

Yield:  12 medium sized muffins

Pear Ginger Sauce:
2 cups peeled, cored and diced ripe pears (Bartlett or similar)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Muffins:
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger for batter plus ½ tsp for topping
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
⅓ cup sugar for batter plus 2 Tbsp for topping
½ cup plus 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
  1. First prepare the Pear Ginger Sauce. Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When butter is melted and frothy add pears, tossing with a wooden spoon to coat. 
  2. Add ¼ cup of sugar, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
  3. Add grated ginger and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, until pears are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes while you assemble the muffin batter. 
  4. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan.
  5. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 tsp ground ginger and salt.
  6. Whisk together eggs and ⅓ cup sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then add butter whisking or blending with electric mixer until creamy. Add 1 cup of the cooled pear ginger sauce and stir to combine.  Next, fold in flour mixture until the dry and wet ingredients are fully incorporated. Stir in 1 cup of walnuts and divide batter among muffin cups.
  7. In a small bowl, combine remaining 2 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp ground ginger and ½ cup walnuts. Sprinkle topping evenly on top of muffins. Bake until muffins are golden, and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly. Once cooled completely, the muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, or in the refrigerator for about a week. 
Recipe borrowed from www.food52.com.

Easy 5-Minute Carrot Miso Ginger Dressing

Yield:  approximately 1.5 cups
½ cup white miso
¼ cup avocado or olive oil
½ cup grated carrots, packed
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp maple syrup or honey
¼ cup water
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
  1. Start by adding all of the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds, to a high-speed blender.  Blend until smooth.
  2. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. If you are using sesame seeds, stir them in by hand.
  3. Once done, transfer your dressing to a jar and store in the fridge for up to one week. Put it on your favorite salads, eat it with veggies, or use it as a sauce for chicken or fish.
Recipe borrowed from www.kalejunkie.com.
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Wednesday, October 11, 2023

October 12, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Napa Cabbage

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

Orange Carrots:  
Butternut Squash Pasta Shells
Photo from www.juliasalbumn.com
20 Easy Carrot Recipes 

Butterscotch Butternut Squash:  

Red Onions:  

Porcelain Garlic:  
Ramen Noodle Stir-Fry
Photo from www.juliasalbum.com
Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries 

Red/Orange Italian Frying Peppers:  

Broccoli:  

Baby Spinach:  

Adirondack Red Potatoes:  
Creamy Potato and Chard Gratin
Photo from www.thetasteedit.com
Fork-Crushed Potatoes

Red Napa Cabbage:  
Vietnamese Napa Cabbage Slaw (See Below)
Salt-Massaged Napa Cabbage with Citrus Slivers (See Below)

Rainbow Chard:  

Mini Sweet Peppers:  

Hello Everyone—

Napa Cabbage & Sweet Pepper Slaw
Photo from www.myrecipes.com
Fall is closing in on us and we did have our first frost this week. We’re preparing to plant garlic very soon, so we’ve spent a few frosty mornings cracking bulbs of garlic in preparation for planting.  We also started harvesting sweet potatoes! The reality is starting to come closer that we’re nearing the end of our harvest season.  But before we are officially done for the year, we still have more exciting vegetable selections to send your way, including this week’s gorgeous red napa cabbage! This is a stunning vegetable that may be eaten raw or cooked. If you’d like to enjoy it raw, consider trying this recipe for Vietnamese Napa Cabbage Slaw (See Below) or this Napa Cabbage & Sweet Pepper Slaw. 

Before long we’ll be pining for fresh greens, so let’s take advantage of every opportunity we can to consume these fresh, leafy greens before they are gone!  I included a few entrée type salads this week to utilize the bag of spinach. Check out this entrée salad recipe for Spinach Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Herb Chicken.  I also thought this recipe for Spinach Salad with Baked Pears looked tasty.  

Of course, if you prefer to cook your greens, check out these two recipes for Creamy Potato and Chard Gratin and Tuscan Chard and Cannellini Bean Soup.

I’m going to wrap it up for this week, but before I do I want to mention carrots.  I found several collections of carrot recipes and included them this week, so no excuses for not eating your carrots!

Have a great week!
Chef Andrea 

Vegetable Feature: Napa Cabbage

Photo credit:  Johnnyseeds.com


While it’s called “Red” napa cabbage, it really is more of a vibrant pinkish-purple color that is quite stunning against its pure white ribs.  We’ve grown these before, but this is by far the best crop we’ve seen of this vegetable!  Red napa cabbage is a relatively new vegetable, having been released onto the commercial market in 2016.  Its development may be credited to Kwonnong Seed company which is based in Korea. Given napa cabbage is the traditional cabbage used to make kimchi, a Korean fermented vegetable preparation, it makes sense that a Korean seed company would invest in diversifying this crop. This vegetable is also used in other countries throughout Asia where it is considered to be a staple vegetable.  According to cookbook author and chef, Fuchsia Dunlop, napa cabbage is referred to as “Chinese Leaf Cabbage” in China. She cites napa cabbage as one of the most important vegetables in northern regions of China where it is stir-fried, pickled, added to fillings for dumplings as well as using it in soups and stews. In Japan, napa cabbage is called hakusai and is something nearly every family that grows their own food will have in their garden. 

Napa cabbage is a little different than other varieties of cabbage. The heads grow upright and are more cylindrical in shape. The upper portion of the cabbage leaf is crinkly while the lower portion of the leaf has a wide, white rib. Fuchsia describes napa cabbage as having crinkly leaves like a head of savoyed cabbage, but with a crunchy bite more like head lettuce! Both the leaf and the ribs are edible and the combination of textures from the two may be described as crunchy, crisp, and juicy! Napa cabbage has a higher water content than some other cabbages. It is also more sensitive to the effects of salt, acidity from vinegar or citrus, and heat which all breakdown the cell structure of the cabbage and release water. When cooking napa cabbage, plan accordingly and know that it will only require a few minutes to cook if you want it to retain a little bit of crunch. If you are using napa cabbage in its raw form to make a salad or a slaw, I recommend mixing it with any vinaigrette, dressing or sauce shortly before serving. This will diminish the chance of the salad becoming soggy.

Napa cabbage pairs well with a wide variety of vegetables including sweet & hot peppers, onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, and herbs such as cilantro, basil, and mint. Napa cabbage is also often paired with citrus fruits including mandarins, oranges, limes, and yuzu (for which you may substitute a Meyer lemon). Other ingredients often used alongside napa cabbage include sesame seeds and oil, peanuts, cashews, soy sauce and fish sauce.

Store napa cabbage in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in a plastic bag to prevent it from wilting or getting soft. For optimal results, use within 1-2 weeks of receiving it. As always, we invite you to share your red napa cabbage creations with us in our private Facebook Group! 


Salt-Massaged Napa Cabbage with Citrus Slivers

Yield:  6 servings

1 ½ pounds napa cabbage
1 ½ Tbsp sea salt
Slivered zest from 2 small Meyer Lemons, yuzu or mandarin oranges
½ small dried or fresh red-hot pepper, sliced finely (optional)
  1. Cut the napa cabbage in half lengthwise. Remove the core with a V cut and slice the cabbage crosswise into fine strands, using both the leaf portion as well as the white ribs. 
  2. Place the cabbage in a large mixing bowl and toss with the salt, citrus zest, and red pepper, if using. Massage the cabbage gently until its natural juices have run out but it is not completely fatigued (meaning the cabbage has started to soften, but it still has texture).
  3. Pack into a resealable plastic bag, squeeze out all the air, and roll tight. Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Remove from the fridge, lift the cabbage from the accumulated liquid, and squeeze. Taste, add a touch more salt if needed and serve. 
Serve this salt-massaged cabbage as a fresh relish-type addition to a meal where it serves as an accompaniment instead of as a main item. For instance, it would go well with grilled fish, chicken or pork served with rice as a simple meal.

Recipe borrowed from Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s book, Japanese Farm Food.


Vietnamese Napa Cabbage Slaw

Yield:  4 servings

8 cups loosely packed napa cabbage, thinly sliced in ¼-inch wide strips
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
2 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup tightly packed fresh mint and/or cilantro leaves
¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts
  1. Put the cabbage, onions, and carrots in a serving bowl. 
  2. Just before serving, add the fish sauce, lime juice, red pepper flakes, and herbs and toss to combine. Sprinkle the peanuts over the top of the slaw and serve immediately. 
Recipe borrowed from Laura Russel’s book, Brassicas: Cooking the world’s healthiest vegetables.
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Wednesday, October 4, 2023

October 5, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Jicama

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

Jicama:  
Jicama & Orange Salad with Citrus-Cumin Vinaigrette (See below)

Baby White Turnips:  

Tropical Creamsicle Smoothie
Photo from realsimple.com
Orange Carrots:  

Yellow Onions:  

Italian Garlic:  

Red & Orange Italian Frying Peppers:  

Jalapeno Peppers:  

Variety of Tomatoes:  

Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
Photo from jocooks.com
Cauliflower OR  Broccoli Romanesco:  

Broccoli:

Baby Spinach OR OR Salad Mix:  

Cilantro:  

Iceberg OR Green Boston Lettuce:  

Hello Everyone!

We are kicking off October with a very busy harvest schedule!  We’re facing our first frost pretty soon, so one of our priority harvests this week was to get all of the Jicama dug!  We were pleased with the results of this year’s harvest and we’re excited to share this unique vegetable with you this week.  Jicama is a simple vegetable, so it’s best to enjoy it in a simple preparation.  This week’s featured recipe is for Jicama & Orange Salad with Citrus-Cumin Vinaigrette (See below).  I also included links to several other recipes that utilize jicama along with some of the other vegetables in this week’s box.  I’m looking forward to trying this Jicama & Apple Spinach Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing.  I also want to try this Pineapple Jicama Salsa.
Pineapple Jicama Salsa
Photo from itsavegworldafterall.com

We are nearly finished with tomatoes and peppers for the season, so savor the final few meals where we can enjoy them in their fresh state.  This Spinach Salad with Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Pepperoni  has Richard’s name all over it!  In addition to fresh salads, I also included several tasty main entrees such as Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta and  Curried Lentil, Tomato & Coconut Soup.

The last thing I want to mention are these unique carrot recipes.  I don’t often think to put carrots in beverages, but I want to try this Tropical Creamsicle Smoothie and this Carrot Ginger Soda looks fun!

We’re hoping to start harvesting sweet potatoes within the next week.  Wish us luck and know that they’ll likely  be in your box before the end of October!  We’re also going to take a sneak peak at this year’s baby ginger crop.  If it’s big enough, we may harvest within the next few weeks as we need to change the plastic on the greenhouse we use to grow the ginger.  Never a dull moment during fall harvest season!  

Have a great week—Chef Andrea 

Vegetable Feature: Jicama

by Andrea Yoder

Jicama in the field
Jicama is the odd-shaped vegetable with brown skin occupying one corner of this week’s CSA box. It is also known as yam bean, Mexican yam or Mexican turnip and is native to Mexico. The name of this vegetable is pronounced HICK-uh-mah or HEE-kuh-mah. It is a tropical plant that resembles a bean plant with bean-like vines and seed pods. The jicama grows underground and is a tuber that can produce multiple tubers off the one main stem. On the outside jicama is not the most attractive or flashy vegetable. Peel away the brown, leathery skin and you’ll find a solid white flesh inside that is mild in flavor, crunchy with a slight sweetness and slightly starchy.  

You can eat jicama both raw and cooked. One of the most basic ways to eat jicama, and a common street food, is to slice it into sticks and give it a squeeze of lime juice and a light sprinkling of chili powder and salt. Jicama also pairs well with fruit including citrus (oranges, grapefruit, limes), pineapple, mango, and apples. It is common to see jicama slaws, salads and salsas that also include fruit. It also pairs well with avocado, hot, and sweet peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, seafood, onions, and garlic to name just a few complementary ingredients. In Asian cuisine you may find jicama used in stir-fry type preparations. When stir-fried, jicama should be added towards the end of cooking to retain the crisp texture. If you let it get just slightly soft, it has almost a potato-like flavor and texture.  

2023 Jicama Harvest!
We don’t grow jicama every year, but it has a permanent spot on our list of unique vegetables we grow from time to time.  We grow jicama in the field on beds covered with green plastic mulch. We use a growing method similar to what we do for sweet potatoes, given they are both tropical plants.  About a week before harvest, we cut all of the vines off the plants in an effort to “cure” them.  The objective of this process is to set the skins, so they are less susceptible to injury when harvesting as well as to enhance the shelf life.  While jicama does have the ability to be stored for a while, we recommend you enjoy it within a week or so for optimal quality.                                                                                                                                                       Jicama is very sensitive to chill injury, so it is best to store it on your kitchen counter until you are ready to use it.  If you store it in the refrigerator, you’ll notice the quality will deteriorate quite quickly.  Once you cut into it, store any cut jicama in the refrigerator and eat it within a few days. We hope you enjoy trying something different this week! 

Jicama and Orange Salad with Citrus-Cumin Vinaigrette

Yield:  4 servings
Citrus-Cumin Vinaigrette:
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Salad:
2 oranges
1 ½ pounds jicama, peeled and julienned
3-4 ounces baby spinach
  1. First prepare the vinaigrette. Toast cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.  Transfer to a spice grinder, and process until finely ground. (Alternatively, substitute with 1 tsp pre-ground cumin)
  2. Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in the jar of a blender, blend until smooth.  Set it aside until you are ready to dress the salad. If you have any extra vinaigrette, store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
  3. Using a sharp knife, cut both ends off the oranges, and remove the peel and pith. Slice the peeled fruit crosswise into ¼-inch rounds and remove any seeds. Transfer slices to a large bowl and combine with jicama and spinach.  Toss with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.
Recipe borrowed from Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003.
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