September 12, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Cabbage

 

What's In The Box

Italian Garlic: If you didn’t try the Garlic Fried Tomatoes recipe from last week’s list of recommended recipes, I highly encourage you to do so. This is a quick, simple way to pair garlic and tomatoes. Enjoy this dish on its own as a side dish, serve it with fried eggs, toss in some pasta, or eat the tomatoes alongside crusty bread to soak up all the flavors from the oil. This recipe is delicious using any of the tomato varieties you may receive in your box this week.

Orange and/or Red Italian Frying Peppers: We are in the peak of sweet pepper season and the plants are loaded with sweet, colorful fruit! Add chopped peppers to salads, salsa, or just eat raw pepper slices on their own. You can also add them to scrambled eggs, fajitas, or use them as a pizza topping.

Sunorange or Chocolate Sprinkles Tomatoes: Make a quick salad using this week’s salad mix or baby arugula. Put the greens in a bowl, cut these little tomatoes in half and add to the greens along with some crumbled feta or shredded Parmesan cheese. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Add a touch of salt and black pepper and enjoy!

Variety of Tomatoes:  Tomato season will not last forever, so enjoy these fresh tomatoes in every way you can while we have them! Bruschetta, simple pasta dishes, fresh tomato salads, BLT’s…. if you’re running out of ideas, check out this week’s recipe suggestions! And don’t forget to keep tabs on your tomatoes as you ripen and store them at room temperature. If you notice a small spot starting to form, cut it away and eat the tomato right away!

Red Seedless Watermelon: This is the last week for watermelons, a sign that summer will be coming to an end in less than two weeks! Store your watermelon in the refrigerator and eat within a few days.

Salad Mix or Baby Arugula: This week we added salad mix back into our harvest schedule, featuring a blend of baby lettuce and flavorful greens. As with baby arugula, these delicate greens allow us to eat well without a lot of time! Use them as a base to build a quick salad either as a side to your main meal or make it a big one and enjoy it as your meal!

Broccoli Romanesco or Cauliflower: Our first crop of fall cauliflower continues to come in waves. Your box this week will contain either Broccoli Romanesco or one of our three colors of cauliflower. Enjoy this selection lightly steamed, stir-fried, or roasted!

Leeks: Leeks are the more subtle cousin to onions. Part of the growing practice is to pile dirt up on the lower portion (aka shank) of the leek, which results in blanching that portion, so it remains white. As a result, dirt can get in between the layers. Take care to wash them well prior to using to remove any remaining grit. When cooking, use lower heat to cook them so they are smooth and silky.

Red Napa or Green Savoy Cabbage: We like the beauty these varieties bring to the box with their crinkly leaves and vibrant colors. Both may be used raw in salads or lightly cooked such as in a stir-fry. You could also ferment them as a means of preservation!

Edamame: Remember to cook edamame in its pod first as it’s much easier to pop the beans out of the pod once they are cooked. The pod is not edible and should be discarded. Once cooked, you may add the edamame beans to salads, stir-fry, fried rice, or just eat them as a snack!

Baby White Turnips: We grow these salad turnips in the spring and again in the fall. They are also known as “hakurei” turnips. They are characterized by mild, tender turnips with edible green tops. Enjoy the greens and turnips raw in salads or lightly cook them by steaming, sautéing or roasting.

Orange Carrots: We’re just starting to harvest our fall carrots to put into storage. If you’re making a fresh tomato sauce or soup, add diced carrot for additional flavor and sweetness!

BONUS: Orange Ukraine Peppers—This week’s box is pretty full, but when we had a little open space, we added one of these peppers. You’ll recognize this variety as it resembles a bell pepper, but with a pointed tip. This is a sweet pepper.


Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents
Garlic Fried Tomatoes
20 Minute Fresh Tomato Pasta
Summer Tomato Toast
Arugula & Watermelon Salad with Feta
Simple Napa Cabbage Slaw
Farm Fresh Ranch Cole Slaw with Turnips & Cabbage
Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage with Spicy Garlic Dressing
Cilantro Lime Slaw
Turnip Greens Pesto Pizza
Smoked Italian Pasta Salad with Tomatoes & Peppers
Skillet Italian Sausage & Peppers
How to Make the Perfect BLT
Summer Succotash Salad with Orzo
Edamame with Sea Salt
Sushi Salad with Brown Rice, Edamame, Nori, and Miso Dressing
37 Fresh Tomato Recipes for Peak Tomato Season
12 Tomato Sandwich Recipes for Peak Season
Cheddar, Leek & Tomato Sandwich
Simple Carrot Leek Soup
Zesty Cauliflower & Leek Soup
Roasted Cauliflower, Pepper & Chickpea Stew

Vegetable Feature: Cabbage

By Andrea Yoder 

As we get closer to the end of summer and the official transition into fall, we're starting to see a shift in some of the crops coming in from the fields.  This week we are harvesting what we intended to be our "fall cabbages," but planning when fall crops will come in is a challenge.  Why?  Because we never know what kind of weather or temperatures we're going to get in mid to late summer!  Nonetheless, we're happy to have these beautiful cabbages to share with you this week  They are a nice crop to help us transition from summer to fall as they pair nicely with late summer vegetables as well as winter crops.  This week your box will contain one of two varieties of cabbage, either Red Napa Cabbage or Green Savoy Cabbage.

Red Napa Cabbage: 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.  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.

Green Savoy Cabbage: While many growers choose to grow “kraut cabbage” which is the standard smooth, green cabbage, we choose to grow savoy cabbage.  The term savoy refers to the ruffled leaves which we think are beautiful!  We also like this type of cabbage because it has more texture when eaten raw or cooked.  Cabbage has long been known as a staple vegetable necessary for surviving a long winter in cold climates.  It stores well and has a wide variety of uses.

Green savoy cabbage may be eaten raw or cooked.  In the raw form, use this cabbage to make a traditional creamy coleslaw along with carrots and/or other root vegetables such as celeriac.  You can also use this cabbage to create some main dish salads.  You can also use this cabbage to make a quick pickled salad or shred it, salt it and turn it into a simple slaw to eat with tacos. Green savoy cabbage may also be cooked.  You can add it to soup, or use it to make Beet Borscht.  I also like to use this cabbage in stir-fries over the winter.  Combine it with beauty heart radishes, thinly sliced turnips, carrots and onions to make a delicious winter vegetable stir-fry served with rice.

Health & Nutrition: Cabbage is packed with nutrients including vitamins C and K, fiber B6 as well as antioxidants.

Additional Health & Nutrition: Purple and red pigments in vegetables indicate the presence of chemical plant compounds called anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins have many health benefits including being antioxidants that combat free radical damage in our bodies.  Thus, they play a role in cancer prevention as well as enhance cardiac health and boost our immunity, amongst a long list of other benefits.  In addition to the benefits from anthocyanins, red cabbage also offers all the similar benefits of other vegetables in the Brassica family including phytonutrients called glucosinolates and sulfuraphane.  These two nutrients are important for reducing the potential for carcinogens to damage our tissues while also assisting the liver with detoxifying the body.

Storage Tips: Store 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.  

Crunchy Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Ginger Dressing 

Yield:  8 servings (as a side);  4-6 servings (as an entrée)

Photo from www.minimalistbaker.com

This recipe does not originate from any particular part of the world, but it’s a very fitting recipe for this time of year and the contents of this week’s box!  This slaw recipe was adapted from one posted on the Minimalist Baker blog. Feel free to adapt the vegetables according to what you have available, as long as you keep the total amount of vegetables similar to the original recipe.  You may also wish to add some fresh herbs such as cilantro or basil. If you prefer a vegetarian protein alternative to replace the chicken that is called for in the recipe, consider trying the author’s recommendation for their Miso-Glazed Chickpeas recipe. 

DRESSING:

5 Tbsp coconut aminos OR 2 ½ Tbsp tamari

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 ½ Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

SALAD:

2 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken, optional (See note below)

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage (variety of your choosing)

1 cup shelled edamame

1 cup thinly sliced sweet pepper

1 large carrot, shredded

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

FOR SERVING:

2 Tbsp sesame seeds, slightly toasted

¼ cup slivered almonds, slightly toasted

1 healthy pinch each sea salt and black pepper, plus more to taste

1. Prepare the dressing by putting all of the dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk vigorously to combine.
2. Taste and adjust the flavor as needed, adding more ginger for zing, garlic for kick, maple syrup for sweetness, sesame oil for more prominent toasted sesame flavor, or coconut aminos or tamari for more saltiness.
3. Prepare all the vegetables for the salad and put them in a large serving dish or mixing bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.
4. Next add sesame seeds and almonds to a small pan and toast over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they are just slightly golden brown, stirring frequently. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside to cool.
5. Once cooled, add the toasted sesame seeds and almonds to the vegetable mixture along with the chicken if you are including it. Top with enough dressing to lightly coat everything. You may not need all of the dressing, so start conservatively and add more if needed.  Toss to combine, then taste. Add additional salt, pepper and/or more coconut aminos or soy sauce as needed to your liking. 
6. Serve immediately. If you will not be eating all of the slaw at one time, you may want to only put dressing on the portion you will be serving.  Once dressed, the cabbage will become soft and may lose some of its crunch.