September 19, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Carrots

 

What's In The Box

Italian Garlic: As we enter soup and stew season, include plenty of garlic in your base mix of aromatics. Alongside onions, celery/celeriac and carrots, garlic helps to build flavor as well as contributes valuable compounds to support the immune system!

Yellow Onions: Onions contain valuable compounds and antioxidants that support health and wellness in pretty much every system of the body! Incorporating them in your meals daily can help support your overall health.

Orange and/or Red Italian Frying Peppers: These red and/or orange peppers have a long slender shape and are sweet peppers. We find they have more flavor than most colored bells, however you may use them in any recipe calling for bell peppers or sweet peppers. Store them in the warmer part of your refrigerator or at room temperature. If they start to get a little soft or wrinkled, they are still good! Use them in a soup or stew or roast them.

Red Grape Tomatoes: Use these little gems whole on skewers, either cooked or raw. For a grilled version, alternate these tomatoes along with meat of your choosing, chunks of onions, sweet peppers, and zucchini. For an option that does not require cooking, skewer red grape tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil!

Variety of Tomatoes: We are hoping that tomato season will hold on for a few more weeks, but the varieties in our second planting is starting to taper off. Per usual, ripen your tomatoes at room temperature and give them a little attention every day, looking for any early signs of deterioration. If you see a small spot starting to form, use that tomato right away and just cut away that portion.

Salad Mix or Baby Arugula: This week your box will have one of these two selections. Our baby greens are a great way to quickly incorporate vegetables into your day. Add a handful to a sandwich, put some in a bowl and toss with vinegar and oil for a quick side salad, use it as a taco topping, or roll some up in a wrap with other vegetables.

Purple or Yellow Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco or Broccoli: Your box will contain one of these selections from the brassica’s family. We are currently harvesting from both of our “fall” plantings of cauliflower and Romanesco. Our fall broccoli plantings are just starting to head up, but it looks like we’re going to have strong production this fall! Get ready for more broccoli next week!

Leeks: Remember to wash your leeks well before using, and not just on the exterior. Dirt can get in between the layers on the white shank due to the process of hilling them. Cut the leeks into pieces of your preference, put them in a colander and rinse them well. Shake off all the excess water and use it for whatever purpose you have in mind! 

Baby White Turnips: These mild, tender salad turnips are two vegetables in one! Both the tender roots and the green tops may be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Enjoy them in salads, stir-fry, roasted or simply sautéed.

Orange Carrots: A staple item in our Midwestern diets, carrots will sustain us well into the winter. Check out this week’s featured recipe for a flavorful carrot salad and you’ll find more carrot recipe inspiration in this week’s Cooking With the Box recipe suggestions!

Peter Wilcox Potatoes: This is one of our favorite potato varieties because it was bred for nutrient density. Nutrients contribute to our health, but they also contribute to flavor making this one of the most flavorful potatoes we grow! This variety is high in Vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants including lutein and zeaxanthin. The skins are dark purple and the flesh is a rich gold color. This is a waxy potato best suited to pan-frying, roasting or for using in soups and stews.

Tomatillos: We wanted to include these in your box one more time before the end of summer! Prior to using, remove the outer husk. While the husks are starting to develop spots, whatever causes this usually does not affect the fruit. So, remove the husk and discard, then use the fruit inside. 

Poblano Peppers: Poblano peppers are one of the most flavorful hot peppers, especially when roasted. Consider pairing these peppers with your tomatillos this week to make a tasty salsa verde!

Cilantro: We thought you might need some cilantro this week for your tomatillo salsa, or perhaps you’ll be making a fresh pico de gallo! This is definitely a versatile herb that finds its way into many of our summer vegetable salsas and salads!

Green and/or Italian Zucchini: We’re ending the season strong with a nice long run on zucchini! If you haven’t made ratatouille yet, now is the time!   You can also shred it and freeze it raw to use in baked goods throughout the winter!

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Carrot, Date & Feta Salad
Carrot “Noodles” with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Carrot Cake French Toast
Candied Carrot Rose Tart
Carrot Gnocchi in Walnut Brown Butter
Maple Bacon Wrapped Carrots
Carrot & Leek Quesadillas
Salsa Verde with Roasted Poblanos & Tomatillos
Roasted Poblano Quesadillas with Avocado Salsa Verde
One-Skillet Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole with Roasted Poblanos
Poblano Breakfast Potatoes
Poblano Potato Gratin
Garlic Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Yogurt
Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Rigatoni
One Pan Mediterranean Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Shakshuka with Zucchini & Roasted Bell Peppers
Silky Roasted Zucchini Sauce with Garlic and Sweet Peppers
Vibrant Sweet Pepper and Zucchini Tacos
Caprese Skewers
Antipasto Kebobs
Grilled Chicken Kebobs
Steak Kebobs
Open Face Tomato Bacon Sandwich
Tomato Bacon Grilled Cheese
The 50 Most Delicious Tomato Recipes to Celebrate Peak Summer
Ratatouille Pizza
Potato Leek Soup with Poblanos and Crispy Bacon

Vegetable Feature: Carrots

As we move into fall, very soon we will be doing a major carrot harvest to put 30 or more bins into storage to sustain us through the winter. Carrots are a staple in our Midwestern diets, just as they are in many different cultures around the world!

There are many different types and varieties of carrots, some more well-suited for growing at different times of the season. The early season varieties we included in your box earlier this year are classified as “nantes” carrots. They are characterized by being more tender and juicy with a slightly different shape than our storage carrots. They also take fewer days to get to maturity and are often harvested with the tops intact. The carrots we are delivering now and will soon be harvesting in larger quantities are referred to as "Storage carrots." They are able to be stored for months if you keep them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They are a bit denser than some of the earlier season varieties and have a longer shelf life.

Preparation & Usage: Carrots are versatile in their uses and can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, baked, and even fried! They can be added to soups, stews, braised meats, root mashes, pancakes, bread, cookies and a whole host of other uses. Since they are such a common vegetable, I think sometimes they get overlooked and we forget that there are so many more things you can do with a carrot aside from the traditional carrot sticks in dip. You can make a very simple, quick, and easy salad with just a few ingredients. Soup is another great way to use carrots—either as the main ingredient or as part of a mélange of vegetables in say, chicken soup. Carrots are also delicious in baked goods such as carrot cake, carrot cookies, apple-carrot muffins, and carrot pancakes. Carrots pair well with a variety of herbs and spices as well as fruits such as apples and citrus.

Carrots growing in the field

Storage Tips: Keep carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store green top carrots, remove the tops and store separately from the roots. The greens will continue to draw moisture from the roots and you will end up with a limp carrot. If your carrots do go a bit limp before you are able to use them, soak them in ice water for at least 30 minutes to crisp them up again. Avoid storing carrots near fruit. As fruits ripen they release ethylene gas that can give carrots a bitter taste and decrease the storage life. Carrots do not need to be peeled. In fact, most of the mineral content lies close to the surface and removing the skins strips them of their healthful goodness. Just give them a rinse and light scrub to remove any dirt.

Health & Nutrition: Carrots are packed with important nutrients, specifically beta carotene which is an important antioxidant and vitamin for our bodies. It’s important for vision, immunity and a whole host of other health benefits. Carrot tops are high in potassium and Vitamin K and are an outstanding source of chlorophyll, which contains cleansing properties that purify the blood, lymph nodes, and adrenal glands. Tea made from carrot tops boasts detoxifying and diuretic qualities that aid in kidney heath…and it’s tasty!

Bulk Carrot Harvest

Cultural & Historical Background: The majority of carrots found grown in the US are a variety called Imperator. These carrots are bred to be hard so that they can handle mechanical harvesting and handling. Growing Information: Carrots aren’t always an easy crop to grow. The varieties selected for winter storage are planted in the summer when growing conditions can be hot and dry. It takes an observant farmer to get enough moisture to the seed so it can germinate. Once they are up, it’s a battle against weeds to keep the crop clean and make sure they have enough nutrients to produce a healthy plant and a tasty carrot! Additional Fun Facts: Because they are a staple vegetable, we try to include carrots in as many summer and fall boxes as possible.

Carrot & Pistachio Salad

“This refreshing summer salad is a wonderful way to spruce up the humble carrot….This makes a lovely addition to a mezze spread, or you could serve it with feta and bread for a more substantial meal.”  --Yasmin Kahn

Photo from the cookbook

Yield:  4 servings

¾ pound carrots, peeled and roughly grated (about 4 cups grated)

1 small bunch mint, finely chopped

1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 ½ Tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped

1. Combine the carrots, mint, and parsley in a large bowl.
2. Make the dressing in a small bowl by whisking the lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, salt, and pepper together. Put the dressing over the carrots and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or black pepper to your taste.
3. Toast the pistachios in a small pan over a medium heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle the nuts over the salad just before serving.

Recipe borrowed from Yasmin Khan’s book, The Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen.

Note:  Pomegranate Molasses—This ingredient is used extensively in cuisine originating from areas in the Middle East. It is thick and syrup like with a slow pour. It has a flavor that is tangy while also sweet. You will find bottles of pomegranate molasses in the “International” food section of your grocery store.