Connection…Does It Make A Difference?

By…Farmer Richard

I thought you might find it interesting to know that I started vegetable farming in Eagan, Minnesota with the help of students from one of the first Minneapolis Charter schools and a nearby group home for troubled youth.  At the time I also worked with autistic children at the University of Minnesota and later the St. Paul School system.  While working at the Dakota County Developmental Learning Center adjacent to my farm, I first became aware of the positive influence a farm environment could have on children.  A seven year old autistic boy who had never before spoken a word was feeding ears of corn to the horses when he yelled to me from across the barn, “MORE CORN!!”  Telling this story still brings tears to my eyes. 

Later I was a professional parent to 4-12 year old boys in “therapeutic foster care.”  They lived with me on my farm and helped care for the animals and raised vegetables which they sold on the roadside and at markets.  They earned their own money and learned to spend it wisely.  They were successful and self-confident.  They began to succeed in schoolwork, made friends and their teachers liked them!  They were a success for the first time in their lives.  One of my most dramatic experiences was with Ronnie.  He came to me from Fairview Hospital psych ward, heavily medicated with anti-psychotic drugs.  Once he was off the drugs, we realized he was very sensitive to food additives which were contributing to some of his behavioral problems.  He went on a strict diet of organic food with no preservatives, and he was a totally different boy!  Everybody liked this smart, happy, funny boy and he liked himself.  My lesson learned, food can make a huge difference!

Farmer Richard with his son Ari

The quality of food, connecting with the source, and being an active participant in the process of getting food to the table are all important elements of forming a healthy and holistic diet.  I was fortunate to have had some professional parenting training and valuable life experiences before raising my own son.  Really it’s about quite simple things, such as we all eat better when we are hungry!  If you are filling up on snacks, you won’t be hungry for a meal!  Either cut out the snacks or make it something healthy, like carrots.  We also had a few simple household rules.  Everybody ate a little bit of everything, but had the right to just take a small portion justified by the fact that they “were still learning to like it.”  Kids like to be involved in food procurement, preparation, picking up the CSA box and unpacking the contents.  Involving children in these acts helps to connect them to the process it takes to get it to the table.  As they are learning about new foods, it’s important for them to be able to touch, smell and taste.  A visit to the farm can be very formative for young children, even if it’s just one time.  As they walk (or run) through the fields they get to see what the plants look like, they figure out how to harvest the food and then get to eat it right in the field!  If you’ve ever eaten a warm strawberry right in the field, you know how memorable that can be.  My own son, now 29, grew up eating a wide variety of vegetables and is still a very good eater.  He still remembers eating daikon radish right out of the field and still counts radishes as one of his favorites. 

But it’s not just children!  Adult member lives have also been greatly impacted by participating in CSA and forming a connection with their farm.  We have great respect for the many adults who have learned how to eat through a box every week, were brave enough to try unfamiliar foods and have come to enjoy cooking.  They are committed to taking their healthy lunch to work and putting any extra in the freezer for winter.  Some have been generous enough to share their recipes with our Facebook group.  Adults are also impacted by a farm visit.  At the end of last season we received this email from a member:  “I also wanted to mention that I have hugely reduced my grocery store purchases of produce since switching to your CSA and signing up for the fruit share. I cut back to every other week, as my family has shrunk. I made the occasional trip to the local farmer's market to supplement as needed. I am a strong believer in what you are doing. We have been so impressed with your beautiful farm and the way you manage the land, as we have seen in our two visits for the strawberry picking. I also love your newsletters and recipes.”

In our busy world, with so many choices and distractions, it can be a challenge to dive into eating out of a CSA box, but it is so worth it!  Over the 20 plus years we have been feeding CSA families, we have seen so many examples of what happens when families commit to CSA and healthy eating.  Yes, for families with children it takes some good parenting skills, but it results in beautiful, healthy, smart people who grow up and will change the world.  When parents make the choice to make organic food a priority, children have the opportunity to learn what real food tastes like and nutritious healthy food tastes good! 

Beyond the nutritional value of the food, CSA allows children and families to connect with the people and source of their food.  Eating can just be a passive act, but it becomes much more meaningful when you know where your food came from and can form a connection.  Whether it’s simply participating in the weekly ritual of picking up your CSA box and unpacking it, or it’s the experience of actually visiting the farm, these are memorable experiences that shape and mold a child’s view of food and where it comes from.  We wanted to share a few stories with you, and then we hope some of you will share your stories with us! 

We love it when members visit the farm and enjoy seeing children explore and experience new things.  It’s the little things such as holding a fuzzy, baby chick or feeling the goats nibble grain out of their hand for the first time.  Last year a mother contacted us to see if it would be possible to bring her daughter to the farm for her birthday.  The birthday present this girl was looking for was the experience of being able to touch and feed our farm animals.  She had a blast and it was really fun to see the joy on her face as she stood amongst our critters in the pasture. 

I love to see the excitement in a child’s face as they get to harvest their own vegetables and eat them in the field.  We’ve had parents nearly faint as they watch their children run up and down the rows of vegetables in the field.  Kids who fuss at the table because they don’t want to eat their vegetables, and here they are picking and eating them in the field!  There was one little boy who marched up to Andrea and asked her if she would like him to show her how to pick the best peas.  He confidently explained how to do so and then picked a few for them to eat so he could prove his techniques were solid.  This was one of those children who would not eat a vegetable, however his parents told us that after that visit to the farm he now willingly eats vegetables…if they were grown at “his” farm by Farmer Richard. 

Some kids find the harvesting experience to be quite rewarding and we’ve been surprised at some of the vegetables they’ve pulled from the ground.  One little guy pulled a huge scarlet turnip out of the ground on one farm visit.  Strength must run in the family, because we remember when his older brother (full of excitement) pulled an entire kohlrabi plant out of the field—roots and all!  If you aren’t familiar with kohlrabi, I’ll tell you that those plants are very firmly rooted.  He was so excited to show us what he had pulled and when his mother asked him what it was he replied “I DON’T KNOW!”  It didn’t really matter…he was having a great time.   

Last summer we received this email from a Twin Cities family:  “At dinner the other night, our two-year-old told my husband, ‘These veggies are from Farmer Richard. He grows our veggies and brings us our fruit. He's a part of our family.’ Thanks for letting us raise our boys eating delicious produce and knowing where it comes from!” 

And then there’s this recent story shared with us this past December 2017.  It’s the story of one of our “grown-up” CSA kids.  “My son came home tonight to  say Hi, saw the box and checked the contents, he was thrilled to see the celeriac and rest of the goodies and grabbed the box before anyone could tell him no.  He then asked if perhaps there was another celeriac he could have, maybe one from the swap box to take back home.  Alas no, but never in my life could I imagine a 21 year old man seeking out and excited about celeriac.  To have an incredible box in mid-December and a young man transfixed and transformed by HVF produce is a great kick-off to the holiday season.”

These are just a few stories, but we know there are many more.  We would love to hear your stories and would encourage you to share them with us!  How has CSA impacted your family, your children, your health, your perspectives on food & agriculture?  If you are willing to share your stories, please send us an email, make a quick video, or just pick up the phone and call! 

When I was in my twenties, I set out to do meaningful work.  I may not have chosen the easiest career in the world, but it has definitely proven to be very meaningful work.  Just as every family has their “family doctor,” I hope more families will thoughtfully consider who they want their “family farmer(s)” to be.  If you choose Harmony Valley Farm, we hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity you have to come and see your farm for yourself.  Even if it’s just one time, we promise you it will be a memorable experience….and it might even change your life. 

Welcome back to the Chef’s Corner!

I wanted to share this recipe for Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onion Galette.  This recipe looks lengthy, but don’t be deterred by that.  There are three main components to make before you assemble the galette, but none of the components are difficult or time consuming to prepare.  Your time investment is in the time it takes to roast the squash, caramelize the onions and bake the galette.  You can prep the three components in advance and keep them in the refrigerator.  This makes for a quick and easy dinner on the night of your choosing.  Just pull out the components and assemble the galette while the oven is preheating.  Pop it in the oven to bake it and dinner is done. 

The beauty of a galette is that it isn’t fussy and it’s very forgiving.  If you shy away from things that have a pie crust (eg quiche), you might find you’ll like a galette.  It’s kind of like a pie, but much more free form and forgiving—it’s not supposed to be perfect.  It’s versatile like a quiche, but you don’t have to mess with the custard filling.  If you have some left over, it reheats well for breakfast or lunch.

As always, we’d love to know what you’ve been cooking this winter and our Facebook Group is a great place to do that! If you aren’t already a member, click here to join.

See you next month!

Chef Andrea

Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onion Galette

Yield:  One hearty 12-inch galette or Two 9-inch galettes

For the Pastry:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface (may include ½ cup whole wheat flour if you like)

½ tsp salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

½ cup sour cream

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

⅓ cup ice water

For the Filling:

2 ½ pounds butternut squash, peeled & diced (5-6 cups)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp butter

5 medium red or yellow onions (1 ½ pounds), thinly sliced

¼ cup red wine

1 tsp maple syrup

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried sage

2 cups (6 oz) grated fontina or gouda cheese

1 egg, beaten, for glazing the pastry (optional)

1. First, make the pastry.  In a bowl, combine the flour and salt.  Cut the butter into chunks and add them to the bowl.  Using a pastry blender, break up the butter into bits until the texture of the flour and butter mixture is like cornmeal, with the biggest bits the size of pebbles. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water.  Pour this over the butter-flour mixture.  Stir with a spoon or a rubber spatula just until a dough forms, kneading it once or twice on the counter if needed to bring it together.  Pat the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
3. Next, prepare the squash.  Preheat your oven to 400°F.  Peel the squash, then halve and scoop out the seeds.  Cut into ½ to ¾-inch chunks and put in a mixing bowl.  Drizzle with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and season with ½ tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Toss to thoroughly coat all the pieces, then spread the squash on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender and just starting to brown.  You may need to turn the squash once while it is roasting.  Once done, remove the squash from the oven and set it aside to cool slightly.  Leave the oven on.
4. While the squash is roasting, caramelize the onions.  Melt 1 Tbsp butter and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Add the onions and 1 tsp salt.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender, about 25-35 minutes.  Don’t try to rush this process.  When the onions are very soft, add the wine, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, thyme and sage to the onions.  Continue to simmer over medium-low heat until nearly all the wine has been reduced.  Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Now it’s time to assemble the galette.  On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 16-17 inch round (or two 11-12 inch rounds).  Transfer the pastry to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Spread the onions on the pastry, leaving a 2 to 2 ½ inch border.  Spread the roasted squash on top of the onion layer and then spread the grated cheese evenly over the galette filling.  Fold the border of pastry over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit.  The center will be open.  Brush the outside crust with egg, if using.
6. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 30-40 minutes.  Remove the galette from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide it onto a serving plate.  Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Deb Perelman’s book, Smitten Kitchen.

August 3, 2017: This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Onions

Cooking with this Week's Box!

Yes, it is really the month of August which means we are in the peak of summer vegetables and cooking!  The tomatoes are starting to ripen and while the picking is a little slim this week, I’m sure we’ll have more next week.  Pull out all those recipes and ideas you’ve been saving for fresh tomato season…it’s time!

This week we are very focused on onions around here.  It’s a race against Mother Nature to get them out of the field.  Nonetheless, we’re thankful for all we have and have really been enjoying the sweet onions packed in this week’s box.  My recommendation for this week is to give the recipe for pizza in the newsletter a try.  This recipe for “A Pizza in the Roman Way” (see recipe below) is very simple.  You will need to set aside time to patiently wait for the dough to rise and the onions to slowly stew….but it will be worth the wait.  The weekend is perhaps a good time to prepare this recipe.  Take your time and enjoy the process.  When the pizza is done, take a seat on the patio with a glass of wine, a rosé or light red perhaps, and enjoy the simplicity of this dish.  Serve it with this simple Carrot Salad with Balsamic Dressing, some shaved salami and some salty olives on the side.

We’re coming towards the end of green bean season, so I wanted to try this recipe for French Potato and Green Bean Salad recently highlighted in a column at Cooking.NYtimes.com.  It will make excellent use of the tender, fresh potatoes and the green beans in this week’s box.  It calls for both parsley and basil, so you’ll need to make a trip to your herb garden to get those.  I think this salad will go nicely with a simple grilled steak, perhaps a rib-eye or a sirloin sliced thinly.  There are some tasty variations other people shared in the comments below the recipe, so I’d encourage you to read those to see if any of their ideas strike your fancy.

Lets talk about the Egyptian Spinach since this is a vegetable most of you may not be familiar with.  We don’t grow this crop every year, but thought we’d give it a try this year because it’s one of my favorite greens!  Unfortunately we lost our first crop to the rains a few weeks ago and the second planting had a bit of a thin stand.  We only have enough for boxes going to the Twin Cities this week.  My apologies to our Madison and Local members…we’ll try again next year.  For those of you who do receive this green, I’d encourage you to make one of my favorite soups that we featured in our newsletter in 2013.  This Egyptian Spinach Soup is a traditional way to use this green.  It takes a bit of time to make, but it’s not hard and the result is worth it. 

One of our members posted this recipe for Julia Child’s Tian de Courgettes au Riz…a fancy name for Zucchini Tian or, in Midwestern terms…a zucchini casserole.  This calls for a little more zucchini than is in this week’s box, so you may need to cut the recipe back a bit…or I’m going to try making up the difference with grated broccoli stem.  This dish is rich enough to be a main dish or could serve as a side dish as well.

Ok, I don’t normally advocate frying cauliflower, but I’ve been intrigued by this recipe for General Tso’s Cauliflower and want to give it a try. The recipe doesn’t call for it, but I’m going to stir-fry the green bell peppers and some of the broccoli florets on the side and add it to the cauliflower…because I think it needs some green vegetables too!  Serve this over rice and dinner is set.

So we’re left with just a little bit of broccoli and a lonely jalapeño…but don’t worry. I’ve been saving this week’s jalapeño to make Jalapeño-Garlic Cream Cheese!  I had jalapeño cream cheese at Gotham Bagels in Madison last year and have to admit, it’s kind of addicting.  It’s easy to make, just fold finely minced garlic and jalapeño into softened cream cheese and season with a bit of salt and black pepper. I’ll enjoy this on morning bagels or English muffins.  And the broccoli….it’s going into a frittata along with some feta cheese and fresh herbs….first for breakfast with leftovers serving as lunch the next day!

Well, I was hoping the next cucumbers would be ready this week, but we’re going to have to wait until next week.  I still have some recipes set aside that I want to try before the season is done.  In addition to tomatoes, we should be picking edamame and hopefully (fingers crossed) we’ll have some sweet corn within the next few weeks!  Have a great week and wish us luck as we finish our onion harvest! –Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature:  Onions

Sweet Spanish Onions

In this week’s main newsletter article, Richard walks you through what it takes to produce an onion.  Onions are a staple ingredient that, in my opinion, you can never have too much of in your kitchen!  Onions are used as the base of cooking all around the world and are revered for their role as an “aromatic”.  In French cooking, they are part of traditional mirepoix, a blend of diced carrots, celery and onion that is an important base for making stock and soups.  In Spanish cuisine, onions are included in their version of “mirepoix” which is called sofrito and includes tomatoes, onions and garlic.  In culinary school I had a chef instructor, Chef Chang, who was a master chef in China.  One of our first lessons about Chinese cuisine was how important it is to start each dish with garlic, onion, ginger….I suppose this is kind of like the Chinese “mirepoix.” 

While onions are often in the background providing the supporting role, they can also be found as a main, more prominent ingredient.  For example, there is a traditional dish from the Provence region of France called pissaladiére.  It is a tart of sorts featuring caramelized onion, olives, garlic and anchovies.  Of course there is French Onion soup, a delicious brothy soup that requires copious amounts of onions.  Pipperade is a mixture of onions, peppers and tomatoes that originated in the Basque region of Spain.  It may be eaten as a main item or used as a condiment.  I suppose in America we would boast French Onion Dip and Onion Rings?  Lets move on.

Onions may be included in a wide variety of ways in our day to day eating and cooking.  Raw onions are delicious on sandwiches and salads and play an important role in fresh salsa and sauces.  One of the important keys to an enjoyable dining experience with raw onions is to slice them very thinly.  I repeat…slice them thinly.  You want to get the flavor of the onion with each bite, but you don’t want that to be the flavor that dominates each bite.  If the piece of onion is too thick, that’s all you taste and it can throw off the balance.  I love thinly sliced onions on grilled burgers, Italian sandwiches with salami, added to a Greek salad along with tomatoes, olives, and romaine lettuce, or simply served with slices of oranges drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper for a super simple winter salad. 

Thinly sliced onions are important when cooking onions too.  There are several ways to cook onions.  You can sweat them which means you cook them at a moderately low temperature with the intention of gently cooking the onion to soften the texture, but you don’t want them to brown or get any color.  As you are cooking onions in this manner, you’ll notice the steam rolling off the pan.  This is the moisture coming out of (or sweating if you will) the onions.  If you patiently continue this process, you can caramelize an onion.  Basically you will sweat most of the water out of the onion which will concentrate the natural sugars left behind.  When you do this, the onions will significantly decrease in volume and will turn to a golden brown color and be sweet and delicious.  Onions are also delicious when roasted, grilled, and fried.  In general, onions are more mild in flavor when cooked.  The sulfur compounds in onions are what make an onion pungent and what causes us to cry while cutting them.  When you cut into an onion and release these compounds they dissipate into the air. 

Store onions in a cool dry place and out of direct sunlight.  We store onions in our cold cooler at a temperature in the mid 30’s and low humidity.  The humidity in most home refrigerators is too high to match our storage environment, so it’s best to store your onions out of the refrigerator.  You may not have the “perfect” environment, but do your best and just keep an eye on your onions.  If you notice them starting to sprout or form a bad spot…use them! 

We hope you will embrace the diversity we have to enjoy as we eat onions throughout the season.  If you don’t use them all throughout the course of your weekly cooking and you accumulate a large pile of onions, take the opportunity to try making something that requires a larger volume such as French Onion soup or an onion marmalade. You can also chop your onions however you are most likely to use them in the future and put them in a freezer bag in your freezer. Pull them out and use them throughout the winter!

We still have red & yellow storage onions, shallots and red Cipollini onions remaining to deliver.  Watch for these selections later in the season and, as you prepare them, take a moment to appreciate the special place each onion variety holds in our seasonal eating adventure.

 Lazy Cucumber and Onion Pickle

Yield:  About 3 cups “These need about three hours for their cure and will stay fresh in the fridge for about a week.” 

¾ pound cucumbers, unpeeled

1 sweet onion

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

½ tsp celery seeds

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1. Slice the cucumbers thinly crosswise, or at an angle if they are very slender. Slice the onion into thin rounds.
2. Put ½ tsp salt, a few twists from the peppermill, and the sugar in a bowl large enough to hold the vegetables.  Add the vinegar and 1 cup water and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Add the cucumbers, onion, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric.  Press on the vegetables to immerse them in the liquid.  (A plate set over the vegetables can help.)  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

This recipe was borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook entitled Vegetable Literacy.  You may eat these as a salad or as a condiment with sandwiches or wraps.  We’ll be picking our second crop of cucumbers by the end of the week, so if you don’t have any cucumbers available this week hold on to this recipe for next week!

A Pizza in the Roman Way

Yield: One pizza, 8-9 ½ inches: There will be enough for two to four, depending on appetite and what else you have for the meal.

“In the pizzeria where I used often to eat when I spent a winter in Rome 25 years ago, by far the best pizza was spread only with onions stewed in olive oil and seasoned with oregano.  The Romans themselves claim this as the only true pizza, and dismiss the tomato and mozzarella verison of Naples as a fanciful upstart.” —Elizabeth David from her cookbook, Elizabeth David on Vegetables

For a 8 ½ to 9 ½ inch pizza, the ingredients for the dough are:

1 generous cup plain unbleached bread flour

1 tsp of salt

¼ oz fresh yeast 

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

4-5 Tbsp milk

1 whole egg

For the filling you will need:

1 ½ pounds of onion cut into fine rings

Olive Oil

Salt

Oregano

1. Make sure the flour is at room temperature and mix in the salt.
2. Mix the yeast to a cream with 2 Tbsp tepid milk.  Break the egg into the center of the flour. Pour in the creamed yeast and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.  Mix to a light soft dough.  If too dry, add the rest of the milk and another tablespoon of oil.  Form into a ball.  Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise.  Allow 2 hours.
3. While the dough is rising, stew the onions slowly, slowly, in fruity olive oil until quite soft and yellow.  Season with salt and a good sprinkling of fresh oregano.
4. When the dough is ready, that is when it has just about tripled in volume and is light and puffy, break it down, shape it into a ball, and pat it out into an 8 ½ inch disk on a perfectly flat, oiled fireproof baking stone or baking sheet.
5. Spread the warm onions on the dough, leaving a little uncovered around the outer edge.  Scatter a little more oregano and a little more olive oil over the filling and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes before putting it into the center of the oven to bake.  Temperature should be fairly hot, 425°F, and the pizza will take 20 to 25 minutes to bake.

Book Review

Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Reviewed by Andrea Yoder

Deborah Madison has been one of my favorite chef-authors for many years.  She has written over 10 cookbooks including Vegetable Literacy and her most recent cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  I have a weakness for her cookbooks, so when I saw a copy of her most recent book on the shelf at the bookstore I couldn’t resist.  Deborah has focused her career on preparing simple, seasonal, vegetable-based cooking.  In her early days she worked at Alice Water’s well-known San Francisco restaurant, Chez Panisse.  She later opened her own restaurant, Greens, which focused on vegetarian cuisine.

   The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone was preceeded by an earlier cookbook Deborah published in 1997 entitled Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  Her original work is considered a classic cookbook in the realm of vegetarian cuisine and has won several awards.  Her new cookbook is “for everyone interested in learning how to cook vegetables creatively, healthfully, and passionately.” The recipes are simple & written with the intent that they will be prepared at home, as opposed to being chef-y restaurant recipes. Since Deborah is cooking in a different region of the United States, there are a few times when you might need to make a minor substitution for an ingredient that we may not have available in a given season in Wisconsin.
   Deborah takes the time throughout the book to include her own personal commentary on most of her recipes.  She offers suggestions for making substitutions or slight alterations to recipes to give the cook more options to choose from.  She also makes suggestions for other recipes in the book that might pair well together so you can easily put together a full meal.  I also appreciate that she takes time in the beginning of the book to include some basic information about how to go about cooking in an approachable way.  She also includes a section on basic cooking fundamentals that enable any cook, no matter how much experience you may have, to become more savvy in the kitchen.
   While the list price for this book is $40, it is a value when you consider the book includes over 1600 recipes featuring many of the vegetables we grow on our farm over the course of the season.  If you’re looking for a good vegetable-centric cookbook to guide you through a CSA season, I’d encourage you to consider Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  Her simple recipes & vegetable storage information will be helpful to those who may be new to CSA and are learning to cook new vegetables.  Her book also may be appealing to cooks with more experience who are looking for simple recipes that highlight the delicious vegetables they’ve grown to love.
   I selected 3 simple recipes from her book to feature this month.  If you have some of these vegetables remaining from the late season 2014 shares, perhaps you can find a use for them with some of Deborah Madison’s ideas.

Roasted Beets, Apples, and Onions with Cider Vinegar

“This is a bold dish, far greater than the sum of its parts. Any leftovers make a great little

salad or item on a composed salad plate. Use any color beet or a mixture.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 4 servings

4 medium beets, steamed, peeled and cut into ½ –inch dice

2 cups diced apples, skin on

½ onion, diced

¾ tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 Tbsp brown sugar, optional

1 ½ Tbsp butter or sunflower seed oil

Freshly milled pepper

Apple cider vinegar or horseradish, for serving

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter or oil a 4-cup casserole or

gratin dish.

2. Toss the beets with the apples and onions, season with the salt,

vinegar, and nutmeg. If you favor extra sweetness, add the sugar as

well.

3. Slide the vegetables into the baking dish and dot with the butter or

drizzle with oil. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

4. Serve warm or even chilled. Season with pepper and have extra

vinegar or horseradish on the table, if you like their extra bite

Roasted Onions with Vinegar & Rosemary

“Serve these easily prepared onions as a side dish, or add them, chopped, to arugula or

spinach salad or spoon them over bruschetta with slivered Manchego cheese.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

4 to 5 onions, sliced into ½-inch rounds

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic or aged sherry vinegar

1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary

Sea salt and freshly milled pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Toss the onions with the oil, vinegar, and rosemary. Season with salt and

pepper. Put them in a baking dish with a few tablespoons water.

3. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until the

onions are browned around the edges and tender, about 30 minutes more.

Give them a stir every 10 minutes or so toward the end.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Candied Ginger

“Chunks of candied ginger make these particularly good. If you don’t have ginger readily

at hand, replace it with chopped dates, raisins or fresh pineapple. Serve these with Brie or

other mild cheese, butter, or cream cheese.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook,The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 10 to 12 muffins

⅓ cup chopped candied ginger

¼ cup butter, melted

⅓ cup unsulfured molasses

1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato

or winter squash

2 eggs, at room temperature

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Oil muffin tins.

2. Mix the ginger and wet ingredients in a bowl until smooth; mix the dry

ingredients in a second bowl. Combine the two, mixing gently until well

blended.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake on the middle rack until

lightly browned, 25 minutes

Vegetable Feature: Onions

by Sarah Janes Ugoretz

Shallots and Cipollini Onions

You may have noticed by this point—especially if you’ve been a Harmony Valley Farm CSA member—that we’re really into onions. Our belief is that year-round, daily consumption of onions is not only important for our health but also for the flavor profile of the foods we prepare. These two convictions guide what Farmer Richard refers to as “our onion line-up.” Over the course of the season, an onion in some shape or form (we include garlic, leeks and ramps in this group, too) is included in each CSA box and, if it’s market season, you’ll be sure to find an assortment of these on our stand. Health-wise, the benefits of consuming onions are undeniable. Research suggests that onions may prevent blood clotting, lower your heart rate and guard against cardiovascular disease. Nutritionally, the presence of vitamin C makes onions an excellent source of dietary fiber and folic acid. Meanwhile, they also provide you with healthy doses of calcium, iron and quercetin—an antioxidant compound that, in layman’s terms, helps ward off disease. For the sake of comparison, onions contain approximately three times the amount of quercetin than kale, a widely regarded super food! It’s important to note that the potential nutritional benefits are most present in strong onions, which have a greater concentration of sulfur compounds (these are the culprits that make you tear-up when slicing and dicing your onions). The good news is, however, that the nutritional benefits remain largely intact regardless of whether you’re eating your onions raw or cooked—though some research does suggest that the potential benefits may be more effective when onions are consumed raw. 

Onions growing on raised beds with silver mulch to deter thrips

A great deal of time, energy and passion goes into growing these almighty onions. Farmer Richard recently reminisced on the evolution of Harmony Valley Farm’s approach to onion production. Basically, onions are inherently difficult to grow. One of the major impediments is a tiny insect called the thrip, which is highly elusive even in the face of organic insecticides. Thrips leave the onions with miniscule holes, which create a pathway of entry for various types of bacteria, fungi and disease, not to mention that in a wet environment, onions may become water-logged which can lead to soft-rot. Faced with the double challenge of thrips and the discovery that many of his onions contained some soft-rot, Farmer Richard reached out to the UW-Extension which promptly advised him to begin growing his onions on raised beds (imagine mounded rows on which crops are grown). Essentially, this would cause water to run off, which would maintain a drier growing environment. Unfortunately, doing this would require not only the purchase of a large amount of equipment, but labor demands would also intensify as mechanically cultivating weeds becomes less manageable with this specific approach. Nevertheless, after much hemming and hawing, 15 years ago Farmer Richard made the leap and converted the entire farm to a raised bed system. Paired with the use of reflective, silver mulch to deter the destructive thrips, Harmony Valley’s onions couldn’t be happier.

 By the time they get to you, Harmony Valley’s onions have had quite the journey. They are the first seeds to be planted in the greenhouse, which keeps them from freezing in the cold of early February.

Once they reach a certain size, they are transplanted into the field. “Transplanting two acres of onions and shallots takes several days,” Richard reflects. Then consider that all of the harvesting, topping and cleaning that takes place is done by hand, without the help of any mechanized equipment. Industrial, highly mechanized farms in California produce shallots that are never once touched by a human hand. They’re cheap, but there is an element missing—what Farmer Richard calls the “hand-
manicuring” component. We forego mechanization when it comes to our onions because using machinery can, and often does, cause damage, which means we wouldn’t be able to provide you with the same high quality onions that we currently do.

Egyptian Walking onions with radishes

Depending on the variety, onions are either slow or fast growing. The first onions to be harvested in the spring—Egyptian Walking onions and Potato onions—are actually planted along with garlic in the fall. Scallions—both green and, as of this year, red varieties—are the next to arrive, followed by cipollini and candy onions, such as the Sweet Spanish onions we’ve had lately. These onions are

relatively fast growing, which means they tend to store for shorter periods of time. With the arrival of late summer, the farm crew will prepare to harvest what we call yellow and red “storage onions,” which, by this point,

Potato onions in the field

have been in the ground for a few months. While they take quite a while to mature, these are the onions that will carry you through the cold winter months and into spring.

Onions being harvested by Harmony Valley Farm crew

It’s time now to return to that one aspect of onions that we all dislike—the fact that they can be a major pain to work with. Their strong smell is renowned, and in fact Egyptologists believe that onions were often entombed with the dead because it was thought that their strong scent would prompt the non-living to breathe again. That certainly says something about the olfactory power of the onion! And then there’s the aftermath that comes with cutting into an onion. Slicing through an onion releases the sulfur compounds held within, which often results in teary eyes and runny noses. As Farmer Richard says plainly, “The crying is a little hard to love.” Given that the onion has been around since 2500 B.C, it is not surprising that there are countless theories on how to minimize this pungency. Some of the older, more odd suggestions include holding an extinguished matchstick in your mouth or clenching a wooden spoon between your teeth while slicing. Less strange, but nonetheless ineffective methods involve immersing or slicing onions under running water, or wearing protective goggles. What has been shown to work well is simply refrigerating your onions over night or for a few hours prior to working with them. You might still find yourself tearing up, but the impact of the compounds will likely be subdued. On the other hand, cooking and caramelizing your onions highlights the natural sugars that have always been there but have been masked to varying degrees by the sulfur compounds. So, the next time you hold an onion in your hand, do as we do—look beyond the tears and appreciate the onion for the highly nutritious, masterful vegetable that it is!

Harvested onions in the greenhouse

Creamy Sweet Onion Soup

Recipe adapted from a recipe for Creamy Vidalia Onion Soup 

featured at www.allrecipes.com.

6 sweet onions (about 6 cups sliced onions)
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks, beaten
1½ tsp paprika
Ground black pepper, to taste
⅛ tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
2-4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions; saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour and salt and mix thoroughly. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
3. When onions are very tender, stir in milk and cream. Heat through. Remove ½ cup soup and put it in a small bowl. Slowly mix the egg yolks into the soup in the small bowl. Once the egg yolks are incorporated, pour the milk and egg mixture slowly into the remainder of the soup in the pan. Heat through, but do not allow the soup to boil.
4. Stir in paprika, black pepper and hot pepper sauce (optional). Serve hot, and garnish with chopped parsley.

Green Lentils, Rice and Caramelized Onion

Recipe borrowed from Salma Hage’s book The Lebanese Kitchen.

Serves 4
1 cup green lentils
4 Tbsp olive oil
5 small onions, sliced
½ cup instant (easy cook) rice, rinsed
2 tsp salt
½ tsp tround cumin
½ tsp seven spices seasoning*
½ tsp black pepper

1. Put the lentils in a pan, pour in water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan, add the onions, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until caramelized. Add the rice and salt to the pan of lentils, replace the lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice and lentils are tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
3. Stir in the cumin, seven spices seasoning, pepper and caramelized onions and serve warm.

*Seven Spices Seasoning Mix: You can buy this blend of spices pre-made, or you can make it yourself (see recipe below). It is good to use as a seasoning for sauces, meat, grilled vegetables and more.

Lebanese Seven Spices Seasoning
5 Tbsp ground allspice
3½ Tbsp ground black pepper
3½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
5 Tbsp ground cloves
4 Tbsp ground nutmeg
4 Tbsp ground fenugreek
4 Tbsp ground ginger.
Mix the spices together thoroughly and store in an airtight container in a dark place.