May 24, 2018 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Rhubarb

Cooking With This Week’s Box: 

This Week’s Summary of Recipes & The Vegetables They Utilize:

Rhubarb:  Chipotle Rhubarb Sauce (see below) & Grandma Yoder’s Rhubarb Custard Pie (see below). 

Mini Romaine Lettuce:  Spring Salad with Asparagus and Soft BoiledEggs

Asparagus:  Spring Salad with Asparagus and SoftBoiled Eggs

Red Radishes:  Radish Toasts with Scallions & Radish Top Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley

Egyptian Walking Onions:  Radish Toasts with Scallions & Pea Vine Cream Cheese & Radish Top Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley

Sorrel:  Frosty Banana & Sorrel Smoothies & Sorrel & White Bean Soup

Green Garlic:  Green Pancakes

Pea Vine:  Pea Vine Cream Cheese

While it feels like spring has been slow to come this year, I’m always amazed at how the natural progression of vegetables always happens and each week we’re able to pack our CSA boxes.  Just as ramps were winding down, asparagus started to come in and this week we’ve replaced the ramps with green garlic and Egyptian walking onions.  We also have several new greens in this week’s box along with a splash of color from pretty little radishes and rhubarb.  Yes, we have plenty of ingredients to use this week!

Chipotle Rubarb Sauce on Pork Loin

Our featured vegetable this week is rhubarb, which may be used in both sweet and savory preparations.  One of this week’s recipes is for a Chipotle Rhubarb Sauce (see below) which may be used as an Enchilada Sauce or treat it like a barbecue sauce and use it to baste barbecued chicken, grilled pork chops, pork loin roast or serve it with grilled or pan-fried salmon.  I used it on a pork loin roast and it was delicious!  I mixed some of the leftover sauce into mayonnaise and used that as a spread to make sandwiches with the leftover pork.  The sauce has a little kick of heat from the chipotle and the rhubarb gives it a nice tanginess that works well with meat.

If you prefer a sweet recipe for your rhubarb, I’ve shared my Grandma Yoder’s recipe for Rhubarb Custard Pie (see below).  It’s been probably 20 years since I made this recipe, so I was happy to find the recipe on a card in my old recipe box.  The recipe was one of my grandma’s typical recipes, written in the cryptic way that only my grandma and those who know her would understand.  I had forgotten how easy this pie is to make!  It really doesn’t take much to put it together, and don’t be afraid to use a prepared pie crust if you need to expedite the process even more.  Grandma always used water in the filling, likely because it was more thrifty than using precious milk or cream as you normally would to make custard.  If you prefer a creamier filling, substitute milk for the water in the recipe.

I hope asparagus season will continue for several more weeks as I have accumulated a stack of asparagus recipes I really want to try!  This week I’m going to use the asparagus to make this recipe for Spring Salad with Asparagus and Soft Boiled Eggs.  The mini romaine lettuce heads will work great for this salad. This recipe is written for a single serving, so you’ll need to double it if you’re serving two people or quadruple it for four servings.  If you use both heads of lettuce for this recipe, you should be able to make four servings of this salad.  This salad will be great for a light lunch or dinner served simply with a piece of buttered toast.  You could also add a few sliced radishes!

I look forward to spring radishes every year and can’t get enough of them!  My favorite way to eat them is dipped in salt, and a little butter.  I came across this simple recipe for Radish Toasts with Scallions featured on the Edible Communities website.  It’s the perfect combination of radish, butter and salt with a little extra flavor from onions.  These simple toasts will be delicious using some of this week’s Egyptian walking onions.  I’m going to make these for our weekend brunch served with a fried egg.

The green tops on this week’s radishes are beautiful!  Don’t discard them, they are edible too!  Radish greens are a nice spicy green that may be sautéed with other greens or on their own.  I’ve been chopping them up and sautéing them with a little bit of green onion and green garlic and then I use that as the vegetable base for our scrambled eggs in the morning.  Add a little bit of feta cheese and it’s a delicious and invigorating way to start the day!  There’s also a recipe for Radish Top Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley that we featured in a newsletter back in October 2016.

Frosty Banana & Sorrel Smoothie

I’ve been anxiously and impatiently awaiting sorrel!  This is a delicious, unique green that many people enjoy in soup such as this Sorrel & White Bean Soup.  However, this week I am using the sorrel to make Frosty Banana & Sorrel Smoothies!  This is a refreshing and invigorating way to start your day and a super-easy way to eat your greens!

The pea vine surprised us and really grew over the past few days, so we decided to go ahead and include it in this week’s box.  Every spring I look forward to making Pea Vine Cream Cheese.  This is a very simple recipe and is especially good when made with the Egyptian walking onions.  You can spread this on a bagel for breakfast or lunch or use it to make a wrap.  We usually fill our wraps with leftover cooked chicken, salmon or a little crumble of bacon along with whatever fresh vegetables are available.  This week you could add some diced red radish and roasted asparagus or some of the romaine lettuce.

Green Pancakes

Finally, the last item in your box is the green garlic.  I’m going to use this week’s green garlic to make these savory Green Pancakes.  The green in these pancakes comes from green garlic (both the greens and the lower white portion) as well as spinach.  If you don’t have spinach in your refrigerator, you could also substitute nettles if you have some remaining from the previous delivery.  This would also be a good way to use the radish tops!  Serve these with a little dollop of sour cream and enjoy them with eggs or as a side dish along with fish or meat for dinner.

I hope you enjoy this week’s recipes and have fun cooking with these fresh, spring vegetables.  We have more exciting vegetables coming up very soon including hon tsai tai and baby white turnips!  See you next week!—Chef Andrea  

Featured Vegetable: Rhubarb  

By Chef Andrea

Rhubarb in the field

I grew up in a Mennonite & Amish community where it’s expected that everyone has a rhubarb plant in their back yard.  I loved to harvest rhubarb and we looked forward to eating it every spring, mostly in the form of pie.  In the world I came from, I only knew rhubarb as a “fruit” that paired well with sugar in my Grandma Yoder’s kitchen to create a delicious rhubarb custard pie or a rosy rhubarb sauce we would spoon over shortcake.  My mother made a delicious rhubarb crisp, Aunt Marty made tasty rhubarb snack bars, and there was a lady at church that made this magical dessert that was simply called rhubarb fluff (and likely contained Cool Whip as the main ingredient.)  It wasn’t until my adult life that I learned that rhubarb is really a vegetable and can be used in savory ways as well!
 

Rhubarb is thought to have originated in the areas of China, Mongolia and Russia.  Before it was used as a food, rhubarb root was traditionally used as a medicine to treat a wide range of ailments.  Its culinary use also started in the east where it was used in drinks and meat stews before later spreading to Europe and finally the United States at the end of the 18^th century.  It now holds a special spring time slot in our Midwestern diets.

Sorrel in the field

Rhubarb is part of the knotweed family of plants that also includes sorrel and buckwheat.  Both rhubarb and sorrel are perennial crops that we rely on to fill the gap in our diet between stored winter vegetables and spring planted crops.  Both rhubarb and sorrel are high in oxalates which is what gives both of these vegetables that sour, tangy flavor characteristic of both.  In the case of rhubarb, the stalk is the edible part of the plant and the leaves are discarded.  Rhubarb may be eaten raw, however it is pretty sour in the raw state so most individuals prefer to cook it first. 

While the tart, sour flavor of rhubarb is often masked or covered with copious amounts of sugar and sweeteners, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Instead of masking the characteristic flavors of rhubarb, why not use those innate qualities to your advantage?!  Rhubarb pairs well with fatty meats such as duck, pork, chicken thighs and salmon.  The tartness of the rhubarb helps to balance the fattiness of the meat as well as eggs and dairy products such as cheese & cream.   In a previous newsletter, we published a recipe for Braised Pork Shoulder with Rhubarb- Red Wine Sauce.  It also helps to wake up your taste buds which makes it easier for you to experience other flavors in a dish.  The flavor of rhubarb can stand up to bolder spices such as curries, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon and ginger.  Rhubarb can be used as a stir-fry vegetable, added towards the end of cooking so it just starts to soften, but still holds its shape.  It can also be used to create a flavorful braising liquid and then sauce for pork and other meats.  It also makes a delicious compote or chutney to eat alongside Indian food, spoon over grilled or roasted meats, or simply eat as a snack with cream cheese and crackers!

Of course, you’ll never go wrong with enjoying rhubarb in sweet preparations as well.  Muffins, cakes, cobbler, fruit crisps and beverages are all excellent ways to use rhubarb.  Rhubarb pairs well with fruits including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, lemon, oranges and apples.

Rhubarb should be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and firm until you’re ready to use it.  If it gets a little floppy or dehydrated, don’t throw it away as it can still be used in dishes where you’re cooking the rhubarb.  Rhubarb can also be frozen for later use.  If you want to freeze rhubarb, simply wash the stalks, cut into smaller pieces (size is up to you) and put it in the freezer in a freezer bag.  You do not need to cook rhubarb before freezing it, you can freeze it raw. 

Chipotle Rhubarb Sauce

Yield: About 2 cups

This recipe was adapted from the recipe for Swiss Chard and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Sauce that was featured at naturallyella.com.  You can use this sauce as an enchilada sauce or treat is like a barbecue sauce and baste it on grilled chicken or pork chops or slather it on a pork roast.  It would also make a good dipping sauce for chicken strips or mix it with mayonnaise to make a sandwich spread.

1 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup minced onions

2 cups diced rhubarb

½ tsp chipotle powder

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste

2 ½ Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium.  Add in onions and sauté until the onions become translucent, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in rhubarb and continue to cook until rhubarb begins to soften, 3-4 minutes.
   
2. Next, add remaining ingredients.  Stir and bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Let cook for 10-15 minutes.  The rhubarb will begin to break down and sauce will smooth out as it cooks.  You can leave it as a coarse, slightly chunky sauce, or you can puree it in a blender for a smooth sauce.
   
3. Once the sauce is cooked, taste it and adjust the seasonings as needed by adding more salt, chipotle powder and/or maple syrup.

Grandma Yoder's Rhubarb Custard Pie

Yield:  1—8 or 9  inch pie

Pie Crust Dough, enough to make an 8 or 9 –inch single crust pie

2 ¼-2 ½ cups rhubarb, small to medium dice

2 eggs

5 Tbsp water

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Cinnamon

1-2 Tbsp cold butter

1.       Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Roll out pie dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.  Put the pie dough in an 8 or 9 inch pie pan and trim the excess dough from around the edges.  Crimp the edge of the pie crust if you would like and then put the pie crust in the refrigerator until you finish preparing the filling.

2.       In a medium mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs until pale yellow, then add the water and beat until the mixture is frothy.  In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt.  Once the dry ingredients are combined, add them to the egg mixture and beat well to combine. 

3.       Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and put the diced rhubarb in the pie crust.  You want enough rhubarb to fill the pan evenly.  Pour the egg and sugar mixture over the rhubarb.

4.       Dot the top of the pie with pieces of cold butter and sprinkle the top of the pie with cinnamon.

5.       Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue to bake for another 40-50 minutes.  Bake the pie until the crust and top of the pie are golden brown.  The center of the pie may still be soft, but it should not be runny. 

6.       Remove the pie from the oven and cool to room temperature before you cut and serve it.  If you are not going to eat it right away it is best to store the pie in the refrigerator.

This recipe has been passed down through our family and is the rhubarb pie recipe my Grandma Yoder always made for us.  Her original recipe was essentially a list of ingredients with a few comments eluding to the procedure.  I interpreted the recipe, recreating it to match the memory of it in my mind!  While I’ve never tried this, I think you could substitute milk for the water in the filling to give a creamier filling that is more similar to traditional custard.—Chef Andrea

December 14, 2017 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Horseradish

Cooking With the Box

Well friends, here we are at the end of the season.  I’ve enjoyed sharing recipes and cooking ideas with you throughout the season and look forward to doing so again next year!  Lets see what delicious things we can make with this week’s box contents.

Lets start with this week’s featured vegetable, horseradish.  The Horseradish Sour Cream Dip (See below) is a nice dip to serve for holiday parties.  Make a platter with fresh vegetables or homemade vegetable chips.  Beet chips, butternut squash chips, even sweet potato chips!   If you have leftover dip, serve it with roast beef or salmon. 

Now that you’re well stocked with root vegetables, there are a lot of delicious dishes we can prepare.  Lets start with this recipe for Rustic Roasted Root Vegetable and Goat Cheese Tart.  This tart calls for parsnips, turnips, rutabagas and celery.  In place of the celery, use celeriac and feel free to substitute another root vegetable in place of any of these if you’d like.  Don’t have a rutabaga?  Substitute carrots.  This recipe for Rice Noodles with Stir-Fried Chicken,Turnips & Carrots will make good use of some of the carrots and turnips in this week’s box as well.

With the remainder of this week’s parsnips, consider making Parsnip Biscuits with Black Pepper and Honey.  Serve them for breakfast along with scrambled eggs and these Sweet Potato Maple Hash Browns.

Carrot Bacon picture from Purewow.com

Last week I stumbled across this recipe for Carrot Bacon.  There is no real bacon involved, rather this vegan preparation uses long strips of carrots that are seasoned with smoked paprika and baked to make a bacon-like strip.  You can munch on these as a snack or use them as a garnish for soup, grain dishes, etc.  If you have some larger carrots, those would be the ones to use for making Carrot Bacon.

Trying to figure out what to take to that New Year’s Eve party you were invited to?  How about Real Sour Cream & Onion Dip. You could serve it with Carrot Bacon!

Before we end the season, we need one more recipe for a seasonal take on pizza.  This recipe for Roasted Apple, Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Pizza uses white beans as the “sauce” base. 

Have a few sweet potatoes still hanging around?  Why not turn them into a dessert?!  Try this recipe for Deborah Madison’s Sweet Potato Flan.

Some boxes this week will contain escarole, while others will contain radicchio and/or cabbage.  If you receive escarole, consider making this recipe for Stewy White Beans with Escarole, Garlic and Sizzled Rosemary.  If you receive the radicchio, here’s a tasty recipe for Spaghetti with Radicchio & Ricotta.  Serve this on its own or add some sautéed shrimp.  Lastly, if you get cabbage in your box, check out this recipe for Roast Pork and Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Cabbage.  This recipe was recently shared by a member in our Facebook Group.

Picture of Quinoa Stuffed Squash from thekitchn.com

 Whether you receive Festival, Carnival or Sugar Dumpling Squash, you may use any of these varieties to make Quinoa Stuffed Squash.  This recipe includes dates and pistachios.  It can stand alone as a meal or you could serve these as a side dish with a pork chop or roasted chicken.

Lastly, here’s a different way to use celeriac.  I found this recipe for a vegetarian burger made with celeriac.  Check out this recipe for Celeriac Burgers. I bet they’d be good served with either the Horseradish Sour Cream Dip (see below) or the Real Onion Dip.

That brings us to the bottom of another CSA box and the conclusion of another CSA Season.  Thank you for joining us for a seasonal eating adventure this year.  I hope you have a wonderful winter and we look forward to growing for you again next year. Next year’s sign-up form will be available on our website very soon!

-Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature:  Horseradish

Horseradish Whips

We’ve been growing horseradish for many years, however we don’t put it into CSA boxes every year.  Horseradish is a big wholesale crop for us.  It stores amazingly well and can maintain quality for months in storage allowing us to sell it throughout the winter.  You’ll find your horseradish in this week’s box packaged in a small ziplock bag.  We are sending you a 3 oz portion of horseradish whips.  You may be wondering “What is a horseradish whip?”  The whips are my favorite part to use because they really don’t need to be peeled!  A horseradish whip is a small, skinny piece of horseradish that was cut off the main root.  They are not appropriate for a standard wholesale pack, so we trim them off, but can’t bring ourselves to throw them away because they are perfectly fine to use and are actually easier to work with than the larger root pieces!  We also save pieces that are larger than whips but smaller than the big roots we sell.  Typically pieces that are about the diameter of your finger and 10-12 inches long are saved as seed pieces that we plant in the fall for the following year’s crop.

Horseradish is in the brassica family along with cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc.  It is high in vitamin C as well as other nutrients and is used both in culinary ways as well as in medicinal applications.  Horseradish is very pungent.  It has isothiocyanates, a type of mustard oil, that are released into the air when the flesh of the horseradish root is cut. If you get a whiff of this oil, you may feel your eyes and nose burn a bit.  It’s a similar reaction as cutting into a strong onion.  When you are working with horseradish, do so in small batches and keep a window open for a little ventilation.  The compounds that give horseradish its pungent kick will volatilize into the air.  As such, horseradish is usually added to a recipe towards the end so as to preserve as much of the characteristic horseradish flavor as possible.  Vinegar also helps to stabilize horseradish.  If you’d like to have horseradish available to use in small quantities when you want some, I’d suggest making the prepared horseradish recipe featured in this week’s newsletter.  The addition of vinegar will stabilize the flavor and the horseradish will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. 

Because the flavor of horseradish can be very strong and pungent, it is used mostly as a condiment or seasoning.  It pairs well with cream, sour cream, crème fraiche, cheese, etc.  Thus, it’s often mixed with one of these dairy products to make a nice cream sauce to serve on beef or fish.  You can also use horseradish to make cocktail sauce and it pairs nicely with beets, roasted root vegetables, beef, salmon, etc. 

Don’t feel like you have to be in a hurry to use the horseradish in this week’s box.  I mentioned previously that it stores very well.  Keep it in the ziplock bag and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.  If a little surface mold starts to form on the exterior, simply wipe or wash it away.  The root itself will most likely still be just fine to use.  Why is this?  Because horseradish has strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties so it rarely ever rots.  That’s also why it’s a healthy food to include in our diets!

Prepared Horseradish

Yield:  1—half pint jar

3 oz fresh horseradish whips

4 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

¼ tsp salt

Sugar, pinch

1. Cut the horseradish whips into chunks and place them in the food processor.  Pulse to grind.   It will be a bit dry, something like coconut.  Add the vinegar, salt and sugar. 
2. Have a clean and sterilized jar with a lid and canning ring available nearby.
3. Add the vinegar, salt and sugar.  Blend to combine well.
4. Pack the horseradish into the jar and refrigerate. 

Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone.

Horseradish Sour Cream Dip

Yield:  2 cups

1 cup sour cream

¾ cup peeled, cored and minced Granny Smith apple

¼ cup lightly packed grated horseradish

2 Tbsp minced onion

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshlty ground pepper

¼ cup finely snipped fresh chives  (may substitute with 2-3 tbsp dried chives)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, apple, horseradish, onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chives.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld and the dip to thicken.  It can be prepared up to 1 day in advance.  Remove the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe was borrowed from Diane Morgan’s book, Roots.  This dip is excellent served with roasted beets, baked potatoes, toast crisps, or even just potato chips!

October 5, 2017 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Kabocha Squash

Cooking With This Week's Box

This week’s box has a burst of color with the gorgeous orange kabocha squash!  There are a lot of things you can do with this squash, but this week I’m going to use it to make a simple, seasonal One-Pot Kabocha Squash and Chickpea Curry (See Below).  This is very easy to make and uses the sweet peppers and tomatoes in this week’s box as well as some of the swiss chard.  Either mini sweet peppers or orange Italian frying peppers will work in this recipe.  This is actually better the second day, so it’s a great dish to make on the weekend and serve for dinner on a night during the week when you know you won’t have a lot of time to cook.  

Tomato and tomatillo season will be quickly coming to an end.  We’re glad to be able to send tomatillos one more time before they’re really finished!  Now that the nights are getting more cool, I’m more in the mood for warm, comforting stews.  One of my favorite recipes is for this Pork & Tomatillo Stew.  The tomatillos help thicken the stew and the carrots, potatoes and pork make it warm and satisfying.  Serve it with corn muffins, corn tortillas or chips on the side. 

Every once in awhile I get hungry for comforting dishes from my childhood.  Growing up in central Indiana, we had many ways to use mayonnaise and nearly every church potluck had several versions of a creamy broccoli and cauliflower salad.  So this week I’m reviving that salad with this Sweet Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad.  My family always encourages me to make it with the bacon, but you could easily leave it out or substitute toasted sunflower seeds instead.  While this recipe calls for both broccoli and cauliflower, you can also make it with just one or the other if you don’t have both in your refrigerator.  This salad goes well with a simple deli meat salad or my mom often served it with barbecued chicken or ribs.

I have to admit I’ve had my fill of fresh salsa, but tacos is a pretty easy go-to dinner during busy times.  To keep it interesting, I often serve tacos with different toppings.  This week I’m going to make some Mexican-Styled Pickled Carrots.  These make a spicy, tangy topping for tacos using this week’s carrots, red onions and jalapenos.  The recipe is for 4 pints, so I’ll probably scale it back to make just 1 pint.  If you want to make more, go for it. They’ll store for several weeks in the refrigerator.

I really enjoy jicama best in its raw form as a salad or slaw.  With the remainder of the sweet peppers in this week’s box, I’m going to make this Jicama & Sweet Pepper Slaw we featured in our newsletter back in 2013.  This slaw goes very well with grilled fish or chicken.

Back in 2011 Chef Bonnie spent the summer with us and developed this recipe for Fresh Turnip Salad with Curry Vinaigrette.  It’s been awhile since I’ve made this, but I have been on a curry kick lately and remembered her salad.  It’s bright and refreshing and utilizes both the turnip tops as well as some salad mix for the base of the salad.  If you want to turn it into a main entrée salad, just add some grilled chicken, fish or even baked tofu or tempeh. 

Lastly, you’ll probably have about half of your bunch of chard remaining if you use it to make the Kabocha Squash and Chickpea Curry recipe I mentioned in the beginning.  If you make some extra rice to serve with the curry dish, you can use the leftovers to make these Chard Leaves Stuffed with Rice and Herbs.  They’ll make a nice option to take for lunches or serve them with a salad for a light dinner.

Ok folks, that’s a wrap.  Get ready for more warm, comforting soups and stews in the weeks to come. Here’s a little tidbit of information to give you something to look forward to.  Word on the street around here is that we’ll be harvesting sweet potatoes next week!  We’ll need some time to “cure” them before they’re ready to eat, but they should be in your boxes within a few weeks!  Have a great week!—Chef Andrea

Featured Vegetable:  Orange Kabocha Squash 

This week we’re featuring the first of several different varieties of winter squash we grew for you this year.  This week’s selection, orange kabocha squash, is shaped like a plump round disc and has a stunning bright orange skin with deep orange flesh inside.  This is one of our favorite squash varieties because of its excellent eating quality, and in most years, its ability to store for several months.  While we typically don’t deliver this squash until November at the earliest, we’re including it in your boxes earlier because we suspect it may not store as well this year.  We’ve already noticed some spots forming on some of the squash and have been removing them from our storage bins at a greater rate than we normally see at this point in the season.  The storage-ability of a squash is directly related to the growing conditions in the field.  We suspect the rainy wet period we had at the end of July and first of August may have, in some way, impacted the shelf life of this squash this year.  The ones we’ve cooked and eaten have had excellent flavor and sweetness, so we can’t stand to compost them and would rather pass them on to you sooner than later! 

You’ll find kabocha squash to be a very dense squash that will require a little bit of effort to cut into.  Unlike some other winter squash, kabocha squash has a very thin skin that can be either peeled away or just eaten.  The skin is most tender shortly after harvest and toughens up the longer it is in storage, thus may not be as desirable to eat. When cooked, the flesh of kabocha squash is very rich, silky-smooth, sweet and flavorful.  There are several ways you can cook this squash. My go-to easy, low maintenance method is to just cut the squash in half, remove the seed cavity and put the squash halves, cut side down, in a baking dish.  Add a little bit of water to the pan and bake the squash at 350°F until the squash is soft and tender when pierced with a fork.  Remove the squash from the oven and turn the halves over so they can cool.  Once cool enough to handle, scoop the cooked flesh out of the shell and either mash or puree the flesh.  Once the flesh is cooked, you can use it to make a simple squash puree seasoned with spices of your choosing and a pat of butter.  Orange kabocha puree can also be used in baked goods and desserts.  While most recipes won’t call for this squash variety specifically, you can use this squash as a substitute in any recipe that calls for pumpkin or butternut squash.  This rich, sweet flesh makes a delicious pie filling and yields rich, moist, flavorful quickbreads or muffins. 

Aside from baking, kabocha squash may also be roasted or simply steamed.  In Japanese cuisine, kabocha squash are also referred to as Japanese pumpkins.  Known for their simple, clean preparations, you’ll find Japanese recipes for kabocha squash to be equally as simple with just a few ingredients.  Slices or chunks of kabocha squash are often steamed or simmered in a simple dashi broth with kombu seaweed and sometimes miso, soy sauce and sometimes sake.  You can also roast kabocha squash as you would prepare any other root vegetable or potato for roasting.

I’ll take a minute to mention squash seeds.  While we usually encourage you to save the seeds from your winter squash and roast them to make a crunchy snack, I have to admit I don’t care for the seeds from a kabocha squash.  They have a thicker hull and are more tough and less enjoyable to eat.  Save your efforts for some of the other squash that will come later such as the sugar dumpling, festival and butternut squash.

Winter squash is an important part of our fall and winter diets from both nutritional and culinary perspectives.  They are rich in carotenoids, the nutrient compound that gives their flesh its orange color.  They are also good sources of Vitamins A & C as well as potassium, manganese, folate and a variety of B vitamins.  This squash pairs well with other fall fruits and vegetables including apples, pears, herbs, and onions. 

For longer storage, winter squash is best stored in a cool, dry location at about 45-55°F.  However you can also keep them on your kitchen counter and enjoy their beauty if you are going to eat them within a few days or weeks.  I would encourage you to eat this week’s selection sooner than later.  Watch them and if you notice any spots starting to form on the exterior, cut that area out of the squash and cook the remainder immediately.  If you aren’t ready to eat squash yet, consider baking your squash and pureeing the flesh.  You can put the pureed squash in a freezer bag or container and pop it in the freezer.  I love having some cooked squash in the freezer to use during the winter to make soup, baked goods, or just to warm up with a pat of butter and serve as a vegetable side dish.

If you enjoy this squash variety and would like to have more, we will be offering this variety as a produce plus option for the next two weeks.  Check this week’s “What’s In the Box” email for details and get your order in for delivery within the next two weeks! 

One-Pot Kabocha Squash & Chickpea Curry

Yield 4-6 servings

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

½-1 jalapeño, finely chopped (quantity to your liking)

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

3 cups fresh or canned tomatoes, diced

2 cups diced sweet peppers

3 cups peeled, diced kabocha squash

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 cans (13.5 fl oz each) coconut milk

2 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce

½ cup water

3 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard or spinach

Salt & Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)

1 oz fresh basil, thinly sliced (optional)

Cooked brown rice, to serve

1. Heat a Dutch oven or other deep saucepan over medium heat.  Add 2 tbsp of the oil to the pan.  When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, ginger and jalapeño.  Saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes.  Add one more tablespoon of oil along with the turmeric and cumin.  Stir to combine and saute for another minute.  Add the diced tomatoes, peppers, squash, chickpeas, coconut milk, tamari and water to the pan.  Stir well to combine and then bring the mixture to a boil.
2.  Once the mixture has been brought to a boil, reduce the heat just slightly so as to maintain a rapid simmer.  Cover the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove the cover and simmer an additional 15-20 minutes or until the squash is tender and the liquid portion of the curry has reduced a little bit. 
3. Stir in the chard or spinach leaves and simmer an additional 5-8 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
4. Taste the curry and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve over rice and garnish with fresh basil and/or cilantro.

(Note:  This curry is even better the second day, making this a great recipe to use for batch cooking at the beginning of the week for meals throughout the week!)

This recipe was adapted from a similar recipe for One-Pot Eggplant, Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry featured at www.heavenlynnhealthy.com.

Roasted Winter Squash with Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary

Yield:  6 Servings

2 pounds kabocha or butternut winter squash

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 plump clove garlic, finely chopped

1 heaping tsp chopped fresh sage

1 heaping tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Scoop out the seed cavity and slice the squash into crescent moon slices.  Peel the squash and cut into 1-inch chunks;  you should have about 4 cups. 
3. Toss the squash in enough olive oil to moisten it, then season with ½ tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Loosely arrange the squash in a single layer in a large baking dish or on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. 
4. Roast the squash until the pieces are tender and browned here and there, about 35 minutes.  Every 10 minutes or so, give them a turn so that they color evenly.
5. When the squash is tender and golden, warm 4 tsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic, sage, and rosemary and cook just long enough to remove the raw taste of the garlic, a minute should do.  Turn off the heat, and add the parsley.  Next, toss this mixture with the cooked squash.  Transfer to a serving dish, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Recipe adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy.