October 4, 2018 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Winter Squash

Cooking With This Week's Box

Baby Beets:  Wine Braised Beets with Garlic Mashed (smashed) Potatoes

Carrots:  Curried Spaghetti Squash & Chickpea Toasts (see below)

Sweet Yellow & Red Onions:  Curried Spaghetti Squash & Chickpea Toasts (see below);  Stuffed Winter Squash (see below);  Pasta with Braised Onion Sauce;  Apple, Pecan Arugula Salad; Wine Braised Beets with Garlic Mashed (smashed) Potatoes

Garlic:  Cauliflower Patties; Wine Braised Beets with Garlic Mashed (smashed) Potatoes; Romanesco Cacio e Pepe

Orange Italian Peppers:  Cheesy Fajita Chicken Bake

Poblano Peppers:  Cheesy Fajita Chicken Bake

Broccoli or Broccoli Romanesco:  Romanesco Cacio e Pepe

White or Yellow Cauliflower:  Cauliflower Patties.

Masquerade or Harvest Moon Potatoes:  Wine Braised Beets with Garlic Mashed (smashed) Potatoes

Sugar Dumpling Squash:  Stuffed Winter Squash (see below)

Spaghetti Squash:  Curried Spaghetti Squash & Chickpea Toasts (see below)

Baby White turnips:  Turnip Greens Pesto Pizza

Baby Arugula:  Apple, Pecan Arugula Salad

While we managed to skirt the first potential frost last weekend, we do find ourselves in the first week of October!  Fall is here and summer vegetables are nearly gone while fall crops are filling their void.  Sweet potatoes should be ready for delivery next week!  This week though, our focus is on winter squash.  Lets kick off our cooking escapades with the two featured recipes.  Spaghetti squash is often used in casseroles or other preparations as a substitute for pasta.  I appreciated this recipe for Curried Spaghetti Squash & Chickpea Toasts (see below) because it is something different!  You could make these to serve as an appetizer, snack, a light dinner with a salad, or even breakfast with a fried egg!  The other squash recipe featured this week is most appropriate to make with the sugar dumpling squash.  Alana Chernila’s recipe for Stuffed Winter Squash (see below) is pretty easy to assemble once you have prepped the filling ingredients and have cooked the squash.  This would be an easy recipe to prep at the beginning of the week and then just assemble some night during the week when you need to pull together dinner quickly. 

I love onions and can’t imagine having too many, but sometimes they start to pile up which means it’s time to choose a recipe where they can take the center stage.  So this week, clean up your extra onions with this recipe for Pasta with Braised Onion Sauce.  Also on Food52, I found this recipe for Cauliflower Patties.  I’m going to make these for dinner and serve them along with this Apple, Pecan Arugula Salad using the Honeycrisp Apples that are in our fruit share this week from our local Hoch orchard.

For my next recipe suggestion, I turn to Andrea Bemis’s blog, Dishing Up the Dirt.  If you haven’t read this week’s main newsletter article, please do.  I talk about Andrea’s Local Thirty challenge and her experiences with sourcing more of her food from local sources.  This is her recipe for Wine Braised Beets with Garlic Mashed (smashed) Potatoes.  Serve this on its own or Andrea recommends serving it with meat (such as a grilled steak) or lentils.  Mash the potatoes gently as this week’s potato varieties are more on the waxy side which means the potatoes may get sticky if you work them too much.  Unless you still have potatoes and/or baby beets from last week, you may need to scale the recipe back a bit as the quantities she calls for potatoes and beets are a little more than is in your box this week.  The beets are small enough that they can be braised whole. 

We’re happy to have the baby white turnips back for their fall appearance!  If you didn’t have a chance to try this recipe for Turnip Greens Pesto Pizza that we featured earlier in the spring, now’s your chance!  Of course these pretty little things are also delicious when simply steamed along with their greens and served with butter. 

So sad to see pepper season end, but before they’re gone I want to try this recipe for Cheesy Fajita Chicken Bake.  The recipe calls for bell peppers, but we can use this week’s sweet Orange Italian Frying peppers and poblano peppers.  Serve this with Spanish rice or even some simple roasted potatoes.

Every week needs a quick pasta dish and this week’s is Romanesco Cacio e Pepe, a fancy Italian way of saying simple pasta dish with cheese and black pepper!  Of course the real star of this dish is the cool Broccoli Romanesco, which is described as the “Lady Gaga of Broccoli” in the article featuring this recipe. 

And once again we’ve cooked our way to the bottom of another CSA box.  Have a great week, eat well, and get your sweet potato recipes ready for next week!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Winter Squash

Fall is definitely in the air, nights are cool and the trees are starting to show signs of turning.  That means it’s time for us to get serious about fall vegetables...including winter squash!   We are thankful to have had a bountiful harvest this year and our greenhouse where we store them is filled with a colorful array of different varieties.  Before we go any further with delivering winter squash I want to pause and talk a little bit about general tips and info for storing and using winter squash, as well as a little more information about the varieties in this week’s box. 

First of all, lets talk about storage.  The ideal temperature for long term storage of squash is between 45 and 55°F in a dry location. This is a bit more chilly than most of your homes, so know that it’s ok to store them on your kitchen counter at a warmer temperature as long as you keep your eye on them.  You do not want to store squash in the refrigerator or in an uninsulated garage where the temperatures could dip below 45°F once winter sets in.  At temperatures less than 45°F squash is vulnerable to chill injury.  What does it mean to “keep your eye on the squash?”  If you notice any sort of a spot starting to form or any signs of deterioration, you need to intervene immediately.  A small spot doesn’t mean the squash is bad or needs to be composted, rather it means you need to eat it right away!  Just cut away the bad spot and use the rest.  If you leave it unattended, the spot will continue to grow and consume your squash….which is what we do not want to happen!  Even if you are not quite ready to eat the squash, I encourage you to cook it anyway.  Winter squash is a great vegetable to cook in advance and freeze.  It’s super quick and easy to pull precooked squash out of the freezer in the middle of the winter and heat it up to eat as a side dish or incorporate it into baked goods or other dishes.  The main thing is, don’t let it go to waste!  If I have a pile of squash on my counter, I like to bake a lot at one time….the oven is already hot and if you’re going to make a mess it’s better to clean up just once!

There are certain varieties of winter squash that store better than others.  In general, varieties with a thinner skin and higher sugar content are going to be the most perishable.  You’ll want to eat these sooner than later, usually within a few weeks of receiving them.  Some of the varieties that fit this description include this week’s sugar dumpling as well as the orange kabocha squash we delivered previously.  Soon you’ll be receiving honeynut butternut squash in your boxes, and this is another one to eat soon.  Regular butternut squash, butterkin and festival squash are usually the ones that last the longest, so these are the ones you might choose to store into winter.  You’ll notice I didn’t mention spaghetti squash.  This squash is not the sweetest variety and the skin isn’t terribly thin, however our experience is that this squash may not store as long as the butternut and festival.  While you may have a little more time, I wouldn’t recommend planning to store this one into the winter months.

Winter squash is easy to cook.  The method I employ most frequently is to simply cut the squash in half and scrape out the seed cavity.  I place it, cut side down, in a baking dish and add a little bit of water to the pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and come up about ¼-½ an inch on the squash.  I bake it in the oven at about 350°F until it is tender when poked with a fork.  Once tender, I remove them from the oven and flip them over so the cut side is up.  I allow them to rest until they are cool enough to handle, then scoop out the flesh.  When you scoop the seed cavity out, remember that the seeds are edible as well.  Squash that have smaller seeds that are more tender may be rinsed, dried and then toasted.  

Spaghetti Squash

There are other methods of cooking squash including roasting or steaming it.  Depending on the end result you may choose to peel the squash first.   Roasted squash is a sweet treat and can be made just as you would roast any other vegetable.  You may also choose to peel the squash and cut the flesh into pieces to add to soups, stews, curries, etc. 

This week we’re delivering spaghetti squash and sugar dumpling squash.  We grow a variety of spaghetti squash that is smaller than the ones you generally see in the store, thus it’s a bit more manageable to use and consume!  Spaghetti squash differs from other squash in that the flesh can be scraped away from the skin in strands that look like spaghetti, hence the name.  It has a very mild flavor and goes well in many savory preparations. 

Sugar Dumpling Squash

The other squash in this week’s box is sugar dumpling squash.  This is one of our sweetest most flavorful varieties.  This one is delicious just baked and served with salt, pepper and butter!  It’s also a good one for stuffing, and is a good one to use in this week’s recipe for Stuffed Winter Squash. 

There are so many different ways to incorporate winter squash into your diet this fall and winter, so we encourage you to get creative and try some new recipes.  Soups, stews, curries, simple purees, gratin, root and squash mashes, roasted, incorporated into ravioli, pasta dishes, baked goods, pies and desserts.  The list could go on.  If you find some recipes you like, we always appreciate it when you share them with us!

Stuffed Winter Squash

Yield: 4 Servings

2 sugar dumpling or festival squash, cut in half through the stem and seeded

2 tsp olive oil, plus more for rubbing the squash and oiling the dish

¾ tsp kosher salt

6 oz chorizo, sweet sausage, or bacon crumbled or cut into small pieces

1 medium red onion

1 cup chopped apple (1 to 2 apples)

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups sliced tender greens (spinach, tat soi, kale, Swiss chard), cut into ribbons

4 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

2 cups cooked millet, rice, or quinoa

½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Rub the flesh of each squash half with olive oil, and oil an ovenproof dish or baking sheet.  Sprinkle the whole baking dish with ½ tsp of the salt.  Lay the squash flesh side down in the dish and bake until it is very tender when pricked with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes.  Remove the squash from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 425° F.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the meat and fry until browned.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Add the onions to the hot oil and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the apple, remaining ¼ tsp salt, and pepper, and cook for another minute.  Add the greens, sage, cooked grains, and reserved meat.  Cook for another minute, stirring to combine, and remove from heat.  Taste, and adjust the salt and pepper if needed.
3. Turn the cooked squash over in the baking dish so it is flesh side up.  (Be careful, as steam will escape when you turn it.)  Scoop the filling into the cavity of each squash half, piling it into a mountain so that it holds as much as possible.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

Recipe borrowed from Alana Chernila’s book, The Homemade Kitchen.

Curried Spaghetti Squash and Chickpea Toasts

Yield: 6 servings

1 spaghetti squash (2-3 if small) (about 2.5# pounds), halved and seeded

¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp crushed red pepper

½ tsp finely grated orange zest

1 ½ tsp Madras curry powder

One 15 oz can chickpeas, drained

½ cup water

½ cup chopped cilantro

Grilled peasant bread (Italian or French Bread)

Toasted pumpkin or squash seeds, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Place the halved spaghetti squash cut side up on a baking sheet and brush the cut side with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Roast the spaghetti squash for about 45 minutes, until the flesh is tender and lightly browned in spots.  Let cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil.  Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until they are just softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the coriander, cumin, crushed red pepper, grated orange zest and curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the drained chickpeas and the water and simmer until the vegetables are very tender and the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
3. Using a fork, rake the squash into strands; you should have about 2-2 ½ cups of squash.  Add the cilantro and squash to the curry and season with salt.  Serve the curried squash over grilled bread, garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Recipe by Jonathon Sawyer as published in Food & Wine annual cookbook 2012.

September 20, 2018 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Orange Kabocha Squash

Cooking With This Week's Box:

Leeks: Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon

Orange Carrots: Carrot Soup with Toasted Curry & Pistachios; Carrot & Broccoli Salad with Miso Ginger Sauce

Sweet Yellow Onions: Carrot Soup with Toasted Curry & Pistachios; Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes)

Garlic: Carrot Soup with Toasted Curry & Pistachios; Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes); Carrot & Broccoli Salad with Miso Ginger Sauce

Variety of Tomatoes: Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes)

Golden Grape Tomatoes: Mini-Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Feta, Avocado, & Golden Grape Tomatoes

Orange Italian Frying Peppers or Poblano Peppers: Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon;  Poblano Pepper Jack Cornbread

Red or Green Bell Pepper: Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon

Broccoli: Carrot & Broccoli Salad with Miso Ginger Sauce

White, Yellow or Purple Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco: Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes)

Mini-Sweet Peppers:  Mini-Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Feta, Avocado, & Golden Grape Tomatoes

Kabocha Squash:  Kabocha Nishime (see below) or Kabocha Squash Bread with Toasted Walnut Cinnamon Swirl (see below)

Green Curly Kale:  Kale Chips with Almond Butter & Miso

Edamame:  Carrot & Broccoli Salad with Miso Ginger Sauce

We have made the transition to fall, it’s official.  Our Harvest Party is coming up this weekend and we have orange kabocha squash in this week’s box!  This is one of my favorite squash varieties and this week I’m sharing two recipes with you from Amy Chaplin’s beautiful book, At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen.  The first one is for Kabocha Squash Bread with Toasted Walnut Cinnamon Swirl (see below).  I make this bread throughout the winter and we eat it for breakfast with a hard-boiled egg or sometimes have it as dessert with lunch or dinner!  It’s delicious on it’s own, but even better spread with soft butter or coconut oil.  It calls for spelt flour, which I really like, but I would guess you could also just use all-purpose flour.  If you’re not into baking and sweet things this week, consider trying Amy’s recipe for Kabocha Nishime (see below).  This is a Japanese preparation for kabocha squash where the squash is steamed until tender and very delicately flavored with kombu, fish stock and mirin.  You can eat it on its own or turn it into a bento bowl by serving it with rice, steamed kale and pickled vegetables.

Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon

This week I went back through our recipe database because I was looking for a few recipes I thought we had featured before.  I found several recipes that I had forgotten about including one we featured last year for Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon.  This recipe calls for sweet corn, which we don’t have, but you could easily substitute edamame or carrots instead.  This is a rich dish, but very delicious with the silky leeks, the sweetness from the peppers and the tang from the lemon. 

Another recipe I came across that I haven’t made for awhile is this one for Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes).  This is kind of like a quick, Indian vegetable stew with cauliflower, potatoes and tomatoes seasoned with curry powder and garnished with cilantro.  It’s flavorful, warming and can be eaten as is or along with rice or a flat bread.

I guess I’m starting to feel the chill of fall which makes me want to eat more soup.  This week I’m going to make Andrea Reusing’s recipe for Carrot Soup with Toasted Curry & Pistachios.  This is a very simple soup, yet so delicious.  If you have some carrots remaining from a previous week, use them to make this recipe for Carrot & Broccoli Salad with Miso Ginger Sauce.  This recipe will make great use of not only carrots, but also this week’s broccoli and the last of the edamame.

Kale Chips with Almond Butter & Miso

Lets talk about snacks for a bit.  Fall is the time of year when I like to make kale chips as our Sunday afternoon snack as we prepare for the week ahead.  I really like this recipe for Kale Chips with Almond Butter & Miso.  I prefer to make kale chips with green curly kale, but I’ve talked to other members who prefer Lacinato kale!  I’m sure they’re delicious with either variety and no reason to feel guilty eating chips!  The other snack food I want to make this week is Mini-Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Feta, Avocado, & Golden Grape Tomatoes.  Mini Sweet peppers are great for stuffing with a lot of things, so if you don’t like this recipe, make up your own or just eat them with cream cheese!

Some boxes this week may receive Orange Italian Frying peppers while others will receive poblano peppers.  For those of you who get the poblano peppers, consider making Poblano Pepper Jack Cornbread.  Serve it for brunch or a light dinner with scrambled eggs and fresh slices of tomatoes.

I have some exciting news to share with you….sweet potato harvest is coming very soon!  Rafael dug some gorgeous sweet potatoes yesterday!  If the rest of the field looks like the samples he dug, we’re going to have a great sweet potato harvest this year!  We haven’t eaten any yet, remember we have to cure them first to convert their starches into sugar.  Start gathering your recipes, they’ll likely be in your box within about three weeks or so.  Have a great week and we hope to see you at the party this weekend!---Chef Andrea

Featured Vegetable: Orange Kabocha Squash

This week we’re packing one of our longtime favorite squash varieties, orange kabocha.  The varietal name for this squash is “Sunshine,” something we will take in any way we can get it given the recent rains and gray skies!  You’ll recognize this vegetable by its bright orange skin and rounded, disc-like shape.  This variety is also sometimes called a Japanese Pumpkin and is similar to other squash varieties such as orange kuri and buttercup.  This squash has a thick wall of flesh and a small seed cavity.  The flesh is dark orange in color and has a silky, custard-like texture when cooked.  

This is a very versatile squash and may be used for a variety of preparations including soup, puree, baked goods, curries, stews or simply roasted.  You can often use this squash variety in recipes that call for buttercup, butternut, or orange kuri as well as any recipe calling for pumpkin.  The flavor of this squash is excellent and surpasses even the best tasting pumpkin. 

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. 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.  This rich, sweet flesh makes a delicious pie filling and yields rich, moist, flavorful quickbreads, muffins, pudding and soufflé.

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.  This week we’re featuring Amy Chaplin’s recipe for kabocha nishime which is made using this type of method for steaming.  Amy recommends including this as a component in a nourishing Bento Bowl, a Japanese way of eating a variety of simple preparations including steamed rice and/or beans, steamed greens and pickled vegetables.  You can also roast kabocha squash as you would prepare any other root vegetable or potato for roasting.  When prepared this way the exterior of the squash gets nice and crispy while the flesh inside stays moist and sweet.

This squash is also delicious when used in soups, stews and curry dishes.  It is also really easy to preserve.  I like to cook a lot of squash at the same time and then puree the flesh.  I pack it in quart freezer bags and then lay them flat in the freezer to freeze them in “pillows.”  I can thaw these bags really quickly and then use the squash as a quick side dish during the winter—just heat and add salt, pepper and butter.  It’s also super quick to pull out a bag of the prepared squash and turn it into bread, cookies, pie or some other tasty treat.

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.

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. 

Kabocha Squash Bread with Toasted Walnut Cinnamon Swirl

Yield:  One 9-inch loaf

Photo from Amy Chaplin's book,
At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen

Cinnamon Walnut Swirl:

1 cup toasted walnut halves, chopped

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp maple sugar (may substitute brown sugar)

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Squash Batter:

½ to 1 medium kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in ½-inch dice (about 3 ½ cups raw)*

2 cups spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp milk (dairy or non-dairy)

½ tsp sea salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1. Make the Cinnamon Walnut Swirl:  Place walnuts, cinnamon, maple sugar, and maple syrup in a bowl; mix to combine and set aside.
2. Make the Batter:  Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly oil a loaf pan and line bottom and two longer sides with a sheet of parchment paper; set aside.
3. Steam squash for 10 to 12 minutes or until soft.  Place in a medium bowl and mash with a fork.  Measure out 1 ½ cups cooked squash and set aside. *(see note below) 
4. Sift spelt flour and baking powder into a medium bowl and stir to combine.  Add olive oil, maple syrup, milk, salt, vanilla, and egg to the mashed squash; whisk until smooth.  Using a rubber spatula, fold flour mixture into squash mixture until just combined.  Spread half of batter over bottom of loaf pan.  Layer cinnamon-walnut mixture evenly over batter and top with remaining batter.  To create a swirl, use a small rubber spatula or butter knife to zigzag back and forth through the batter (across pan) and one stroke straight through the center of the loaf (lengthwise).
5. Place in oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow loaf to sit 5 minutes before carefully turning out and placing on a wire rack.  Slice and serve warm.

*Chef Andrea Note:  Alternatively, you can cut the squash in half and put the two halves, cut side down, in a baking dish with a little water in the bottom.  Bake in a 350°F oven until tender when pierced with a fork.  Remove from the oven and turn the squash over so they can release steam and cool enough to handle.  Scrape out the seed cavity and discard it.  Scrape the remaining flesh away from the skin.  Mash it with a fork or puree it in a food processor.  Measure out 1 ½ cups cooked squash for the bread and refrigerate or freeze the remainder for another use.

This recipe comes from Amy Chaplin’s book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen:  Celebrating the Art of Eating Well.

Kabocha Nishime

Yield:  4 to 6 servings

Photo from Amy Chaplin's book,
At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen

Note from author:  Nishime is a Japanese cooking style that means “long-cooked with little water.”  In macrobiotic cooking, it is said to create strong, calm energy and restore vitality.  This amazingly simple method is perfect for root vegetables and winter squash, as they become super-sweet and meltingly tender.

2 pound kabocha squash

4-inch piece kombu

¾ cup water

1 tsp mirin

1 tsp tamari

Pinch sea salt

1. Remove seeds from squash, leave skin on, and cut into 1 ¼-inch wedges.  Cut each wedge in half to make triangles.  Place kombu in bottom of a medium-large pot or one that will snugly fit all squash in one layer.  Lay squash skin-side down over kombu and arrange in a circle, with pointy end of squash facing the center.
2. Pour in water, and add mirin, tamari, and a pinch of salt to center of pot.  Place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until squash is cooked through.  You can test it with a toothpick or tip of a small knife;  cooking time will depend on the thickness of the flesh.  Remove from heat and carefully lift squash into serving bowl
3. The cooking liquid you are left with is sweet and flavorful and can be poured over the squash when serving.  Or you can simply drink it, as I love to do.

This recipe comes from Amy Chaplin’s book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen:  Celebrating the Art of Eating Well.  She recommends including this squash as a component in a simple meal mirrored after the Japanese bento meal concept where different components are served in a lacquered box with divided compartments for each component.  To simplify this dish, skip the box and just create your own bento bowl.  Amy suggests choosing several different components such as steamed rice, the kabocha nishime, pickled vegetables and/or steamed greens.  Create a bowl for each diner with the components each desires.  This is a simple way to make a beautiful, nourishing meal.

October 26, 2017 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Sugar Dumpling Squash

Cooking With This Week's Box

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only about 4 weeks away!?  Have you started gathering your recipes and planning your menu for the big dinner?  Brussels Sprouts with Ginger & Cranberries, Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples,  Grandma Yoder’s Squash Pie . . perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself.  Well, you still have some time but I would encourage you to start planning for the big day! 

As the weather becomes more chilly, I’m more in the mood to eat some of these warm, nourishing foods like winter squash and sweet potatoes.  This week’s featured vegetable is the sweet little sugar dumpling squash.  Use this squash to prepare Andrea Bemis’s recipe adaptation for Autumn Spiced Pork Sausage & Kale Stuffed Squash (see below).  She used delicata squash in her recipe, but this will work with any squash that has a little cavity to put a filling into.  This recipe also makes good use of the tender kale in this week’s box.  The other squash in your box, either honeynut butternut or butterscotch butternut, is a great variety to bake or roast and both are naturally sweet & flavorful.  Melissa Clark has a tasty recipe for a Roasted Mushroom and Butternut Squash Tart featured at cooking.nytimes.com. 

Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens   

I’m excited to have so many different greens in this week’s box and I have a use for each one.  The tender bunched kale will go into the stuffed squash recipe, but I’m saving the spicy mustard greens to make a recipe we featured in our newsletter back in 2015.  It’s a recipe for Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens.  You’ll likely have enough butternut squash to make both the lentil recipe and the tart recipe mentioned previously.  I really enjoy this recipe prepared with the spicy mustard greens.  It makes a flavorful, nourishing meal and may be served with rice. 

Bok Choi Salad with Sesame Almond Crunch

The baby bok choi is going to be used to make the Baby Bok Choi Salad with Sesame-Almond Crunch featured in our June 2016 newsletter.  Trust me…it’s delicious! 

This recipe for Crushed Potatoes with Cream & Garlic is one of my simple go-to recipes for busy weeks. This recipe works well with the waxy potatoes like we have in this week’s box.  I usually just serve it with a seared steak or pork chop.  This week I think I’ll add roasted Broccoli and/or Cauliflower or Romanesco with Lemon and Garlic to this meal. If you’re going to eat garlic you might as well go big and put it in nearly everything!

I came across this recipe for Carrot Salad with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas at Smitten Kitchen.  I think I’ll serve this salad with a roasted sweet potato for a simple vegetarian dinner.  Of course….there will be leftovers for lunch the next day! 

And once again we’ve reached the bottom of another delightful CSA box!  Next week we’re hoping to harvest Brussels sprouts and Tat soi for your boxes.  These are two of my favorite fall vegetables.  Even though we’re nearing the end of this year’s CSA Season, we still have a lot of interesting vegetables to include in your boxes!  Don’t forget that we change our delivery schedule a bit next week.  Please check your CSA calendar so you don’t miss any deliveries!

That’s a wrap for this week.  Have a good one!
-Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature:  Sugar Dumpling Squash

Sugar Dumpling Squash

The world of vegetables is so diverse, and even within a category such as “winter squash” there are very different varieties.  This week we’re featuring the sugar dumpling squash, which has different qualities and characteristics in comparison to the two other squash we’ve featured this year.  Sugar dumpling squash is a variety that was developed out of collaboration between the University of New Hampshire and our friends at High Mowing Organic Seeds, an all-organic seed company in Vermont.  This variety is similar in shape to an acorn or festival squash, but is a bit more squatty and rounded.  It has yellow and green markings on the skin with a light yellow flesh.  The flesh is not as rich as a kabocha squash, but is very flavorful and sweet.  While they have been storing very well this year, they do have a higher sugar content which makes them less of a candidate for storing deep into the winter. 

Sugar dumpling squash is delicious when simply cut in half and baked until tender.  You can serve it with nothing more than a pat of butter and a little salt and pepper.  It also is a good squash for serving with a filling.  In late fall and winter I actually enjoy eating this squash for breakfast.  I cut it in half and bake it with apples, cranberries, and/or raisins in the middle and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon, a drizzle of maple syrup and sometimes I eat it with the toasted squash seeds on top.  You can fill it with any variety of fillings ranging from fruit to all vegetables, rice, meat, cheese, etc.  As I was thinking about the recipe I wanted to feature in this week’s newsletter, Andrea Bemis of Dishing Up the Dirt blog popped one right into my inbox!  Check out her recipe for stuffed squash featured in this week’s newsletter.  It was a perfect recipe that utilizes not only the sugar dumpling squash in this week’s box but also some of the onions and the tender kale. 

This squash variety also has tender seeds that toast up nice and crispy.  Last week Heidi Swanson did a very nice feature on her blog, 101cookbooks.com, about toasting pumpkin seeds.  The process is the same whether the seeds come from a pumpkin or a squash.  She has step-by-step pictures and several variations for how to flavor and season them, one of which is included in this week’s newsletter.  If you’ve never saved the seeds from your squash, or don’t have a good process for doing so, I’d encourage you to give it a try this week.  You might as well take advantage of using as much of the squash as you can!  

Autumn Spiced Pork Sausage & Kale Stuffed Squash

Photo from Dishing Up The Dirt blog

Yield:  4 servings

2 medium or 4 smaller sugar dumpling squash

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pound ground pork sausage

¾ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 small bunch of kale, leaves torn into bite sized pieces

½ cup dried cranberries, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and then drained

¼ cup pecans, finely chopped

Drizzle of pure maple syrup (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Set them aside so you can clean and prepare them to toast (an optional step, but highly recommended).  Drizzle the cut side of each squash half with a little olive oil and place each squash cut side down on a baking sheet.  Roast them in the oven until the squash is tender, about 25-30 minutes.  Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the squash.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until they are translucent.  About 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for about 2 minutes longer.  Add the pork, spices, salt and pepper and use a wooden spoon to help break up the meat.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.  Add the kale leaves and continue to cook until the kale turns bright green and becomes tender, about 5-8 minutes longer.  Stir in the drained cranberries. 
3. Once the pork and the kale are fully cooked, remove from the heat.  
4. Divide the sausage mixture between the squash halves and sprinkle with the toasted pecans and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.  Put the squash halves back on the sheet tray and put them back in the oven just long enough to wam up all the ingredients.  Drizzle them with a little maple syrup just before serving. 

Andrea & Author’s Note:  If you have extra filling left over, put it in the freezer. You can use this filling for a future delivery of sugar dumpling squash or with the festival squash coming before the end of the season. This recipe was adapted from Dishing Up the Dirt.

Sweet Curry Squash Seeds

Yield:  1 ½ cups seeds (or however many seeds you get out of your squash!)

1 ½ cups winter squash or pumpkin seeds, well-cleaned, well-dried

2 tsps olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp brown sugar
Fine grain sea salt

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the squash/pumpkin seeds with the olive oil and sea salt. Transfer the seeds to the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the seeds are deeply golden. A zap under a broiler is a nice finishing touch, but not necessary.
3. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a minute or two, and then stir in the curry powder and brown sugar.  Sprinkle with additional salt if necessary.

This recipe was adapted from Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101cookbooks. com.  Just last week she did a great blog post all about how to save and toast pumpkin seeds, but she does mention that all the techniques also may be applied to seeds saved from a variety of winter squash.  Her post includes step-by-step pictures and instructions as well as a few other tasty seasoning variations.  You may need to scale this recipe to whatever quantity of seeds you have available from your squash.  

October 12, 2017 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Broccoli Raab & Spaghetti Squash

Cooking With This Week's Box

Welcome back for another week of Cooking With the Box.  After this week we only have 6 more CSA boxes!  How are we going to fit all the vegetables we still want to send you in just 6 boxes!  I’m excited to be transitioning to fall cooking and seeing the sweet potatoes piled in the greenhouse after this week’s harvest makes me even more ready!  Pull out your favorite sweet potato recipes…they’ll be in your box within the next few weeks! 

Lets start off with Broccoli Raab,  one of the bunching greens in this week’s box.  If you aren’t familiar with this green, take a minute to read more about it on our blog and/or in the newsletter.  It goes very well with garlic and pasta, which is why I recommend using it to make the pasta recipe in this week’s newsletter, Garlicky Pasta with Broccoli Raab (see below).  I adapted this recipe to include a few more vegetables, shredded carrots and sweet peppers, which add some color and sweetness to the dish.  Of course there’s lots of garlic as well!  Don’t forget to serve this dish with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Our second featured vegetable this week is Spaghetti Squash.  This week I’m going to try Sarah Britton’s recipe for Spaghetti Squash Cakes with Crispy Sage (See below).  This is an interesting way to use spaghetti squash, but will yield a little crispy patty that can be a main entrée or a side dish.  Spaghetti squash is much different than the other squash in your box this week, kabocha squash.  I found a delicious recipe for Miso Glazed Kabocha Squash on the Johnny’s Seed website when I was looking up seed information last week!  I didn’t expect to find a recipe on a seed company website, but it’s a tasty looking recipe and they even made a video to demonstrate how to prepare this dish!

Pizza with Arugula Pesto, Butternut Squash and Apples

The second bunching green in this week’s box is bunched arugula.  I have to admit, up until a year ago I seldom if ever ate full sized arugula as I found the flavor to be too strong.  Last year I tried using it to make Arugula Pesto and it was fabulous!  The pungency of the arugula pairs well with cheese, meat, fruit, etc.  The bite of the arugula stands up to the fat and acidity and the combination of the three is delicious.  Don’t worry, the arugula mellows out a bit in the pesto.  I like to use arugula pesto as a spread on a sandwich or a cracker along with cream cheese and/or smoked salmon or prosciutto.  You can also toss it with cooked pasta for a quick dinner, mix it into scrambled eggs, or even use it as the base for a pizza.  In the same newsletter where you’ll find the recipe for the arugula pesto there is a recipe for a Pizza with Arugula Pesto, Butternut Squash and Apples.  You could substitute the kabocha squash for butternut squash if this pizza sounds good to you this week.

I was poking around the Smitten Kitchen blog this week and found several delicious recipes including this one for Carrot Tahini Muffins.  I like carrot cake and I like tahini, I just never would’ve put the two together!  We’ll probably enjoy some of these with breakfast and save a few for afternoon snacks.  This recipe will use about half of the bag of carrots, so you’ll still have enough to include in the pasta recipe cited above.  I don’t bake very often, but for some reason I’m in the mood to do so this week!  While you have the flour and mixing bowls out, you might as well make a batch of Jalapeño Cheddar Scones. This is another recipe from the Smitten Kitchen blog.  These would go great with breakfast or brunch alongside fluffy scrambled eggs, or serve them with a bowl of hot, cream of potato soup!

Since we mentioned potato soup, we might as well tackle the potatoes in this week’s box next!  My mom used to make this Hearty Potato Soup recipe that she clipped out of one of her Taste of Home magazines years ago.  It’s chunky and nourishing making it perfect to serve for dinner on a cool fall night.  If you have any potatoes left, cut them into chunks and roast them along with mini sweet peppers and onions.  This is one of my favorite roasted potato variations that I often make for breakfast or brunch or for dinner along with roasted chicken, a grilled steak, or even a simple hamburger!  If you have any mini sweet peppers remaining, don’t forget to take them with you to work for lunch or an afternoon snack.  Fill them with hummus or cream cheese if you want to kick it up a notch. 

We’re happy to have some very nice fall spinach to send your way this week.  The baby beets in this week’s box will be a great accompaniment to the spinach in this Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese & Beets.  Garnish the salad with toasted walnuts for a little crunch and if you want to get really fancy you could candy the nuts! 

We’ve had a pretty nice run on late summer/early fall broccoli and cauliflower.  I hope you’ve had a chance to try some new recipes using these two familiar vegetables.  If you have broccoli in your box this week, consider trying this recipe for Spicy Roasted Broccoli with Almonds. This is a recipe by Sarah Britton that dresses roasted broccoli with a dressing made with garlic, ginger, olive oil and a hot chili of your choosing….jalapeño would work.  If you have cauliflower in your box, you might want to go with this recipe for Cauliflower Slaw.   It has dried currants and crispy fried capers in it and is dressed with a light vinaigrette made with lemon juice and vinegar.  This recipe is also garnished with toasted almonds. 

We’ve reached the bottom of the box yet again.  I wanted to mention that I love when members share recipes with us.  If you have any favorite “go-to” recipes for fall vegetables and wouldn’t mind sharing them with us, we’d love to see what you’re cooking!  Either email them to csa@harmonyvalleyfarm.com or post them in our Facebook group.  I’ll see you back here next week with an update on how the “curing” process is going with the sweet potatoes.  Farmer Richard is hopeful they’ll be ready for next week’s boxes, but we don’t want to rush the process either.  We want them to be sweet and delicious for your first taste!  Have a great week and I hope you enjoy your time in the kitchen.

—Chef Andrea 

Featured Vegetables of the Week:  Broccoli Raab & Spaghetti Squash

Broccoli Raab

Broccoli Raab was one of the vegetables members requested on the survey we conducted at the end of last year.  You asked for it and here it is!  There are two bunching greens in this week’s box, the broccoli raab and bunched arugula. They look a bit similar, but you can tell the difference between the two by first noticing the color.  Broccoli raab is darker green and the arugula has a lighter, lime green color.  Broccoli raab also has thicker stems that resemble broccoli stems and if you look in the center of the stem you’ll likely see some small broccoli florets pushing up.  Broccoli raab is in the brassica family and has a mild mustard flavor with a slight bitterness.  We like to grow broccoli raab in the fall when the flavor is more mild and well-balanced.  You can eat nearly the entire bunch including the stems.  Sometimes the lower portion of a thick stem can get a little tough so you may need to discard the bottom inch or so if you find this to be the case. 

Broccoli raab is a popular Italian vegetable, but is also found in Asian cuisine as well.  It is often used in pasta and pizza dishes paired with sweet Italian sausage, garlic and cheese.  Nothing wrong with a combination of those ingredients!  While you can eat broccoli raab raw, it is most often cooked.  It’s tender enough that it doesn’t require a very long cooking time.  It can be boiled, steamed or sautéed.  In Italian cooking, you may find recipes that have longer cooking times to ensure the leaves and stem are very soft and tender.  Many times this preparation is done with a lot of garlic and olive oil.  I prefer the bright, light flavor of broccoli raab so usually just cook it long enough to wilt it and soften the leaves. 

If you taste a bit of the leaf in its raw form and don’t care for the bitterness, try cooking it before you rule it out.  When cooked, the flavor of broccoli raab mellows out.  It also becomes more balanced if prepared with a splash of vinegar at the end. 

Spaghetti Squash

The second vegetable we’re featuring from this week’s box is Spaghetti Squash.  Last week we featured kabocha squash and, while they are both classified as winter squash, they are very different.  Spaghetti squash will store for awhile, but it’s not known for long term storage into the deep of winter which is why we often deliver this one in October and/or early November.  The variety of spaghetti squash we grow is a smaller variety than some others you may see at the market.  We like the smaller, golden yellow varieties called Angel Hair and Small Wonder because of their more manageable size and because the flesh is more flavorful.  The seeds in a spaghetti squash are tender enough to eat.  If you’ve never cleaned and toasted squash seeds before, give them a try.  It’s not hard to clean and prepare them and the crispy, crunchy seeds make a nice snack or garnish for salads and soups.  Visit The Kitchn website where they have a nice article with pictures entitled “How to Roast Pumpkin & Squash Seeds.” 

Squash and Leek Skillet Gratin

To prepare spaghetti squash, first cut it in half and bake it in the oven.  I usually bake it cut side down in a baking dish with a little bit of water in the bottom or the pan.  You can also bake it cut side up with the cut side brushed with some oil to give more of a roasted flavor.  Before you bake it, take a spoon and scrape out the seed cavity so you can save the seeds for roasting.  Bake the squash until it is fork tender, then remove it from the oven.  Once it’s cool enough to handle, use a fork to pull the flesh out of the shell.  The flesh of the spaghetti squash is just as its name indicates, stringy like spaghetti!  Once cooked, you can use the flesh in a variety of ways.  It makes a nice substitute for pasta and sometimes I like it simply sautéed with butter, garlic and fresh herbs.  There are some recipes, many in the paleo diet community, that use spaghetti squash as the “crust”-like base for dishes that are like a savory baked pie.  One of my favorite ways to prepare spaghetti squash is this recipe I created for Spaghetti Squash and Leek Skillet Gratin featured in one of our September 2016 newsletters.  If you don’t have leeks, you can also substitute shallots or yellow onions.  This recipe has become a favorite with some of our market crew and customers.

As with all squash, they are best stored in a dry environment at 45-55°F at 50-60% humidity, so keep them in a cool location in your house.  If you don’t have a location that meets this temperature criteria, just store them at room temperature on your counter and check them periodically.  If you notice a spot starting to form, it’s time to cook the squash!

Pasta with Garlicky Broccoli Raab

Yield:  4 servings

12 oz pasta (shape of your choosing, spaghetti and fettucine work well)

½ cup olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (Optional, see note below)

2 cups (8 oz) shredded carrots

1 ½ cups thinly sliced sweet peppers

1 bu broccoli raab, chopped into bite sized pieces

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions.  Before you drain the pasta, save 2 cups of the pasta water.  Drain the pasta and set it aside. 
2. Put the olive oil in a small saute pan and add the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of salt. Heat the oil over medium low heat.  You want to infuse the oil and cook the garlic gently just until the garlic becomes light golden.  It’s better to keep the heat low and do this slowly while you prepare the rest of the recipe so the garlic doesn’t get too brown.  If you notice the garlic starting to turn golden, remove the pan from the heat.
3. Heat a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat.  Take 2 Tbsp of oil from the small pan and add it to the large pan.  When the pan and oil are hot, add the pieces of chicken and cook until browned on both sides. 
4. Once the chicken is browned, add the shredded carrots, sweet peppers and 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan.  Simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half the volume.  Next, add the broccoli raab and allow the greens to wilt down.  Stir the vegetable mixture to combine them well and continue to simmer until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.  If the vegetables are not yet cooked to your liking, add more pasta water and simmer a little longer.
5. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and stir to combine. Carefully pour the garlic oil over the pasta and toss to combine and evenly coat the pasta and vegetables.  Season with freshly ground black pepper and more salt as needed.
6. Serve the pasta hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

This recipe was inspired by a similar recipe originally featured in Gourmet magazine, September 2006.

Note from Chef Andrea:  I wrote this recipe to include chicken, but this would also be delicious if made with Italian sausage, ground pork or shrimp in place of the chicken.  If you do not care for meat or seafood, just omit all protein options and prepare the dish vegetarian style.  The flavors of the vegetable are bold and delicious on their own.

Spaghetti Squash Cakes with Crispy Sage

Yield:  15-20 small patties

1 medium to large spaghetti squash (approximately 2 pounds) 
1 cup rolled oats, ground into flour (or use oat flour) 
4 cloves garlic 
1 green onion, with green tops (may substitute finely chopped yellow onion) 
1 tsp sea salt 
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 
2 ½ oz Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (substitute ¼ cup nutritional yeast) 
1 organic egg, beaten 
1 bunch sage, about 30 large leaves, divided
Ghee or coconut oil, for cooking the patties

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub with a little ghee or coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven, cut side up and cook for 45 minutes or so, until you can easily pierce the squash with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Using a fork, scrape out all flesh and place in a large sieve over the sink or a bowl to drain.
2. In a food processor, grind oats until you have a rough flour. Add 12 sage leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and pulse to combine.
3. Squeeze any remaining liquid out of the spaghetti squash. Place in a large bowl and add the oat mixture. Thinly slice the green onion into rings and add to bowl, along with the egg, and grated cheese. Fold to combine. A kind of dough should start to form as the ingredients come together. Take a small amount, roll into a ball and flatten into a patty shape – if the patty stays together they are ready. If they are too dry, add a little water, one tablespoon at a time until they hold. If they are too wet, add another handful of oats. Form all the cakes before you begin.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a knob (pat) of coconut oil or ghee. When hot, add the cakes and cook until golden on one side, then flip. Alternatively, you can cook these in a 375°F oven for approximately 10-15 minutes on each side.
5. To fry sage, heat a couple knobs of coconut oil or ghee (ghee is preferable) in a small saucepan. When hot, add 6-8 sage leaves at a time, fry for 10-15 seconds, transfer with a fork to paper towels, and sprinkle with sea salt immediately.
6. To serve, place a few squash cakes on the plate and garnish with fried sage leaves. Enjoy with roasted tomatoes and a simple massaged kale salad. Freeze leftover cooked cakes and heat to enjoy.

This recipe was borrowed from MyNewRoots.org by Sarah Britton.