CSA Share Week 5: From our farm to your table this week …
Beets
Cabbage
Lettuce
Squash & Zucchini
Tomatoes
Turnips
Tips for using and/or preserving your produce…
BeetsBeautiful, deep red roots and crisp greens characterize these incredible vegetables. In the last few years, with the help of friends and family, I have come to love and long for the first beets of spring – but I didn’t always feel this way. A childhood encounter with my grandmother’s pickled beets left me with a wrinkled nose, sour face and a strong conviction that she had somehow captured the essence of pickled dirt in those ruby red discs. Thankfully, I later discovered lovely roasted beets of all colors in fancy salads served with soft, crumbled cheeses and toasted nuts. My mother-in-law, Janet, even gave me a recipe for a chocolate beet cake – emphasis on chocolate! Finally, last year, CSA member Jennifer Melton introduced us to Harvard Beets, oh my! I was skeptical, thinking these would surely give my taste buds nightmares about my grandmother’s pickled beets, but boy was I wrong. Ford and I practically fought over the last serving of Harvard Beets! In fact, I’ve been bugging Ford for weeks to harvest some beets for me as soon as possible because I REALLY want to make this recipe! Please try this it as soon as possible – I promise they won’t taste like your grandmother’s (or at least my grandmother’s) pickled beets!
Beets
Cabbage
Lettuce
Squash & Zucchini
Tomatoes
Turnips
Tips for using and/or preserving your produce…
BeetsBeautiful, deep red roots and crisp greens characterize these incredible vegetables. In the last few years, with the help of friends and family, I have come to love and long for the first beets of spring – but I didn’t always feel this way. A childhood encounter with my grandmother’s pickled beets left me with a wrinkled nose, sour face and a strong conviction that she had somehow captured the essence of pickled dirt in those ruby red discs. Thankfully, I later discovered lovely roasted beets of all colors in fancy salads served with soft, crumbled cheeses and toasted nuts. My mother-in-law, Janet, even gave me a recipe for a chocolate beet cake – emphasis on chocolate! Finally, last year, CSA member Jennifer Melton introduced us to Harvard Beets, oh my! I was skeptical, thinking these would surely give my taste buds nightmares about my grandmother’s pickled beets, but boy was I wrong. Ford and I practically fought over the last serving of Harvard Beets! In fact, I’ve been bugging Ford for weeks to harvest some beets for me as soon as possible because I REALLY want to make this recipe! Please try this it as soon as possible – I promise they won’t taste like your grandmother’s (or at least my grandmother’s) pickled beets!
Cabbage
From cold salads to cabbage soup, there are MANY ways to enjoy this crispy vegetable that that boasts numerous natural compounds thought to help prevent cancer. It would be tough for me to nail down one absolute favorite cabbage recipe. Several of my family members and I enjoy a simple, creamy baked cabbage dish. We chop the cabbage into wedges, immerse in boiling water (about 5 minutes) then drained and gently stir with salt, pepper sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and finely diced onion. Then we just spread the mixture into a casserole dish, top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a little paprika or red pepper and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350oF. This is a delicious twist on boiled cabbage. Another great bonus with this recipe is that you can reduce the boiling time to about 2 minutes, dry VERY thoroughly and freeze for later use. We usually have an abundance of cabbage so I prep the boiled cabbage wedges in this way and we enjoy the creamy casseroles all winter! If you dry the cabbage well and press most of the air out of the freezer bag, the cabbage will keep nicely for several months.
From cold salads to cabbage soup, there are MANY ways to enjoy this crispy vegetable that that boasts numerous natural compounds thought to help prevent cancer. It would be tough for me to nail down one absolute favorite cabbage recipe. Several of my family members and I enjoy a simple, creamy baked cabbage dish. We chop the cabbage into wedges, immerse in boiling water (about 5 minutes) then drained and gently stir with salt, pepper sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and finely diced onion. Then we just spread the mixture into a casserole dish, top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a little paprika or red pepper and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350oF. This is a delicious twist on boiled cabbage. Another great bonus with this recipe is that you can reduce the boiling time to about 2 minutes, dry VERY thoroughly and freeze for later use. We usually have an abundance of cabbage so I prep the boiled cabbage wedges in this way and we enjoy the creamy casseroles all winter! If you dry the cabbage well and press most of the air out of the freezer bag, the cabbage will keep nicely for several months.
Lettuce
Blueberries and wild raspberries are beginning to ripen. If you’d like to change up your salad routine this week, toss a few fresh berries with your lettuce and add some thin slivers of onion and a soft crumbled gorgonzola or creamy goat cheese. Top with toasted nuts and your favorite dressing.
Squash & Zucchini
Blueberries and wild raspberries are beginning to ripen. If you’d like to change up your salad routine this week, toss a few fresh berries with your lettuce and add some thin slivers of onion and a soft crumbled gorgonzola or creamy goat cheese. Top with toasted nuts and your favorite dressing.
Squash & Zucchini
When mature squash, zucchini & tomatoes arrive in the fields, it means we’ve reached the time of year when a healthy, delicious meal is as simple as slicing a few raw vegetables and serving them alongside bread and cheese! What could be easier? Small, tender squash & zucchini can be eaten raw & unpeeled if you like but there are also dozens of recipes for sautéed, roasted, grilled, stuffed, & baked squash and zucchini, not to mention moist, sweet breads & muffins made with the shredded veggies. Typically, you’ll want to save the bigger vegetables for breads and rich casseroles and use the small tender vegetables for salads and lighter cooking methods. Last year I discovered an AMAZING RECIPE for a light, fluffy, casserole made with shredded squash and/or zucchini. Some of you might have tried this, but if not, I strongly encourage you to give it a whirl this year. You won’t believe how fast the little squares will disappear!
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Since we’re still relatively early in the tomato season, you will probably have no trouble using up the tomatoes in your share this week. If you didn’t finish off the tomatoes in your basket last week, perhaps you’ll have enough to try a great tomato pie or tart. They can be as simple as layering fresh slices of tomatoes in your favorite pie crust between alternating layers of cheese, onion, garlic and herbs or more complex pies with cooked tomatoes that are thick and soft in the center. You may also enjoy dicing the raw tomatoes and incorporating them into a slaw with your cabbage or, one of my personal favorites, making up some fresh salsa with onions, garlic, lime and fresh cilantro.
Turnips
These are not your mother’s turnips. …unless, of course, your mother grew small, tender, white, delicious turnips. My mom never grew turnips but my grandparents grew gigantic, white and purple turnips. I LOVE to eat raw slices of the big purple varieties but despite sincere efforts, I’ve yet to find many ways that I really love them cooked. (If you have a good recipe for them, PLEASE send it my way!) The little white turnips you’ll find in your share this week are quite different from their large, white and purple counterparts. They are absolutely delicious prepared as described in the recipe to your right: Sorghum Glazed Turnips. Glazing small root vegetables like turnips and radishes is an excellent way to temper their bite without losing the crunch and flavor you love.
As always, please feel free to contact me for clarification, further information, or to share your own adventures in cooking local, USDA certified organic produce. amanda.waterstrat@gmail.com
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