CSA Share Week 12: From our farm to your table this week

Basil
Fennel
Cabbage
Green onions
Green peppers
Red Tomatoes
Squash & Zucchini

Tips for using &/or preserving your produce…

Basil
I’ve had pizza on the brain for the last few days and one of my favorite summer pizzas, Pizza Margherita, is simple, delicious and easy to make with the items in your share.  Just make or purchase your favorite pizza crust, top it with a thin layer of your favorite marinara and add layers of fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato slices and basil leaves.  Last, drizzle a little olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette on top.  It’s sort of like Caprese Salad on bread.  You don’t have to bake this one very long, just about 20 minutes at 350 (if your crust is already done).  The soft mozarella won’t get really brown, you just want it to get it melted and smooth.  YUM!

Fennel
If you recall from about two weeks ago, fennel has an interesting round but slightly flat, white root with feathery green leaves and a hint of licorice flavor.  The last recipe I shared with you was a fennel apple slaw that Ford, his parents and I LOVED!  This week, let me encourage you to try something new by cooking your fennel just briefly and enjoying the tenderness and flavor brought on by the heat.  Here’s a nice recipe for roasted fennel from Giada De Laurentiis: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/roasted-fennel-with-parmesan-recipe/index.html  This is SOOOOO easy and got GREAT review from a lot of folks.  Give it a try. 

Cabbage
Although I sometimes feel a little “burned out” on giant heads of white cabbage that seem to last for days (I’m not a kraut fan), I don’t seem to tire of the small green & purple cabbage heads that keeping coming in at a slow and steady pace.  We have no trouble eating them up in cabbage salads, slaws, and an occasional warm cabbage casserole.  …but, if you’re feeling like I use to in graduate school when my absolutely wonderful grandfather would bring me 2-3 giant heads of white cabbage that were bigger than basketballs (honestly) you might enjoy the neat blog called The Old Foodie ( http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2010/08/creative-cabbage.html ).  The blogger, Janet Clarkson, also has some interesting links and publications on food history. 

…and by the way, please don’t tell Papaw Finley I didn’t eat all that cabbage.

   
Onion, large green
Keep using up these larger green onions as you would any onion and don’t forget you can chop up the bottom parts of the green stems.  They won’t be around too much longer.  You might like whipping up your own sour cream and onion dip by sautéing the white parts of the onions along with a little garlic in some oil and stirring that into sour cream.  Mince some of the green stems and sprinkle them on top, it will taste fresh and look so pretty!

Green Peppers

When we have an abundance of green peppers (and it’s about that time) I like to make pickled green pepper relish.  Many of the relishes and pickled products available at supermarkets are sky-high in sodium and/or contain additional preservatives or ingredients that I’d rather avoid.  Home canning still requires some sodium in the form of canning salt, but when you can your own vegetables, you’re in charge of just what form and quantities of sodium you’ll have in the finished product.  Canning pickled vegetables is simple and requires only a boiling water bath canner and a few simple utensils. Check out the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture guides on canning for excellent resources on how to can safely at home.  Here's the general website for the UK Extension program with tons of great resources: http://ces.ca.uky.edu/ces/

 ...and here’s some more great information through that site:  Here’s what I consider the best overall introduction to proper canning techniques: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/fcs3/fcs3325/fcs3325.pdf

For specific canning methods (fruit, vegetable, pickling, etc.) just look in the table that says "Food Preservation" then click on the blue link that says "YES" to the right of the topic that interests you and you'll have a PDF that describes how to can/preserve that particular item. http://www.ca.uky.edu/hes/index.php?p=207

For hands-on workshops and some “personal training” in the art of food preservation, take advantage of the the Laurel County Extension office http://ces.ca.uky.edu/laurel/ .  Our local extension agents and staff offer a variety of helpful classes and private sessions to train folks on food preservation.  Thanks to Tina Bledsoe, of the Laurel County Extension Office, in one evening I learned everything I need to know to safely can green beans using a pressure canner.  Thanks Tina!

 Tomatoes
The time has come when eating fresh tomatoes is just not enough to keep up with the supply coming in from the fields.  (Otherwise known in my home as “tomato bliss.”)  So get your piecrusts, freezer bags, and canners because we’re going to start talking about delicious ways to turn your tomatoes into warm meals, frozen ingredients for winter meals and even jars of canned tomatoes and salsa that are every bit as convenient (once canned, that is) as the supermarket versions but SO much better.  Let’s begin this phase of tomato bliss with a tasty tomato basil tart.  See below:

Garlicky Tomato Tart  ~ 6 servings
- adapted from an old Weight Watchers publication (Sorry, it’s a recipe passed on by a friend of mine.  I don’t have the original publication but I’ve certainly tried to find it!)

1 10” pie crust
Cooking spray
2 large eggs

2 large egg whites
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups peeled, seeded, chopped tomato
1 Tbsp sun-dried tomato or regular tomato paste
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or ¼ tsp dry)
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp powdered milk (a little flour will also work)
2 LARGE ripe tomatoes, cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (about ¾ lb)
¼ cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
¼ cup finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

-Grease a 10” quiche dish, tart pan or good ole’ pie pan and bake your favorite homemade or store-bought pie crust according to package/recipe and cool.

-Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet.  Add garlic and sauté about 30 seconds.  Add chopped tomato, tomato paste, salt, and sugar and sauté an additional 15 minutes or until thick.  You want it to get thick and pasty to avoid a watery tart.   Trust me, it’s worth it!

Now, remove the tomato mixture from heat and stir in herbs & pepper.  Set aside.

Whisk milk and eggs together vigorously and stir into tomato mixture.

Arrange sliced tomatoes on the top of your cooked crust.  A nice circle over overlaid tomatoes looks VERY pretty!

Spoon egg/cooked tomato mixture on top, sprinkle with cheeses and bake at 375^oF for 45 minutes OR until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Squash & Zucchini
Okay, are there any squash haters out there?  I know, I know, you’re CSA members and you’re probably some of the healthiest, die-hard veggie eaters on the planet but I also know that even some of you (or someone you cook for) probably get tired of squash around mid- to late July.  Here’s how you can make it through another week of squash & zucchini – turn them into BROWNIES!! …yes, BROWNIES!!  I don’t know very many people who don’t like brownies.  The Martha Stewart family of publications includes a great little magazine called Everyday Food.  The May 2012 edition included this awesome recipe called Chocolate-Zucchini Cakes with Walnuts (http://www.marthastewart.com/319343/chocolate-zucchini-cakes-with-walnuts).  It’s really fabulous as is, but I tweaked it a bit (see recipe below for my version) and, because I’m lazy, baked them in a casserole dish instead of muffin tins and called them brownies.  A word of caution: the first two times I made these, I didn’t deviate from much from the recipe below but this week I decided to try an ultra-healthy version using ONLY whole wheat flour, no butter (at all) and some applesauce in place of the butter.  The result was somewhere between brownies and jello.  Don’t do it.  Use butter.

Chocolate Zucchini (or Squash) BROWNIES
- adapted from Everyday Food, May 2012

1 cup finley grated zucchini or squash (about 1 medium) peeled, & any really large seeds removed
½ tsp salt
¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup butter, melted then cooled slightly
¼ cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 Tbsp sour cream
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ to ¾ cup walnut pieces

Grease 8” square (for thick brownies) or 11x7” (for thinner brownies) casserole dish & set aside.
Toss grated zucchini with salt and leave in a colander in the sink to drain while you prepare the batter. (This really helps keep prevent the final product from having a “watered-down” flavor.)
Whisk flour and cocoa powder together in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix butter, oil, sugar, egg, sour cream, & vanilla  until smooth and creamy.
Gently combine flour/cocoa with wet mixture & stir in chocolate chips.
Pour into greased casserole dish, sprinkle with walnut pieces & bake 25-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, cool slightly & watch your squash-haters devour these gooey, brownies!!

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