Recipes, produce information and forum for Zoe's Garden Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. Zoe's Garden offers CSA subscriptions in the Park City, Heber, Salt Lake, Ogden & Lindon areas. Our purpose is to provide the freshest naturally grown produce possible by delivering it to our local members within a day of picking.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Winter - Week 8 (Nov 29/30)

Pics in a bit...

Parsley
Spinach
Buttercup squash
Hubbard squash
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes
Yellow onion
Winter kale
Parsnip
Turnip
Black radish
Kohlrabi
Granny Smith apples
Red Delicious apples
Yellow Delicious apples
Beets
Rutabaga

MEAT:  honey  (The meat processor delayed AGAIN!  David is getting quite frustrated.  He'll make it square when the meat finally shows up.)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A few ideas to get the ball rolling

The Fruit Syrup
Refrigerate after opening.  Made with Zoe's honey and berries.  This is fantastic on pancakes or scones, or on bread pudding made with day after Thanksgiving rolls / pastries (with the frozen strawberries?).  Or pour over ice cream.  Or make a reduction with white wine and... (something?  apples?)... to replace your cranberry sauce.

Apples and Rutabaga
Apparently, a four to one mix of sliced rutabaga and apples, lightly seasoned and oiled, makes for a very interesting tart.  A mix of sweet and savory, familiar and unfamiliar.

Galeux D'Eysines
This warty winter squash comes highly recommended for soups and pumpkin pies.  1 1/2 cups of cooked squash = one can of pumpkin puree.

Winter - Week 7 (Nov 22/23)

Final list.....  At the end of the day, there was a limit to what David hoped to pick and get in the boxes and how that fit into the daylight hours.  Sorry if you were expecting anything different.

The whole holiday box
parsnips, sunchokes, and rutabaga


Turnips
Rudabaga
Parsnip
Salad Mix
Parsley
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Frozen Strawberries
Berry Syrup (made by David with his honey and berries)
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Potatoes
Onion
Garlic
Shallots
Sunchokes
Bell Pepper
Poblano Pepper
Mariachi Pepper
Marisol Pepper
Red Delicious Apples
Golden Delicious Apples
French Heirloom Squash (Galeux D Eysines)
Kohlrabi

MEAT:  lamb again -- the processor is three weeks behind with the beef order

That French heirloom squash is famous for its very smooth flesh, which is great for soups and equally great for pies!

David's no-gravy Mashed Potatoes

I think David learned this working the kitchens at the Grand America.  Seriously no gravy needed.

5lbs red or gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 lb butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cream
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
salt, pepper, and herbs to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, then leave to sit in the hot water while you mix the rest (a good 10-20 minutes is best).  You'll want to adjust the liquids -- if you're using lighter cream, you'll need a little less milk.  Stir together the butter, milk, and cream.  Drain the potatoes, and start mashing, maybe with an electric beater.  Whip in the cream / milk / butter in batches to avoid splashing.  The final product shouldn't be stiff -- no forks standing up in there.  Add more milk if needed.  Lastly, blend in the mascarpone and season to taste.

Rutabaga, Parsnip, and a Sunchoke recap

Here are three of the less common veggies we're getting this week, with some storage and use tips.  I'm trying to frontload the posts and give general ideas rather than specific recipes.

Rutabaga
A root vegetable, also called swedes (England) / yellow turnips (US) / turnips (Ireland) / neeps (Scotland), they are actually more closely related to cabbage.  To quote Samwise, "Roast 'em, Mash 'em, Stick 'em in a Stew."  They have a flavor similar to turnips, but better.  You can use them interchangeably in root veg recipes -- mash them with potatoes, put them in soups, roast them with other roots.  Store them loosely wrapped in plastic with your beets and turnips in the bottom of the fridge.  Fun fact:  The Irish traditionally carved rutabaga for Halloween (which was a Celtic holiday) -- pumpkins were an American development.

Parsnips
They look like fat white carrots, but they're sweeter and nuttier in flavor and richer in nutrition.  The centers can be woody if the weather was wrong, but those are still good for soups (remove the hard cores when ready to serve).  This is a fantastic veg to roast, and shines by itself.  Roast them with butter, cardamom, and coriander.  Another good use is to roast or mash them with the rutabaga and potatoes.

Sunchokes
I flogged this horse in the spring.  See here here and here.  We have a lot of interesting root veggies to roast or mash -- these work there, too!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Holiday Boxes!

I realized I want to post a preliminary share list for the week because 1) you're all making shopping lists and recipes for Thursday and 2) this is the holiday share box and it sounds HUGE.

David mentioned all of the following for the box this week:
beets, parsnips, potatoes (5-6lbs of red and gold), onions, garlic, parsley, chard, salad greens, radishes, turnips, rutabaga, apples, some frozen berries, winter squash (two kinds, I think, at least one good for pies), possibly sunchokes, and probably some prepared items (jams and berry syrups).  I know I'm leaving a couple of things out, too.  I think there's a good chance we'll see spinach, kale, and peppers, as well.

The reason I say huge is that David estimates our usual shares at a $35 box, at a discount over his wholesale items.  He puts these boxes closer to $60, with the discount.  Wait until Tuesday evening to do your grocery shopping if possible, so I can get a final list up.  I'll also find a couple of recipes for very holiday centered fare that includes the odder items... it will all feel very old world.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Go-to Greens and a Simple Miso

I know I tend to overuse the Mark Bittmann / Minimalist recipes, but they're generally so flexible, fast, and straightforward that it is hard not to do so.

This week's Minimalist would go well with any of the greens we have been / will be receiving (broccoli rabe, spinach, choy, kale, collards, chard, the nicer beet greens).  Not that you can go wrong with parmesan and garlic.  Fry an egg, and you have dinner in 25 minutes.

I mention making simple soups out of the vegetables we receive pretty regularly.  If you keep miso paste in the fridge (you should), this is a fast, healthy dish that can be as simple or as complex as you'd like.

Here is Alissa's go-to recipe soup.  Below is mine...

Twenty Minute Miso
dashi, vegetable, mushroom or chicken stock
   (the stock shouldn't be too strong or salty)
1/2 to 1 block tofu, drained and cubed
2 carrots, cut into thin rounds
2 small daikon, cut into thin half rounds
1 small onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 pinch dried wakame seaweed per serving of soup
   (You can use a handful of sliced greens if seaweed doesn't appeal)
miso paste to taste (roughly 1T per 2 cups soup volume)

optional:
thin sliced pork, browned, roughly 1/2 lb
1-2 burdock roots, peeled and sliced into rounds

Boil together everything but the miso paste.  When carrots are softish, turn off the heat and strain a bowlful of broth out.  Dissolve the miso into this broth and return to the pot.  Serve immediately.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Winter - Week 6 (Nov 15/16)

A couple of new items this week...

Hubbard squash (are these more manageable chunks working?)
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Onions
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes
Black radish
Collard greens
Daikon
Winter red kale
Red beets
Turnips
Red Delicious apples
Golden Delicious apples
Bell pepper
Marisol pepper

MEAT: lamb loin (beef is being portioned out now)

Beets and Turnips -- Remove the greens, scrub the root clean, wrap them loosely in plastic, and keep in the crisper or the bottom back of the fridge.  The root will stay good for weeks this way.  The beet greens are definitely edible (use them like chard or spinach), but the turnip greens always look like hell this time of year.

Daikon -- This is a Japanese radish, and it literally means "large (dai) root (kon)".  The greens aren't bad but aren't great, and you can dispose of them without feeling too bad (or save them for soup stock).  The root is a crispy, mildly spicy radish.  Store loosely wrapped like beets and turnips, but remember they are a little more tender and won't keep as long.  I only ever use them in miso soup, but I make it pretty often.  They are also fairly tasty raw and as a quick pickle.  Try grinding them very fine (think apple sauce texture), mixing in a splash of soy sauce, and serving as a topping for grilled tofu, fish, or vegetables.  Another use:  shredded with carrots and tossed with a mix of sesame seeds, mild vinegar, and soy sauce.

Spaghetti squash -- This is a slightly tender winter squash.  Store it someplace cool and dark.  The flesh inside is stringy (thus "spaghetti"), but when roasted and scraped out, it is great topped with pasta-style sauces.

Potatoes and Onions -- Keep them cool and dark, with your winter squash.  These should keep most of the winter.

Cut winter squash -- David is hoping that the smaller pieces of winter squash are working for weekly use, particularly with the singles and small families who won't use up a whole hubbard in one fell swoop.  It should go right to the fridge, but I find it is keeping there for a couple of weeks if you're careful.

spaghetti squash, hubbard squash, spinach, golden and red delicious apples

top: onions, red potatoes, yukon gold, bell peppers, marisol pepper, black radish
bottom: beets, turnips

daikon, red kale and collards (red kale has red stems, I bundled them accidentally)

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Winter - Week 5 (Nov 8/9)

Another typical fall share.  I'm happy to see the salad greens reappearing!  I was just starting to buy salad again in the grocery, so the seasons must be telling us it is time for some raw leafy things.  Salads are a great way to use thin sliced lemon cukes / kohlrabi / radishes / beets / peppers, or change it up and throw some roasted red onions and potatoes / winter squash on there with hummus and olives.

Some simple side dishes for you:
- fry some apple and kohlrabi slices in butter with a pinch of coriander or some other subtle spice.
- chop 3-4 slices of bacon into bits, fry them, toss halved brussel sprouts into the mix, serve when softish.
- the plums are soft.  Halve them, pit them, simmer them gently in a little water and light seasoning (think coriander, nutmeg, or a single clove).  Serve as a topping for pork chops, lamb roasts, or rice pudding.

Beets
Bell pepper
Mariachi pepper
Marisol pepper
Anaheim pepper
Poblano pepper
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Lemon cucumber (soft, but sweet and crunchy inside)
Black radish
Kale (Siberian like last week, I believe)
Brussel sprouts
Banana squash
Mixed greens (wash 'em well)
Macintosh apple
Italian prune
tomatoes

potatoes and onions (they weren't on the list David put in my box, but they were in my box.  If you don't see them in yours, apologies... they were a small "guy who handles the blog" bonus)

Meat:  lamb roast

Top: Banana squash, potatoes, onions, tomato
Bottom: beets, black radish, plums, Macintosh apples

Top: Broccoli, lemon cukes, bell pepper, brussel sprouts
Bottom: Poblano, Anaheim, Mariachi, Marisol

Salad greens, kohlrabi, kale (Siberian I think)

Monday, November 7, 2011

Boxes

Just a reminder for everyone:  Please remember to bring back your boxes.  They're expensive, but very re-usable.  Also, labeling new boxes slows down the packing of the shares.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Winter - Week 4 (Nov 1/2)

I am excited to see more winter squash.  They can keep on the countertop or in the cupboard for months.  The Hubbard is sweet and dry, with good seeds for roasting and eating.  It has a thick skin, meaning it will keep well.  The buttercup lends itself to roasting and turning into a soup.  Both of these go very well in curried squash soups... cut them, remove the skin and innards, cube them, roast them in oil to make the sweet, mash them a bit, boil them with salt, basil, garbanzo beans, and Thai curry paste in coconut milk, mash it some more, and serve topped with cilantro and seeds (pumpkin or sunflower).  Perfect for the current weather.

Anaheim pepper
Bell pepper
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yellow onion
Bok choi
Turnip greens (a little yellow from the frosts, but fine)
Broccoli
Baby turnip
Spinach
Lemon cucumber
Swiss chard
Macintosh apple
Plums (a little wrinkly, but sweet)
Tomatoes
Hubbard squash
Black radish
Red meat radishes
Buttercup squash

MEAT: ground lamb

LtoR: Chard, Macintosh apples, plums, tomatoes, turnip greens

Clockwise starting left: Buttercup, lemon cuke, Hubbard squash
Anaheim peppers, bell pepper, bok choi

LtoR: Spinach, broccoli, baby turnips, black radish, red meat radish
It occurs to me that I put the potatoes and onion away in my potato basket before I got their picture.  There were pre-schoolers involved.

TIP:  Save your cuttings, such as the leaves from the broccoli, the tops of the radishes, and that one tomato you feel was a bit too squashed to eat.  They can be simmered with carrot peels, potato skins, the outer parts of onions, a few cloves of garlic, and herbs, to create tasty stock.  I keep a gallon ziploc in the freezer to collect the parts.  It is soup season -- you'll use them up quick, and it only takes about 30 minutes of simmering pre-soup-start to get a lot of flavor.

Throw in a couple of carrots and some tofu, and we have a full dinner that uses several of our ingredients.  Serve with rice and pickles or a salad.

MISO
dashi soup stock, or vegetable stock (or fish/shrimp/mushroom stock)
1 black radish, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, quartered and sliced
1-2 heads bok choi, sliced into ribbons
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed
2-6 Tbsp of miso paste

Boil all the veg and tofu together with the stock, until just tender.  Turn off heat, stir in miso paste until dissolved, and serve.  If it sits at all, be sure to stir before serving -- the miso will settle.

SESAME WINTER SQUASH
1 small winter squash, or 12 thin slices of a larger squash
2-3 Tbsp sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
3-5 Tbsp sesame seeds, split into two halves

Slice the winter squash into rounds or half moons, approximately 1/4-1/2" thick.  Toss with oil-soy sauce-sesame seed mixture and place on a cookie sheet.  Roast at 375 until pierced easily with a fork and just beginning to brown.  Serve, topped with the remaining sesame seeds.