FarmShare CSA Newsletter, week of October 27th, 2015
Last week of CSA!
We can’t believe this week has actually arrived. It’s been such a joy to get to know everyone and confide our favorite recipes to all of you.
In preparation for our last distribution, make sure to return any and all wooden Applecrest crates you may have stashed at home. Please bring a tote or grocery bag with you to take your last share home.
We hope you’ve enjoyed your weekly dose of Applecrest goodies. Keep your eye peeled to your inbox for an upcoming survey and sign-ups for next year!
On behalf of all the folks at Applecrest, we’d like to offer you a very heartfelt Thank You for being some of our greatest and most steadfast supporters we could ask for.
What’s in this week’s box?
Veggies:
Storage Onions
Winter Squash (either Buttercup or Acorn)
Radishes
Scallions
Head Lettuce
Kale
Half Share only:
Baby Cabbage
Full Share only:
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Fruit:
Apples
Storage, handling and general cooking tips…
Onions
Storage and handling
Storage onions are the quite pungent, which cooks away to reveal a sweet flavor. These onions will keep in any cool, dark, dry place with adequate air circulation for several months.
To reduce onion-cutting induced tears use a very sharp knife and try chilling your onion before cutting it. If you encounter a little rot in your onion, remember it is not the kiss of death, just cut away the bad sections and use the rest.
Winter Squash
Storage and Handling
Store in a cool dry, dark place with good ventialtion. A porch or garage will work as long as the squash doesn’t freeze. Butternut and acorn can keep up to a month or more. Once squash has been cut, you can store them wrapped in a piece of plastic in the fridge for five to seven days. Be slow and cautious and use a stable working surface when cutting the squash. If you need cut, unpeeled chunks for a recipe, for every squash except Butternut it is easier to us the pre-baking method: first pierce squash to allow heat to escape while in the oven, bake whole squash at 350° F until barely tender to the poke of the finger, about 20-30 miutes. This softens the shell, so cutting and peeling is much easier.
Winter squash is fantastic baked, pureed as a side dish, stuffed with savory grain filling, or served with maple syrup and butter. Be sure to try them in soups and stews as well as roasted with fresh herbs.
Radishes
Storage- Remove radish leaves if they are still attached. Store the unwashed greens in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Because of their high water content, radishes deteriorate quickly. Store them dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Radishes should keep for a week.
Handling– Scrub radishes well to remove any lingering dirt. Trim off the stems and rootlets. Slice, chop, or mince the roots or leave them whole.
Scallions
Store in a jar filled with inch or two of water. Stand scallions in jar, cover whole thing with a plastic bag and keep in fridge-last about a week.
Five ways to use scallions:
- Top off a soup
- Use in fried rice
- Add scallions to salad
- Make scallions pancakes
- Tuck into a sandwich
- Grill them whole
Salad Greens (Lettuce/Mesclun)
Storage- Store unwashed lettuce or mesclun in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store lettuce or greens that you have already washed and dried, roll the leaves loosely in a kitchen towel, put the towel in a plastic bag, and place the package in the vegetable crisper bin. Wet greens will spoil quickly, so make sure they are truly dry before refrigerating them. If you have a salad spinner, wash and spin the greens before refrigerating them. Eat mesclun mix within three or four days, and use lettuce within a week.
Handling- Salad greens bruise easily, so be sure to handle them gently. For lettuce, slice the head at its base with a sharp knife and let the leaves fall open. Discard any damaged or leathery outer leaves and tear large leaves into bite sized pieces. Both lettuce and mesclun mix can be washed by swishing them around in a basin of cold water. If a lot of dirt collects in the water, wash them a second time. Dry the greens in a salad spinner, or if you don’t have one, place them loosely in a mesh bag or thin towel, then go outside and swing them around your head.
Brussels Sprouts
Storage- Store sprouts unwashed in a closed plastic bag in the veggie bin. Their flavor is sweetest right after harvest, so try to use them within a few days.
Handling– Trim the base of each sprout and cut a shallow X in the stem end to speed cooking. Rinse the sprouts in cool water. It can take a while to prepare Brussels sprouts, so be sure to give yourself some extra time.
Culinary Tips- The key to using Brussels sprouts is cooking them enough, but not too much. As with full size cabbage, overcooking sprouts evokes an unpleasant, sulfurous smell. Ideally, sprouts should be tender enough to yield when pierced with a fork but not so soft that the fork sinks right in.
-Roast brussels sprouts: first boil the sprouts until just tender, 5 to 10 minutes depending on size. Drain, then coat lightly in olive oil, place in a roasting pan and roast in a 375 degree F oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
-Steam and boil brussel sprouts, but watch them carefully when doing this.
-Slice brussels sprouts to about 1/3 inch thick and stir-fry them with onions and ginger.
Broccoli
Storage-
Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Don’t use an airtight bag, because broccoli continues to respire after being harvested and needs some room to breather. It keeps for over a week but is firmest and tastiest if used within a few days.
Cabbage
Storage– Cabbage is cleverly self-packaged. Just stick dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate it; it will keep for several weeks.
Cooking Greens (Kale, Swiss Chard, Beet Greens, Bok Choi)
Storage- Keep dry, unwashed greens in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. Thicker greens will keep up to two weeks, but tender ones like beet greens should be eaten within a week.
Handling- Just prior to use, swish leaves in a large basin of lukewarm water. After any grit has settled to the bottom, life the leaves out carefully. Additional rounds of washing may be necessary. If the sink has dirt in it or if you sample a leaf and it tastes gritty, the greens probably need to be rinsed again.
How you prepare greens for cooking can make or break a dish. It’s fine to leave the stems on small baby greens, but many greens (choi, chard, kale) have thick stems that cook more slowly than the leaves. If stems are not removed, you wind up with either soggy greens or raw stems. Fold each leaf in half and slice out the stem De-stem several leaves, then stack them up and slice them diagonally into 1 inch-wide ribbons. If you want to use the stems in your dish, slice them a quarter inch thick and begin cooking them before you add the greens.
Apples
Storage and Handling
Apples should be kept uncovered or in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Warm temperatures will cause apples to lose their crispness and flavor, so if they are kept out of the refrigerator, make sure it is in a cool, ventilated place far from direct sunlight. To prevent cut apples from turning brown, sprinkle with lemon juice or soak them in a bowl of ½ cup water and 2 tbsp lemon juice.
Recipes of the Week!
Take a fancy foodie picture with your Applecrest fruit and veggies? Let us know and post it on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter with #applecrest !
- Warm Broccoli and Brussel Sprout Salad with Homemade Poppyseed Dressing
- Pickled Cabbage Salad
- Buttercup Squash Soup
- Roasted Acorn Squash Pasta with Kale and Almonds
- Baked Cheesy Winter Squash Pasta
- Farm Lettuces with Dill Vinaigrette\
- Massaged Kale Salad with Radish and Apple
- Apple and Walnut Stuffed Pull Apart Bread
-
Oat and Applesauce Breakfast bars
Warm Broccoli and Brussel Sprout Salad with Homemade Poppyseed Dressing
- 2 cups broccoli (floret and short stem only, not the stalk), sliced (mandolin or cut thinly into strips with a knife)
- 2 cups brussel sprouts, sliced –> same way as the broccoli
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ cup unsalted almonds, chopped
- 2 chicken breast, grilled and chopped (about 1¼ pound of chicken)
- Pinch of salt to season almonds
- Salt and Pepper to taste for salad
HOMEMADE POPPYSEED DRESSING
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup (honey or agave)
- ½ teaspoon poppyseeds
- Small pinch of Himalayan salt
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes
- Add the broccoli and brussel sprouts to the skillet and saute until bright green, about 3 minutes (Don’t cook all the way, you want them to be slightly al dente still, not mushy!)
- Place the chopped almonds, 1 tablespoon coconut oil and a pinch of salt on a baking sheet and bake the almonds until golden brown, about 5 or 6 minutes
- Throw the vegetables from the skillet into a bowl and toss the chopped chicken in
- In a small blender or food processor add all of the dressing ingredients and blend well
- Top the salad with almonds and dress the salad just before serving so it doesn’t become soggy.
- Serve!
Pickled Cabbage Salad
From Smitten Kitchen
Brine
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt* plus more to taste
Salad
1 small head (2 pounds) green cabbage
1 red bell pepper
1 carrot (I used only 1/2 my very thick one)
1 kirby cucumber
Mix brine ingredients in the bottom of a medium bowl and set aside.
Prepare your vegetables: Trim and core cabbage and slice thinly with a knife, food processor slicing blade or adjustable-blade slicer. Place in a large bowl. Core, seed and thinly slice red pepper; peel and thinly slice or julienne carrot; thinly slice cucumber (I quartered mine first). Add vegetables to cabbage bowl.
By the time you’re done preparing your vegetables, the sugar and salt should in the pickling mixture should have dissolved. If not, whisk a few times until they do. Taste and adjust if you’d like it a little saltier — I added 1 more teaspoon of kosher salt in the end.
Pour pickling brine over vegetables and cover bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 week. Salad becomes more pickled as it rests. Eat with everything.
* Not all salts are weighted equally: Read more here. I used Morton brand, which for 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons clocks in at 24 grams. If using table or fine sea salt, use only 4 teaspoons.
Creamy Buttercup Squash Soup
Roasted Acorn Squash Pasta with Kale and Almonds
- 1 acorn squash (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch wedges, then crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
- 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper
- 3/4 pound medium pasta shells
- 1 bunch kale, tough stems and ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
-
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together squash, garlic, and 1 tablespoon oil and arrange in a single layer; season with salt and pepper. Bake until squash is soft and lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway through. Remove garlic from skins and toss with squash.
-
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 1 minute less than package instructions. Add kale and cook 1 minute. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain. Return pasta and kale to pot, add squash mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a light sauce that coats pasta. Serve topped with almonds.
Baked Cheesy Winter Squash Pasta
From Five and Spice
(serves 6-8 )
- 1 medium winter squash of virtually any variety
- 1 lb. pasta of your choice, as long as it’s a fairly sturdy shape
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup (packed) grated fontina
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary (you could also use sage or thyme, if you prefer)
- salt and pepper
- Heat your oven to 425F. Stick the squash in a baking pan (you can even use the same casserole that you’re going to bake the pasta in) and roast it in the oven until it is very tender and easily pierced by a fork – generally an hour or so. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until you can just handle it, then cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, then scoop the flesh of the squash out. Measure out 3 cups into a large mixing bowl, reserving the rest for another use.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for two minutes less than the instructions call for. Reserve a cup and a half of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
- Mash the squash in the bowl with the sour cream and enough of the pasta water to reach a creamy sauce consistency. If you want a very smooth sauce, puree the squash using a handheld (or regular) blender, otherwise just mash it with a potato masher. Fold in the Parmesan, 1/4 cup of the Fontina, and the rosemary. Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the cooked pasta.
- Transfer the pasta to a casserole or baking dish and sprinkle the rest of the Fontina cheese on top. Bake the pasta in the oven (still at 425F) until the cheese on top is melted and bubbling, 20-25 minutes. Top with a bit more freshly ground black pepper, and serve.
Farm Lettuces with Dill Vinaigrette
From Food52
Serves 4, with leftover vinaigrette
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (25 grams) picked dill fronds (from about 1/2 bunch)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (19 grams) Dijon mustard
- 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 grams) Champagne or white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Cook the egg in abundant boiling water for 7 minutes and 15 seconds, for barely set yolks and fully set whites. Rinse and peel in cold water to stop it from cooking futher.
- Blend egg, dill, Dijon, and Champagne vinegar until smooth. Note: For a lighter-colored dressing with more bits of green in it, you can pulse in the herbs toward the end—this is especially good to do if substituting more strongly flavored herbs like chives for the dill.
- Mix canola oil and olive oil and slowly, with the blender running, drizzle oil mixture in until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Any leftover dressing will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, though the color and fresh herb flavor may fade slightly after a day.
- Lettuces of your choice —enough for about 6 cups torn, washed and spun dry
- 1 cup crumbled fresh sheep’s milk feta
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup chives cut into 1-inch lengths
Just before serving, toss the lettuce with dressing to taste (it should be just enough to lightly coat the leaves), plus feta, scallions, and chives.
Massaged Kale Salad with Radish and Apple
Serves: 4-6
- 1 bunch kale, sliced into ribbons or chopped
- 1-2 T olive oil
- salt
- 3-4 radishes, thinly sliced
- ¼ C almonds, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
Dressing:
- ⅛ to ¼ C lemon juice
- 1 t red wine vinegar
- ¼ to ½ t dried thyme (fresh: ½ to 1 t)
- dash cayenne
- to taste, salt
- 1 t honey
- to taste, olive oil
- Combine kale with olive oil and salt. Massage with hands for about 3-4 minutes, or until kale is darker in color and a bit limp.
- Whisk lemon juice through honey. Stream in olive oil as you whisk, creating an emulsion. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Top kale with radishes, almonds, apple, carrot, and dressing.
Apple and Walnut Stuffed Pull Apart Bread
From The Crafting Foodie
Ingredients for the Dough
1/4 ounce active dry yeast (one envelope)
1 cup warm milk (about 105 to 110 degrees F)
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
2 tbs honey
1 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Ingredients for the filling
2 medium apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup roasted walnuts, chopped
1 1/3 cups of sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter melted (for dipping the dough balls)
Ingredients for the Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 tsp of warm water
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
Instructions
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Allow the mixture to sit until it bubbles, letting you know that the yeast is alive and active.
Add the butter, eggs, honey, salt, and 3 cups flour to the yeast and milk mixture, Mix until smooth, and add enough flour to create a stiff dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).
Mix all of the filling ingredients together (but not the butter, that will be used when assembling the bread).
Once the bread has risen, punch it down. Cut the dough in half, and cut each half into 16 pieces. Pat each piece of dough into a 2 to 2 1/2 inch circle. Place 1 tsp of the apple mixture into the center of the circle. Pinch edges together to seal, forming a ball. Dip the ball in the melted butter. Continue this procedure with the remaining dough.
Grease a 10-inch bundt pan. Place 16 balls in the bottom of the pan, seam side down. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the remaining filling mixture. Layer the remaining balls, and pour the remaining melted butter on top and sprinkle with the rest of the apple filling, making sure to cover the exposed surface of the dough. Cover and let rise until it doubles, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, and then turn it onto a wire rack.
Mix all the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the warm bread.
Oat and Applesauce Breakfast bars
From Well Plated
Ingredients:
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 large banana, quartered and diced
Directions:
- Place rack in the center reheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8×8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, combine the milk, applesauce, egg, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir to combine . The batter will be very wet. Fold in the diced banana, then pour into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until thickened and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool, cut into bars, and serve.
Storage: Once cooled, bars can be wrapped individually in plastic and kept in the refrigerator for 5 days or frozen in a zip-top bag for up to 4 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours before serving. For a larger yield, increase the ingredient quantities by 1.5 and bakes in a 9×13 inch pan for 25-30 minutes.
As a reminder, part of the fun of being a member of a CSA is collaborating with your community, so always feel free to post cooking suggestions or feedback on recipes that we post, or favorite recipes of your own that you’d like to share.
