Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage is a wonderful vegetable whose versatility goes way beyond the seasonal favorite, corned beef and cabbage.  It's great cooked in soups and stews as well as raw in a wide variety of slaws and salads.  One of my personal favorites is simply steaming wedges of cabbage and serving them with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper.

Raw heads of cabbage can be stored for long periods; and cabbage pickles easily, too.  With little more than cabbage and salt, you can make a tasty sauerkraut that will keep in the fridge for about 6 months (see recipe from 4-20-12, spices optional).

Today's recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls is an old family favorite that I've modified slightly over the years.  Though there are several steps, it's not difficult.  And you'll end up with enough to serve a hungry family.  Leftovers keep well in the fridge for about 3 days, or you can freeze stuffed cabbage rolls (after cooking them) for 3-6 months.

I like to use my own, home-made Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce (see recipe from 9-24-10).  I keep quarts of it in the freezer.  But if you don't have any sauce of your own, canned tomato sauce is fine, though you may want to adjust the seasoning a bit.

For 12-16 rolls:

12-16 cabbage leaves, removed from the head*
1 t olive oil
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 C cooked rice
1 egg
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/4 t pepper, or to taste
1-1/2 C Slow Cooked Tomato Sauce + 1/2 C water OR 2 C canned tomato sauce

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Steam the cabbage leaves with a little water in a covered pot or vegetable steamer until the leaves are pliable, but not soggy.  Remove the leaves to a colander and set aside.

3.  In a small skillet, heat the oil and saute the finely chopped carrots and onions over low heat until just barely soft.  Turn off heat and set aside.

4.  In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, cooked rice, egg, salt, pepper, and sauteed onions and carrots until well combined.  You can do this with your hands, if you like.

5.  Test the seasoning of the meat mixture by making a tiny patty with a teaspoon of filling and cooking it (on both side) in a skillet (I use the same skillet that I cooked the carrots and onions in).  Add more salt and pepper to the meat mixture if necessary.**

6.  To assemble the cabbage rolls:  Working with one wilted leaf at a time, place a few tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the leaf.  Fold the sides of the leaf into the center, then roll up the leaf.  Place each rolled leaf in a non-reactive baking dish with a cover.***  Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and meat mixture.

7.  If you're using a thick tomato sauce like the Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce, you may need to thin it a bit with water:  Place the tomato sauce and water in a medium bowl and whisk together until well-combined.  If you're using canned tomato sauce you probably don't need the water, but taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, or herbs, as desired.

8.  Pour 2 C tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls in the baking dish, spreading it evenly.  Cover and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1-1/2 hrs or until the sauce is bubbling and the meat is cooked through.  Serve hot or cool and refrigerate for later use.  Re-heat before serving.

*Save the rest of the cabbage foe another use, like cole slaw.
**Feel free to add other seasonings if you like.  Hot red pepper gives this dish a spicy zing.  A little paprika is another nice addition.
***I like to use a glass baking dish or a baking dish with a glass cover so I can see what's going on inside, but any covered baking dish will do, as long as it's deep enough to hold the cabbage and the sauce snugly   If you don't have a covered baking dish, you can use any non-reactive baking dish and cover it with foil.

Friday's bounty included:

From Ranch Santa Cecilia:  Murcott tangerines;

From Jimenez Family Farms:  Broccoli, arugula, broccoli rabe, carrots, cabbage, spinach, butternut squash, and yellow onions; and

From County Line Harvest South:  Green bor kale, lettuce, baby beets, and spring onions.

By the way, fresh cabbage comes in several colors.  Here's a photo of a stunning head of red cabbage from a friend's garden.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Giardiniera

Italians make a lovely pickled vegetable mix called Giardiniera.  It usually consists of cauliflower, carrots, onions and red bell pepper.  Some recipes call for chunks of cabbage and/or pepperoncini as well, while others add enough red pepper flakes to give it a kick.  I've sometimes substituted romanesco for some of the cauliflower to great effect.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        This Giardiniera can be poured into pints jars and processed in a hot water bath canner to make a shelf stable product that will keep for at least a year, or you can skip this step and store it in the fridge for up to 14 days.

It's delicious chopped and added to an antipasto salad or an Italian sub sandwich as well as on a relish plate.   Consider adding chopped Giardiniera to grilled cheese made with provolone cheese on Italian bread.

For about 3 pints:

2 T + 1 t kosher salt
4 C cauliflower florets
2 C peeled and sliced carrots
1 t black mustard seeds
1/2 t cumin seeds
1 t black peppercorns
2 C white 5% vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
5 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
1 small yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 C sugar
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t ground turmeric
1 C red bell pepper cut lengthwise into strips

1.  Add 1 t kosher salt to a large pot with 2 quarts of water (set aside 2 T kosher salt) and bring the water to a boil.

2.  Add the cauliflower florets and sliced carrots to the boiling water.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Drain and add vegetables to an ice water bath to stop cooking.  Set aside.

3.  Put the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorns in a medium saucepan and toast the spices over medium heat until fragrant.

4.  Add the vinegar, garlic, ginger, onion, sugar, red pepper, 2 T salt, and turmeric.  Add 1 C water.  Bring to a boil.

5.  Mix the red pepper strips with the blanched cauliflower and carrots.

For shelf-stable canned Giardiniera:  Pack the vegetables tightly into clean, hot pint jars.  Pour the hot brine over the vegetables.  Remove any air bubbles with a plastic knife.  Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth.  Screw on the lids.  Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.  Remove from canner and allow to cool completely.  Check seals.  Allow sealed jars to sit to 2-5 days before opening.  Store any unsealed or open jars in the fridge.

For quick pickles:  In a non-reactive and heat-resistant container, pour the hot brine over the vegetables.  Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 days before using.  Store quick pickles in the fridge for up to 14 days.

Today's bounty included:

From County Line Harvest South:  Collard greens, red chard, and beets;

From Jimenez Family Farm:  Space spinach, Japanese turnips, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, butternut squash, potatoes, and carrots;

From K and K Ranch:  Tangerines and navel oranges;

From Silver Lake Farms:  Assorted herbs and lemons.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Potato Pancakes

The versatile russet figures prominently (again) in my recipe for this week - potato pancakes. Potato pancakes are simply grated potatoes mixed with a few other ingredients and fried.

In my opinion, the perfect potato pancake has a crispy exterior with a thin and somewhat creamy interior.  To achieve this result, it's best to grate the potatoes on a fine grater as opposed to a coarse one and fry them in plenty of oil.  You can get loads of crispiness with coarsely grated potatoes, but it's much more difficult to get that creamy exterior when you grate the potatoes coarsely.  However, you might prefer your potato pancakes to be little golden nuggets of crunch.  In that case, grate your potatoes using the coarse grater.

Potato pancakes are like a blank slate.  They are delicious by themselves or with the traditional accompaniments of sour cream or applesauce.  They make a lovely side for most roasted or grilled meats.  They're a tasty alternative to hash browns at breakfast.  However, they're best right out of the skillet.

This is another recipe where it's easy to make as little or as much as you'd like.  You'll get 6-8 small pancakes or 3-4 large pancakes from each large russet potato.  Peel and grate your potatoes into a medium or large bowl.  For two large russet potato add:

2-3 T finely grated onion
1 lightly beaten egg
3-4 t all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt, or to taste
freshly grated pepper to taste

Mix all the above ingredients with the grated potatoes until thoroughly combined.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium to high heat.  Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet with about 1/8-inch of oil.

When oil is hot, spoon small or large amounts of the potato pancake mixture into the hot oil.  Spread lightly with the back of the spoon.

Cook until crispy and golden on one side, about 1-3 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crispy and golden, another 1-3 minutes, depending on the size of the pancakes and the heat of your stove.

There are many delicious additions you might want to include in your potato pancakes.  Finely chopped green onions or spring onions, finely chopped parsley, or snipped dill are a few suggestions.  You can grate some carrots in the with potatoes for color, variety, and more nutrition.

Today's bounty included:

From County Line Harvest South:  Purple scallions, collar greens, arugula, baby scarlet turnips, baby daikon radishes, red bor kale;

From Jimenez Family Farm:  Carrots, winter squash, cabbage, russet potatoes, broccoli, beets, and spinach;

From K and K Ranch:  Navel oranges, Satsuma tangerines, and Pink Lady apples;

From Silver Lake Farms:  bunch oregano, sage and rosemary.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread

This marvelous quick bread comes courtesy of Food & Wine magazine.  I've been making it for years, and it never fails to please.  It's essentially a biscuit dough baked as a loaf with a super delicious filling of sauteed onions, poppy seeds and cheese.  While it's best fresh and warm, do let it cool down for about 15-20 minutes before breaking into it.  You can also make it a day or two in advance and re-heat it before serving.

Make the cheesy onion filling:

1 T butter
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 T poppy seeds
1 C grated Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Melt the butter in a skillet.  Add the onions and saute until soft and transparent, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.  Remove from heat.  Stir in poppy seeds.  Cool to room temperature.

3.  Stir in grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside until assembling the bread.

Make the bread:

2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 stick chilled butter, cut into 8-10 chunks
1 C buttermilk
1 recipe cheesy onion filling (see above)
2 T melted butter

1.  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

2.  Butter a 9" x 4" metal loaf pan.  Set aside.

3.  In a food processor or a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) until well mixed.

4.  Add the butter and pulse the food processor or cut in the butter with two knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

5.  Add the buttermilk and pulse 5-6 times in the food processor or gently stir just until a dough begins to form.  Do not over mix.

6.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times until the dough comes together.  Then shape into a 2" x 20" rectangle.

7.  Spread the cooled onion cheese mixture on top of the dough.

8.  Cut into 10 pieces.  Stack 9 pieces of dough on top of one another with the onion cheese mixture on top.  Place the tenth piece on top, onion mixture down.

9.  Carefully lay the stack in the prepared loaf pan and brush with the melted butter.

10.  Bake at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes until golden on top.

11.  Cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from pan and and serve warm or wrap and store for later use.  Re-heat in oven before serving.

Today's bounty included:

From Cuyama Orchard:  Gala apples;

From Jaime Farms:  Radishes, green leaf lettuce, broccoli, and kale;

From Jimenez Family Farm:  Carrots, leeks, rainbow swiss chard, dill, cilantro, Albion strawberries, and winter squash;

From K and K Ranch:  Thompson grapes, Chandler walnuts, and yellow onions; and

From Polito Ranch:  Hass avocados.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Jalapeno Escabeche and The Magic of Lacto-Fermentation

If you love the pickled jalapenos that many Mexican restaurants serve as much as I do, you'll be delighted to learn just how easy it is to whip them up through the miracle of lactic acid fermentation, also known as lacto-fermentation.

Fermentation is a natural process in which microorganisms such as bacteria convert sugars or carbohydrates in food into delicious byproducts of fermentation.  Wine is grape juice fermented into alcohol.  In lacto-fermented jalapeno escabeche, carbohydrates are fermented by lactobacilli bacteria into lactic acid which gives the peppers a tart and delicious pickle-like quality.

Lactobacilli are everywhere making lacto-fermentation super easy.  All you have to do is create an environment where lactobacilli will thrive while inhibiting the growth of less desirable bacteria.  And all this takes is a little salt and removing the oxygen.

Lactobacilli prefer a slightly saltier environment than many other bacteria.  However, too much salt is not good, so be sure to use the amount of salt called for in the recipe.  Lactobacilli don't like oxygen either, so keeping your fermenting peppers submerged in the brine prevents exposure to oxygen and promotes the fermentation process.

Fermentation works best in temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees F - too warm and the peppers might lose their crunch; too cool and the fermentation process slows or comes to a stop.  I fermented my peppers on my counter for two weeks.  Now they'll keep in the fridge for six month or longer.

To make lacto-fermented jalapeno escabeche:

1.  Make a brine by dissolving 1.6 oz of kosher or pickling salt in 1 qt of filtered or non-chlorinated water.

2.  Prepare enough jalapenos, carrots, and onions to fill a clean 1 qt glass jar with a lid about 2/3 to 3/4 full.  Wash the vegetables.  Slice the onions.  Peel and slice the carrots.  And slice, halve, or leave whole the jalapenos, you're choice.

3.  Put the veggies in the jar.  Cover completely with the brine.  Weight down the veggies so they stay completely submerged.  You can do this with a small plastic bag filled with brine or a small glass jar that fits inside your larger jar, also filled with brine.

4.  Close the jar and set it on the counter for 2 weeks.  Then remove the weight and store the escabeche in the fridge.

A few fermentation tips:
Use non-reactive equipment in good condition.  Scratched and damaged equipment may harbor undesirable bacteria that could spoil your fermentation.  Glass, stoneware, and stainless steel are all good choices.  Copper, brass, and iron react with acids or salts and cause off flavors.

Don't use iodized table salt, as iodine is an anti-microbial and will likely inhibit your fermentation.

Use fresh produce.  Older veggies have tougher skins which may resist fermentation; and spoiled produce already contains undesirable bacteria that may ruin your fermentation.

Feel free to add whole spices such as peppercorns, bay leaves, or rosemary sprigs for additional flavor, but avoid ground spices as they may make the brine cloudy or result in strange color changes.

Some lacto-fermentation recipes call for the addition of a teaspoon or two of whey, which you can get by draining off of yogurt.  This is fine, but not necessary.  Your veggies will ferment with or without whey. The juice from a live-culture sauerkraut will work just as well as whey, if you want to kick-start your fermentation.

Today's bounty included:

From Jaime Farms:  Romaine lettuce, basil, and cilantro;

From Jimenez Family Farm:  Patty pan squash, cucumbers, baby swiss chard, tomatillos, fresh garbanzos, mixed peppers, and yellow corn;

From K and K Ranch:  Gala apples and Thompson grapes;

From Shear Rock Farms:  Heirloom tomatoes; and

From Weiser Family Farms:  French fingerling potatoes and shallots.

Enjoy!

Shelley

SLF CSA Grilled Vegetables

When it's too hot to heat up the kitchen, it's grilling weather at my house.  With the right equipment, you can cook just about anything on a grill.

There are clever, fish-shaped grilling baskets for whole fish, rotisseries for meats, pizza stones for pizza, and skewers for just about anything.  But the single most useful piece of grilling equipment is a grill basket, a sturdy metal pan with sloped sides and lots of small holes.  It sits right on top of the grate.  The holes are perfect for letting juices drip down but too small to lose anything else.  And the pan can get quite hot, so you can get a nice char on whatever you're grilling.  It's ideal for grilling vegetables.

Start with a mix of fresh summer vegetables, cut them into strips or chunks, toss them in a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, and grill them in a grill basket, stirring occasionally, like a stir-fry.  Grill them until they're done to your liking, 10-20 minutes depending on how you like them and the heat of your grill.  It's that easy.

Some vegetables take longer to cook than others.  You can deal with this by cutting denser vegetables such as carrots into thinner pieces, or you can grill each vegetable separately until it's at its perfect done-ness.  Personally, I like that some vegetables turn out a little crunchier than others, so I just mix mine all together and grill them until there's a little char on some of the vegetables.


I like a mix of color, but you can go monochromatic if you wish.  Avoid leaves, such as spinach, kale and chard, as they tend to burn long before the other veggies are done.  Herbs are lovely and can add great depth of flavor, but they burn easily too, so add them after you take the veggies off the grill, or stir them in just before you take the vegetables off the grill.  A sprinkle or two of fine balsamic vinegar is another delicious way of dressing up your grilled vegetables.

My vegetable mix uses several of the items in today's box:  green beans, Mexican squash, carrots, and candy onions.  I threw in a little red bell pepper for extra color.  For two generous servings, I used:

1/4 lb green beans
1 Mexican squash
2 carrots
1 medium onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat up the grill and grill pan.

2.  While the grill is heating, slice the vegetables and place in a bowl.

3.  Toss the veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.  When the grill is hot, pour the veggies into the grill pan and cook, stirring occasionally until done, about 10-20 minutes.

Serve hot or room temperature.

If you have any leftovers, you can toss them into an omelet or make a grilled vegetable sandwich on a fresh ciabatta roll with a little chipotle mayo.  Yum.

Today's bounty included:

From Jaime Farms:  Green beans, parsley, baby dill, and broccoli;

From JR Organics:  Red romaine lettuce and chard;

From Sage Mountain Farms:  Mexican squash, chantenay carrots, red russian kale, purple scallions, and yellow candy onions;

From Silver Lake Farms:  Basil seedlings;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Yellow nectarines and donut peaches; and

From Weiser Family Farms:  Ogen melon.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Oven Roasted Winter Vegetable Hash

Making hash is a great way to used up little odds and ends in your fridge, but it can be even better when you design a combination of complementary ingredients and flavors as in this delicious roasted winter vegetable hash.

This recipe, which combines winter squash, onions, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, has a perfect balance of sweet and savory elements. Best of all, it's a cinch to make - just a little peeling, chopping, and roasting.

I like to cut the vegetables into relatively small dice - about 1/4 inch or smaller - but you can use larger dice if you prefer. You may have to roast the vegetables a little longer if you cut them into bigger pieces. I use a hot oven, about 425 degrees F, so the edges of the veggies get nice and browned and carmelized.

Oven Roasted Winter Vegetables

1/4 to 1/2 butternut or acorn squash
2-3 medium to large carrots
1-2 medium to large parsnips
1-2 small to medium potatoes
1/2 medium onion
1 pinch nutmeg
2 pinches ground sage
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Peel all the vegetables and cut into 1/4 inch dice. Put the diced veggies in a large bowl. You should have about 4-5 C of diced veggies. Compost the peels.

3. Add the olive oil to the veggies and stir to coat. Stir in the nutmeg, sage, salt and pepper.

4. Pour out the veggies onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven. Gently stir the veggies and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and lightly carmelized.

Serve this hash with poached eggs for brunch or supper, or as a side dish without eggs if you prefer. Try it on toast with melted cheese on top; or dress it up with hollandaise sauce for a special treat.

This week's box included bounty from six farms!

From Underwood Family Farms: butter lettuce, Japanese turnips, purple kale, rainbow chard, white cauliflower, candy beets, Pinkerton avocados, spinach, black kale, broccoli, and navel oranges;

From Weiser Family Farms: parsnips, celery root, Romanesco, and Russian Banana potatoes;

From Sage Mountain Farm: spicy salad greens, arugula, and baby carrots;

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Satsuma mandarins;

From Drake Family Farms: Chevre;

And from urban farmer, Russell Wightman: avocados and sapote.

Plus bonus citrus from Sallie Hernandez in Eagle Rock: Meyer lemons and super juicy little oranges.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Carmelized Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Savory tarts are wonderful. You can make them in a wide range of sizes from bite-sized mini-tarts that make nice appetizers to large tarts that you cut in slices to serve. You can make them in any shape you like, and the topping combinations are endless.

The toppings I used for today's recipe include carmelized onions and potatoes. These ingredients require a little advance preparation, but once you have them (and your crust), it takes only a few minutes to assemble and bake the tarts.

Carmelized onions are super delicious and very versatile. In addition to these tarts, carmelized onions add great depth of flavor to many dishes. It takes an hour or so to properly carmelized onions, but you can do this step ahead. Cook up a big batch of carmelized onions and store them in your fridge. They'll keep for about a week. Mix them into mashed potatoes; add them to grilled cheese sandwiches; toss them into an omelet. You'll find myriad uses for them.

To carmelize onions: Peel and slice 2-5 onions thinly lengthwise. Melt 1-2 t butter per onion in a large, heavy skillet over low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until the onions turn a deep brown color. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

The potatoes I used in this tart were boiled ahead of time, chilled and sliced. It's easier to thinly slice a cold potato. You can cook up the potatoes when you're making this recipe, just allow them to cool before slicing them.

These tarts start with the same pie crust recipe I used last week. But you can use your favorite short pastry crust. I rolled out my crust to approximately 1/4" thickness and cut it with a round, fluted-edge form that's five inches in diameter. This size makes a great individual tart.

I like making flat tarts that I bake on cookie sheets, but you can make this recipe in a tart pan if you prefer. The flat tarts are a little easier, but be sure to let them cool before lifting them off the cookie sheet, as the pastry dough is delicate when it just comes out of the oven.

To make crust for six, five-inch diameter, round individual tarts: Take 7 T cold butter, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 T salt, and 1-1/3 C flour. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the flour under it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in a little ice water and continue to mix until the dough just comes together. Form into a flat disk and refrigerate for 10-30 minutes. You can refrigerate this dough longer, but it might be harder to roll if it's colder.

For six individual tarts:

Crust recipe above (or your favorite crust)
1-2 medium Russian Banana or Fingerling potatoes, boiled and cooled
1 C Carmelized onions, or more to taste
1/2 C crumbled goat cheese
1/2 C washed, dried, and finely sliced fresh arugula

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degree F.

2. Roll out pastry dough 1/4" thick and cut six circles, each five inches in diameter.

3. Divide and spread the carmelized onions over each piece of dough.

4. Slice the potatoes thinly and arrange 2-3 slices over the onions on each tart.

5. Sprinkle a little crumbled goat cheese over each tart.

6. Bake in pre-heated, 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden.

7. Cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before lifting off with a metal spatula. Garnish with finely sliced arugula before serving.

Variations: Grated gruyere cheese is a nice alternative to goat cheese. Omnivores may like to add a little cooked and crumbled chorizo to these tarts.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwod Family Farms: Butter lettuce, rainbow chard, sugar snap peas, carrots, candy beets, mizuna, celery, and navel oranges.

From Weiser family Farms: Parsnips, mixed beets, and Russian Banana potatoes.

From Sage Mountain Farm: Salad mix, white and orange carrots, arugula, spaghetti squash, turnips, and Russian kale.

Urban farmer, Russell Wightman, provided the Fuerte avocados from Highland Park.

Happy New Year everyone!

Shelley

Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away; and if you're thinking about how you might make green bean casserole - that Thanksgiving staple - healthier and fresher, then today's recipe is for you.

Green bean casserole is a traditional dish on many Thanksgiving tables. It's usually made with canned or frozen string beans, cream of mushroom soup, and canned fried onions. With just a little extra effort, you can made a healthier version from scratch with all of the creamy delicious-ness of original version.

Start with the Blue Lake string beans in today's CSA box, add fresh mushrooms, make a quick cream sauce, and use fresh, sliced onions to make your own tastier and healthier fried onions. And since you're starting from scratch, you can adjust the ingredients to your taste.

Prep the Beans: Trim the string beans and cut them into bite-sized pieces if you wish. Blanch them in a pot of boiling water or steam them for about 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Thinly slice fresh mushrooms and saute them in a little bit of butter or olive oil. I like to throw in some sliced shiitake mushrooms for added flavor. Covering the mushrooms while they're sauteing over low to medium heat will prevent them from sticking to the pan, as the water they exude will not evaporate. Once the mushrooms are cooked, remove the cover and cook off the liquid, or pour it off and set it aside to use in your sauce.

I'm being vague about the amounts of beans and mushrooms on purpose. I tend to go heavy on the mushrooms, but you can adjust the proportion of beans to mushrooms to suit your taste. The amount of sauce you need depends on the volume of cooked beans and mushrooms combined. For a 1 qt casserole, you'll need 4 C of cooked beans and mushrooms. For a 2 qt casserole, you'll need 8 C.

While the beans and mushrooms are cooking, make the crispy fried onions by slicing 1 large onion in quarters lengthwise, then very thinly slice each quarter crosswise. In a large skillet, heat 1-2 t olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and stir to break apart the rings. Use a skillet that's large enough for the onions to be spread thinly on the bottom or work in batches. Cook the onions until they get crispy and brown, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

You need about 2 C of white sauce for a 1 qt casserole or 4 C of white sauce for a 2 qt casserole. Make your favorite white sauce or use this simple recipe:

Melt 2 T butter over medium low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in 2 T flour, 1 T at a time, and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in 2 C hot milk, 1/2 C at a time, whisking constantly to prevent lumps and sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste. A little nutmeg is also good. Cook over medium low heat, whisking constantly until the sauce just starts to boil. Remove from the heat. Double this recipe for a 2 qt casserole.

Canned condensed milk makes a particularly creamy sauce. Whole milk is also good.

Now you can assemble the casserole: Put the beans and mushrooms in a large bowl. Pour the white sauce over them and stir to coat. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary and pour into a greased casserole dish. Spread your crispy fried onions on top and bake in a preheated 375 F degree oven for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the top is brown. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

You can blanch and freeze the Blue Lake beans you got in today's box to use on Thanksgiving. You can prepare the different elements of this recipe the day before Thanksgiving. Defrost the beans, cook up the mushrooms, stir them together and store them in the refrigerator. Make the crispy fried onions and the white sauce. You can leave the onions in a covered container on the counter but refrigerate the white sauce. On Thanksgiving day, follow the steps in the paragraph above on assembling the casserole. You may have to cook it a little longer if all the ingredients are cold when you put it in the oven.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Tatsoi, bok choy, celery, Blue Lake beans, red leaf lettuce, fennel, French Breakfast radishes, summer squash, bi-color corn, kale, arugula, broccoli, and Cherokee tomatoes

From Weiser Family Farms: Kabocha squash, golden beets, German Butterball potatoes, and dried Dragon Tongue beans

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Hass avocados, limes and Satsuma mandarins

From Silver Lake Farms: arugula, basil, and cilantro microgreens and thyme

Enjoy!

Shelley

Fattoush Salad

Fatoush is a wonderful Lebanese salad made with many of summer's best vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. And we got all of them in today's box!


The thing I love most about fattoush is that it has toasted pita chips in it to give it a fabulous crunch. You can buy pita chips at most markets; or you can make them yourself by separating the two halves of the pita bread, brushing them with a little olive oil, and toasting them in a 375 degree oven until brown and crisp. I like using the whole wheat sesame pita, but you can use any flavor you like.


Another wonderful things about this salad is that you can use a variety of greens. I like using romaine lettuce and mixing in some arugula or dandelion greens. Sorrel, with its bright, lemon-y flavor, also goes nicely in the mix.


Fattoush Salad

4-6 C washed and dried salad greens, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 large tomato chopped
1 cucumber, quartered, seeded and chopped
1/4 C chopped sweet onion
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/2 C chopped bell pepper (green, red or yellow - your choice)
3/4 C cubed feta cheese
2-4 T chopped Italian parsley
1-2 C pita chips
salt and pepper to taste
dried Moroccan olives or Kalamata olives, optional


Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, except the pita chips, salt and pepper.

Mix up the dressing:

2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T finely minced shallot or 1 T mashed roasted garlic
1/4 t salt
pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Pour over salad and toss. Add pita chips and toss again. Serve immediately.


By the way, sumac is a wonderful herb to add to a fattoush salad. Get some at the Spice Station on Sunset.


Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: romaine lettuce, bi-color corn, orange carrots, Hungarian bell pepper (pic above), yellow zucchini, cucumbers, bok choy, and avocados.


From Sage Mountain: Broccoli florets, collard greens, dandelion greens, arugula, and chard.


Cottage Grove provided the tomatoes - Early Girls pictured above. And Sweet Tree Farms provided peaches, plums, and nectarines.


And Silver Lake Farms provided arugula and mustard micro-greens, as well as new basil and cilantro micro-greens (cilantro pictured above). Sprinkle some of those basil micro-greens over your next Caprese Salad.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Spinach, Kale and Feta Pie

It's high season for leafy greens, and today's box was over-flowing with many beautiful examples. You just may want to enjoy a lovely salad made from red leaf lettuce, mizuna, spinach, parsley, radish, carrots, and one of last week's avocados that may be ripe by now. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a sprinkle of fine olive oil, some crusty bread and a glass of wine might be the perfect dinner this evening.

If you you'd like to have a little more adventure in the kitchen, try this Spinach, Kale and Feta pie based on Spanakopita, a traditional Middle Eastern dish. It's a little bit of a production, but well worth the effort.

2 T olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
1-1/2 lbs spinach and kale, washed, mostly dried and chopped
1/2 C chopped green onion
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1/3 lb crumbled feta cheese
1/2 C ricotta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
melted butter (about 1/2 stick, more if necessary)
10 sheets (12" x 18") phyllo*

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" x 12" baking dish. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chopped onion in olive oil until translucent, about 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't let the onion brown.

3. Add the chopped spinach and kale and saute until well-wilted. Add the green onions and parsley and continue cooking, turning the heat down, if necessary, until all or most of the water has evaporated. The mixture should still be moist, not completely dry. Cool slightly.

4. Add the crumbled feta, ricotta, and eggs. Season with freshly ground nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine. Set the filling aside while you prepare the phyllo.

5. Take 10 12"x 18" pieces of fresh phyllo dough. Cut them in half to make 20 12" x 9" pieces, and stack them. [Or cut phyllo to fit your pan. Whatever size, you'll need 20 sheets cut to fit.] Phyllo dries out easily, so work quickly and keep the phyllo stack covered with a dish cloth while you work.

6. Line the buttered baking dish with 1 piece of phyllo. Brush some melted butter on the phyllo, then stack another piece of phyllo on top and brush it with butter. Repeat until you've put 10 sheets of phyllo in the pan.

7. Spread the prepared filling on the buttered phyllo. Smooth the top, then cover with the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo, brushing more melted butter in between each piece and on top.

8. Bake at 350 until the top is golden brown and the center is cooked through about 30-40 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot, room temperature, or cold. Leftovers, if there are any, make a nice lunch; or they freeze well, too.

**Phyllo, also called filo dough, is available frozen in most markets and fresh in some Middle eastern markets. If you are using frozen dough, be sure to defrost it thoroughly in the refrigerator before you use it.

At the pick-up this afternoon, I heard that some avocados are taking a long time to get ripe. That's normal. However, you can hasten ripening by putting avocados in a brown paper bag with a banana. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas which is a ripening agent. Bananas are picked unripe, so they emit a fair amount of ethylene gas while they ripen in your fruit basket. You can capture this natural ripening agent and put it to good use with your avocados. It'll still take days to ripen a hard avocado, but you can cut the ripening time by a third or even in half.

This week's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: red leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, mizuna, baby bok choy, napa cabbage, Easter radishes, yellow carrots, Cilantro, parsley, tangerines and a Zutano avocado.

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: those divine satsuma mandarines and 2 Haas avocados.

And from Silver Lake Farms: radish shoots and 2 kinds of chard shoots. Yum!

Enjoy!

Shelley

Fried Cauliflower and Onions

My friends, Susan and Kirk, are visiting from Portland. They joined me this fine afternoon when I picked up my veggies. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, Susan started talking about how she prepares cauliflower. She chops it into very small pieces, much smaller than the typical florets, and sautes them with finely chopped onions in olive oil until brown and somewhat crispy. She got this idea from the chef, Caprial Pence's, blog.

As we drove home, we riffed on the many delicious possibilities that this basic preparation might lead to. Tossing in some toasted pine nuts and finishing the dish with grated parmesan and chopped parsley sounds like a terrific side dish. Susan says that Caprial Pence mixes the cauliflower with pasta, like pappardelle, and adds some cooked and crumbled Italian sausage. What a wonderful main course.

Here's how I'm going to make this dish:

2-3 T olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and chopped into approximately 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 C toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 T finely grated parmesan cheese
2 T chopped parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.

2. Add the onions and saute for 1 minute.

3. Add the chopped cauliflower and saute until brown and somewhat crispy.

4. Stir in the toasted pine nuts.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and chopped parsley.

It wouldn't hurt to add a little heat to this dish in the form of red pepper flakes. Or you can go a different direction entirely and add raisins and a little finely grated orange peel. Whatever you do, have fun.

Here's what we had in our box this week:

From Underwood Family Farms: carrots, golden beets, Zintano avocado, broccoli, red leaf lettuce, French breakfast radishes, rainbow chard, lemon and butternut squash.

From Silver Lake Farms: arugula and mustard shoots.

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: those divine satsuma mandarins and Hass avocados.

And shareholder Debra brought in beautiful pink grapefruit. Thanks Debra!

Enjoy!

Shelley

Yellow Coconut Curry

What amazing choices we had today from six local farmers!

From Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, there was:

Yellow seedless watermelon
Kabocha squash
Japanese turnips
Yellow carrots
Corn
Romaine lettuce
Red chard
Green cabbage
Green peppers
Baby pumpkins
Red cherry tomatoes
Pink and yellow Brandywine tomatoes

Tierra Miguel Foundation provided biodynamically grown:
Strawberries
Orange carrots
Green chard
Flat leaf parsley
Yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes
Dill

Grandpa Weiser and Weiser Family Farms provided onions, mixed heirloom potatoes, and parsnips.

One of our choices at pickup today: turnips or parsnips. Brent says add a little brown sugar to turnips to sweeten them up a bit. Parsnips are sweet enough on their own.

Winnetka Farms provided beautiful Italian salad greens: Three kinds of Cicoria: Treviso, Mantovano, and Castel Franco; Cornetto di Bordeaux endive; and Riccia rossa or Curly Red lettuce. Craig gave us a recipe as well; posting it pronto.

But first, Tara says: Loved having Winnetka Farms contribute to the harvest today. Craig and I have had many conversations on the phone. Finally we met in person last weekend at Artisanal LA. He is such a passionate grower. A dream to have for our CSA. Those amazing pumpkins were his as well. Huge Italian heirlooms, dopey happy and orange and plump, and sort of hungover. Kate? I hope yours made you smile.... It sure had character.

At Silver Lake Farms, our little microgreens department - Bruce and Rachel - scored a major breakthrough this week, conquering arugula. We'd been having trouble getting it to germinate and take off well. Now we know the trick. Arugula at pickup soon ! Today it was radish microgreens and pea shoots, grown with biodymamic compost. We love love love our compost pile as you can see above.

David Davis and his lovely lady, Flora Ito, provided the gorgeous avocados today. They have huge trees producing on an amazing piece of land in Glassell Park. We're talking about having me grow there. Very exciting! A third growing ground...

Back in the kitchen, and today's recipe from Shelley is inspired by Thai cooking and uses many of the vegetables in today's box. There are many complex and wonderful flavors in Thai cuisine. However, this simple and delicious coconut curry is super easy to make.

What I like best about this recipe is its flexibility. You can make it with many different kinds of vegetables and/or meats. Sometimes, I use just onions, carrots, celery, and chicken. In the summer, when zucchini squash is over-running my garden, I'll add zucchini to the mix.

My favorite way to make this curry is with five or six different vegetables and no meat. And while I vary the ingredients frequently, I always start with onions and include carrots. From there, you can be creative. You'll want to start with 5-6 C of chopped vegetables in addition to the onion.

As for the curry spice: You can mix up your own curry powder if you'd like. I simply use a very generous amount of pre-mixed sweet curry powder. If you prefer hot, you can use that instead. Let your taste be your guide.

Yellow Coconut Curry

1 onion
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced lengthwise
2-3 parsnips, peeled and sliced into coins
1/4 green cabbage, coarsely chopped into large pieces
1 kabocha squash, scrubbed, seeded, partially peeled and chopped into 1" cubes**
1-2 spring Thai basil (optional)
1-2 T oil
2-4 T prepared curry powder, or more to taste
1 can (about 14 oz) coconut milk + 1/2 can water
salt to taste

1. Slice the onion lengthwise and set aside.

2. Prepare 5-6 C chopped vegetables and set aside. Use the vegetables listed above or substitute (or add) others to your taste, such as broccoli, zucchini or other summer squash, red pepper, eggplant, Thai eggplant, potatoes. Most vegetables work, but tomatoes tend to disintegrate with long cooking. If you want to use tomatoes, add them when the curry is nearly cooked through.

3. Heat the oil in a large saute pan with a tight fitting lid. Add the curry powder and toast slightly.

4. Add the onions, cover and cook until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the remaining 5-6 C chopped vegetables, Thai basil (if you're using it), 1 can coconut milk, 1/2 can water and 1/2 t salt.

6. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender - 10 to 20 minutes depending on the type of vegetables and how you chopped them.

7. Uncover, check seasoning, adding more curry or salt, if desired. I sometimes add 1-2 t sugar, honey, or agave syrup. If the sauce is too watery, cook uncovered for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. If it's too thick, add a little water.

I like garnishing this curry with cilantro sprigs and serving it over brown rice, but Jasmine rice is also delicious. You can skip the rice altogether and eat it like a soup if you prefer.

If you're so inclined, you can add some peeled and sliced mango. Pick a firm, but ripe mango and add it when the curry is nearly done.

**The kabocha squash skin may be too tough to eat even after cooking, but keeping the skin on prevents the squash from turning to mush during cooking.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Sweet Corn Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:
Daikon radish
Golden zucchini
Sweet corn
Dandelion greens
Carrots
Red chard
Tuscan kale
Romaine lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
Squash blossoms
Lemon basil

And here's what Tara brought back from Underwood Family Farms:
Bicolor sweet corn
Lemons
Texas sweet onions
Japanese turnips
Red seedeless watermelon
Galia melon
Red leaf lettuce
Celebrity tomatoes

Nothing screams summer like fresh-picked sweet corn. Grilled or boiled, and slathered with butter and salt, fresh corn is a classic American treat. It's fun to eat, too. Pick it up in your hands and gnaw the kernals off the cob. Few foods offer that kind of primal pleasure.

You can make a delicious salad with fresh, sweet corn. Just grill up a few ears, cut off the kernels and mix it up with some onion, pepper, herbs, and a light vinaigrette. I've been using some of Farmer John's tasty lemon basil in my corn salads this season. It adds a beautiful bright flavor and color that complements the creamy sweetness of the corn.




(Pics show jewels from Rebecca's garden, without her since July 6. Bye sweet lady, I miss you but sometimes I think you're still here - Tara.)






Sweet Corn Salad
2-3 ears sweet corn, grilled or boiled and cooled
1 small red onion*
1 small or medium red bell pepper**
2 green onions
About 20-25 lemon basil leaves, more or less to taste
1/4 C olive oil
3 T cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/2 orange
1 t agave syrup, optional
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the kernels off the corn and put them in a bowl. Compost the cobs, or feed them to the chickens - my birds love them.

2. Finely chop the red onion and add it to the corn kernels.

3. Seed and dice the red bell pepper and add it to the corn and onions.

4. Finely chop the green onions and add them to the bowl.

5. Tear the lemon basil leaves into coarse pieces and add them to the bowl.

6. In a separate small bowl or 1-2 C measuring cup, mix the oil and vinegar together. Using a microplane grater, grate the zest of 1/2 orange and squeeze its juice into the vinaigrette. Stir in the agave syrup.

7. Pour the vinaigrette over the corn salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This salad gets better when it sits a little, so make it a few hours or even a day ahead.

*You can use the Texas sweet onion from Underwood Farm instead of red onion, but use only about 1/4 of the Texas sweet onion, as the ones we received today are pretty big.

**You can use green, purple, or orange bell pepper if you prefer. I'd avoid yellow bell pepper simply because of the color.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Squash recipe

From Heather: thank you Heather!

Squash recipe:

Clean Squash
Cut off stem and bottom nub
In food processor grate as if you would a potato ( skin and all) to make shreds like hash browns

1. You can place on a hot skillet and brown for " hashbrown squash"

2. Add breadcrumbs ( or masa) until squash gets sticky stays in a patty form and bake or brown on both sides (add garlic and onions) and you have instant veggie burgers.

3. Place the grated squash in a dutch oven or slow cooker with veggie broth and other veggies. Cook about 3 hours - use a hand mixer to blend and you have butternut squash soup. Make sure the ratio is more grated squash to less broth. The squash will sweat out some of the moisture.

4. In breads/cookies cut down on the liquid and some of the flour and an extra bit of sugar and substitute the grated squash - it makes everything moist!

Heather

Our First CSA Recipe

October 14, 2009

From CSA'er Treven:

Hi Tara,

Here are a couple of recipes. These recipes were created from improvising dishes w/ the goal of using as many of the vegetables as I could from the CSA box. They're informal and hopefully clear enough for people to follow.

VEGETABLE AND BEAN SOUP

for the soup base:

2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/4 cup finely diced carrots
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
salt and pepper to taste
1 x 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

vegetable additions - whatever you have on hand (or remove whatever you dislike) but these were mostly from the CSA box week #1:

3-4 celery stalks chopped
2-3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic (unpeeled - you can fish them out later)
1-2 cups of broccoli, chopped
2 x 15 oz cans of beans, rinse and drained (kidney, cannelini, black, or mix)
1-2 cups of chopped spinach
1 bunch of chopped purslane

Directions:

1. heat 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil in a heavy stock pot on medium heat

2. once oil is heated, add minced onions, minced carrots, minced celery, salt and pepper and cook until softened about 5-7 mins

3. add bay leaf and fennel seeds and cook another 1-2 minutes; usually, until fragrant

4. add the canned diced tomatoes and chicken or vegetable broth, bring to a boil

5. add chopped vegetables: onion, celery, carrots, garlic, broccoli,
beans, and if needed, more salt and pepper; bring to boil (if the soup
seems too chunky, you can add more broth or water)

6. once it starts to boil, turn heat to low and let simmer, covered
for 20-30 mins (or until all the vegetables are tender and cooked
through)

7. towards the end, add spinach and purslane, cook for another 5 mins.
again, if needed, add more salt and pepper to taste

When you find the bay leaf, remove and toss it. For the cloves of garlic, if you are a garlic fan, you can squeeze whatever is left of the garlic out of the skin and smear on toast or mix into the soup.

To make this a meal in itself: add 1/2 to 1 cup cooked barley or brown rice to each bowl before serving

other options, if you have it on hand:
* add other types hearty vegetables: corn, potatoes, parsnip, zucchini, or squash in step 5
* in step 7, add 2-3 tablespoons of minced parsley


SPINACH, BEET, WALNUT AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

1 cooked beet
goat cheese to taste
baby spinach
your favorite balsamic vinaigrette (I like Trader Joe's balsamic dressing but you can make your own or use whatever you have)

to boil beets
1. trim leaves of beets, leaving 1 inch attached
2. bring water to boil, salt the water
3. add beet, lower the heat, and simmer for 30-45 minute, until knife tender
4. remove from water, let cool until you can handle it
5. peel beet - should be easy to remove after cooked

prepare salad - in proportions to your liking:
combine a few pieces of chopped beets, handful of spinach, some goat cheese, and a few pieces of walnuts; toss with vinaigrette; and serve.

Thanks,
Treven