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

Maple Glazed Parsnips and Carrots

Parsnips are so sweet all by themselves you might think they wouldn't benefit from being glazed. But this simple and delicious recipe confirms the saying that too much of a good thing can be wonderful.

This recipe calls for a pound of parsnips and a pound of carrots, but you can cut the recipe in half or change the proportion of parsnips to carrots to suit your taste.

1 T vegetable oil
1 lb parsnips, peeled, trimmed and sliced into chunks
1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced into chunks
1 C broth (chicken or vegetable) or water
1/2 C maple syrup
1 T rice vinegar
2 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
rosemary, optional

1. Heat oil in a non-reactive skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add chopped parsnips and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown slightly, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the broth, syrup and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are barely tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Uncover the pan and turn up the heat a little. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is like syrup, another 8-10 minutes.

4. Stir in the butter. Season with salt and peppper to taste. Add a little snipped fresh rosemary, if you'd like, or garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Serve.

Don't throw away those carrot and parsnip peels. Put them in the compost or make a quick broth from them.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Round carrots, red and green leaf lettuce, arugula, tatsoi, black kale, candy beets, French Breakfast radishes, celery, acorn squash, and butternut squash;

From Weiser Family Farms: Rustic cooking Nantes carrots, beets, parsnips, and Romanesco cauliflower;

From Sage Mountain Farm: Collard greens, Torpedo Baby Spring onions, New England pie pumpkin, and Red Gold potatoes;

From Rancho Santa Celicia: Satsuma mandarins and limes;

And from Drake Family Farms: Chevre.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Roasted Parsnips & Carrots with Ras el Hanout

If you've never had Ras el Hanout, you're missing something delicious. It's a wonderful, aromatic spice blend that's used throughout Northern Africa. Like curry powder, every version is a little different, but most have some combination of cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, chili, cumin, clove and other spices. I picked up a lovely blend from the Spice Station on Sunset Blvd. this afternoon.

We're so lucky to have the Spice Station in our neighborhood. They have an amazing selection of herbs and spices from around the world. The Spice Station also makes a huge variety of spice blends, such as Ras el Hanout, from their own recipes. Every blend I've tried has been delicious.

It's so easy to turn simple roasted vegetables into something special with a tasty and exotic spice, and that's exactly what I did this afternoon. I washed and trimmed the beautiful red carrots and parsnips from today's box, tossed them in 1T olive oil, added 1 T Ras el Hanout and a little salt. Then I tossed everything again to evenly spread the spices and I roasted them on a cookie sheet in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 35-45 minutes, until done. My kitchen smelled divine while they were roasting, too.

By the way, if you're wondering how to prepare tatsoi, treat it just like spinach. It sautes up quickly, and it's great with a variety of Asian flavors like soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, and sesame oil. You can eat it raw, too.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Lola Rosa lettuce, tatsoi, red carrots, celery, Italian parsley, golden beets, leeks, celery root, and Navel oranges;

Pea and mustard microgreens and a little rosemary from Silver Lake Farms;

Parsnips from Weiser Family Farms;

And satsuma mandarins from Rancho Santa Cecilia.

Thank you so much to shareholders Amanda and Josh (pictured above) for helping distribute the bounty today. Also, to dear little Willow (who isn't so little any more!) for coming to help at pickup.

And Happy Birthday Rachel!!

Enjoy!

Shelley

Green Chile Pork Stew

I picked up my CSA box yesterday along with my pork package from Silver Lake Farms' pig share program. This week's box had just about everything I needed to make a fabulous green chile pork stew!

I cut my stewing pork (about 3 lbs) into about 1-inch chunks and browned them in a little olive oil. While they were browning, I chopped some onion, carrots, parsnips, celery, and 1 clove of garlic. I sauteed the veggies and garlic in a big stew pot, using a little more oil. Then I added the browned pork, a large can of green chile sauce, a can of water, a bay leaf, a little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. I simmered this stew on very low heat, covered for the first hour and partially covered for the second hour.

When the meat was barely tender, I added big chunks of potatoes and finished cooking until the meat was completely tender (another 30-45 minutes). I'm taking this stew to a holiday pot-luck this evening.

I like to make my own green chile sauce from scratch, fire-roasting green anaheim chiles (plus 1-2 serranos for heat), then peeling, pureeing, and cooking the anaheims with the serranos, garlic, cumin, bay leaf, oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a little epazote, too. This sauce freezes well. But I didn't have any home-made sauce, so I used a can. Either way, it's a hearty and delicious meal.

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