Three Sisters Stew

• 1 pound trimmed pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
  1 teaspoon ground cumin
   Kosher salt, as needed
   Black pepper, as needed
  2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola
  1 large yellow onion, diced
  3 garlic cloves, minced
  4 cups turkey or chicken stock, preferably homemade or low-sodium
  1 medium yellow squash, diced
  1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained
  1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
  1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
  2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
  1 (4-ounc) can roasted green chiles (1/2 cup)
  ½ bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  Preparation: 
  1.    Season pork with cumin, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add pork, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer pork to a bowl and set aside.
  2.    Add onion to pan and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Return pork to pan, along with stock and squash, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.
  3.    Add beans, tomatoes, corn and chiles and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until stew has thickened, about 40 minutes. Add cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  
  
  Adapted from “A Taste of Wyoming: Favorite Recipes From the Cowboy State,” by Pamela Sinclair, via the New York Times, here.

Sweet and Spicy Barley with Beans and Bacon

This is like homemade baked beans, with barley.

1 cup dried navy beans
8 oz. slab bacon, diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
One 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup pearled barley
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
up to 2 T. chopped pickled jalapeno rings, or 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauced, minced

Soak the beans 12-16 hours in a big bowl of water. Drain.

Fry the bacon until it just begins to render its fat, stirring occasionally, in a 6-quart pressure cooker over medium heat.  Add the onion; cook until both have browned a bit, stirring often, about 4 more minutes. Pour in the broth and scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pot. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Lock the lid onto the pot, and raise the heat to high until pressure is reached. Cook for 18-20 minutes at pressure, reducing heat as much as possible while maintaining high pressure. Use the quick release method to bring the pot's pressure back to normal, unlock the lid and open the pot. Stir well before serving.

From the Great Big Pressure Cooker Book, by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

Week 7

Sweet corn!

• Basil
• Beets
• Chard
• Sweet corn
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Onions
• Scallions
• Summer squash

Week 6

• Beets
• Chard
• Garlic
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Squash

Week 5

• Baby chard
• Basil
• Beets
• Collards
• Fennel
• Lettuce
• Radicchio
• Scallions
• Summer squash

Week 4

• Beets
• Cabbage
• Dandelion
• Garlic scapes
• Lettuce
• Radicchio
• Scallions
• Summer squash

week 3

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Chard
• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Scallions

week 2

• Arugula
• Beets
• Bok choy
• Broccoli
• Garlic scapes
• Lettuce

Another CSA season

First week of our  7th season with the CSA.  We're excited, but cooking the bounty will be a challenge with our new jobs and schedules.  This week:

• Chard
• Kale
• Leeks
• Spinach
• Turnips

Zesty Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili

Zesty Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper,chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 cups Cooked Wheat Berries
Juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, diced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

From EatingWell: March/April 2007, EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook (2008)

Still salad season

Finally getting caught up on posting vegetable pictures.  We're a bit behind on eating vegetables as well, we had to jettison some things (especially parsley and cilantro) from the fridge today to make room for the new stuff.  The salads are great, though.

• Arugula
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Hot peppers
• Lettuce
• Mesclun Mix
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Tomatoes
• Spinach

October 17 farm share

• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Hot peppers
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Spicy mix
• Turnips

October 9 farm share

• Carrots
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Fennel
• Hot peppers
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Grape tomatoes

October 2 farm share

• Arugula
• Bok choy
• Cabbage
• Cilantro
• Eggplant
• Green beans
• Hot peppers
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Tomatoes 
• Grape tomatoes

Beet Slaw

Simple salad in the New York Times Magazine this week.  Oddly, I forgot to add the saffron when I made the dressing.  It was still good, and used most of our beets.

Beet Slaw with Saffron Aioli

1½ pounds beets
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 chopped shallot
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnishing
Saffron

Shred beets. Whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic and a crumbled pinch of saffron. Toss with the beets, shallot and parsley. Garnish: More parsley.

No pumpkins this year

This week we heard that the farm lost its pumpkin crop due to downy mildew, which has been a problem this year due to all the rain.  It sounds like they've been worried about the winter squash as well, so they harvested all they could to give us this week.  Otherwise, the tomatoes are tapering down, and the greens increasing again.

• Beets
• Cilantro
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Green beans
• Lettuce
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Winter squash

You say celery root, I say celeriac

So what's the difference between celery root and regular celery?  The celery we get from the CSA doesn't look that much different from the top of the celeriac.  The weekly newsletter tells us that the root "is the only part used for cooking purposes" though.

• Broccoli
• Celeriac
• Cilantro
• Collards
• Garlic
• Hot peppers
• Lettuce
• Peppers
• Sauce tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Butternut squash

Plum tomatoes

Time to make tomato sauce, some nice plum tomatoes this week.

• Arugula
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Kale
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Scallions
• Tomatoes
• Sauce tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes

More nice tomatoes

Still lots of tomatoes, and starting to get some fall greens.

• Basil
• Beets
• Celery
• Collards
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Hot peppers
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes

Hurricane delays, but doesn't stop, CSA delivery

For the first time in the history of Honey Brook Organic Farm, they cancelled Sunday's delivery due to weather.  Hurricane Irene made sure not much was moving on Sunday.  The delivery was rescheduled for Tuesday, and we got a full box with tomatoes outside the main box.

• Beets
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Green Beans
• Summer squash
• Hot peppers
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Tomatoes 
• Grape tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Watermelon