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

Beet Risotto

2 medium beets, trimmed
1 bay leaf
1 T. unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 T. orange zest
1 cup arborio rice
2 T. raspberry or lemon vinegar
pinch sugar
1 T. sour cream or yogurt cheese

Put beets and bay leaf in a saucepan with 4 cups water, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered until the beets are cooked through (about 40 minutes, depending on size). Remove the beets, strain the water and discard the bay leaf, and pour the beet cooking water back into the saucepan.

Skin the beets. Chop 1 beet and set aside. Pure the other beet in a food processor, return to the strained broth, and bring the broth to a simmer. Keep it on a gentle simmer, covered, over low heat.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add onion and orange zest, and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the chopped beet and stir well. Add the rice and stir until it's well coated with the seasonings and glistening, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir until it evaporates, about 2 minutes.

Using a ladle, add about 1 cup hot broth. Stir constantly over medium heat until the broth has been absorbed. Add another ladleful and keep stirring until it's been absorbed. Continue the process, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and stirring this way until kernels are plump and no longer chalk white in center. This should take 25 to 30 minutes altogether. It's almost done when the kernels are still separate but starting to bind, and there are pools of broth on the surface. It's done when the liquid has been absorbed, and the kernels are bound in what looks like very ricey, yet somewhat creamy, rice pudding.

When the risotto is done, stir in the sugar, sour cream or yogurt cheese, and stir well to blend.

This is from Diane Shaw's Almost Vegetarian. My changes: double the butter (I used salted), used balsamic vinegar (what I had), add more water after the broth is gone, skip the sugar, and just about triple the sour cream. We added a bit of salt at the end, and grated some fresh parmesan on top. Very nice.

Heirlooms

Now we need to figure out what to do with beets! And lemon verbena.

• Beets
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Hot peppers
• Lemon verbena
• Peppers
• Shallots
• Swiss chard
• Tomatoes 
• Grape tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Watermelon

Many little tomatoes

The summer squash is starting to get ahead of us, we might have to pickle some.  And dry some grape tomatoes.

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Eggplant
• Flowers
• Garlic
• Peppers
• Fingerling potatoes
• Shallots
• Tomatoes
• Grape tomatoes 
• Summer squash

Chipotle salsa

Nothing like spending a sultry summer evening in the kitchen with several large pots boiling on the stove!  To make use of the pile of tomatoes we got this week, we decided to can some salsa. Virtually all of the ingredients came from the farm share: tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, and onions (not pictured).  All we needed to add was chipotles and vinegar.  I think it worked out well!  We canned four pints and had a fifth for the fridge.

Chipotle Salsa 

6 lbs. tomatoes (about 12 large)
4 dried chipotle peppers
3 cups diced onion
1½ chopped cilantro, tightly packed
15 cloves garlic, minced
4 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 tbl. salt
¾ cup red wine vinegar 

Wash tomatoes; drain. Peel, seed and dice tomatoes into ¼ inch pieces. Remove seeds from dried chipotle peppers; place chili peppers in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over chipotles just to cover. Secure plastic wrap over bowl and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Drain half the water. Puree chipotles and remaining water in a food processor for 1 minute until smooth. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Based on "Spicy Tomato Salsa" from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving

Tomatoes

Lots of tomatoes!

• Basil
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Onions
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Summer Squash 

Cabbage as a pH indicator

This one is classic, and fun.  The middle glass is water that red cabbage was soaked in for a few minutes.  The glass on the left has a teaspoon of vinegar added, and the glass on the right a teaspoon of baking soda.  Great pH indicator!

Borscht fixin's

First tomatoes, though only grape sized.  Some real heft to the box this week.

• Basil
• Beets
• Bell peppers
• Cabbage
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Grape tomatoes
• Hot peppers
• Potatoes
• Scallions
• Summer squash
• Swiss chard

Red flannel hash time

We were travelling the past couple weekends, so we gave our veggies away to friends.  Today we got to pick up the box ourselves, so we get a fresh batch of summer vegetables!  Potatoes and beets naturally make us think of red flannel hash.

• Basil
• Beets
• Collards
• Onions
• 3½ pounds potatoes
• Yellow squash
• Zucchini

We are of course, eagerly and impatiently awaiting the start of tomato season.  It should be soon!