Howdy Folks! Welcome to week 6 of your CSA! Seems like time is going by so fast. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed their time with family. Van and I had a really relaxing Thanksgiving at home and ate lots of veggies and an entire pumpkin pie between the two of us. It was amazing. I have since cooked 3 more pies and we are still enjoying them! Hazel has also been enjoying some pumpkin lately. I love this time of year.
We were busy around the farm despite how well and how much we ate. We planted all the garlic for spring, planted many rows of greens, and broke ground and got all of our cover crops out before the rain!
Brussel Sprout plants are starting to form delicious little heads on its stalks! Looking forward to these hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
Same with the beets and chard. They had to start over after the deer favorited snacking on their greens. But hoping a good fertilization will get them into your kitchens in the next couple of weeks!
Big news! We are so excited to be getting a chicken coop for the farm!! Our good friends from Mississippi Bees will be lending an old coop of theirs, so we can try our hand at raising chickens. We would love to include eggs from the farm in boxes next year! We hope everyone has a great week!
Here are the contents of this week's box:
1. Spaghetti squash
2.Cauliflower
3. Kohlrabi (2)
4. Napa cabbage
5. Romaine lettuce- grown in the dirt at the farm.
6. Baby fennel (2)- Baby fennel has a bulbous base and green feathery leaves. Both are edible and have a mild aniseed or licorice flavour. Try the pizza recipe with a cauliflower crust and caramelized fennel, onion, and olives.
7. Daikon radish
8. Bag of red vein sorrel- Sorrel has a mild lemony zing that is tangy and mildly acidic. Treat sorrel as you would both a leafy green and an herb. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Great chopped and added to salads.
9. Bag of cilantro
10. Lettuce- a hydroponic head from our friends at Salad Days
I plan to make the following recipe but making substitutions: Radishes instead of turnips, I might even roast them, whole, in the oven before adding to the dish. Kohlrabi instead of potatoes & Kohlrabi greens along with some older leftover kale I have in fridge...
CAULIFLOWER, CHICKPEA, AND KALE CURRY
YIELD: 4 servings
PREP TIME: 15-20 minutes
COOK TIME: 35-40 minutes
¼ cup ghee or coconut oil
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 Tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 small head cauliflower cut into florets
2 medium thin-skinned potatoes, cut into 1” dice
2-3 turnips, scrubbed and diced
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
4 cups shredded kale
1/4cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium high heat. Add cumin seeds until they brown, about 20 seconds. Add rest of the spices. Stir for a moment and add cauliflower, potatoes and turnips. Stir constantly for 5 minutes so all vegetables are coated.
Add chickpeas and crushed tomatoes. Scrape up any bits of brown on the bottom of the pot and continue cooking until juices thicken, about 5 minutes.
Add water, kale and 2 teaspoons of salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Remove pot from heat. Taste and adjust for salt. Serve hot sprinkled with cilantro.
KOHLRABI-RADISH SLAW WITH CUMIN AND CILANTRO
YIELD: 4 servings
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
3 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. clover honey
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted, coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle or ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 Tbs. canola oil
5 radishes, grated (about 1 cup)
3 medium carrots, grated (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 small unpeeled kohlrabi bulbs (purple, green, or both), trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (3 cups)
1/2 medium head green cabbage (about 1 lb.), thinly sliced (5 cups)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a small bowl whisk the vinegar, mustard, honey, cumin, 1/4 tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper. Gradually whisk in the canola oil until combined.
Put the radishes, carrot, kohlrabi, cabbage, and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour in the dressing and gently toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
CARAMELIZED FENNEL, ONION, AND OLIVE PIZZA WITH CAULIFLOWER CRUST
YIELD: 2-4 servings
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 2 small bulbs)
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Remaining ingredients:
1 cup tomato-basil pasta sauce(pizza sauce, whatever you have)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives
To prepare the topping, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and the next 5 ingredients (fennel through black pepper), and cook for 20 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; sprinkle with fennel mixture, cheese, and olives. Bake at 450° for 18 minutes or until browned.
You can find recipe and instructions to making your cauliflower crust here!!
http://detoxinista.com/2012/01/the-secret-to-perfect-cauliflower-pizza-crust/