CSA, Week 17

In Your Share . . .
Items in your share may vary depending on harvest day and your share size. Each share may not contain every item listed below.

Stringless Green Beans – organic
The next round of beans are ready – it’s amazing what lower temperatures and several inches of overhead-irrigated water can do!

Garlic – organic
You have had both the hard neck garlic and soft neck garlic heads so far this season – today your share includes the soft-neck. If we left the stalk of the garlic plant attached, it can be twisted or braided into the hanging ristras popular as a kitchen decorative item. As you try to tell them apart, know that heads of our soft-neck variety are a little whiter skinned and the shapes of the cloves are less uniform than the hard-neck variety. The soft-neck will store longer for you, but either one keeps for several weeks in your pantry, or at room temperature. Just break off a clove when ready to use.

Fresh Herb Bunch: Oregano and Thyme – organic

Red Onion and Yellow Onion – organic

Bell Pepper

Hot Pepper – organic
Dark green chiles are Jalapenos – Yellow longer peppers are known as Hot Banana or Hungarian Wax Chiles. Store refrigerated and use care when cutting and remov-ing seeds from hot peppers – wearing gloves is recommended.

Raspberries – organic

Spaghetti Squash
Like any of the hard-shelled fall or winter squashes, the spaghetti squash will store for you at room temperature for several weeks. The idea of “winter squash” is that it stores into the winter months allowing you to have a fresh vegetable at a time of year when we are prevented from growing squashes due to frigid weather.
There are many recipes online using squashes, but you can always bake, steam, or roast and serve topped with your favorite seasonings.

Tomatoes, Heirloom Salad – organic

Small Green Cabbage – organic

Lacinato / Dinosaur Kale Greens – organic

Okra - organic

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Cabbage Latkes
Recipe from The Washington Post and adapted from original in Nechama Cohen’s Enlitened Kosher Cooking. The author suggests accompaniments of sour cream and applesauce. Recipe makes 12 pancakes, enough for 4 side-dish servings and can be doubled easily.

2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 small onion or 1 scallion, finely chopped
1 ½ T whole-wheat flour
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ T cooking oil, or more as needed

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the eggs, onion and flour, mixing just until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (There will not be much liquid.)

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray oil. Add 1 T oil and heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches of 4 to 6 at a time, drop enough mixture (about 2 T) to form pancakes that are 1 ½ inches wide into the hot oil. Cook the latkes for 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to move them around until a nice bottom crust has formed. Turn over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned and crisp.

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Wipe out the skillet between batches and add oil as needed for the remaining latkes. Serve warm.

Moldavian Stuffed Chiles
This unusual take on stuffed bell peppers comes from The Whole Chile Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach. We varied the vegetable ingredients when testing to use fresh items we had on hand, and pulled some peas from the freezer. Serves 4 as a vegetarian entrée.

3 yellow wax chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped (USE CARE when handling membrane and seeds of hot peppers, rubber gloves are recommended)
4 bell peppers, tops cut off, seeds removed
1 large onion, chopped
1 C chopped cabbage
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
½ C cauliflower, broken into flowerets
½ C green peas
3 T olive oil
1 C sour cream
1 T chopped dill or favorite herb
1 C grated cheddar cheese

Parboil the bell peppers for 3 minutes. Remove and drain. Sauté the hot wax chiles and the vegetables in the olive oil until soft but still slightly crisp. Stir in the sour cream and fresh herb.

Stuff the peppers with the vegetable mixture, top with grated cheese, and place in a baking dish with a cup of water. Bake for 15 minutes until hot and the cheese has melted.

Tomato Salsa

1 ½ lbs ripe tomato
2-3 fresh jalapeno chilies stemmed
½ small onion
4 cloves garlic
¼ C water
1/3 C cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cider vinegar

Heat broiler. Lay whole tomatoes and jalapenos out on broiler pan and broil for about 6 minutes. Flip over and do other side. May develop char spots. Set aside and cool.

Turn oven down to 425°. Separate onions into rings and place on baking sheet with whole peeled cloves of garlic. Roast in oven until browned and wilted, 15 minutes.

Place tomatoes, chiles, and onions in a food processor and pulse several times. Add cilantro, salt, and vinegar and pulse to right consistency.

Red Tomato Rice

Vegetable oil
2 C rice
2 C Tomato salsa (see above recipe)
1 ½ C chicken broth
1 tsp salt
½ C cilantro

Heat oil to medium-high and add rice. Cook until it starts to brown. Add salsa and stir one minute. Add broth and salt. Bring to a boil, turn down to low and cover tightly. Cook for about 25 minutes. Let stand off heat for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve

Heirloom Tomato Salad on Grilled Bruschetta
Our thanks to a friend of the farm for sharing this Bobby Flay recipe.

2 pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes, diced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 T red wine vinegar
¼ C plus 2 T extra virgin olive oil
½ C packed basil leaves, thinly sliced or ¼ C oregano or thyme leaves, minced
salt and fresh black pepper
4 ½-inch thick slices ciabatta bread

Put the tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar ¼ C of olive oil and the fresh herb in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Heat a grill pan over high heat (or a grill to high). Grill the bread on each side until slightly charred, about 30 seconds per side. Remove from the grill and brush the tops with the remaining 2 T of olive oil. Mound the bread with the tomato mixture and some of the juices and serve immediately.