Week 21, CSA

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

Acorn Squash
This hard-shelled winter squash is one of the most recognizable along with being very easy to prepare. Most recipes call for halving, deseeding, and baking the squash until done. Then, you can mash, puree, incorporate into soups, eat the squash directly from the shell – and you can go either sweet or savory with your flavorings.

Bok Choy – organic
We are glad to have more seasonal temperatures the last couple of weeks so that some of the fast growing greens are ready to harvest for you before your summer season ends. Store bok choy refrigerated until ready to prepare. Know that the white stems are as tasty as the leaves and you should eat both parts when preparing. Find a new recipe below.

Cucumber

Eggplant
This week you have most of the ingredients to prepare ratatouille and there are hundreds of different recipes. Find a couple of winners on this site for Roasted Ratatouille Salad and Squash and Sausage Ratatouille.

Greens Mixture: Curly Kale, Lacinato Black Dinosaur Kale, Turnip Greens – organic
We suggest preparing all three of these fresh cooking greens together – either steam and top with vinegar, sauté or stir fry in olive oil, or steam lightly to use in a frittata or lasagna. Remove any large stalks by folding the leaf in half, and cutting or stripping out the thick portion of the stalk. If you are preparing Southern style greens with a longer cooking time, your stalks will cook until tender and you can leave intact. Store refrigerated.

Okra - organic

Yellow Onion – organic

Bell Pepper, Green

Yellow Squash

Green Zucchini

Raspberries - organic

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Grilled Vegetables with Chipotle Dressing recipe adapted from original in Bon Appetite Magazine

¼ C orange juice
1 T finely chopped canned chipotle chilies, (or more if desiring spicy dish)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 C olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut length-wise into ¼ inch-thick slices
1 medium-size yellow squash, trimmed, cut lengthwise into ¼ inch-thick slices
1 small eggplant, trimmed, cut lengthwise into ¼ inch-thick slices
1 red or yellow onion, cut into 1/3 inch-thick slices
½ acorn, delicata, or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch cubes

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add oil and whisk until well blended. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Warm grill to medium-high heat. Place all vegetables on 2 large baking sheets. Brush vegetables with ¼ C dressing. Grill vegetables until tender and beginning to brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes for tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and onion and 15 minutes for winter squash.

Arrange all grilled vegetables on platter, separating grilled onion slices into rings. Drizzle remaining dressing over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sesame Red Curry Chicken with Bok Choy & Sweet Coconut Rice
Our thanks to a CSA member for this yummy recipe she shared using bok choy. She bakes in the oven for 2 hours at 325°F rather than using crock pot. Also, you can substitute firm tofu for chicken if desired.

4 C chopped bok choy (one med-large head, I never measure)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
1/2 C chicken broth (reduced sodium is fine)
1/2 C sake (rice wine)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T red curry paste
¼ - ½ C sweetened flaked coconut
2 C jasmine rice
2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk (lite is fine, too)
¼ C fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

1. Arrange bok choy and red pepper in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Season chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper and place on top of bok choy and peppers.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, sake, sesame oil, ginger, and curry paste.
4. Pour mixture over chicken.
5. Cook Low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
6. Cook rice in coconut milk.
7. In a small skillet toast coconut flakes, 5-8 minutes.
8. Stir toasted coconut into cooked rice, set aside.

Spoon rice onto a serving platter, or individual bowls, and top with chicken, vegetables and sauce from crock pot. Garnish with cilantro.

Amaranth Stuffed Acorn Squash
Our thanks to a CSA member for sharing this squash recipe she created the last time shares contained acorn squash. It’s a great way to include more amaranth in our diets!

1 acorn squash
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
½ C amaranth
1 ½ C water
1 onion
2 ribs celery
2 T agave nectar
¼ C pine nuts
¼ C golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cut the acorn squash in half and remove seeds. Put 1 T butter and brown sugar in each half of the squash and bake until squash is easily pierced with a fork.

While squash is cooking, dice the onion and celery and bring the water to a boil. Add amaranth, onion and celery to boiling water, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until amaranth has absorbed most of the water. Remove from heat.

While amaranth is cooking, toast pine nuts in a skillet over high heat or in the oven. Fold the agave nectar, toasted pine nuts and raisins in the amaranth and stuff into cooked squash. Enjoy.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake Recipe
from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook by Audrey Alsterburg & Wanda Urbanowicz. Yields 9 large cupcakes or 20 standard cupcakes.

1 ½ C brown sugar
1/4 C melted butter
3/4 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ C buttermilk
2 C grated zucchini
1 C chocolate chips
2 C unbleached flour
1 C cocoa, sifted
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 ½ tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease large muffin pans and line with muffin cups.
In a medium bowl mix together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and mix until well combined. Spoon batter into large muffin pans. Bake in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack. Don't overcook them or you will lose all the moist goodness - you want them to look almost done in the oven - they will continue to cook for a few minutes after you pull them from the oven from the residual heat. Use favorite icing to top if desired.