Week #22, Oct 12 2017

Box Countdown

October 19/20 (next week) = final box for purple EOW members
October 26/27 = final box for weekly members & for green EOW
Extension & Storage Shares in November – Just for members registered for these extra shares.  You know who you are.

Extension & Storage Share registration

We continue to get questions about these shares, which we are happy to answer.  I’ve left registration open through this Sunday Oct. 15.  After that, we need to move on and close the registration.  Learn more here.  To sign up, go here and follow instructions.

Gleaning Party

The gleaning party was wonderful.  We love having all of you come visit.  It’s a chance for you to experience the farm firsthand by getting in the fields, gathering produce and stomping through mud puddles.  There were so many excited kids.  We were very, very lucky – the weather was sunny and warm.  Here’s our favorite paraphrased quote of the day: “Your CSA boxes are like the Tardis.  I can’t believe how much produce you pack in there.  That box is bigger on the inside than the outside.”

Here are a few photos.  I got distracted during the upick and neglected to take photos.  If you have good ones to share, post them to our Facebook page or send them to me and I’ll post them.  I love all the kid + veggie photos.  Beth

There were late-maturing melons to test how well you judge watermelon ripeness.  Photo credit Shelly D

Photo credit Jess S

Karen and Chance silk-screened a gazillion t-shirts.

Freshly printed t-shirts in immediate use.

UW grad student Solveig Hanson (at right) is breeding beets for different flavor components.  She offered beets for tasting, and collected members’ opinions about the flavor and appearance of her breeding lines.  I explained to Solveig that you folks are not a typical population.  You are a self-selected group of vegetable enthusiasts.  We have helped raise Solveig’s beets for the last two years.  She values having her selections grown within a genuine farm setting.  After last season, Solveig decided to enroll in our CSA, giving us 100% participation of UW beet-breeding grad students.  Solveig asked me to thank all of you who participated in the tasting and survey at the upick.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (Oct. 5/6, 2017, week #22, green EOW)

Winter squash, 1 or 2
Parsnips, 1.5 lb
Carrots, 2 lb
(together in one bag)
Red bor kale, 1 bunch
Purple cauliflower
Bell peppers, ~2
Romano beans, 0.9 lb
Kohlrabi
Yellow onions
Scallions, 1 bunch
Garlic

Next week’s box will probably contain winter squash, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, leeks, carrots, scallions and more.

Parsnips (tapered, cream colored roots) – Those long, white roots are not carrots, they are parsnips. The two vegetables are related.  When cooked, parsnips are sweet and starchy.  For the best flavor, brown them to caramelize the sugars.  Here are a few ideas for parsnip preparation:
– Caramelize the parsnips by roasting them in a vegetable medley.
– Parsnip fries are delicious: cut like French fries, oil lightly, place on a cookie sheet and roast in a hot oven until brown and cooked through.
– Try substituting grated parsnips in a potato pancake recipe. They brown beautifully and are very tasty.
– Steve loves pan-fried parsnips with onions and garlic.

Romano beans – These big beans need braising or long-cooking.  They are worth the effort – lots of flavor.  These are the last beans of the season.  Steve is having trouble letting them go.

Winter squash – Everyone gets one or two squash, depending on size.  This week’s squash are Festival (speckled acorn), Carnival (speckled acorn) or Sugar Dumpling (like a very solid sweet dumpling).  Some squash have dry flaws that need trimming.  I encourage you to eat these squash soon.  These varieties are valuable because they are full-flavored and ready to eat soon after harvest, unlike butternuts which need time to cure.  The flip side is that they do not store for long.

Purple cauliflower – Like regular cauliflower but prettier.  When cooked, the color darkens but persists.

Photo credit Karen Nicholson

RECIPE LOG

Visit our Recipe Log, a list of all our 2017 recipes.  Pat has given us a number of recipes for kale or other greens.  Check out July 27, August 24, Sept. 28.

LOCAL THYME RECIPES

Comforting Classics
Lemony Cauliflower Pasta
Irish Root Vegetable and Bean Stew
Egg Salad Sandwiches with Carrot, Kohlrabi and Onion
Microwave Maple Soy Glazed Winter Squash

Outside the Box Recipes
Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Root Vegetables
Parsnip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Kohlrabi Apple Salad
Squash and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Quick and Easy Meal
Kale and Pepper Eggs Benedict

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & PARSNIP SOUP
There are so many fall things in this box, they just go together like a dream with minimal work. Part of me just wants to tell you to serve a huge dish of roasted cauliflower, parsnips, winter squash, onions and garlic seasoned with maple syrup and thyme with every meal you serve this week (which you can absolutely also do), but the other part of me loves to pair these same exact flavors with coconut milk and puree it into the most velvety, beautiful soup. If you have purple cauliflower, this soup will be pale purple which only makes me love it all the more. Lauren

Takes 1 hour, 15 minutes
Serves 6-8

1-1/2 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoon butter
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 large winter squash, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
9 cups water
15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine parsnips, cauliflower and garlic with olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on two large baking sheets. There’s a chance it would all fit on one sheet, but the veggies will just steam instead of getting all that delicious carmelization that comes from roasting. It’s worth the one extra pan to wash. I promise. Roast for 40 minutes, tossing veggies halfway through.
3. In a large stock pot, melt butter. Add onion plus remaining salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are softened and fragrant. Add roasted veggies, diced squash, maple syrup, time and red pepper flakes. Stir and saute for a couple minutes to allow flavors to combine.
4. Add water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes until the squash is tender.
5. Puree with an immersion blender (or blender or in your food processor in batches) until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
6. Serve warm on a cold day.

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ROMANO BEAN & CARROT FRIED RICE
I have fallen in love with fried rice this summer. It is the perfect vehicle for almost any summer veggies and quick to whip up with a bit of advanced planning. I love to make a huge batch of rice on Sundays and store it in my fridge until a weeknight where I’m not feeling creative. Cooking the rice ahead saves on time and also helps with the texture of the fried rice, allowing it to crisp up a bit more (if that sort of thing matters to you).
Also note that step 3 is completely optional. If you don’t care about crispy rice, you can just toss the already cooked rice (warmed in the microwave) with the veggies along with the salt and sesame oil it would have been cooked with. Lauren

Takes 1 hour
Serves 6-8

3 tablespoons butter, divided
.9 pound romano beans, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup water
2 carrots, diced
1 colored pepper, diced
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, divided
6 cups cooked white rice
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 bunch scallions (white and pale green parts only, reserve dark green tops for another use), sliced
6-8 eggs
Sriracha, for serving

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. (If you don’t have a 7+ quart saute pan, it won’t be big enough and use a stock pot or Dutch oven instead). Add romano beans along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute for 10 minutes until very tender. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and water to pan. Let simmer for 15 minutes until the liquid has evaporated. While that simmers, dice your carrots and bell peppers.
2. Add carrots, peppers and 1 tablespoon each soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cook over medium high heat until carrots are tender and no liquid remains, 5-10 minutes. Remove cooked veggies to a very large bowl.
3. Optional step (see note above). In the same pan you used to cook the veggies, pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in so it coats the bottom. (If there was residue from the veggies, just whip it out with a towel quickly). Heat the oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Dump in your fried rice and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook on medium high heat for 6-10 minutes, stirring and scraping often so that the rice gets crispy in places but doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Add 1 additional tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of butter as you go to keep things from sticking.
4. Add rice to bowl of veggies followed by sliced scallions and 1 teaspoon oyster sauce. Stir to combine well and then taste. Add 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce based on your tastes.
5. Serve warm with a fried egg and hot sauce. You can also scramble your eggs and fold them into the fried rice if you prefer.

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