Filed under: CSA
I had one last green cabbage left from my farm share, and I used it in this Hungarian Beef and Cabbage Casserole I found on Cookthink. I often find nice recipes on this site, but I don’t see too many people mentioning it online — it’s funny how some recipe sites catch on and others don’t seem to.
Although the recipe calls for a savoy cabbage, I used a green cabbage instead. Savoy cabbage leaves are more loosely packed, and so I think that I wound up using at least half again more cabbage than the recipe calls for. I also used a full cup of vegetable broth, double what the recipe required. Otherwise, I followed it as written, both in ingredients and preparation. The casserole fills a 9 x 13 casserole dish all the way to the top.
All the grown-ups loved it! The cabbage from my CSA is consistently delicious and buttery, and it was so good in this dish. It reminded me a little of a cross between goulash and stuffed cabbage. A little extra chopped parsley sprinkled on top helps this otherwise very blah-looking meal pop.
December 21, 2009
Yesterday we picked up our final Roxbury Farm share for 2009. We were there a little early, so although the bins were set out there was no one else around. It was kind of a lonely ending to what I felt was a good year, CSA-wise. Especially since our pick-up location is changing in 2010, it seemed wrong to just take my stuff and go, without saying good-bye to the host of the site or any other members. I will be signing up again next year, though, and it will be interesting to see what our larger pick-up location holds.
This week some of the produce was pre-packed in (biodegradable) bags, which I thought was unusual until I got them home. They look like they went straight from the earth into the bag, without any kind of washing step in between. My carrots have clumps of dirt hanging off of them, and looking through the bag I initially mistook them for sweet potatoes — that’s how much of their orange color is obscured by dirt. I feel a tiny bit silly snarking about the dirt on organic, farm share vegetables… but it’s a lot of dirt. And a lot of carrots, actually!
We received some more sweet potatoes, a lot of carrots, an enormous batch of kale, an onion, a butternut squash, and a huge celery root (celeriac).
I’m going to wash and chop the kale, then freeze it to use a bit at a time over the winter. It’s just too much for a single recipe now, even though I do love it in my Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup. I may do the same to the butternut squash, since it doesn’t seem very hardy and I don’t want this one to rot out on me like the ones from last week. I’m foisting the celeriac on my parents — my mom likes it. (Sorry, Dad!) As for the sweet potatoes and carrots, I don’t even know where to start. Maybe I need to invite people over to eat, and only serve Roasted Carrots, by Pastor Ryan and Sweet Potato & Buttermilk Corn Bread.
December 10, 2009
Bad, butternut. Bad! These are the squash I picked up from my farm share less than a week ago. I had them sitting on my kitchen counter, just like all my other squash do. From the front, they looked fine. But when I went to pick one up my finger went right through it. Ewww. They were totally rotted out in a various spots. I have never had this happen to a squash before! My kitchen is really chilly, even when our heat is on, so I’m not sure what went wrong. I do know that the cauliflower I got from my CSA last week was already rotting when I received it — I had to cut about a third of it away. But these butternuts had almost no viable flesh left once I cut them open and trimmed off the moldy spots. While I’m sure the boys were thrilled that this part of dinner was thwarted, I was looking forward to eating them! We had some raw carrots on the side instead. That is, I served them and the boys looked at them.
December 8, 2009
I was sure I had nearly a full bag of lentils in my pantry, but it turned out to be just half a cup. This turned out to be a happy mistake. Instead of the two full cups of lentils this recipe called for, I used a quarter of that and then filled in the rest with chunks of washed, but unpeeled, white potatoes from my farm share. They are perfect together, and create a really delicious Indian-inspired dish. Although there are green chiles in here, it’s not spicy, I promise.
I probably would have preferred the onions if I’d taken the time to caramelize them in some olive oil first. I also thought the flavor improved the second day, when my leftovers were reheated. Still, I will definitely make this recipe again, and it inspired me to think some more about other curry dishes for the Crock-Pot.
Crock-Pot Indian-Spiced Chicken with Lentils & Potatoes
Adapted from Indian Spiced Lentils with Chicken
½ c. lentils, picked through and rinsed
1 qt. potatoes (4-6 medium), washed and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, diced
1½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. dried mustard
½ tsp. turmeric
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
4 c. vegetable broth
1.5 – 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, halved)
Place everything up to and including the vegetable broth in the slow cooker and give it a stir to combine. Lay the chicken on top. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Stir and serve over rice, if desired.
Note: the original recipe suggests leaving the lid off the Crock-Pot while it is still on high for the last few minutes of cooking if you feel there’s too much liquid left for your taste. I didn’t do this, but did use a slotted spoon to serve.
December 6, 2009
Second to last farm share pick up of the season! I’m enjoying these cold-weather and storage crops more than I expected. I made a Soy Vay stir fry with cabbage, shredded carrots, and beef last week which was a delicious way to use up a whole small head of cabbage.
This week we received a quart of potatoes, a large bag of carrots, more sweet potatoes, a cabbage, 2 small butternut squash, a bunch of kale, and a big cauliflower (that was unfortunately already rotting when I got it home).
I have been simply roasting the butternut squash after cubing it, sometimes eating it alone, and sometimes dressing it up like in Roasted Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese & Walnuts. Either way, it is definitely my favorite squash this year (move over, acorn!).
December 6, 2009
I had buttermilk leftover from making cupcakes out of my Dr. Pepper Cake recipe, and a bag of sweet potatoes from my farm share, so I headed over to CookThink to see if I could find a recipe to use them up. I got a perfect match: Sweet Potato Corn Bread. Even more perfect because it was spectacularly delicious.
This is a moist, sweet corn bread — but not so sweet that you feel like you’re eating cake. The small amount of cayenne adds a subtle background heat which was just enough so that A. detected it, but didn’t mind it. The sweet potatoes are pureed before being added to the batter, so they were very stealth — perfect for my produce-averse kids. My parents, Jason, and I loved it as well. I might not buy buttermilk specifically for this recipe, but if I had to use some up I would definitely make it again (maybe as muffins next time).
December 6, 2009
We hosted Thanksgiving last night and I think it was a great success. I love the way the holiday table looks set for the meal and decorated with flowers and crafts the boys made! I had two goals for Thanksgiving this year: spend more time with my family while they’re here (less time prepping and cleaning up after), and make a meal that is well-loved and not too experimental. Last year the food was fine, but there was nothing that came out great. Not so this year! (more…)
November 27, 2009
There was no pick-up last week, and after yesterday’s share we have two pick-ups remaining in 2009. Around this time I usually feel a little fatigued by the challenge of using the produce up each week. But this year, with the week off and then the huge, gorgeous share yesterday, I am feeling excited that we still have two more weeks of vegetables coming.
We received: mesclun salad mix, a big bag of carrots (I’m thinking of Roasted Carrots for Thanksgiving), a bag of sweet potatoes, arugula, a cabbage, a butternut squash, 2 celeriac roots, a couple of onions, a quart of potatoes, and green head of cauliflower.
Last year I mashed the celeriac with some potatoes, but it didn’t do anything for me. I might try it roasted the roots this year instead. If you have a favorite way to prepare celeriac, please let me know!
November 24, 2009
A couple of weeks ago I sent out a call for slow cooker recipes, and I got a terrific response. Thank you again! This recipe comes from reader Rebecca in DC, who adapted it from something she found on RecipeZaar. Rebecca calls it minestrone, and I would agree… except that there’s barley in it instead of pasta. To me, minestrone must have ditalini or similar, those small tube-shaped pasta pieces in it. So for my own reference, I have to call this a vegetable and barley soup. If you like minestrone, though, you will love this version. It is rich and velvety, even though it’s vegan. It is my favorite soup I’ve made in my slow cooker in recent memory. And, best of all, it uses up kale from my farm share. I thought it was delicious right out of the Crock-Pot, but Rebecca says it’s even better the next day, reheated.
Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup
Adapted from Rebecca’s version
1 28 oz. can fire-roasted, crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 small zucchinis, skin on, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 c. barley, rinsed
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 15 oz. can cannellini bean (or any white bean), rinsed
1 cup curly kale, roughly chopped
1 vegetable bouillon cube (I used Telma brand)
1 Tbsp. seasoning mix (I used Mrs. Dash)
6-8 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
Add all ingredients up to and including 6 cups of water in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. If needed, added additional water to thin, and season with salt and pepper.
November 19, 2009
I made this recipe last week at my friend Jen’s suggestion. What I love about getting recipes from friends, or from sites with lots of reviews for each recipe, is that you have some idea ahead of time of how to adjust the dish to maximize its potential. For instance, Jen told me not to cook it for as long as the recipe said, and that she would cut down on the wine next time because that flavor was a little overwhelming. OK, done.
We liked this dish a lot. The short, high temp cooking time helped the chicken breasts stay firm and much less mushy or mealy than they can sometimes get when cooked slow and low in a CrockPot. Although I’m not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, they worked well here. You must cut them into pretty chunky spears so that they do not disintegrate during cooking. I served this meal with some dinner rolls, which we used to mop up the sauce. Next time I might add some cornstarch at the end of cooking to thicken up the liquid, or else serve it over something absorbent, like rice.
Slow Cooker Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into spears
8 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled (keep whole)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half width-wise (1.5 lbs.)
1 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Add vegetables to the crock, and then arrange the 6 pieces of chicken on top. Pour the stock and wine over everything, and sprinkle it with the thyme.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until sweet potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked through. Stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Serve over egg noodles or rice to absorb the cooking liquid.
November 10, 2009
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 4 and 6, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 