P I C K L I S T
CORN - TOMATO - BEETS - POTATOES - GARLIC - ONION - APPLES - WINTER SQUASH -
CABBAGE - LETTUCE - RADISH - LEMON BALM - HOUSEPLANT - PEPPER - MELON
Hoorah! Fall CSA is here! This is the time of year when we begin to exhale after a long season of non-stop growing/picking. While we are still deep in the harvest phase of our farming season it is approached without the same intensity and fervor as planting season in May, strawberry season in June or Blueberries in July. Rather, we pause daily to sip on our coffee and occasional donut rather than burn our mouths trying to gulp and go. There is still much in the ground to pick and store, but with the change in light levels and drop in temps, it is not like anything will be going to seed anytime soon. However, frozen ground is on the horizon, so we can’t totally hibernate and catch up on the most recent season of Stranger Things just yet. Other things on the Edgewater shortlist include planting garlic for next season, keeping up with raspberries, harvesting roots, buttoning up fields, rolling up greenhouses, digging potatoes, and eating as many fresh baked cookies made in the farmstand’s kitchen as possible before the kitchen staff goes on Winter Break.
Pro-tips:
Lemonbalm: make tea! Let leaves steep in hot water- add honey if desired- enjoy.
LENTIL, CABBAGE, AND FETA SALAD WITH FRIZZLED ONIONS BY LUKAS VOLGER
JENNY’S NOTE: This is a GO-TO recipe in my house- big hit with all. We never have all the ingredients. Many times we’ve made this without the lentils or onion- BUT the main players here are cabbage, feta, toasted almonds, fresh herbs, salt, and dressing. If you can gather those essential foods then chop on and eat up! Also, the book this recipe is from, START SIMPLE by Lukas Volger (Copyright © 2020 by Lukas Volger. Published by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.) proves to be an excellent harvest eating resource.
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup brown, black or dark green lentils
Salt
½ medium white or yellow onion
Olive oil
5 cups sliced cabbage
¼ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon honey
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1.2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
½ cup parsley leaves or dill fronds
Combine the lentils with 1 cup water and ½ teaspoon salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 12 to 18 minutes, depending on which lentils you use. Drain off and liquid left in the pan and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, slice the onion into paper-thin wasps, preferably using a mandolin, or working carefully with a chef’s knife. Warm about ¼ inch of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Dip a piece of onion into it to ensure it’s properly hot- it should sizzle immediately- then add all the onions. Cook, stirring often with a fork, untl they get crispy and turn a reddish-brown color, 10 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the final few minutes, as they burn easily. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel- lined plate and sprinkle with salt. SAVE THE OIL!
When the oil has cooled until it’s safe to handle, strain it through a fine mesh sieve or coffee filter to remove all solids into a glass jar (I use a 3-inch strainer for this task).
Toss the cabbage, ½ teaspoon of salt, and the sugar in a colander and let soften for 15 to 30 minutes, then gently press with a spatula to drain off excess liquid.
Combine the vinegar, mustard, and honey in a jar, along with the 3 tablespoons of the cooled onion-cooking oil. Shake to emulsify.
Fold the cabbage, lentils, cheese, almonds, and parsley leaves with most of the dressing in a serving bowl. Taste and add more dressing if needed. Pile the frizzled onions on top, tossing them into the salad at the table it’s being served.
NOTE ON YOUR CORN: This stuff is not the freshest, but ideal for soups, read on for soup inspo…
Prep Time 25 mins/ Cook Time 30 mins/ Total Time 55 mins/ Servings 6
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves minced
1 lb potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 ¾ cups cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 hot pepper/chili of choice, minced (see notes)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup beer (I used Muskoka Brewery Harvest Ale)
5 cups vegetable stock (See notes!)
5 cups corn kernels, scraped from about 5-6 cobs of corn
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika and thyme and stir. Add the potatoes and stir to coat in the spices. Add the white beans, season everything with lots of salt and pepper, and stir.
Add the chili and garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the beer. Let it froth up and then gently stir. Bring the beer and vegetables to a boil. Then, add the vegetable stock to the pot and give it another stir.
Cover the pot and bring the chowder to a boil. Reduce the heat to a strong simmer and let the soup cook, covered, until the potatoes are completely tender, about 15-17 minutes.
Once the potatoes are tender, add the corn and continue to simmer the chowder until the kernels are cooked and slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Then carefully ladle half of the hot chowder into an upright, vented blender (like a Vitamix). Turn the blender on and slowly bring the speed up to high. Blend the harvest corn chowder until creamy and smooth, about 40 seconds.
Return the blended portion of the chowder to the pot and stir to combine. Stir in the lime juice as well. Check for seasoning at this point and adjust if necessary. Serve the harvest corn chowder hot with chopped cilantro on top and extra black pepper.
Equipment
Blender
Recipe Notes
I blend half of this chowder to give it a creamy texture, but if you’d like yours to be SUPER creamy, throw a handful of soaked cashews into the blender as well.
I used a freakishly hot banana pepper from my garden here. A jalapeńo would be amazing!
If I know that I’m making corn chowder, I like to simmer some really good homemade vegetable stock with scraped corn cobs beforehand. If you only have time for boxed stock, just give it a boil with the scraped cobs for 20 minutes or so. It will still make a difference!
If you avoid alcohol, just use more stock and add a touch more lime at the end.
Corn and potatoes are starchy and need lots of salt and acidity to come alive. Season liberally!
Vegan harvest corn chowder is made hearty with white beans and flavourful with beer, lime, hot peppers, and cilantro. So cozy and delicious.