P I C K L I S T
LEEKS - RUTABAGA - CELERIAC - WATERMELON RADISH - RED KURI WINTER SQUASH - BROCCOLI - FENNEL - SPICY SALAD GREENS (ARUGULA & MIZUNA) - TINY RUSSET STORAGE POTATOES
BREAD: FROZEN PIZZA DOUGH
It’s a real who’s who of root veg this week- so I won't bore you all with the weather and how it totally dominates our everyday life (as per usual) at Edgewater. But most importantly, let it be known that our field crew drops from 8 to four farmers this coming Saturday when Roy, Garnet, Strong, and Jasper head back home to Jamaica. Can’t get too emotional over their leaving just yet, we have a ton to accomplish before that day- and like most professional farmers do, we will continue to bury our feelings in farm chores: cleaning squash & bagging potatoes. But goodness gracious, they will be missed- and every day until they leave, we will celebrate field crew love via baked goods fresh from the farmstand kitchen. Today it’s carrot ginger muffins. Tomorrow it’s ginger cookies. Thursday, it’s donuts from Jumbo Honey Bun Bakes. Who knows what Friday will bring- But Saturday, there will be hugs and tears.
Pro-tips:
Storage heads up: Friends! Are you experiencing refrigerator overwhelm with all this veg?!? Here is a little heads up, if it is a root or an allium or a squash, and you are not eating it tonite, leave it out… maybe even make yourself a cutesy little counter top cornucopia of CSA goods… OR, if you do not anticipate meal making in the next little bit with said allium, root, or squash, do keep in a cold area of your home- but not freezing! MUDROOMS AND GARAGE SPACES are great places to hold veg. Ray can attest to this, as he often comments on my vegetable hoarding skills as he steps over eurocrates and bushels of beets and onions and squash to enter our house. You too, can start hoarding your veggies today with your fancy ½ bushel box of baby russet potatoes. It will keep for a long time if stored correctly- think cool and dry.
Rutabaga… Because it would not be a proper Fall CSA without a rutabaga.
Let it be known that the rutabaga is by far the least sexy veg. However there is a case to be made for the rutabaga. Like turnips, they roast beautifully when chopped, and taste great as a mash. And people swear by them when paired with pork. Nigel Slater has tons of great recipes to explore around this root. I highly recommend a google sesh searching “nigel slater” and “swede*” for your rutabaga recipe.
*swede is another name for rutabaga
WATERMELON RADISH: What appears to be your everyday root veg on the outside, is actually a ruby diamond on the inside. Slice in half to be wowed, then proceed to eat. Great roasted (like you would a beet), shaved thin in salad or crudite’ it up into spears with dip of choice.
CELERIAC (aka celery root): For those that are experiencing this veg for the first time, again prepare to be wowed. There are sooo many recipes on google for what to do with this alien looking rooty cutie- but the bottomline here, it is a less starchy potato with a hint of celery. Roast in cubes with salt and pep, boil to mash, or follow the next recipe below…
Garden keeper's pie is a cozy vegan main course with beets, lentils, herbs, and a creasy celery root topping. Perfect for a holiday meal.
PREP TIME:45 MINS/ COOK TIME:1 HR 35 MINS/ TOTAL TIME:2 HRS 20 MINS/ SERVINGS 4
FILLING:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cooking onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves minced
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and divided
pinch of chili flakes, optional
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
5 cups-worth of small diced root or tuber vegetables or squash (I used a mix of butternut squash, carrots & beets)
⅓ cup black or french lentils, rinsed
2 ½ cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
sea salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon cold filtered water
CELERY ROOT MASH:
3 cups peeled and diced celery root
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, plus extra
¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
Notes: These are rough measures, but this isn’t a fussy endeavor by any means. You’re just making one big sauté, thickening it with arrowroot, topping it with a rustic mash and baking it until the whole thing bubbles and browns.
Some cooked beans would fill in nicely for the lentils. Just make sure you throw them in closer to the end of the cooking process.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil 4 ramekins/cocottes/mini gratin dishes with at least 8 oz/1 cup capacity. Place dishes on a sheet pan and set aside.
For the filling, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until very, very soft, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, and chili flakes (if using) to the pot and stir. Sauté until the garlic is very fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir. Add the 5 cups of diced vegetables and the lentils to the pot and stir to coat everything in the oil. Season heartily with salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables and lentils another two minutes or so, stirring often.
Add the vegetable stock and tamari and stir. The liquid should cover all the vegetables and lentils nicely, by about a half inch. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are just soft, about 45 minutes. It helps if you place a lid on top of the pot slightly askew, leaving a little gap for air to escape.
When the filling is done, in a small bowl mix together the arrowroot powder and cold water. Scrape this slurry into the pot with the filling and stir to mix it in. Remove the pot from the heat.
For the celery root mash, place the diced celery root and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan. Cover the vegetables with cold water/vegetable stock if you like, and then place the pot over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer until the celery root pieces are tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain the celery root and garlic, and place it in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Pulse the vegetables a couple times to get them moving. Add the olive oil, unsweetened almond milk, and some salt and pepper. Run the motor on high until you have a cream, homogenous mixture. Check it for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Divide the filling amongst the 4 oiled dishes. Then, divide the celery root mash among the tops of the 4 dishes, smoothing it out with a butter knife or spatula. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of each pie and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Place the assembled pies back on the baking sheet and slide into the oven. Bake the pies until the filling is bubbling and the tops are very lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
From The First Mess (thefirstmess.com)/ SERVES: 2-3
NOTES: This recipe is so versatile: use any steamed/roasted/grilled/raw vegetables you like, noodles of whatever persuasion you prefer. But the sauce! Please keep the sauce :)
soba:
2-3 portions of soba noodles (I like a 1:1, sometimes 1:2, noodle + veg ratio, but make as much as you prefer)
1/2-1 full bunch of broccoli, cut into florets (save the stalks for green juice or maybe some pesto?)
sauce:
1-2 garlic cloves, grated on a rasp
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled + grated on a rasp
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
splash of maple syrup/brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp light miso
hot toasted sesame oil to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of cayenne or chili flakes
juice of 1/2 a lime
4-5 brazil nuts, chopped + divided
Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. This usually takes anywhere from 8-10 minutes once your water's boiling. Drain them and rinse with cold water. While the noodles are cooking, in a small bowl whisk/stir together the grated garlic, ginger, tamari, maple syrup/brown rice syrup, miso, hot toasted sesame oil, olive oil, cayenne, lime juice and chopped brazil nuts. Add a little fresh ground black pepper if you want. Set aside.
Steam the broccoli to a point you find enjoyable. I like mine still sorta raw-ish, so once the water's simmering in the pot, that steamer basket hangs out for about 3-4 minutes.
Divide the noodles and broccoli among bowls, drizzle the sauce on top, sprinkle the tops with some extra chopped brazil nuts if you like and serve.