Can you believe Week 2 is already upon us?  Feels like just yesterday that we got the first update and here we are already enjoying radishes and broccoli rabe!  Shana is particularly excited about the beautiful radishes and the garlic scapes, her favorite, in today’s share.  She uses the scapes anywhere she would want a sharp oniony-garlic flavor: chopped in egg or chicken salads, on crostini, in salads or cooked down and blended into soups, dips etc.  Bob is looking forward to taking a second crack at garlic scapes.  Last year he used most of his batch for a pesto as Farmer John suggested but he found it too over-the-top in garlic flavor.  This year the scapes are going into a new favorite sauce: chimichurri.  Chimichurri is a good catch-all sauce that can use up just about any green herb, so it makes sense to add some garlic scapes but not to let them be the main ingredient.  Bob tends not to measure anything when making chimichurri, just throw the herbs, a hefty pinch or two of salt to taste, two glugs of red wine vinegar and drizzle in enough oil to get a spoonable consistency and you’re all set – spread over steak and you’re in heaven.  If you prefer to work from a recipe, here is a good one for Garlic Scape Chimichurri that features toasted cumin seed for a deeper flavor.  Jessica might be the most excited for the garlic scapes – she squealed when she saw them!  He suggestion for another way use the scapes:  “I like to grill my mine. I make a pouch out of foil or use a grilling basket, coat them will olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon, grill them for just a few minutes and they sweeten up.  So so yummy!”

As for the radishes, Shana likes to use Martha Stewart’s Quick Pickled Radish recipe; she also uses them to top Stewart’s Chipotle Chicken Tacos.  Last year in Week 2 when Bob tried pickling radishes for the first time, he admitted to eating them right out of the jar with a fork – give them a try and you will be too.

One of Bob’s favorite quick meals that he made for the first time with CSA peas is this: toast slices of a good loaf of bread (Calandra’s panella is perfect), spread them with warm ricotta and top with a mixture of smashed peas, olive oil and salt.  It’s so simple but so satisfying on an early Summer evening!

Serving Suggestions is a recurring article that will be posted weekly during the CSA season featuring photos, tips and recipes.  Content is provided by Jessica, Shana and Bob.  If you would like to submit your own photos or recipes, please email Bob at robertfcowper@gmail.com.  To read through previous Serving Suggestions articles, click here for an archive.  You can also use the handy search feature at the top of the right hand menu bar to search for the name of a particular ingredient you need help using.

Welcome to to the 2017 Caldwell CSA!  Please check back to the website each week for serving suggestions and pictures from the week’s share.  If you have any pictures or recipes you’d like to contribute, please email them to Bob at robertfcowper@gmail.com.

Unsure what to do with your swiss chard?  Don’t worry we struggle with that too sometimes.  Shana suggested that Jessica share her recipe for the “chard quiche thing” which probably wouldn’t sell as good in a restaurant as the real name for the recipe: Mid July Swiss Chard Pie!  The recipe calls for literally “as much swiss chard as you can find,” leeks, dill and eggs.  If you don’t have leeks, I’m sure you could make it just as good substituting some scallions or thinly sliced onion.  If you don’t have the time, or the patience, to make your own pie dough, don’t let that stop you – there’s no shame in using a frozen crust!

Another item unfamiliar to some might be the beautiful white turnips in this week’s share.  Last year, I discovered butter braised radishes for the first time which made a wonderful side dish.  Jessica uses a similar technique in one of her favorite recipes, Butter Braised New Turnips.  I know that turnip greens are very good for you but I struggle to use them.  If you need any convincing, check out this website which extols their virtue and makes me want to try something like this recipe for Spicy Skillet Turnip Greens.

Serving Suggestions is a recurring article that will be posted weekly during the CSA season featuring photos, tips and recipes.  Content is provided by Jessica, Shana and Bob.  If you would like to submit your own photos or recipes, please email Bob at robertfcowper@gmail.com.  To read through previous Serving Suggestions articles, click here for an archive.  You can also use the handy search feature at the top of the right hand menu bar to search for the name of a particular ingredient you need help using.

From Shana:

Not sure what to do with all those little bok choy’s we got this week?  Put them in some soup! I got this packaged ramen from Whole Foods which involves boiling water for the noodles and soups for a few minutes (yay!). I added the bok choy, carrots, shiitakes and cilantro and it was delish!

We have been a little light on our weekly serving suggestion articles recently, sorry about that!  We’re going to use this post to combine some of the photos from the last few weeks as well as some good recipes for the items that you may still have leftover (is anybody else hoarding potatoes like I seem to be?!).    – Shana & Bob

Garlic:  Bob has been saving heads of garlic to give this recipe a try.  He’s have never made it but loves all things Alton Brown so it will certainly be fantastic.  40 Cloves and a Chicken.

Potatoes: Shana loves this method of cooking potatoes which is perfect for families who have children who like to get involved.  Let them smash away!

Onions: One of Bob’s favorite soups to make is french onion so that’s a no-brainer (and really easy if you use your slow cooker).  But what if you have more onions than the soup recipe calls for?  Cook them all, reserve some before adding the broth, google “caramelized onion fritatta” and go crazy.  There are so many recipes out there that you can find inspiration to use up some other CSA veggies.

Cabbage: Did you go apple picking last weekend?  Or maybe you have some from your fruit share?  Give this a try, it’s beautiful and would make a great side dish to go along with a Wrong Direction pork tenderloin.

Butternut Squash: Shana picked up Bon Apetit’s Thanksgiving issue and it features a ton of mouthwatering squash recipes.  If you don’t subscribe to the magazine, you can get them online here.

Cauliflower: Bob had the best intention of making these cauliflower hash browns last Saturday morning but got sidetracked and forgot all about them.  Thankfully the head of cauliflower is still holding on and I’ll be making them this weekend.

Broccoli: One of Bob’s favorite quick weeknight dinners is cavatelli and broccoli (and sausage if you have it).  Boil water for the cavatelli and cook it per the package directions.  Add the broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3-4 minutes.  After draining the mixture, add it back to the hot pot and toss with butter, minced garlic, olive oil and red pepper flake.  He typically start with a tablespoon each of butter and oil and add a little more if needed to coat depending how big of a batch I made.  When using sausage… brown it in the pasta pot first, remove it with a slotted spoon, drain the fat and then fill the pot with water to cook the pasta/broccoli.  Save yourself the extra dishes!  The dish would probably be tasty, albeit monochromatic, with cauliflower too.

Escarole & Greens: Not a fan of escarole?  Shana wasn’t either until she tried this recipe.  She now makes it frequently this time of year, it’s perfect for when you’re feeling sick with a scratchy throat.  Serve it with garlic bread on the side for an easy and largely hands-off dinner.

Parsnips: I typically roast my parsnips like carrots and potatoes (and often combine the three) but I am second guessing that boring choice after finding these two recipes:  Spiced Honey Parsnip Bread and Parsnip Gratin with Tumeric and Cumin.

From Bob:

I’ve been on the lookout for new chicken-on-the-bone recipes recently and stumbled upon this recipe for Portuguese Style Roasted Chicken.  It was a great way to use up some of the CSA items I’ve been collecting lately: hot peppers, garlic and potatoes.  The smell as it was roasting was fantastic and although I burnt the potatoes a bit it still came out very good.

I also found this useful page from the NY Times that features a bunch of different variations on booking bone-in chicken pieces.

CSA Week 17

From Shana:

• Toss beans in olive oil
• Liberally salt and add any seasoning (I add powdered ginger and some dried herbs from earlier in the season)
• Put in a hot oven, I do 425 and watch and take them out to turn them frequently. They should slightly browned and crispy

CSA Week 16

From Shana:

Roasted Red (or Yellow) Pepper Pasta

One of my favorite things to do with ripe bell peppers is to roast them. If you’re sick of eating roasted peppers, an easy dish is to roast them and then purée them in a food processor with olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and anything else that you think would be good!  Mix with any type of cooked pasta and garnish with fresh basil and tomatoes on the top. Enjoy!

From Bob:

It seems that the “extras” box tends to go under utilized because there are always a ton of hot peppers left when I get there.  I understand they are tough to use in recipes, especially for those with young children, so I thought I would share my favorite non-food use of hot peppers: home infused chili pepper vodka.  I recommend starting with a bottle of good quality vodka – don’t use anything too cheap or too expensive for this.  I use Tito’s since a lot of people like it and it’s not too expensive.  Pour about 3-4 ounces of vodka into a clean and empty glass bottle to make room for the peppers in the bottle (you can use the extra to top off the bottle after you use some).  Wearing gloves, cut the stems off 2-3 peppers and cut in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds (we don’t want them floating in our drink) but leave the ribs because that’s where the heat is.  Slice into long, thin strips that will fit through the bottle opening.  Let the vodka infuse at least overnight but it will keep weeks, if not longer, and improve in flavor.  Make sure the peppers stay covered by the vodka, use some of the extra you poured off to keep them submerged.  It makes a fantastic base for a bloody mary and is a must try for a homemade vodka sauce.  If you’ll be entertaining, use a mixture of red and green peppers as it will look great in the bottle.

Griggstown Farm Chicken

From Bob:

I’ve been loving the Griggstown Farms chicken every two weeks.  I get the cut-up chicken which is perfect for weeknight dinners – no butchering needed and the smaller pieces cook faster than a whole bird.  I’ve done the chicken on the grill, in the slow cooker and just plain roasted too.  I was looking for something a little different this week and looked to my Cook it in Cast Iron cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen.  The recipe I used was for Indoor Barbecue Chicken which used the hot cast iron pan to make a quick homemade barbecue sauce after the chicken was done.  The sauce was great (used as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese the next night – fantastic) but it made the chicken a little soggy after I had worked so had on a flavorful crust.  Next time I will follow the recipe but stop when the chicken comes out of the oven and just serve it with a squeeze of lemon.  Here’s my adapted version of the Test Kitchen recipe:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 tsp of spice mixture (at least 1 tsp each brown sugar and salt, other spices to taste, see note at bottom)
• 1 cut-up chicken

1. Turn oven to 500 degrees.  Place cast iron pan in oven while it preheats.
2. Pat chicken dry, rub with oil and spice mixture to coat.
3. When oven reaches 500 degrees, turn it down to 450.  Take out the pan and add the chicken, skin side down.
4. Let chicken cook in oven for 15 minutes then flip.  Cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through.  Be sure to check both white and dark meat for doneness – you may need to pull smaller pieces sooner than larger pieces to avoid any getting overdone.
5. Let chicken cool for at least 5 min before serving.

Note: mix up your spice mixture depending on the flavor profile you’re looking for.  Start with 1 tsp each of brown sugar and salt.  I used chili powder, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder.  For an Asian twist, use some five spice and ginger powders instead of the cumin and garlic powder.  Or go with some ground coriander and garam masala for a curried flavor.  Just be careful if you’re using a pre-made spice blend as those typically have salt, in that case omit the starting teaspoon.  The possibilities are endless and it’s a perfect way to use up random CSA veggies – simply roast in the hot oven with the chicken, tossed with a little oil and matching spices and you’re good to go.

From Shana:

CSA Week 13

From Shana:

From Bob:

When the CSA started, I began keeping a bag in my freezer for trimmings and leftover items that were about to go bad.  My plan was to use the bag as the base for a homemade vegetable stock.  I finally felt I had enough so I made my stock this Saturday.  Ultimately, I ended up with some fennel stalks and fronds, two celery stalks, a few random halves and thirds of onion, leftover matchstick cut carrots and two whole bell peppers.  I supplemented the stockpile (get it?) with some fresh items I had on hand but knew I wouldn’t need right away – another onion and some fresh parsley – added water to cover and let it cook away.  I let it go for about two hours, after which it had reduced slightly and had some flavor.  Many of the recipes I looked at called for 30-60 minutes which I did not feel was enough, it still tasted too watery.  I salted it well, maybe about 2 tablespoons, but it didn’t end up being enough when I used the stock for a soup but it’s definitely better to salt to taste later than have an over salty stock.  Straining the stock was made easier by a long handled spider and a fine mesh strainer.  I poured the stock through the strainer and into a 2 gallon pitcher for easy fridge storage.  I used some stock to make a simple dinner the next night.  I brought it to a boil, added some frozen peas and corn, a package of udon noodles, some soy sauce and some chili garlic sauce.  It was simple but tasty and a good way to use up CSA scraps that would have gone to waste otherwise.