Archives

Update & Share: 7/11/23

Jul10

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

Today’s share will include: summer squash, choice of spinach or Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, broccoli, sweet onions, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, and choice of an herb (cilantro or dill)

Serving suggestions:

  • This week we will get our first batch of kale. If you want to use the kale in a raw preparation where you’ll be dressing it, here is a tip: after thoroughly washing and drying the kale, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with some salt, then massage the kale leaves well, then roughly chop. The massaged kale will be softer and slightly wilted, making it better to serve as salad greens. (Don’t forget that you already salted the kale when adding dressing and other seasonings)
  • Broccoli can handle a hard roast very well which brings out a concentrated flavor. Roast some simply seasoned florets — oil, salt, pepper — at 450 degrees until they start to char in spots. Toss with some finely minced raw garlic while still piping hot, and toss on some red pepper flakes if you’d like.

Update & Share: 6/27/23

Jun26

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

Today’s share will include: Lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes, garlic scapes, summer squash, kohlrabi or Napa cabbage, peas (more sugar snap and snow peas now), and parsley.

Serving suggestions:

Update & Share: 6/20/23

Jun19

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

Today’s share will include: spinach, peas (mostly English or shell types), lettuce, summer squash
choice of arugula or tatsoi, salad turnips, fresh garlic, bok choy, and choice of an herb (cilantro, dill,
chervil, marjoram or summer savory).

Serving suggestions:

  • Spring CSA peas are best eaten raw or barely cooked so their freshness and sweetness come through. I like to smash them with some herbs (mint, dill, cilantro, all of the above), olive oil and flaky sea salt. Then I spread some high quality (or homemade) ricotta on top of toast and top with the smashed pea mixture. One of the best spring dinners, and it only takes a few minutes after shelling the peas.
  • Bok choy is a good addition to soup because you can get two textures from one ingredient. I like to cook the dark green leaves for longer so they wilt and melt into the broth. And then the crunchier stems I will add just before serving so they soften a bit but keep their snap. Any soup with greens can work, think Italian Wedding Soup or Caldo Verde and use the bok choy instead.

Update & Share: 6/13/23

Jun12

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

Today’s share will include: lettuce, radishes, spinach, summer squash, garlic scapes, choice of arugula or tatsoi, choice of cilantro or dill

Serving suggestions:

  • Make a pesto with the garlic scapes (NYT Cooking)
  • Mix dill in with your greens for an herby spring mix like they sell at the grocery store
  • A favorite in our house… lightly wilt spinach in some rendered bacon fat then top with the crispy bacon, a soft boiled egg and some quick-pickled red onion

Serving Suggestions: 11/4/19

Nov4

Welcome to the newest installment of Serving Suggestions, the fourth of 2019!  This week we have a suggestion from Bob on how he turned some pantry staples and CSA leftovers into a surprisingly tasty dinner:

I had a work event last Sunday so knew I wouldn’t have a chance to do my usual food shopping, but I did want to cook rather than order takeout.  I had some leftover cheese tortellini in the fridge that I needed to finish before they went bad.  The question was, what do I serve with the tortellini?  I didn’t have any jarred tomato sauce or the ingredients for homemade, so I knew I was destined for a butter-based finish instead.  I checked my dwindling CSA stockpile and saw that I had some leftover onion and acorn squash.  I thought through some potential dishes and landed on what I’d call: Cheese Tortellini with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Acorn Squash.  I cooked all three components separately and then tossed them with some browned butter and topped with freshly grated pepper and parmesan.  My wife and I were both surprised at how well the dish came together and we agreed it was the perfect dinner for a cool Fall day.

 

Serving Suggestions is a recurring article that will be posted periodically 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.

Serving Suggestions: 9/3/19

Sep3

Welcome to the newest installment of Serving Suggestions, the third of 2019!  This week we have a suggestion from Bob on how to use some of the root vegetables that might start piling up with this week’s share:

A few weeks back, I decided to grab some of the kohlrabi from the extras basket.  When I first started the CSA back in 2016, kohlrabi was something I had neither seen nor tasted before.  Those first bulbs sat in the crisper drawer for weeks as I contemplated what to do with them.  I added them to a stir fry for some crunch which was a nice touch but fell short of the potential I thought kohlrabi had.  After some online searching, I came upon the idea of grating kohlrabi into latkes (potato pancakes).  Three years later, I returned to my original inspiration and am ready to make another batch tonight.  Making shredded vegetable pancakes is a grate (!) way to use up some of the root vegetables that are accumulating in your kitchen.  A mixture of kohlrabi, potato and onion is what I’m aiming for tonight.  Zucchini would also be a welcome addition if you still had some on hand.  I haven’t tried it yet but I wonder if grated beet, in small a quantity, would work as well.  No matter what veggies you choose, start by ringing out excess moisture before you mix with eggs, flour, salt and pepper.  Fry the patties in a slick of oil in a nonstick pan until crisp.  I like to serve with a horseradish sour cream (simply prepared horseradish mixed with sour cream) and applesauce.  It can be labor intensive for a quick weeknight dinner but make enough so you have leftovers and you’ll thank yourself later.

Serving Suggestions is a recurring article that will be posted periodically 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.

Serving Suggestions: 7/1/19

Jul1

Welcome to the newest installment of Serving Suggestions, the first of 2019!  This week we have a suggestion for Bob on how to use the abundant salad turnips we received last week:

I felt a bit intimidated by the salad turnips last week.  I’ve definitely wasted some in the past and never feel like I have an exciting dish to use them in.  I decided to check one of my favorite fonts of recipes: NYT Cooking.  Sure enough, they had a recipe that caught my eye and inspired me right away, Shaved Turnip Salad with Arugula and Prosciutto.  To keep it simple, I used a mandoline to thinly slice the turnips and bought a clam-shell package of arugula since I hadn’t received any from the CSA yet.  I prefer the crispness of diced pancetta to prosciutto so I picked some of that up instead.  I cooked the pancetta in a nonstick frying pan with a few drops of olive oil to get them started.  Once they were wonderfully crispy, I spooned off a few tablespoons of the leftover fat to cool and serve as the vinaigrette base.  To the fat, I whisked spicy honey, cider vinegar and S&P.  I tossed the arugula and the turnips in the dressing and topped with the pancetta.  Served with some ciabatta it was a bright and different summer dinner!

We also have a suggestion from Ginger of Treelicious Farms:

Sour cherries are delicious for the 4th of July as a crumble.  My favorite topping takes 5 minutes to prep and is placed on top of any prepared fruit. Cut 1 stick of margarine into 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar — this creates the yummy topping. Baking for 35 min at 350 F in the oven should produce a nice golden top with juice on the edges. Enjoy alone or with ice cream! This is a favorite summer treat with fresh fruit of any kind.

Serving Suggestions is a recurring article that will be posted periodically 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.

Serving Suggestions: 9/11/18

Sep12

Welcome to the newest installment of Serving Suggestions.  This week we have a suggestion for Bob on how to use the delicata squash we received this week:

When I first saw the delicata squash this week, I was a bit intimidated.  I had never cooked them before and honestly thought they might just be ornamental because of the colorful striping.  After a little googling I realized that they are the perfect vessel for a flavorful stuffing and that they can be eaten whole, skin and all.  The recipe I started with came from NY Times Cooking and was called Whole-Roasted Stuffed Delicata Squash.  I made some modifications based on what I had on hand (i.e. I subbed arugula for the kale) and it came out great.  Here’s what I did… I sliced the squash in half length-wise and scraped out the seeds.  I sprayed them with cooking spray and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.  While I worked on the stuffing, I gave them a fifteen minute head start in a 400 degree oven.  For the stuffing, I started by toasting walnuts in a dry skillet and removing them to a large bowl.  Next, I sauteed chopped onion and garlic until soft and added arugula until it wilted and cooked down.  I dumped the veggies into the bowl.  Then I added stuffing cubes from the pantry (you could make your own from stale or toasted bread) to the pan with a few tablespoons of butter, tossing constantly to coat and lightly brown.  I added the cubes, dried cranberries and dried herbs to the bowl and mixed to combine.  To help bring the mixture together, I added a few tablespoons of chicken broth (I skipped the maple syrup the recipe calls for so needed some moisture).  Once it cooled a bit, I stirred in blue cheese crumbles.  Finally, I added the stuffing to the parcooked squash, mounding it high and pushing it into the squash.  I cooked it for about twenty minutes before covering with foil to prevent the stuffing from burning and then added about ten minutes more until the squash was fork-tender.  The squash was flavorful, the stuffing crunchy and it made for a great introduction to a new vegetable!  I couldn’t help but snapping a picture:

 

That’s all for this week, check back again soon for more Serving Suggestions!

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.

Serving Suggestions: 7/31/18

Aug2

Welcome to the newest installment of Serving Suggestions.  This week we have suggestions from Shana:

It is already week 8 of the CSA! I hope you are enjoying the shares so far. This week was by far my favorite in size, variety and quantity – just perfect! Some recipe ideas below:

Zucchini Brownies (VEGAN!)
These brownies are courtesy of Zest, a great Vegan restaurant in Fairfield. I am not a vegan but these are tasty and delicious and contain some more nutritious ingredients in addition to the sugar!

Tabbouleh/Bulgur Wheat Salad
Theresa often uses the plethora of parsley we get for tabbouleh salads.  This week was perfect for that with the cucumbers and tomatoes that we got. You could also add in some other veggies and make a fun, creative salad with the bulgur wheat!

Ratatouille
We got everything we needed for a delicious Ratatouille and I couldn’t resist making it (I think I post this every year). I use Julia Child’s recipe, but if you don’t want to be cooking for over an hour, there are tons of other simpler recipes that are also great! This one from the Kitchn looked great too.

That’s all for this week, check back again soon for more Serving Suggestions!

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.