Welcome back CSA members!  Sadly, all good things must come to an end (unless you’re getting the stock up share!).  Like Bob, many of you are probably starting to drown under your root vegetables:

I needed a new soup recipe so I started googling.  I knew I wanted to use a lot of sweet potatoes since I had so many but since they were the white sweet potatoes I also thought of using carrot for color.  I found this recipe for Autumn Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup and it was great, a real crowd pleaser for my football watching crew.  The only modification I made was to add some ginger and garlic to the onions as they were cooking to add some more depth of flavor.  I drizzled the soup with maple sour cream (simply sour cream thinned with good maple syrup) and crumbled some crispy bacon on top.

For those of you doing the stock up share, here are some ideas from previous CSA posts for a few of the items you’ll be receiving:

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.

That’s it for 2017, see you all in the Spring!

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 back to Serving Suggestions readers!  Sorry these posts have been fewer and further between lately but Bob has two good recipes to share this week for those of you who might have some veggies piling up.

Due to the timing of going away last week, I have a bunch of stuff leftover from last week before adding the incoming share.  So, I knew I had to find some recipes that would load up on veggies.  The first I found is a Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew which I will modify slightly to use onion, garlic, potatoes, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, turnip and beans all from the CSA.  While I was away I found an awesome spice shop and bought some whole ras el hanout which I plan on toasting and grinding to replace the curry called for in the recipe.  I also knew I wanted to use my acorn squash in some sort of “stuffed” recipe.  I found a simple one that I could doctor up using whatever is leftover after my chickpea stew.  There are a number of ways to make cauliflower rice but it really depends on what kitchen gadgets you have; if you have a Vitamix or food processor start there, if not you can do it with a box grater and some patience.

CSA member Joy Garden loves zucchini, almost as much as she loves salad turnips (the reason she joins the CSA!)  This is her go-to meal that she swears she could eat every day.  Shana is not a zucchini lover but made this and she admits it was pretty delicious!

• Slice zucchini into thin slices and roast until tender.
• Boil your favorite pasta while the zucchini is in the oven.
• Remove the zucchini from the oven and drain your pasta.
• Layer the zucchini in a dish, alternating with the pasta, adding plenty of basil and parmesan.  Optionally, you can add sauteed onions and garlic.

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.

Hi folks!  We had a gorgeous share today – again with more beautiful red peppers.  Shana put those peppers to use right away:

I  saved mine and roasted them today. I know this is not the most exciting, unique thing to do with peppers but they were absolutely sweet and delicious! I use them on toasted bread for a quick bite, on homemade pizza, salads or with tahini for a snack!

Looking for other uses for roasted peppers?  Check out this page with 20 ways to use roasted peppers – most don’t even need a recipe!  Bob made a shortcut shepherd’s pie tonight using CSA potatoes:

On Sunday’s I like to use my slow cooker while I watch football and this week made a simple beef stew.  I saved the leftovers and tonight used the leftover stew, a pound of ground pork from Griggstown Farm and CSA potatoes/chives to make a weeknight shepherd’s pie.  It was so good.  Possibly the best weeknight meal I’ve had in awhile.  It’s always fun to use leftovers in creative ways!  If you want to make a shepherd’s pie from scratch, use Alton Brown’s recipe, and also use up your CSA onion/garlic/carrot/chive.

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.