Weeks that Don't Go So Well...

This week's box contained:

• White Turnips
• Lettuce (left in trade box)
• Scallions
• Strawberries
• Hamburg Parsley (Parsley Root)
• Young Walla Walla Onions
• Heirloom Tomatoes

It was a tough week for us this week for two reasons. First, available time; this was just a busy weekend. Second, the box contents did not really inspire...

Weeks like this happen however, so what did we do?  Probably exactly what most people would do in the same situation:

• Lettuce: I'm not a salad fan, so I simply acknowledged that and left the lettuce in the swap box for someone else to enjoy.  Curiously enough, there was nothing in our swap box to trade.
• Strawberries: Ours had already started to mold on pick-up, so they went to the compost pile straightaway.
• Heirloom Tomatoes:  HEAVEN!  If you are a tomato fan, you don't need to do much to enjoy them when in season.  We ate a few sliced with salt and used the remainder for grilled bruschetta tonight.  See the recipe we regularly follow here.
• Everything else: Evert-Fresh bags for the win!  I trimmed the foliage and put everything else in storage to wait for time or inspiration.

What do you do when you're at a loss for ideas or without available time?

As I write this I realize I'm a tad more inspired than I originally let on. Scallions are certainly all purpose ingredients, but they shine on their own in Chinese Scallion Pancakes. If you've not tried them, please do. They certainly compliment a meal, but can also be a meal in their own right if you are OK with simple pleasures.

The turnips will surely be roasted. My favorite twist is adding white truffle infused olive oil or garnishing with truffle salt.  Given that the Hamburg Parsley is roastable too, I'll likely toss it in with the turnips.

Last but not least the onions.  I did make a sublime breakfast, quite ad hoc, with these: toasted bagel with cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, and capers ~ really fantastic.  Aside from that, they'll sit with our other onions until we're ready to cook something that calls for them.

Hamburg Parsley

CSAs have a way of making me feel like I need to "do something" with the produce. Evert-Fresh bagshelped me realize there's less time pressure than one might think...

Perserving Summer's Bounty: Kimchi

This week's box contains:

• Bianco di Maggio Onions
• Hamburg Parsley (including the root, which looks like a parsnip)
• Summer Squash
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Romaine
• Red Beets
• Savoy Cabbage

Interesting mix this week ~ a fun challenge given that we've been away for two weeks. I am thrilled to see the parsley, less enthused about the squash and the lettuce.  Creativity definitely required for the cabbage and the parsley root; everything else seems relatively straight forward.

The tomatoes aren't quite ripe, so we'll let those sit for a few days.  The strawberries will be cleaned and prepped for the freezer for smoothies.  I'll roast the beets, onion bulbs and parsley root for a nice chopped salad with toasted walnuts and the romaine.

As for the cabbage...  An obvious answer given the holiday weekend is coleslaw, but we're not planning a party and I'm the only person in a two person household who eats it.  The next option was soup, but it's too hot here for that.  Finally I landed on preserving the cabbage, but how?

Fermentation is a classic option.  I've made sauerkraut before and it was fantastic.  However, we still have some of that on hand, so I decided to mix it up a bit and try kimchi, a Korean form of fermented cabbage.  In our recipe, we passed on the fermented fish and decided to rely on salt and natural fermentation for the processing.  Here's what we did:

Vegan Kimchi

1 head savoy cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced into thin ribbons
2" x 2" piece of ginger, grated
Bianco di Maggio onion "tops" (scallions a good substitute)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1T red pepper flakes
4T salt

Prepare all the vegetables and place in a large bowl; add salt and red pepper flakes, then mix well.  Transfer into a crock (we use a large plastic canister) and cover with a clean plate roughly the size of the crock and press down to start to release the liquid from the vegetables.  Top the plate with a clean weight, such as a large bottle of water, then cover the entire stack with a towel and place in a quiet area of your kitchen.

Keep an eye on the kimchi, pressing down down every few hours until the vegetables are submerged; this may take up to 24 hours.  If a day has passed and the vegetables are not yet covered, top off with salted water.  The fermentation takes a variable amount of time, so check the kimchi frequently ~ tasting as you go.  When the texture and flavor you like, move to the refrigerator for longer term storage.

Sauerkraut is easy to make, but does require a bit of knowledge to ensure it does not spoil.  Full details can be found in the standard sauerkraut recipe found on Wild Fermentation.

Kimchi is great on its own or as a base for soup.  Once ready, we'll post some recipes here.

Grilled Pizza

This week's box contains:

• Strawberries
• Romaine Lettuce (traded for more agretti)
• Red and White Mixed Turnips
• Parsley
• Mystery (shelling peas)
• Leeks
• Agretti
• Red Orach

It's a gorgeous day in Silicon Valley.  We have plans to meet friends later today to grill pizzas and enjoy the sunshine.

Grilling pizza is a tricky, but rewarding, process.  The pizzas that result from this method are beyond compare.  Here are two toppings made from this week's box, but let your imagination run wild.  Instructions on grilling pizzas can be found here.

Two Grilled Pizzas

Lemon-Garlic Agretti with Fresh Chèvre
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 bunch agretti, cleaned and chopped in to bit-sized segments
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
juice and zest of one small lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
red pepper flakes to taste

Saute shallot and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add agretti and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add salt, wine, lemon juice and lemon zest, cooking till liquid is evaporated.  Set aside.

Spread agretti evenly on prepared pizza crust, top with dollops of chèvre and return to the grill.  Cook till heated through.  Serve with Sauvignon Blanc.


Mushroom-Leek Pizza
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 recipe white bean purée (below)
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 T olive oil
1/2 pound white button mushrooms, sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 large leeks, or several small, cleaned and sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
parsley, finely chopped

Soak the dried  porcini in hot water for 30 minutes or more.  Remove from soaking liquid and finely chop; set aside.  Porcini can be gritty, so take care to discard any undesirable pieces.

Heat half the olive oil in pan over high heat; add white mushrooms and sear, stirring as little as possible (you're after the carmelization).  Cook till golden brown and the liquid released by the mushrooms as evaporated.  Add the porcini soaking liquid (avoiding any grit from the mushrooms) and simmer till the pan is nearly dry.   Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to the pan along with the leeks and salt and pepper to tasted.  Cook for 3 minutes till the leeks begin to soften.  Add the garlic and porcini, cover, and cook till leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine to deglaze the pan, cooking till pan is nearly dry.  Remove from heat.

Spread prepared crust with white bean purée and top with sauteed mushrooms and leeks.  Return to the grill and cook till heated through.  Serve with Chardonnay.

Recipe adapted from adapted from Fields of Greens by Annie Sommerville, page 172.


White Bean Purée

1 pound white beans
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1.5 t dried savor leaves
vegetable stock or water

Add all ingredients to stock pot, bring to a boil, then simmer till the beans are tender.  Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid.  Combine the beans and 1/3 cup cooking liquid in a blender or food processor.  Process till it reaches the desired consistency, adding more cooking liquid as necessary.

Recipe adapted from The Vintner's Table by Mary Evely, page 149.

A quick note on wine pairing.  Hands down, the very best reference I've ever found on the topic is the Mary Evely book noted above.  The book is organized by varietal and at the beginning of each is a "profile" for each, clearly summarizing food affinities and food conflicts for the varietal across each of the following categories: seafood, meat and poultry, herbs and spices, sauces, cheese and nuts, and finally, fruits and vegetables.  She also recommends the best methods of preparation.  Commentary on substitutions are peppered throughout the book.  While the recipes are great, I use this book to tweak recipes to pair well with the wine I've chosen or to choose a wine for the meal we have planned.

As for the rest of the box contents, our plan is as follows:

Strawberries
Cleaned and frozen for smoothies.

Red and White Mixed Turnips
Stored for roasting, or perhaps a turnip purée, later this week.

ParsleyWe'll reserve some to garnish the pizzas, but the rest went immediately into parsley-walnut pesto (one of my all time favorites).

[Herb of your Choice]-Walnut Pesto
... makes 25 - 2 tablespoon servings

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 bunch herb of choice, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mellow barley miso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, adjust salt and pepper and use or freeze.

Shelling Peas
Going to try to make tarts to serve for lunch tomorrow.  My good friends are coming over to do a little work related brainstorming, so the least I can do is feed them well.  I got the idea from the 101 Cookbooks entry Fresh Shelling Peas: Four Ways. 

Red Orach
We use this just like spinach.   Some night this week it will be cleaned, chopped, and tossed into whatever we are eating to sneak in a few more veggies.