What’s in the box?
cheers!
pie pumpkins
butternut squash
onions
potatoes (yukon gold)
carrots
beets
celeriac (that’s the really strange rooty looking thing)
cabbage
brussel sprouts
spinach
Hey; I found this storage guide for fruits and vegetables. It really isn’t that thorough but its a quick and easy read. http://www.foodsaving.com/vegetable_storage_guide/
Hope you all made use of those Greens last weeek. We had to slack on the blog as we were hit with that cold snap and had a lot of things that we usually do over a two month period all crammed into about two weeks.
You may see some evidence of the cold snap as it frosted some of the Butternut Squash. We had planned on giving that out later, but thought it better to move it along to be eaten while it still has time. I tried my best to not give anything too ugly or mushy, but sometime things slip through the cracks. If you do find anything unfavorable my suggestion would be to cut it out and store it in your fridge until you intend to eat it. It’s a shame really, Butternut is a favorite of many, but may not be around for long this year. BUt we will still have plenty more Acorn and Sweet Dumpling.
Josh’s Pumpkin Pie
Josh has made pumpkin pie for me every year for my birthday since we met. After having pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkins, canned pumpkin just seems wrong. Use your favorite crust recipe and here’s the filling:
Cut the pumpkin in half and pull out the seeds (you can save them and roast them). Cook the pumpkins cut side down in a pan that has been greased with a little bit of olive oil. Cook at 425 for about 45 min. Let the pumpkin cool then mix with a hand mixer:
1 cup pumpkin, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 3 eggs
pour into pie crust and bake at 450 for 10 min. Lower heat to 350 and bake about 30 more minutes or until the center is firm. It’s the best pumpkin pie!
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Peel, seed, and cube the butternut squash. Saute some chopped onions, garlic, and a few hot peppers (however many you like…we like it spicy) in some olive oil in your favorite soup pot. Add the butternut squash and sir it around. Add water until it is slightly lower than even with the top of the squash in the pot. Put a lid on it till the squash is tender. Add some tamari and some Thai curry paste (green or red, use your discretion here again). Put about half of it in the blender until it’s smooth. You can make it completely smooth or not. It’s good with some fish sauce. Super filling soup. A favorite if you happen to be working outside when it’s cold and rainy.
Another opportunity to Turn on the Oven (Roasted Roots)
Wash and cut some potatoes, beets, celeriac, and carrots into pieces all about the same size. Keep beets in a separate roasting pan (unless you don’t care that they color everything pink). Drizzle olive oil over all the roots. Add the bottom part of the green onions, chopped to one of the roasting pans. Salt. Cover Roasting pans with foil and roast at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. Uncover the pan with potatoes after 20 minutes so that they get brown. Mix all together just before serving.
Celeriac : AKA; Celery Root. It’s common in Europe and often used in stews, soups or other roasted root dishes. Tastes just like Celery, Nice addition to Mashed Potatoes. Store in the crisper of your fridge in a plastic bag. It should hold for months.
Celery Root Gratin
Serves 4, or 2 if you are like us 
1 med celery root, peeled and trimmed
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt
2 bay leaves
fresh ground pepper
3 or more tablespoons butter
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Cut the celery root in half length wise and then slice each half into slices 1/2 inch thick. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice so the slices of root don’t brown. Place the root in a saucepan with water seasoned with salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly tender but still firm, about 10 minutes. Drain the liquid reserving 1/2 cup.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Butter the baking dish. Layer half of the celery root slices in the dish. Season with salt and pepper and half of the cheese and then dab with butter. Repeat ending with the cheese. Mix creme fraiche with the reserved water and then pour over the gratin. Bake until bubbling and golden about 30 minutes.
Brussel Sprouts!
Okay, here’s one that if you thought you didn’t like it you should give it another try. Brussel sprouts are SO MUCH BETTER fresh and after they have had a frost. And we picked them in the rain just for you!
Golden Brussels with Cheese
Pull them off of the stalks and trim the stem ends, cut the big ones in half. Toss them till coated with olive oil then get them all in a skillet over medium heat add a little salt then cover for about 5 min. Stir them around a bit and poke one with a fork to see if it’s tender. If it is, turn up the heat until they are really nice and browned then out of the skillet, onto a plate, add a little pepper and some grated cheese (parmesan’s good) maybe some toasted nuts (pumpkin seeds might be tasty). That’s it. really yummy. If you insist on boiling, try just a par-boil then a saute with garlic and butter until tender. That’s good, too.
Brussels and Cashews
- 4 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and a cross cut into the bottom of the stem
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted cashews
- pepper
Directions
Depending on the size of the sprouts steam them for 5-8 minutes. They should still be slightly crisp.
2. Drain and pour into a fry pan where you have already melted the margarine. Add lemon juice and pepper. Cook until sprouts are heated through and glazed with the margarine.
3. Sprinkle with the nuts and serve.
Spinach
Wash your spinach well before cooking. Nothing ruins a good meal like gritty greens. This spinach is large leaf and nice for cooking. It’s had a frost, so it’s extra tasty. Add it to soup or try the…
“fake poached egg” Saute well washed spinach lightly in a pan. Crack an egg on top of the spinach. Put a lid on the pan and wait for the steam from the spinach cooking to “poach” the egg. Put it on a piece of buttered toast. Super easy and you’re eating veggies with breakfast.
potatoes
We recieved a question about the potatoes. “What’s that black stuff on the skins? Is it dirt or is it okay to eat?” The black stuff that stays stuck to the skin after rinsing the dirt off is scab. It’s a fungus from the soil that attaches itself to the skin of the potato. We tend to see it during dry conditions like we had this season. It’s perfectly harmless and you don’t need to peel the potatoes. They won’t be gritty. We like the skins and hope you do to. By the way, this variety of potato is yukon gold. It’s really good for mashed potatoes.
We are missing some pictures of such wonderful things as the great squash harvest and planting garlic because I accidentally dropped the camera in the pig house whilst adding more bedding for them We had a neighbor come out with a metal detector and everything, but no dice. Oh well. Hopefully we will find the camera safe in their bedding with tons of cute pig pictures that they have taken of each other.
Here’s a nice shot of us with the snowman from last week. That’s baling twine hair.
We said good bye to our helpers Annie and Jeannette last Friday. Our crew this year was THE BEST! Thanks so much for all the help! It would have been impossible without them. Have fun in Italy, Jeanette. Maybe we will come and visit you there. Annie and Adam, we will definitely come and visit you in your apartment in Minneapolis!
Be well everyone!
Turnip Rock Farm - Community Supported Agriculture 
Annie said
the pumpkin pie!!!