Greetings from the farm! Heavy frosts are finally hitting here so the games changes out there in the fields. We have to bid farewell to lettuce, swiss chard, tomatoes, tomatillos, and all of the more sensitive souls out there in the fields. Our beans were carefully covered so they survived the frost! What a treat for this time of year. If you are sick of beans, blanch and freeze them and take them out on a rainy day for a quick veggie side.
You may be overwhelmed with those big gorgeous bunches of cilantro. A fellow customer advises me she freezes them in olive oil with a dash of salt in ice cube trays, pops them into freezer bags and has a burst of cilantro flavour ready for weeks to come in her freezer.
You may be wondering what is up with that funny, tiny and dry corn you received. No, we didn’t send you terrible corn. It’s popping corn…as in pop corn! You can pop it right on the cob in your microwave (or I’m sure in the pot as well). Gather your spouse, the kids (even the teens). This is just plain cool! Just butter the kernels on the cob, place in one paper bag and then another (in the other direction forming a closed bag), and pop in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes. I like to listen for when the popping sounds are spaced a few seconds apart to know when it’s done. Here’s a youtube video for you visual folks: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IawMV4Ll1Ao
A friendly reminder to remember to put out your boxes and ice packs please! Time is running out for us to collect them. On your last delivery, you will receive a cardboard box that does not need to be returned. Feel free to re-use, recycle or use it as kindling!
Your week 20 veggie lineup is as follows:
Half
-butternut squash (makes an amazing creamy soup)
-carrots
-popping corn
-eggplant (great noodle substitute in lasagna!)
-spinach
-red radish (roast them if you don’t dig the spicyness)
-apples
-cilantro
-beans
-saladette tomatoes
Whole
-green peppers
-baby boy choy
-celery
-green kale
-red cabbage
We had a red cabbage recipe sent to use from one of our customers, we are so grateful for those who take the time to share old childhood favorites. This she said is from the Netherlands, which is neat since my husband and his family are dutch!
Quarter the cabbage, cut out the core, then cut into thin 1/4inch strips. Put in pot, add about 1 cup water, or more as it evaporates, so there’s about an inch of water in bottom all the time. Add 5-6 whole cloves. Cook until tender, about 30-45 minutes. In the meantime, in a separate pot, boil about 5-6 potatoes, quartered. When both cabbage and potatoes are cooked, mash them together to make a delicious red cabbage stew. Add salt and pepper to your own taste. Serve with smoked sausage or other meat or by itself.
The same method can be used to cook savoy cabbage (Green Cabbage Stew). However, instead of cloves used in the red cabbage recipe, add some chopped garlic (if desired) and cook together with quartered potatoes in the same pot. Add salt and pepper to your own taste. Then mash together and serve with sausages or smoked meat or by itself.
