This week's vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower (from separate crates), tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, swiss chard, leeks, delicata squash, spinach, salad mix, peppers, eggplant (for half shares), cabbage (some received a half cabbage), European cucumbers (for full shares), green beans
Note: For both full shares and half shares, the cauliflower did not fit in the boxes. Look for your cauliflower in separate black crates. Full shares should take 2 heads, and half shares 1. Also, full share green beans did not fit in the boxes. Look for a separate bag or container for the full shares' beans.
Next week: potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli/cauliflower, eggplant/peppers, spinach, salad mix/lettuce, kohlrabi?, tomatoes, winter squash
Schedule of remaining deliveries: Oct. 10, 17, and 24, Nov. 7 and 21, and Dec. 5.
Vegetable tidbits: Look for extra spinach, and basil, and kale, in the exchange boxes. 95% of you that responded to our wondering whether you mind us splitting large cabbages had no problem with getting a half-cabbage. For the few of you that would have preferred us to not split them, apologies if you were one of the recipients. Lots of broccoli again this week - it was intended to be spread over two or more weeks, but when broccoli is ready, it needs to be picked, so here it comes. For the next couple of months, your box should contain at least one kind of winter squash. We start out with delicata, a favorite, since it is usually a very sweet one. You'll be receiving delicata probably one more time, to go along with buttercup and butternut squash, both of which usually store much better than the delicata.
Recipe: Braised Leeks and Swiss Chard from subscriber Sarah Wood
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
2 lbs. leeks, trimmed, sliced and well washed
1lb. Swiss chard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Take the leaves off the chard and shred the stalks and leaves finely. Wash and drain well.
2. Put the oil in a large pan add the leeks and the chard stalks. Season well, cover and cook slowly until tender.
3. Mix in the chard leaves and allow to wilt. Serve at once.
Recipe: Tofu Broccoli Cashew Peanut Madness from former intern Rob Summerbell
1 Tbsp. butter or oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound herbed tofu, cubed
2 Tbsp. tamari or soy sauce, divided
1/2 -3/4 cup peanut butter, preferably crunchy
2-3 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cumin or more to taste
cayenne to taste
1 medium head broccoli, peeled and chopped
hot, cooked brown rice
handful of toasted cashews, chopped
Heat butter or oil in skillet; add onion and garlic; saute until soft. Add tofu and 1 Tbsp. tamari; saute until brown. Remove from pan. In same pan, mix peanut butter, lemon juice, remaining tablespoon tamari, cumin, and cayenne. Thin with up to 1 cup water to obtain gravylike texture. Stir in tofu mixture. Steam broccoli. Serve sauce over broccoli and brown rice, topped with cashews. Makes 4 servings.
Russian Vegetable Pie
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (enough for the bottom and top shells of a 9-inch pie)
3 TBs butter
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 med. onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
5 eggs, hardboiled
8 oz. whipped cream cheese (room temperature)
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram, basil, and tarragon (or to taste; I usually use more)
Fresh dill (or dried will do)--about 2-3 TBs
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Unroll first pie crust and spread on bottom of 9-inch pan (I use a Pyrex pie dish as it tends to work better).
3. Melt 3 TBs butter in a large skillet. Add cabbage and onion and saute until the onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and continue to saute as the mushrooms release their moisture. Add marjoram, basil, and tarragon, salt and pepper. Continue to saute until the cabbage is wilted and the onions are soft, stirring frequently. (You can speed this along by covering the pan to trap moisture and steam the veggies for you, but be careful not to burn your veggies.) Set aside.
4. Spread softened cream cheese on the bottom pie shell. Slice hardboiled eggs and arrange the slices in a layer over the cream cheese. Sprinkle with chopped dill.
5. Spread cabbage, mushroom, and onion mixture over the eggs and dill; use a slotted spoon to remove the veggies from your fry pan if there is a lot of moisture still left or else your pie crust will end up soggy. Cover with the second pie crust; press edges together and flute. Cut several short slashes through top crust.
6. Bake in 400-degree oven for 15 minutes, then turn temp. down to 350 and bake for about 20-25 minutes until crust is light brown.
7. Let rest for about ten minutes; slice and serve.
A worthy organization: The Cornucopia Institute, based in Wisconsin, initiates legal battles against the government, and educational campaigns highlighting corporate wrongdoings, all in order to preserve organic farming, local food choices, and safe food. Judging by what has happened in the securities industry, when restraints are eliminated that restrict greedy and outrageous decisions, it seems worthy to keep such watchdog organizations in business. Check out their website at www.cornucopia.org, and send them a few bucks if you agree that they do good work. An example of a recent action of theirs is the federal filing of a lawsuit against the USDA to overturn their mandated "pasteurization" of raw almonds with a toxic fumigant or steam heat. (It is becoming no longer possible to buy a truly 'raw' almond in this country.)
Have a good week!
The Seelys
"To preserve their [the people's] independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our selection between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude" - Thomas Jefferson
