Recipes From Our Members

Hi! We really enjoyed be honorary farmers this weekend. Thank you for the opportunity to see our food growing. Since we had a lot of carrots, we made carrot soup. You are probably familiar with this recipe, it comes from the Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. (I am not sure if it is totally the original, as I got it off the internet) I used it to make a soup that went over really well the adults here and OK with the kids.
Alicia L.

• 2 pounds peeled or scrubbed, chopped carrots
• 4 cups stock or water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium potato, chopped (optional, for heartier soup)
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1-2 small cloves crushed garlic (I used more)
• 1/3 cup chopped cashews or almonds
• 1t minced ginger (I used more)
• Choose one: 1 cup milk, or 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk plus a little honey, 1/2 pint heavy cream, 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp each: cumin, ground fennel seed, allspice, dried mint

Place carrots, liquid and salt (and potato if you are using it) into a medium sized soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer it for 12-15 minutes. Let it cool to room temp. Saute the onion, garlic and nuts in the butter until the onions are clear. You can sprinkle in a little salt to help draw the moisture out of the onions. Towards the end of cooking, stir in the seasoning combo of your choice. Puree everything together in a blender until smooth (I deviate from her recipe at this stage. I dump the sauteed onions, garlic and nuts into the pot with the cooked carrots and use an immersion blender to puree. It saves dishes and energy). Whisk in one of the dairy products. As I mentioned in the beginning, I often leave this step out until I'm just about to eat a bowl of soup. I'll stir in a little milk, a spoonful of yogurt or some cottage cheese just before serving (and just after reheating, if I'm using the microwave).
Garnish with toasted nuts, some toasted bread crumbs or eat just as it is.

Recipes From Our Members

I must share. Tonight we had a wonderful meal. I was absolutely sure I didn’t like beets and, I must confess, have bartered them to friends and even shared them with the porcupines at the wildlife rehab facility where I volunteer (they love them).
Tonight I baked them (like a baked potato) and THEY WERE WONDERFUL! I love turnips, and the flavor was similar.
I also made a wonderful quick stir fry with collard greens, fresh spinach, purple onions, garlic and some pac choi from last week… yum yum.
I even went out on a limb and looked through all my vegetarian cookbooks and made a fennel recipe. It was great! Fennel, tomatoes, shallots, garlic and fresh basil sauted and topped with bread crumbs and baked. I actually enjoyed it as well.
I’m currently fat and happy and feeling quite smug about the whole thing. Please know that I would never have tried these wonderful concoctions without my CSA. Thank you, thank you. I’ll share the beets and fennel with family for Easter dinner tomorrow. My grandchildren are always game to try Gram’s new experiments in food.
Kris W.

IDEAS FOR SWISS CHARD

from SJ Mercury News, 2/19/97 & Mariqueta Farms website http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/chard.html

1. Saute chard with garlic in olive oil. Put a cover on the pan and allow chard to steam for about 5 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and , if desired, some hot pepper flakes before serving.
2. Blanch the leaves and add to soup. Try substituting chard for spinach or arugula in soup recipes.
3. Make a gratin with the stems: Boil the stems until tender (about 30 minutes). Put them in a gratin dish, add seasonings (such as a little garlic and parsley), top with a bechamel sauce and cook under broiler until golden brown.
4. Blanch the whole leaves and stuff them with meat or vegetable fillings. (Food writer Fay Levy says that in Lebanon, chard leaves are wrapped around rice fillings, like grape leaves.)

Spiced Carrot Cake with Creamy Mascarpone Frosting

by Jo-Anne van den Berg-Ohms

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 tablespoon finely diced
• crystallized ginger
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup golden raisons
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Creamy Mascarpone Frosting

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 6 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two cake pans or two bread pans. Beat eggs lightly. Add sugar: beat until light and fluffy. Mix in carrots. Add oil, pineapple, crystallized ginger and coconut, mixing to blend. Add dry ingredients and vanilla: mix until just blended. By hand, stir in raisons and walnuts. Bake in prepared pans for one hour. Let sit at room temperature to cool. Remove from cake pans to cooling racks. Beat room temperature cream cheese, mascarpone cheese and butter together. Add confectioner’s sugar in parts, beating slowly to blend. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest, blending until smooth. Frost cooled cakes. For fun, garnish with long, skinny microplaned, sugar-coated carrot ribbons.

BOK CHOI SALAD with CREAMY VINAIGRETTE

• Bok choi, trimmed, chopped
• Bull's Blood Beet Greens, chopped in strips
• cilantro
• Fresh goat cheese or feta
• Toasted walnuts
• Fresh fruit - apple, tangerine, etc., slices
• Chopped green onion
• CREAMY VINAIGRETTE: 2 tablespoons cream, whisked until pillowy (this takes a minute or two, it's also easier starting with more cream but since the dressing doesn't keep well, make only enough for the current meal), 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or lemon juice or another vinegar), 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon good mustard.

Combine just before serving.

BLACK SEEDED LETTUCE SALAD WITH TANGERINES, RED SCALLIONS & DILL

Tear or chop lettuce into bite sized pieces. Peel and section tangerines. Chop scallions, dill and garlic (optional). Combine all in a bowl. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste.

CAULIFLOWER WITH MUSTARD SAUCE & DILL

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp dill seeds
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 pound cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp minced fresh dill

Pour stock into a 10-inch skillet and add dill seeds and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a simmer. Add cauliflwer, cover, and continue to simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 7-8 minutes. Uncover the skillet and place it in the refrigerator. Let cauliflower chill in its stock for about 30 minutes. Drain cauliflower reserving stock, and place it in a serving dish. Strain stock and combine 1/4 cup of it with mustard. Drizzle sauce over cauliflower, sprinkle with minced dill, and serve.