Newsletter October 24, 2007

Pete's Greens Good Eats Newsletter Oct. 24, 2007

This is the first week of the bi-weekly root share pickups. Root share bags will be labeled root share. Please be careful to make sure you are picking up the correct type of share and cross your name off the sheet. Thanks

This week's Root Share contains: sugarsnax carrots, potatoes, 1 bu. salad turnips, red beets, cabbage, celeriac, 1 bunch of kohlrabi

This week's Vegetable/Localvore Share contains:sweet salad turnips, ruby red chard, yellow onions, tomatillos, cilantro, green tomatoes, spaghetti squash, sugarsnax carrots, garlic, mixed peppers, mesclun, Bonnieview Farm blue cheese, 5# bag apples

This share was advertised as approximately a $25 vegetable value and a $20 Localvore food value per week. For the first few weeks while there is so much garden bounty we are going to provide somewhat less Localvore food and more vegetables. We might err on the side of more than $20 value of Localvore food in January and February when there is less vegetable diversity.
Also, we forgot to mention this in our advertising of this share period, but we are going to skip the Christmas week delivery. There will be no Good Eats on Dec. 26. Many of you will be out of town and the farm crew will appreciate the break. We will make up the $45 value of the skipped week by providing extra food between now and then. If anyone has a problem with this plan let Pete know at pete@petesgreen.com.

We have filled the cellar of the house with our sweet potato crop. We're running the wood furnace and keeping the cellar at 80 plus degrees. Sweet potatoes need 2 weeks of curing at 80 degrees and 80% humidity in order to become sweet and to store properly. It feels so bizarre to place a root crop in those conditions-any other that we grow would be a stinking mess after 2 weeks at high heat and high humidity. We thought our crop was poor because the summer was not very hot but we found some surprisingly nice beds while digging them. You should start receiving them regularly in a couple weeks.
Pete

Tomatillos?! They're a little weird with that papery husk on them, but what a great salsa you can make. A distant relative of the tomato, potato, pepper and eggplant, tomatillos have a succulent tangy flesh. You can keep them in the fridge for several weeks as long as they are firm and unblemished. Store in an open container or loose bag so they don't sweat. But we hope you can't wait to eat them!

They are best cooked for a sauce or salsa. Simmer the peeled fruits for a soft juicy consistency or roast with the husks on for a thicker texture and more concentrated flavor. In either case, you want to watch them carefully so they don't burst. Boil for 10 minutes or so; roast @ 450 for 10-15 minutes. Here's a delicious salsa I like them roasted and you even have all the ingredients in this share!
-Heather

ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA

1 PINT TOMATILLOS
SMALL ONION, MINCED
1/2 C MINCED CILANTRO
1 CLOVE GARLIC, MINCED
1 TSP SALT
1/2 TSP BLACK PEPPER
HOT PEPPER TO TASTE, EITHER RED PEPPER FLAKES OR FRESH MINCED CHILE PEPPER

Rinse the tomatillos and roast in their jackets @ 450 for 10 or 15 minutes. They should brown but not burst open. Cool to handle & peel off the husks. Fork mash the tomatillos in a bowl then mix in all other ingredients. Taste for salt & spice. You can also pulse all together in a food processor, but I like to leave a little texture.

Use this salsa with any Mexican dish, enchiladas, tacos, huevos rancheros, beans & rice, etc. Also great with grilled fish, etc.

Now, what about that spaghetti squash? This is easy, just prick the whole squash in a few places and bake @ 350 for 35-50 minutes, until soft but not mush. Very carefully transfer to a cutting board and cut open so it will not keep cooking. Cool to handle, scoop seeds & discard. Use a fork to separate out the strands into a bowl. Now you are ready to serve with your favorite sauce.

You could also saute up some garlic, onion, red peppers in olive oil; add the ruby chard, dress with a splash of white balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper, toss with the squash and crumble on some of that Bonnieview Blue.