Good Eats Weekly Newsletter - January 30, 2019

In Your Share This Week: FANCY/ LOCALVORE (PURPLE) Shoots, Radicchio, Rutabaga, Carrots, Green Cabbage, Cippolini Onions, OUT OF THE BAG Frozen Spinach or Zucchini EVERYDAY STANDARD (YELLOW) Shoots, Rutabaga, Carrots, Green Cabbage, Onions, OUT OF THE BAG Frozen Spinach or Zucchini LEAN & GREEN (GREEN) Shoots, Spinach, Green Cabbage, Black Radish, and OUT OF THE BAG Frozen Spinach or Zucchini Pantry/ Localvore Items All Souls Tortilleria Tortillas: These corn tortillas are made using a Mesoamerican recipe of corn kernels cooked in a solution of ground limestone and water, which is then ground into fresh masa with hand-carved volcanic stones. The heirloom corn is sourced from Vermont and New York farms. The tortillas are coming to you frozen and if you don't plan on eating them within the next week, it's best to keep them frozen until you're ready to enjoy. Morningstar Farm Beans: Two types of beans going out this week - choose pinto beans or kidney beans. Morningstar is the family-run operation of Seth and Jeannette Johnson in Glover. Every year we stock up on their beans, ordering a few hundred pounds at a time to get us through the year. You're receiving two pounds of their organic Pinto Beans. Pinto beans are a popular bean and they make the base for refriend beans. I took a scan through our newsletter archive and I don't believe we've ever had these before! So please let me know what you think of them. Dried beans will last for ages when stored in an airtight container. Let them soak overnight and be sure to rinse well before cooking. Below is a recipe for Mexican Pinto Beans, made with a pressure cooker. You can also try cooking them in a crock pot or in a pot over the stove. Be sure to go through the beans before soaking to pull out any little pebbles. 1 pound dried pinto beans 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 small yellow onion, chopped 1/4 cup minced cilantro 3 clove garlic, minced 1/2 medium yellow onion, left whole 1 (4.24 ounce) can chopped green chilies 1 whole jalapeño 2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable bouillon (Better than Bouillon) 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon Kosher salt TOPPING: 2 medium vine tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped 1/4 medium red onion, chopped 2 scallions, chopped 1/4 cup minced cilantro 3 ounces queso Oaxaca or mozzarella, diced 1/4-inch 8 ounces sliced avocado lime wedges, for serving tortillas, optional for serving Soak the beans overnight in water. Discard the water the next day. Set pressure cooker to saute, add the oil and chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, 1/4 cup cilantro and cook 1 minute. Set aside in a bowl. In the pressure cooker combine the soaked beans, green chilies, jalapeño, half onion, bouillon, bay leaves and 6 cups water. Cover and cook high pressure 45 minutes. Natural release. Discard bay leaves, half onion and jalapeño and stir in the reserved sautéed onion and season with salt. Press saute and cook uncovered until thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, combine the tomato, red onion, scallion and cilantro in a small bowl. Ladle beans into serving bowls, add the cheese and top with tomato mixture and avocado. Serve with lime wedges and tortillas if desired. Axel's Eggs: Axel is back as our primary egg supplier for the CSA! If you don't know Axel, he's the young man who raises lots of hens in between doing his homework and being an active teenager. We love the deep yellowish-orange yolks and flavor of his pasture-raised eggs. This summer, Seth & Jeannette hosted Green Mountain Farm to School for a meal and tour at their farm. Above, Seth demonstrates how they get the beans out of their shells. The antique machine keeps running well and the barrel provides a cost effective solution for shaking up the beans. Next week is the LAST WEEK of the Fall Share! After today, there is only ONE MORE delivery left in this season. The Fall/ Winter Share ends February 6/7. Sign up today so you can continue receiving your weekly veggie deliveries. The Spring Share runs February 13 - June 6, 2019. During the Spring share, you can expect root veggies (carrots! onions! turnips! beets! potatoes!), cabbages, frozen summer goodness (broccoli! cauliflower! sweet peppers!), and then greens, greens, greens coming up soon! We usually have the first tomatoes and cucumbers and we're always pushing the season to see what our greenhouses will produce! Join us during this exciting season! Around the Farm Before I started working at Pete's Greens, I was a CSA member. I preferred the Spring Season because of how difficult I found it to eat local food during this time of year. I wanted access to organic, local, and seasonal veggies. I wanted diversity in my food and I wanted to "put my money where my mouth was" - literally and figuratively. I picked up at Concept2 in Morrisville. A year later, I started working at the farm and I'm so glad I came in with the experience of being a CSA supporter! I remember one spring season and it felt like all we got were carrots and shoots! Today, as part of my job, I get the yellow Standard share so I know what it's like to get what's in your bag, and to have that be the bulk of my food for the week. Sometimes it means we get creative. We're always striving to improve the CSA and to do the best we can. This morning, you should have received a survey asking about you. You'll receive another survey at the end of the season (late next week) asking about the last 17 weeks of veggies. I hope you take both surveys as they get at different characteristics about our CSA and our members. Already, I'm reading your responses with eager anticipation. I take my experience as a CSA member seriously and think about it when I plan out the shares or when I hear about experiences at the sites (I still cringe when I think about taking Judy Geer's kimchi, which was labeled with her name, instead of taking my own! Sorry, Judy!). I value your feedback, always, and hope you join us for our Spring season. Those fresh greens that come up in late April are such a treat, and a wonderful balance to the root veggies! ~ Taylar Storage Tips and Recipes Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our blog and website. Mixed Shoots: A colorful zing of sunflower & radish shoots! I've been enjoying my shoots with slaws: shredded cabbage, grated carrots, sliced kohlrabi, and wedges of apples tossed with a light vinaigrette and shoots. The shoots provide a great color and texture against the roots. Spinach: Surprise! We cleared out a greenhouse on Monday and harvested just enough spinach for the Lean & Green Share. Enjoy spinach two ways in this week's share! Rutabaga: Rutabaga grows particularly well in colder climates, and is especially popular in Sweden (where it earned its second name, swede).  Rutabagas should be peeled before use. Some rutabagas may have come out of the ground with superficial worm track markings. Don't be deterred if your rutabagas have these marks. Just peel or slice off the outer layer (which you need to do anyway) and the inside should be just fine. Keep them loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your fridge and they'll last for several weeks at least. Roast it, mash it with butter, season with salt and pepper, cook it like a fry, you can't go wrong. Frozen Spinach or Zucchini:  For either veggie, let it thaw then make sure to wring it out well before using. Try mixing the zucchini in with stir fry or make a nice loaf of zucchini bread. I often throw shredded zucchini in my waffle batter for a little extra veggie in the morning. Recipes Quick Pickled Carrots and Rutabaga The refreshing crunch of these pickles is a nice change from roasted, boiled and pureed root vegetables. This is a a quick refrigerator pickle version, but you could can them if you like. You can make this with just carrots but the rutabaga adds variety and makes a nice pickle too. You could also use turnips, if you like their bite. 3 large carrots (about 3/4 lb.), peeled & cut into sticks about 3" long by 1/2" wide 1 lb. rutabaga, peeled & cut into sticks about 3" long by 1/2" wide 1 cup cider vinegar 2 cups water 1/2 cup sugar 1 TB coarse kosher salt 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife 1 TB whole fennel seeds 1 1/2 tsp whole mustard seeds 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns 1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper to taste Fresh dill sprigs and fresh fennel fronds (optional) Prepare a large bowl full of ice water. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, add the carrots and rutabaga (or turnips), and boil for 1 minute. Drain immediately and plunge the vegetables into the ice water to stop cooking. In the same pot, combine the cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns and crushed red pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain the cooled vegetables and put them in a heat-resistant container along with the dill sprigs and fennel fronds, if using. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the vegetables and cool. When they are cool, cover them tightly and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before eating. The pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month. Roasted Rutabaga Roasting rutabagas brings out their natural sweetness. You could easily bulk up this recipe by adding chopped potatoes, carrots, and any other root veggies you've got. Rutabaga Olive Oil Salt Pepper Apple cider vinegar Chopped Parsley Toss 1 large peeled and cubed rutabaga with 3 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees F until golden and soft, 40 minutes. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and chopped parsley. Root Veggie Gratin with Horseradish Crust Recipe comes from the Driftless Organics CSA, a great resource for recipe ideas. 2 ½ lbs. mixed root vegetables (rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, beet, potato, etc.) 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese 3 Tbsp. flour ½ cup rye bread crumbs 2 cups whole milk, heated 1-2 Tbsp. sunflower oil 3 Tbsp. butter ⅓ cup apple cider or wine 1 Tbsp. minced garlic ⅛ tsp. nutmeg Salt & pepper 2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread vegetables & garlic in large baking dish, drizzle with oil & cider or wine. Season to taste with salt & pepper, & toss well. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil & bake 20 minutes. Remove foil & continue to roast until vegetables are brown-tipped & tender 20-25 min. Meanwhile, start make a white sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour & cook over low heat several minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to simmer, & cook gently 10 minutes,stirring often. Season with salt, pepper, & nutmeg. Gently fold the sauce into the roasted vegetables. Mix horseradish, cheddar, & bread crumbs with your fingers. Scatter the mixture evenly over the vegetables. Continue to bake until bubbly, 20- 30 minutes. Need to Skip a Week? You can donate your share to the food shelf, receive a second share the following week, or receive a credit on your account. We ask for one week's notice. Sorry, no changes to the week's delivery after 8 am on Monday of that week. EMAIL TAYLAR TO SKIP A DELIVERY Questions? Contact Taylar, goodeats@petesgreens.com