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.
Mesclun: A mix of spinach, sorrel, claytonia, upland cress, baby kale, and shoots. We pre-wash the bagged greens but we recommend giving them a good rinse before using. Unopened, the bags of greens will last several days. Once opened, they will begin to wilt.
Gilfeather Turnips: The gilfeather turnip was bred here in Vermont and is our State Vegetable! Here is an excerpt from the Slow Food site about Gilfeathers: "The Gilfeather is an egg-shaped, rough-skinned root, but unlike its cousins, it has a mild taste that becomes sweet and a creamy white color after the first frost. While the hardy Gilfeather turnip does well in nearly any climate, this touch of frost contributes to its unusual taste and texture. Developed and named after John Gilfeather from Wardsboro, Vermont, this turnip is one of the state's unique contributions to cold weather agriculture. Mr. Gilfeather carefully guarded his stock to ensure that no one else could propagate the vegetable. However, some seeds slipped by and a few folks have continued to grow the Gilfeather Turnip after Mr. Gilfeather died." These turnips are truly unique, and we are fortunate that the seeds made their way to other Vermont farmers. Try boiling and mashing the Gilfeathers with potatoes. Turnips can be kept for a couple of weeks loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
Fingerling Potatoes: Cut these sought after little delicacies into 1 1/2 inch chunks, toss liberally with oil and salt and roast in a 400F oven until crispy and golden at the edges. Just beautiful. Store in a cool dry place away from onions.
Daikon Radish: lthough daikon radishes are actually members of the far-flung cabbage family, they look like overgrown white carrots and taste like mild radishes. Unchecked, daikon radishes have been known to weigh in at 50 pounds. Since daikon radishes are milder in flavor than regular radishes, they can be used like any other root vegetable in cooking. Wrap the unwashed root in a separate plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to two weeks. There usually is no need to peel daikon radishes but if there are dark splotches on them, peel the splotches away. Wash them thoroughly in cold running water to remove any lingering dirt. Slice, dice, chop, or grate the daikon according to the directions of your recipe.
Parsley: Not only is it a greenhouse delicacy, but it has lots of benefits: many claim that flat-leaf parsley has more flavor than curly but all parsley has huge nutritional benefits - high in vitamins A, C, and K, and in folic acid (great for pregnant women!). The activity of parsley's volatile oils qualifies it as a "chemoprotective" food, meaning it can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens. Try adding parsley stems to your simmering stock, both to impart flavor and help clarify the broth. It can be sprinkled an a host of different recipes, including salads, vegetables sautes, and grilled fish. It can be a rub for chicken lamb, and beef when combined with garlic, lemon zest, and salt. It's a key flavor ingredient in the Mediterranean dish tabouli (see recipe below). A nice way to store is to place the parsley bunch stems in a glass of water, like flowers in a vase, and then cover loosely with a plastic bag and keep in the fridge. If this is too finicky, just store loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in crisper drawer.
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 Sweet Peppers: At the height of the season this summer, we stowed away the most gorgeous crop of sweet peppers for Good Eats. We will be giving them out periodically through the share. Leave peppers in the freezer til you are ready to use them. Then take out the peppers you will use for the dish you are making, and cut them as required for your recipe while they are still frozen, or just starting to thaw. As they thaw they will soften and become harder to chop neatly. These peppers can be used in any recipe that calls for cooking peppers. Chop them and toss them onto a pizza, or into a pasta dish, in a casserole, or alongside onions when grilling your meats. You will find many uses for them once you get used to pulling them from the freezer.
Recipes
Root Vegetable Mulligatawny
If you do not have all of the spices on hand, just use a couple tablespoons of your favorite curry powder.
1 cup dried red lentils
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
½ tsp. mustard seeds
1 Tbsp. curry leaves (about 15)
½ Tbsp. turmeric
¼ tsp. cayenne
½ Tbsp. coriander
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 small onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 cups diced mixed root vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, daikon, kohlrabi, sunchokes etc.)
1 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14oz. can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in ½ cup water (or juice of ½ lemon)
Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Cover lentils with water to soak while you prepare the rest of the dish. In a large stockpot, heat the oil and add all spices and minced ginger (not the garlic). Stir often so spices do not burn. When the mix smells fragrant, add onions and cook until softened (if the mix becomes too dry, add a little of the tomato liquid and stir well). Add garlic and cook a couple minutes more.
Add the chopped vegetables and stir well to coat with spices. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, if using, and cook until heated through. Add canned tomatoes and coconut milk.
Drain and rinse lentils very well and add them to the pot, along with the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are soft and the root vegetables tender.
Add tamarind (or lemon juice) to the soup. Season to taste.
Garnish soup with fresh cilantro and some quality olive oil. Serve hot. Tastes amazing the day after!
Cider Scalloped Gilfeather Turnips
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup apple cider or juice
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
½ cup Jarlsberg cheese, shredded
1 cup milk
½ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
½ cup Vermont cheddar cheese, shredded
2 lbs. Gilfeather turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Put oven rack in center position. Grease 10 x 2 round baking dish or an 8 x 10 rectangular baking dish; set aside. Place flour in a medium heavy saucepan; gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Whisk in cider, broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly. Cook one minute more, remove from heat and set aside.
Combine cheeses. Arrange half of the sliced turnips (slightly overlapping) in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of cheeses on half of the turnips. Arrange another layer of turnips on top of cheese. Pour cider mixture over turnips. Bake 25 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven. Using a metal spatula, press down on the turnips. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven. Bake until turnips are fork-tender and the top is crusted and lightly browned – about 20 minutes more. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.
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.
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