My favorite way to eat beets

A simple, delicious way to enjoy beets...

Pre-heat oven to 325. 

Cut beets in coins, approximately 1/4 in thick.

Brush both sides with a little olive oil and lay in single layer on a baking sheet. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Bake, flipping occasionally, until tender but not charred. 

Remove beets from the oven. While still hot, spread soft, fresh goat cheese on top. 

Sprinkle with fresh chopped mint and serve!

Summer Potato Salad

This recipe is from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, with some slight adaptations. If you are interested in the food system, eating locally, or are cooking enthusiast, I would definitely recommend reading it. (Check it out here). I made it last night and dressed it this morning before eating it, and it seemed to keep well. Also, it can be easily adapted to whatever is in the CSA each week (in addition to substituting sweet potatoes for the red potatoes, or even a combination of the two). 

Summer Potato Salad 

Cut about 2lbs (I used the whole bag from the CSA) of red potatoes into one inch chunks. Roast with olive oil and 3 tbsp salt at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. For the last ten minutes, add sugar snap peas, green peppers cut into chunks, and 1-2 ears of corn slightly oiled. Take out, let cool, and cut corn off the cobs. Toss all the veggies together with wedged tomatoes (I would maybe recommend baby tomatoes instead so they don't fall apart) and refrigerate. When cold, toss with dressing. I used a mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but experiment as you like! Also, add basil at the end before serving. The recipe calls for about 1/4 of a cup, but let's be honest, you can never have too much basil! 

Super easy and super flexible - I think any veggie would work well. Enjoy! 

What to do with Red Cabbage?

Cooking tips: Sautee it, braise it, use in soups (or gazpacho, maybe, for these crazy hot days?), as garnish or on sandwhiches, or eat it raw in slaws and salads. 
Storage tips: Store whole head in plastic bag in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. Once cut, red cabbage will lose its freshness quickly (probably within two days). Can also be frozen (blanch first) or pickled! Check out Alexis' post for pickling how-to's!
Fun fact: They're awesome for you; chock full of dietary antioxidants, act as an anti-inflammatory, and even "potentially preventive and therapeutic roles" to several diseases. 


Cabbage and Lime Salad With Roasted Peanuts
1/2 red cabbage, trimmed, cored, shredded (approx 6 cups) 
1/2 green cabbage, trimmed, cored, shredded (approx 6 cups) 
1 tbsp salt 
1 bunch baby spinach 
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 small limes) 
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup peanut oil 
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped 
freshly ground black pepper
First toss the cabbage, let drain for 2 hours. Mix the liquid ingredients and toss salad with it. Add peanuts on top and spices to taste. 
(recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/cabbage-and-lime-salad-with-roasted-peanuts/)


If you're searching for something a little more exotic (or perhaps have just had enough salad the past few weeks), there's also tons of taco-wrap-sandwich recipes, oft pairing cabbage with avoacodo and lime various meats and fish. Here are links to some of the tastier looking ones. 


Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/05/recipe-for-slow-cooker-shredded-beef.html 
Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Aocado Salsa
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/steak-tacos-cucumber-avocado-salsa.aspx
Avocado, Feta, and Cabbage Wrap 
http://www.marthastewart.com/338938/avocado-feta-and-cabbage-wrap

4th of July Veggie Storage

The 4th of July is already here (!) which probably also means a Baltimore getaway. Here are some quick tips for how to store the veggies while you're gone, and several recipes if you're trying to eat it before the holiday.


Chard: Best eaten ASAP but will keep 2-4 days in the refrigerator. It also freezes well - blanch first then freeze in plastic bag or container. 

Cucumbers: Refrigerate for use within 5 days. For optimal keeping, wrap cucumbers individually in paper towels, then place inside a closed plastic bag.

Turnips: Remove the greens and store them separately (you can also eat these, but they will only keep about 3 days). The root will keep for roughly a week in a plastic bag in the fridge. 

Zucchini: Best within 4-5 days in your fridge's crisper section. 
Cauliflower/Broccoli: Keep in perforated or open plastic bag to keep 5-7 days. 
Kale: Keep in sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for 5-7 day storage.
Kohlrabi: Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.


Eggs in Sauteed Chard: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggs_nested_in_sauteed_chard_and_mushrooms/
Tropical Cucumber Salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tropical_cucumber_salad.html
Zucchini bread: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/summer-of-the-bats/   
Simple Cauliflower: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/simple-cauliflower-recipe.html
Broccoli, Kale, & Cauliflower Tart: http://www.cookyourdream.com/2010/05/sprouting-broccoli-kale-and-cauliflower.html 


Made a great dish for the 4th with your veggies? Post it! Happy 4th!

Pickling

Spike Gjerde (of Woodberry Kitchen) did a talk about pickling on Homewood Campus a while back. I've been using his very simple recipe to preserve some of our CSA goodies so we can enjoy them in the off months. You can use this recipe for almost anything. Spike gave us yummy samples of pickled wild ramps, and so far I've had good success with cauliflower, carrots, and radishes. I might try kohlrabi next?

Brine:
2 cups white wine vinegar (any vinegar will work)
2 cups water
3 TBLSP sugar
3 TBLSP salt
spices as desired (black peppercorn, mustard seed, bay leaf, dried chiles)

Trim off any ends, cut to desired shape and size. Wash with cold water. Drain.

In a saucepan, bring the brine to a boil.

In a separate pan, sterilize canning jar and lid in boiling water 5 minutes. Keep water on heat.

With clean hands, pack veggies into sterilized jar. Pour hot brine 3/4 way up in the jar. As the veggies soften, pack in more until full. Fill jar to fill line with brine, reserving any left over for your next pickling project - it will stay good for a long time. Using a clean spoon, jostle the contents of the jar to let any air bubbles escape.

Wipe the rim of the jar and seal it. Place jar in boiling water, fully and well submerged, for 10 minutes. Remove from hot water and let cool at room temp. Store in a cool, dark space. Can enjoy as soon as 2 weeks and for up to one year.

Behind-the-Scenes at One Straw Farm

Check out these sweet behind-the-scenes clips of what happens at One Straw Farm before their produce reaches our garage each Wednesday. Cool stuff!

http://vimeo.com/search/sort:date/format:thumbnail?q=one%20straw%20farm

Parmesan Squash Latkes

So I think we can all agree, after receiving so many greens in the CSA over the past few weeks, the yellow summer squash was definitely a welcome change color-wise! The squash presence in the CSA inspired me to experiment with the golden veggie last night. My friend and I were feeling a little adventurous and wanted to do something a little more creative than simply roasting it, so we ended up trying a zucchini fritter/latke recipe. We ended up amending it based on what we had in the kitchen, and of course substituting the zucchini for yellow squash. It was super easy and turned out really well! 

- 2 medium squash, grated (or you can just chop it into really small slivers)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top before serving
- salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredient into a batter. Place about a two tablespoon dollop in a saute pan on the stove (with olive oil to prevent sticking) and slightly flatten them to whatever thickness you prefer. Cook until golden brown - which was for us I think around 2-3 minutes each side. Some of the recipes suggest serving with sour cream, but we used plain yogurt instead which worked really well. So obviously our version didn't photograph as well as some of the pics from online recipes (uh, can you tell which pic is ours?), but don't let the image fool you - it tasted pretty great! 

left photo from: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2010/07/zucchini-fritters.html