This week your basket contains: leeks, carrots, DELICATA SQUASH, rutabaga, beets, Swiss chard, and celeriac

DECEMBER DELIVERY SCHEDULE: As we did for Thanksgiving, we will be delivering a double basket to you before Christmas/New Year’s Day. Your double will arrive next Tuesday Dec. 22^nd. We will skip delivery on Dec. 29^th and January 5^th, and be back to normal on January 12^th. The schedule is on our web site as well. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Just about everyone is familiar with Delicata squash; it is possibly the most popular variety we grow. While this recipe calls for more squash than we gave this week, it can be halved easily or made with other types of squash or pumpkin.

DELICATA SQUASH WITH ROSEMARY, SAGE, AND CIDER GLAZE

2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds) or other firm winter squash

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup very coarsely chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider or juice

1 cup water

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Squash. If using delicata squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, cut it lengthwise in half, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each piece lengthwise in half again, then crosswise into 1/2-inch -thick slices. Other types of squash should be peeled with a chef’s knife, seeded, cut into 1-inch wedges, then sliced 1/2-inch thick.

Herb Butter. Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over low heat. Add the sage and rosemary and cook, stirring, until the butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs. Cooking the herbs in butter mellows their flavor and improves their texture.

Cooking the squash. Add the squash to the skillet, then the apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat at an even boil until the cider has boiled down to a glaze and the squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper, and additional salt if needed.  From Epicurious.com

CELERIAC AND PORCINI SOUP

1/2 oz. dried porcini (or similar) mushrooms

1 chopped celeriac (3-4 oz.)

1 chopped onion

2 oz butter

1/4 pt. sour cream

1/4 pt. regular cream or half and half

1 Tbs flour

dill weed or parsley

salt and pepper

Soak the mushrooms in a ladle of very hot water for 20-30 minutes. While they are soaking, sweat the celeriac and onion in the butter in a covered pan until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and their liquor. Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Puree in a blender and return the puree to the pan. Mix the creams and the flour to make a smooth paste and stir into the soup as it reheats. Cook slowly for about five minutes, until the taste of flour has gone. If the soup is too thick for your taste, dilute with hot water. Stir in chopped dill weed, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with croutons. From Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book.

MAYE’S BEETS

This recipe calls for beets, but I have used turnips, rutabagas and celeriac too, and they were all great. The beets make a fuschia-colored salad though, and are definitely the prettiest. I have taken this dish to potlucks and gotten rave reviews, a pretty good trick for a root vegetable.

2-3 medium beets

3 T. sour cream or yoghurt

1 T. prepared horseradish, or to taste

¼  t. salt

¼ t. sugar

dash of black pepper, to taste

Cut off the stems of the beet greens, scrub but don’t peel. (Save the greens for another dish, or use them as a garnish for this one.) Boil the beets in water to cover until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and cool. When cool, rub off the peel, and cut into thin strips, or for the talented among you, julienne them. There should be about 2 cups. Blend the sour cream or yoghurt with the horseradish, salt, sugar and pepper. Add the beets and stir gently. Chill and serve. From Sundays at Moosewood.