This week your basket contains: potatoes, collards, garlic, winter squash, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and onions. 

This week you have either a Thelma Saunders squash (pale yellow acorn like squash that is an Oregon heirloom), or Shokichi shiro squash (smaller slate grey squash).  Both have a texture and taste that make great substitutes for any recipe that calls for sweet potato.  We like this recipe, substituting squash for sweet potato and collards for mustard greens.

YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH SWEET POTATOES AND MUSTARD GREENS

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 c. dried yellow split peas, rinsed

5 c. water

4 c. chicken or vegetable broth

1 14 ½-oz. can diced plum tomatoes

1 med. peeled sweet potato, ½ in. cubes

8 c. coarsely chopped mustard greens, ribs removed

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.  Add split peas, water and broth and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until split peas have completely broken down, about 1 hour.  Add tomatoes, sweet potatoes and mustard greens.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 25 to 30 minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serves 10.  From Eating Well October 1998.

This is a great way to use both your sprouts and parsnips.

POACHED BRUSSELS SPROUTS ON A PARSNIP BED

1lb parsnips
3-4 cardamom pods
1 tsp coriander seeds
4 oz butter
1lb Brussels sprouts
1 large cloves of garlic
3/4 chicken or vegetable stock
freshly grated nutmeg

Peel the parsnips, cut them up roughly and steam or boil until soft. Extract the seeds from the cardamom pods, then grind finely in a coffee grinder with the coriander seeds. Put a dry frying-pan over a fairly low heat, add the ground spices and stir for a minute, then add half the butter. Stir until melted and remove from the heat. Purée the parsnips in a food processor with the spiced, melted butter and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Spread the parsnip purée in a large, round and shallow serving dish, bringing it up slightly around the edge. Loosely cover with foil and keep warm in a low oven.

Trim the sprouts if necessary and slice thinly lengthways. Peel the garlic and slice thinly crossways. Heat the remaining butter and stock in a pan over a medium heat. When the mixture is bubbling, add the sprouts and garlic. Cover and simmer for three to four minutes, until the sprouts are bright green and tender. Remove the lid and stir the sprouts around over a higher heat until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat, taste and season if needed. Spoon the sprouts on the parsnip purée, leaving it showing round the side. Grate a generous amount of nutmeg over the sprouts and serve at once.  The parsnips can be cooked in advance and reheated and the sprouts take only a few minutes to cook, at the last moment.

LAMB CHOPS WITH PARSNIPS

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium parsnips (about 1 pound), peeled and sliced 1/3 inch thick

3/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate (6 ounces), thawed

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 lamb loin chops, 1 inch thick (2 1/2 pounds)

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the parsnips and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden and tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the parsnips to a plate.  Add the apple concentrate to the skillet and boil until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice, the parsnips and 1 tablespoon of the horseradish. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.  Meanwhile, in another large skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper, add them to the pan and cook over high heat, turning once, until the meat is cooked but still pink throughout, about 7 minutes.  Transfer the lamb and parsnips to plates. Spoon the sauce over the lamb, top the chops with the remaining 1 tablespoon of horseradish and serve.