This week your basket contains: celeriac, parsnips, January King cabbage, red onions, salad mix (lettuce, endive, and arugula), and potatoes.

Happy New Year!  We hope your holidays were as pleasant and rejuvenating as ours.  We are happy to be back to deliveries and pleased with the way the gardens are looking (wet but still producing).  We are starting the process of signing up new subscribers for the 2021-22 subscription year that starts in June.  One thing we have learned in the past year is that Covid has upended the assumptions we have come to rely on regarding the number of people who will not continue with us.  IF YOU ARE CERTAIN YOU WILL RENEW YOUR SUBSCRITION OR CERTAIN YOU WILL NOT RENEW, please let us know right away so we can plan accordingly.  We will send out renewal forms starting next week.

This week’s cabbages are a January King type (the variety is Deadon).  We leave more of the wrapper leaves on these cabbages than usual because they are so beautiful.  The deep purple color is the result of exposure to low temperatures.  It is also an indication that these cabbages have developed the deeper sweet flavors that come after a frost (similar to the effect frost has on parsnips or Brussels sprouts and kale).  This recipe would be perfect for this week.

EASY STRUDEL QUICHE

2 Tbs vegetable oil

3 cups chopped onions

7-8 cups chopped cabbage

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp dried dill

1tsp salt

black pepper

8 oz cream cheese, cubed

1 1/2 c. grated hard cheese

1 egg

1 9-inch pie crust

Sauté onions in oil until translucent.  Add the cabbage, caraway, dill, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently until the cabbage is limp and both cabbage and onions are beginning to brown.  Light browning gives a sweeter, richer flavor.  Remove from heat and drain any excess liquid.  In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and grated cheeses (we prefer smoked cheddar) with sautéed vegetables.  Add egg and mix well.  Put mixture into pie crust and bake in 350-degree oven for approx. 45 minutes or until golden brown.

This is a great soup.  If you are getting mushrooms from Cloudcap, you can use fresh mushrooms instead of the dried ones called for in the recipe.

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.

Similar to carrot cake, this recipe for parsnip cake is a great way to use parsnips if you want a change from savory preparations.

PARSNIP CAKE

1 1/4 cups salad oil

1 1/4 cups sugar (or equivalent honey)

2 cups flour

1 Tb baking powder

1 Tb baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 eggs

3 cups grated raw parsnips

1 1/2 cups finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds)

Thoroughly combine oil and sugar.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Add to oil and sugar mixture, alternating with eggs and beating well after each addition.  Mix in parsnips, then nuts.  Pour into greased pans or spoon into muffin tin.  Bake in preheated 325 degree oven until cooked through (1 hr and 10 minutes for cake and approx. 20 minutes for muffins). From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.