This week your basket contains: potatoes, onions, leeks, cabbage, parsnips, and salad mix (lettuce, endive, spinach, and baby kale)

Thank you to everyone who has let us know their renewal plans for the 2021-22 year.  IF YOU KNOW FOR SURE (or are even mostly sure) THAT YOU WILL NOT BE RENEWING PLEASE LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  We have a very large wait list this year and want to get a firm idea of how many spaces we will have for new people.  Thank you.

The parsnips in your basket today tend to be smaller than many that we have grown before.  It may be in response to the somewhat shady beds we grew them in or the fact that they didn’t get thinned.  In either case, the benefit is that these smaller parsnips tend to lack the woody core that larger roots can develop.  They would be perfect for this recipe from Joshua McFadden (of Ava Gene’s in Portland). 

PARSNIPS WITH CITRUS AND OLIVES

1 Lb. parsnips

¼ cup white wine vinegar

3 navel oranges

1 cup pitted black olives, chopped

3 scallions, chopped

Salt & pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Use a mandoline, vegetable peeler, or spiralizer to shave the parsnips into very thin ribbons.  Put them in a bowl of ice water with half the vinegar and soak for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, grate the zest from one of the oranges.  Segment all the oranges over a bowl to catch all the juices.  Drain the parsnips and dry them as well as you can ( a salad spinner can be very helpful).  Toss the parsnips with the orange zest, orange segments, and their juice along with the olives and scallions.  Season with salt and pepper adjusting to taste.  Let the salad stand for about 15 minutes then toss again with a generous drizzle of olive oil and serve.  From Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden.

This cabbage recipe seems perfect for these cold winter days.

CABBAGE AND SAUSAGE SKILLET

1 pound Hot Italian Sausage

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 bag cooking greens

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

In a high sided saute pan over medium high heat, brown the sausage until cooked through.  Remove from pan. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Once hot, add the onions and season with a little salt.   Cook for 5-10 minutes, until softened and golden.  Add the garlic and spices, cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.  Add greens to the pan. The pan will be very full at first, carefully mix the greens in and it will start to wilt and reduce in volume.  You my need to add it in a few batches.  Continue to stir, until everything is combined and greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage back to the pan, stir to combine.  Cook for another minute or two, until sausage is warmed.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.  From foxandbriar.com

Of late we have been braising roasts on a somewhat regular basis.  Being just the two of us at home now, we always have leftover roast for a couple of days.  This super tender meat is easy to shred and in the past we’ve made burritos with it.  Recently though, we have cut out the tortilla and made “bowls” instead.  We start by putting greens in our bowls (either salad greens or cooking greens or even shredded cabbage; whatever we have on hand).  We dress this with vinaigrette then top with reheated shredded meat, avocado, spiralized carrot, sliced hard boiled eggs, salsa, and/or anything else that strikes our fancy.  The hot meat wilts the greens, and the mix is great!  Best of all, we skip the tortillas which have a surprising number of calories.  This is a great way to use anything you might have in your refrigerator and a good outlet for you own creativity.

AVOCADO DRESSING

1 cup +1 tsp  extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts)

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

1 avocado, skinned and pitted

1 tsp sea salt

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 small onion, minced

Place minced onion in a bowl and cover with lemon juice and set aside to marinate.  This will mellow the raw onion flavor.  Heat a small skillet with 1 tsp of olive oil and add raw pumpkin seeds. Cook until seeds are golden brown (3-4 min). Set aside to cool.  In a food processor, chop two cloves of garlic. Add lemon juice and onion, avocado, and salt. Blend until smooth.  Slowly pour in the remaining olive oil while the food processor is on high  (You can optionally add ½ c. parmesan or pecorino cheese to the dressing)  You can make the dressing as thick or thin as you want, just add more or less olive oil.