This week your basket contains: tomatoes,  sweet peppers, RADICCHIO, beets, parsley, winter squash, red onions, and RED KING RADISH.

November is here which means Thanksgiving will be here before you know it!  It also means that we will be sending along a DOUBLE BASKET in the delivery just before the holiday.  This year you double will be on Tuesday, November 22^nd.  We will then skip delivery on Nov. 29^th and be back to normal on December 6^th.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Your tomatoes may have little to no red color.  These late tomatoes are best used in a recipe like the one below.  We also have more green tomato recipes on our web site. 

ZESTY GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

4 med. green tomatoes

3 Tbs. ghee or veg. oil

1 Tbs. minced hot peppers

½ tsp. black mustard seeds

8-10 curry leaves

1/8 tsp. saffron threads

2 Tbs. finely chopped candied ginger

½ cup diced under-ripe mango

½ tsp. salt

2 Tbs. coarsely chopped cilantro or parsley

Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and peel.  Cut each tomatoes in half, squeeze out as many seeds as possible and dice.  Heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.  Drop in mustard seeds and cook until they start to “pop”.  Add the curry leaves, and in seconds carefully add the tomatoes and saffron.  Stir and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.  Add the ginger, mango and salt.  Cook additional 15 minutes stirring often until thick.  Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cilantro and let cool.  Serve at room temperature.  From The Best of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine by Yamuna Devi

We are always looking for new crops to expand our selection, especially in the winter months that can get a bit repetitive.  This year we tried a small planting of RED KING RADISH.  This is more like a daikon radish than a French Breakfast radish.  It can be used sliced in stir fry or added raw & grated on salad. They also make great refrigerator pickles using the recipe below.  While this year we only have a small amount for you, if they are popular, next year we will grow enough for several harvests.  Please let us know what you think of them.

OVERNIGHT DAIKON RADISH PICKLES

1 1/2 cups chopped daikon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

In a mixing bowl, toss daikon with salt. Cover, and refrigerate until 1 to 2 tablespoons of water is released, about 30 minutes.

Drain and rinse daikon, removing as much salt as possible. Pat dry with a paper towel, and return to bowl. Stir in rice vinegar, black pepper and, if desired, sesame oil. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

RADICCHIO is becoming our favorite winter salad green.  It has been growing well for us (if we can keep the gophers out of it!) and the flavor is fantastic.  While it can be slightly bitter, breaking up the head and soaking the leaves in ice water mitigates the bitterness.  You can soak for anywhere from an hour to 24 hours.  We often add radicchio to traditional salad greens but also use them alone.  The recipe below works well for either.  We would pump up the salad below by topping each portion with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

HEARTY GREEN SALAD WITH MANCHEGO

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 shallot or onion, chopped

3/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups Manchego, finely grated and divided

1 pinch salt, plus more to taste

In a large bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, and chopped shallot. Break the onion up into pieces so that all of that oniony flavor gets into the vinegar. Let it sit for 1 hour and then strain out the shallots. Add the olive oil to the strained vinegars and whisk. Using your hands, toss greens with the dressing until evenly coated. Add 1 cup of finely grated Manchego, salt, and toss again.  To serve, top the salad in a serving bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup grated Manchego or distribute salad and Manchego among 4 to 8 bowls or plates.  Adapted from TORO BRAVO by John Gorman and Liz Crain