THIS WEEK YOUR BASKE CONTAINS: Cippolini onions, broccoli, potatoes, cabbage, sweet peppers, Florence fennel, and MUSTARD GREENS.

THANKSGIVING WILL SOON BE HERE! As we always do, we will be delivering a TWO-WEEK BASKET to you on November 26^th. We will SKIP DELIVERY December 3^rd, and be back on December 10^th.  Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.

Cippolini onions are sweeter, with more residual sugar than white or yellow onions, but not as much as shallots. The flavor is sweet and rather mild. The advantage to cipollinis is that they are small and flat, and the shape lends them well to roasting. This combined with their sweetness makes for a lovely addition to recipes where you might want to use whole caramelized onions. They are well suited for grilling and for kabobs. They are excellent when roasted with meat or fish and are high in fiber.

CIPOLLINI ONION AND FENNEL POT ROAST

1 Tbs. rosemary
1 Tbs. thyme

¼ cup plus1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1tsp. salt
1tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1  boneless beef chuck roast
2 cups cipollini onions

3 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium fennel bulbs,diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium beef broth, plus extra, as needed
2 dried bay leaves

For the rub: In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, thyme, 1 Tbs. olive oil, salt, and pepper until smooth.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and rub on all sides with the herb rub. In a heavy 6-quart pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the beef and set aside. Add the remaining oil, onions, carrots, and fennel to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the sherry and deglaze the pan. Stir in the broth and bay leaves. Return the beef and any juices to the pot and bring the liquids to a boil. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork-tender, about 4 hours, turning the beef over halfway through and adding extra broth, as needed, to keep the beef halfway covered in liquid. Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes. Spoon any excess fat off the top of the pan juices. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables and cooking juices together until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm over low heat. Cut the beef into 1-inch pieces and place on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce over the meat and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

When we are finished harvesting a crop, we often allow any remaining or re-growing plants to go to seed. Sometimes this is to provide habitat for beneficial insects or sometimes it is for future harvest of the regrown sprouts (think Brussels sprout raab or the tiny red cabbage we sometimes put in winter salad mixes).  Sometimes the seeds sprout, and we get a crop at an unexpected time.  We like this in that it points us toward a time slot that we can plant that crop in that we haven’t been using (the plants know when they want to grow!) This is what happened with the spring Asian salad mustards in one of our hoop houses this fall. We let the spring transplanted plants flower and set seed, then prepped the bed in the fall for garlic.  We wound up with an absolute carpet of tender mustard greens that need to be harvested to free up the garlic. These mild mustards are a great addition to green salad (what we use them for in the spring), on sandwiches, or cooked in stir fry or soups and stews.  The simple soup below would be a great choice for using the mustard greens.  It is also a great recipe to play with and modify to your tastes and/or whims!

GRANDMA KATE’S WEDDING SOUP

2 qts veg. or chicken stock

½ – ¾ lb mixed greens

meatballs

Wash the greens, blanch in boiling water or steam briefly.  Form small meatballs (use your favorite recipe or vegetarian meat substitute).  Drop meatballs into simmering stock and cook 10 minutes or until done.  Meanwhile, squeeze the excess water out of the greens, slice them into thin strips, and add to the hot stock just before serving.  Garnish with grated hard Italian cheese.