THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: broccoli, cauliflower OR cabbage, BEETS, Florence fennel, leeks, and sweet peppers

At the Pumpkin Pick Up Weekend, several of you told us that we could never give you too much broccoli.  This week we may have put that claim to the test!  If you need (or want) to preserve some of your broccoli for future use, it is easy to freeze.  This is how we do it:  We cut the heads into florets and steam them for about 3-5 minutes.  At that point, they have turned dark green but are not fully cooked.  Then we rinse them with the coldest water possible and drain until dry.  We then put them in freezer bags and pop them in the freezer.  They will maintain their quality for several months and are quite welcome additions to winter soups and stews.

The beets in your basket have amazing greens.  We use them just like Swiss chard or spinach.  The recipe below is a great way to use the beet greens.

SAUTÉED BEET GREENS WITH WASABI AND GINGER

1 bunch beet greens

1 small onion, chopped

1 green garlic, chopped

1 small cauliflower or broccoli raab

½ tsp. wasabi paste

1 Tbs. pickled ginger, chopped

2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

Salt to taste

Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan.  Add the onion, garlic, and wasabi paste and sauté until the onion is translucent.  Add the chopped beet greens, cauliflower or raab, and pickled ginger.  Continue cooking until the beets and cauliflower/raab is tender.  Add salt to taste.  Divide onto plates and top with soft poached eggs and serve with a slice of toast to absorb the yolk and juices.

Below is another great recipe for this week’s basket.

BEET AND BROCCOLI SALAD

A great salad can be made with beets and broccoli. We steam the broccoli and beets together with the sliced beets on bottom.  Generally, when the broccoli is done (i.e. just turned dark green and starting to get tender) the beets are also done.  We then toss them in a simple vinaigrette and serve them either warm or cold.  This vinaigrette is the one we use:

VINAIGRETTE

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp wet mustard

5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

Press garlic into the bottom of  your salad bowl.  With a fork, mix well with salt until it forms a paste.  Mix in vinegar and mustard until salt is dissolved.  Whisk in olive oil to make an emulsion.  Add black pepper to taste.  These proportions are in no way set in stone.  You should experiment to find the proportions you prefer.  Also, other spices, herbs and vinegars can be used to vary the dressing.

LINGUINE WITH FENNEL AND TUNA

1 lb. linguine

1 large fennel bulb

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs. capers

2 6-oz. cans solid light tuna

salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and return to pot; reserve ½ cup pasta water.  Trim the fennel bulbs, reserving ¼ chopped fronds.  Quarter, core and thinly slice the fennel crosswise; cook in 1 Tbs. of the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat until golden, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.  Add to pasta along with fronds, lemon juice, capers, 2 Tbs. of the olive oil, and the reserved pasta water.  Season with salt and pepper.  Flake in the tuna.  Gently toss.  Serves 4-6. From Everyday Food  October 2003.

I was reminded recently that I didn’t say anything about the “Guess The Weight” pumpkins last week.  While I don’t have the exact weights (I need to remember to write these things down), the Saturday pumpkin was about 45.5 pounds, and the Sunday pumpkin was a bit over 47 pounds.  Both winners guessed withing a few tenths of a pound of the correct weight!