THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: broccoli, beets, carrots, Florence fennel, leeks, kale, and sweet peppers

November means THANKSGIVING & feasting, which means we will be delivering EXTRA LARGE BASKETS prior to Thanksgiving day.  Your Thanksgiving basket will arrive on TUESDAY, Nov. 25^TH .  We will then SKIP DELIVERY on Dec. 2^nd,  and be back delivering on Dec. 9^th.  Please email if you have any questions or concerns.  Along with your Thanksgiving basket, you can ORDER PEARS FROM BIG BARN ORGANICS in Hood River. Prices and details are on our web site in the blog post section.

This may be the final week of what has been an amazing fall broccoli harvest.  If you are in need of a new way to make use of your broccoli, try the recicpe below which was sent to us by a subscriber.

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

1 large head of broccoli (or several smaller heads),

2 stalk celery

1 small onion

1 sweet pepper (optional)

Chop broccoli into flowerets.  For stem, if tender, chop, for lower sections, peel and chop.  Sauté celery, onion, and sweet pepper in oil or butter (1-2 T).  When softened,  add in broccoli. Cover with vegetable broth or water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender.  And to blender or use immersion blender if a smoother consistency is desired. Add about 2 cups milk and heat through.  Adjust consistency with broth or milk.  Season with salt and pepper, basil or thyme can also be used if desired.  Serve as is or top with your choice of grated cheese.

We still have not had a frost here (almost a full month later than we expect!) which means that the beet greens are still amazing.  You can use them just like Swiss chard or use them in combination with the kale in the recipe below.

MIXED GREENS ENCHILADAS

2 Tbs. veg. oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 cups coarsely chopped greens

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. flour

½ cup milk

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

6 corn tortillas

½ cup salsa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat oil, sauté onion & garlic until golden.  Add greens in small amounts until cooked down.  In another pan, melt butter, stir in flour, add milk slowly and then cheese.  Stir until thick then mix into cooked greens.  Fill the tortillas, roll and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.  Spread salsa over and bake for 25 minutes, until edges of tortillas are crisp.  Adapted from The Cook’s Garden catalog.

The recipe below is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to prepare your fennel.  With the larger fennel bulbs we gave you, I would recommend slicing the bulbs into several pieces instead of only in half.

BAKED SWEET FENNEL, PARMESAN CRUST

2 medium sized fennel bulbs

2 Tbsp. fruity olive oil

4 Tbsp. grated Pamigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Trim the fronds and stalks off the fennel bulbs and reserve for another use.  Cut trimmed bulbs in half lengthwise through the root.  Place the bulbs cut side up in a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drizzle each piece with a teaspoon of olive oil.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Turn the bulb over, adding a little more oil if necessary.  Lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes longer.   Turn the fennel over so the cut side is up.  Sprinkle each fennel half with 1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.  Serves 4.  From Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold