Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Steph’s Picks: Vietnamese Cabbage Salad

This recipe showcases three herbs from the Farm ~ basil, cilantro & mint!  Really delicious salad, especially as a side dish to grilled chicken or fish.  Enjoy! ~ Stephanie

Ingredients
Dressing:


1 large shallot thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp chili paste with garlic
2 tsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp light brown or turbinado sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tsp rice wine vinegar


Salad:1 small head Napa cabbage shredded, or 1 12-ounce package shredded white cabbage
1 cup shredded
carrots

1/2 English cucumber, halved vertically and sliced thinly into half-moons
1/4 cup fresh
mint leaves, torn into smallish pieces
1/4 cup fresh
cilantro
leaves, left whole
a few
basil
leaves torn into pieces
3 tbsp unsalted peanuts coarsely chopped

Preparation
Combine dressing ingredients in small mixing bowl or 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup
Toss together all salad ingredients except peanuts.
At this point, salad and dressing can be refrigerated separately and refrigerated until just before serving.
Before serving, toss salad with dressing, then add peanuts and toss again.
Recipe reprinted from www.epicurious.com

Friday, July 20, 2012

Steph’s Picks: Rosemary Red Soup

I like this recipe as it highlights two vegetables from this week’s harvest; three, if you grate the napa cabbage onto the soup as a garnish. The two herbs come straight from the Farm’s herb garden. Enjoy! ~ Stephanie
This soup is a gorgeous red color with a deep, satisfying taste to match. Because of the combination of legumes and vegetables, all you need is some whole-grain bread and salad to make this into a beautifully balanced meal. Serve it with cornbread ….~ Cynthia Lair

3 medium
carrots, chopped
1
beet, chopped (2 if small)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped
rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
1 tablespoon fresh
oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 cup dried red lentils
2 bay leaves
4-5 cups water or stock
2-3 tablespoons light miso


Scrub and chop carrots and beet. Remove tops of beet if present. No need to peel unless vegetables are not organic. Heat oil in a 4-quart pot; add onion and sauté until soft. Add carrots and beet; sauté a few minutes more. Finely chop rosemary and oregano leaves, if using fresh herbs. Wash and drain lentils. Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves, and water or stock to sautéed vegetables; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 40 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Let soup cool and puree in small batches in blender or use an immersion blender. Dissolve miso in ½ cup water and stir into pureed soup. Gently reheat before serving if needed and garnish with sour cream if desired.

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings


For new eaters: Steam a few extra carrot slices and puree with water.
For experienced eaters: Reserve some pureed soup before adding the miso and serve.
For children: Make a face in the bowl with crackers!

Recipe reprinted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair (Sasquatch Books).
For a video, go to http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/index.php?video_id=99.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Beets: An Instruction Manual

Veggies are coming along nicely; we're having Chiogga Beets in this week's harvest.  Pretty with their stripes, sliced thinly and put into salads.  Try just steaming them for dinner, with a touch of butter, salt and pepper.



If you've wondered how to cook beets, go no further than this link:  http://www.rootconnection.com/rec-beets.html.  You'll find this:

Here is some useful info about beets....Recipes are below!
Baking beets is the best way to retain their flavor and juices, but requires the longest cooking time. Steaming is a very satisfactory method, for there's only a slight loss of flavor and the cooking time is shorter. Baking a 1 ½ inch beet takes an hour at 300° while the same beet steamed takes 40 minutes. Boiling beets is the least satisfactory method of all, because so much color and flavor is lost in the water. So, try baking and steaming beets, you'll be amazed at the difference.
Beets are done when pressure upon their skins causes them to move. To be sure they are tender you can test with a sharp pointed knife or a fork but remember some color and juice will run out. I think beets are easiest to peel when they've cooled a little; just run them under cold water, as you would with hard-boiled eggs, and their skins should slip right off with the slightest pressure. If the skins are hard to remove, the beets probably need to cook longer.
Storage and Preserving
Left in the refrigerator vegetable bin, beets stay in good condition for 2-3 weeks. For longer storage, layer in sand in a cool, moist cellar with a temperature below 45°. I find that higher temperatures cause beets to lose moisture and shrivel up.
Canning is a good way to preserve beets. To can, cook beets, remove skin, and pack immediately in hot sterilized jars, leaving l/2 inch headroom. Cover with boiling water and I tablespoon vinegar to preserve color. Adjust lids and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 30-35 minutes. Check seals when removed from canner and tighten if necessary.
Frozen beets lose texture.
Hints and Tips
  • Grate raw beets into a salad.
  • Hard water may cause beet color to fade, but you can correct this by adding a little vinegar to the boiling water.
  • Steam or boil beets with cloves in the water. The beets will pick up a slight clove fragrance.
  • Always mix beets with other ingredients just before serving so the color doesn't bleed over other ingredients.
Microwave
One pound whole beets (5 beets, 2-2 l/2 inches across) placed in a covered dish with l/4 cup liquid will cook tender in 10-11 minutes. A fast and easy way to cook beets.
Leftovers
  • Pickle leftover cooked beets (see Pickled Beets).
  • Use in composed salads (see Beets Vinaigrette). They go particularly well with endive and potatoes. For a German touch, toss with caraway seeds, onions, ground cloves, sugar, and vinegar.
  • Any leftover whole beets can be hollowed out and filled with egg or ham salad or served as an appetizer or luncheon dish. Or make Red Flannel Hash.
  • Turn into a puree.
Over our twenty-plus year history, members of Root Connection Farm have created a recipe file of family tried-and-true recipes.  We hope you'll find one that will become a family favorite!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Tuscan Tuna Salad and Fennel : Steph's Pick

STEPHANIE’S  PICKS :
Fennel is new this week and the weather is sunny & hot … I think you’ll like it!!
Tuna Salad:

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 (6-ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained
1 small head fennel, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 of a small red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
OPTIONS : Shred some carrots and chopped bok choy .

Salad Mix:

1 pound mixed greens (romaine, butter lettuce, radicchio, and arugula) or spring mix
Tuna Salad
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Using a whisk or an immersion blender, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, tarragon, and parsley. Lightly chunk the tuna, then toss it with the fennel, celery, onion, and most of the dressing. Reserve.

If you're using mixed greens, trim, wash, dry, and slice them cross-wise into 1-inch-wide strips. Toss the mixed greens or spring mix with the remaining dressing.

Arrange on serving plates.

Top with the Tuna Salad, and garnish with the bell peppers and olives.

Enjoy!

Read more http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tuscan-Tuna-Salad-with-Fennel-236731#ixzz20Kb1GrSX

Zucchini, Summer Squash, & Fennel Salad: Steph's Pick


Stephanie’s Picks 
A very simple usage of fennel for the new user. Let me know what you think!

This simple salad is made exactly how it looks – thinly sliced zucchini, summer squash and fennel dressed with lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and crumbled feta cheese. It couldn’t be easier and it tastes delicious, light and fresh. ~ Stephanie

ZUCCHINI, SUMMER SQUASH & FENNEL SALAD

The easiest way to slice the vegetables into thin ribbons is with a mandoline.

Slice the zucchini, summer squash and fennel on the thinnest setting (or approximately 1/8").

For the dressing, combine equal parts lemon juice and olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss dressing with vegetables and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Before serving, top with crumbled Greek-style feta cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Chocolate Beet Cake ~ Red White & Blue


It's 4th of July today. I'm going to a potluck picnic and needed a dish to pass; this cake is just the thing!  My share included red beets so I whipped up this Chocolate Beet Cake using a cake mix.
Easy, so easy ~ now it is time to go have fun in the sun ...

Ingredients / Serves 8

1  18-ounce package cholcolate cake mix plus ingredients called for on box
3  cups organic beets, shredded
4 tablespoons organic butter, melted
1/2 cup organic confectioners' sugar

Prepare and back cake according to cake mix instrucitons, folding beets in as you add wet ingredients.

Allow cake to cool slightly.

Whisk butter and confectioners' sugar together with a fork.  Drizzle cake with glaze.

Enjoy!