Two Small Farms What's in the Box

Two Small Farms

What's in the Box 2010

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2008 newsletters indexed at our What's in the Box 2008 page

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2006 Lists of What was in the boxes

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Recipe Archive A-Z:
many recipes

Tomato Onion Salad
adapted from My Recipes.com

3 pounds firm-ripe tomatoes
2-3 small sweet onions such as walla walla
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice or champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Salt

Preparation

1. Rinse and core tomatoes; cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Peel and sliver onion. In a colander, rinse and drain onion. Combine tomatoes, onion, and parsley in a large bowl.

2. Just before serving, add olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and pepper; mix gently, adding salt to taste.

walla walla onions

Turnip & Fennel Casserole
Adapted from Fresh from the Farm and Garden Volume 2 from the UCSC Farm and Garden

1.5 pounds turnips
1 Tablespoon butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup chopped fennel (or celery if that’s what you have)
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Cup milk
½ cup grated swiss or other mild white cheese
S & P to taste
dash nutmeg
1 Tablespoon breadcrumbs

Cook turnips in boiling salted water until just tender: 5-7 minutes. Drain. Melt the butter in a small skillet and sauté the onion and fennel until tender. Sprinkle with flour, cook 1 minute, add the milk, and stir until thickened. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Combine with turnips in a greased baking dish and top with crumbs. Brown under broiler for a few minutes until bubbly. Serves 6-8

Shaved Fennel and Pistachio Salad
(Adapted from chow.com)

2 medium or 1 large heads fennel, very thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup roasted and salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large nonreactive bowl and toss until fennel is coated. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Here's a great photo essay on how to shell, blanch, then shell your fava beans. (from about.com)

fava pizza

Julia's Fava Bean Goat Cheese Pizza:

1 empty Viccolo pizza crust from freezer; then a layer of thinly sliced parmesan (done with potato peeler); then a thick layer of peeled favas; then hard-to-see-here paper-thin sliced garlic cloves (I did this with a mandolin); then a layer of fresh goat cheese. then baked. dinner's done! and the favas are used and out of the fridge: they take up space!

Bacon-y Bok Choy
adapted from allrecipes.com

4 slices bacon, chopped
2 pounds bok choy, washed and sliced into roughly 1 inch pieces: white and green parts
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 small red onion or leek or white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt to taste

Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and drain the fat, reserving one tablespoon of the grease in the skillet. Add the olive oil, onion, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat until the onions are starting to be tender. Add the bok choy, and place a lid on the pan. Let cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the lid; cook and stir until the bok choy is tender but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the bacon, and season with salt. Serve hot.

10 Ways with Broccoli
adapted from an undated clipping from the SJ Mercury News

-Dress steamed stalks with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.

-Stir-fry florets and thinly sliced stalks with ginger, scallions and a little toasted sesame oil.

-Puree cooked stems in a food processor with butter and kosher salt.

-Bake steamed florets under a blanket of cheese sauce until bubbly.

-Microwave, covered, with a tablespoon of water for each cup of florets, til tender, then drizzle with vinaigrette.

-Saute steamed florets and stalks with onion, red bell pepper, raisins, pine nuts and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

-Boil florets with orcchiette for the last few minutes of the pasta's cooking time; drain and toss with tomato sauce and parmesan.

-Sauce steamed florets with a mixture of yogurt, parsley, a pinch of dry mustard and minced garlic and fresh chile to taste.

-Stir finely chopped, cooked broccoli into the custard base for a quiche or souffle.

-Whirl thoroughly cooked florets and stalks in food processor with vegetable stock and a little olive oil, then toss with fettuccine and toasted pine nuts.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Cumin and Lemon
Inspired by and adapted from a recipe in Cook’s Country

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks: about 1-2 inches
2-3 leeks or green garlic stalks or shallots, cleaned and chopped into large pieces: about 1 inch or so
¼ cup olive oil
S & P
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Optional toppings for serving: chopped cilantro, chipotle en adobo (whirled or finely chopped), and or sour cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash pieces and leeks (or other allium you’re using), oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and half teaspoon pepper in large bowl, then arrange in single layer on a large rimmed roasting pan. Cook in oven, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown and softened, about 30 minutes (maybe up to 45, depends on your size of chunks and actual heat of the oven, how long you pre heated, etc.). Add ½ cup broth to pan and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Return to oven and cook until liquid has reduced and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes.

Put all roasted vegetables and as much of the browned bits as you can get into a large sauce pan with the remaining broth. Using immersion blender blend until smooth. (or in 2 batches use a ‘regular’ blender.) Stir in honey, lemon juice, and cumin. Gently heat soup over medium-low heat, adding a bit of water (1/4 cup at a time) to adjust consistency if desired. Serve hot, with any or all of the optional toppings.

STIR-FRIED RICE
adapted from Bon Appetit

2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice (I like to use brown! it can be substituted)
2 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten to blend
3 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced on diagonal, then slivered
2 stalks green garlic, cleaned, white and light green parts sliced thinly
3 cups thinly sliced mei quin choy stems and leaves
4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
1 1/2 tbsp. dark sesame oil
3 green onions, sliced
Szechuan Salt-Pepper (If you don't have this, you can use regular black pepper.)

For Rice:

Bring 2 1/4 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff with fork. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in wok or heavy large skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and cook until puffed around edge. Using spatula, push cooked egg toward back of pan while tipping pan forward, allowing uncooked egg to flow forward. Continue cooking until eggs are no longer runny but still soft and fluffy. Cut eggs into pieces with edge of spatula and transfer eggs to plate.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in wok over high heat. Add slivered carrots & green garlic pieces and stir-fry 1 minute. Add sliced bok choy, sliced shiitake mushroom caps and slivered snow peas. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir-fry until vegetables just begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add oriental sesame oil and heat mixture, then add cooked rice and stir-fry until heated through. Stir in eggs and sliced green onions. Season rice to taste with Szechuan Salt-Pepper and serve immediately.

Planned for the box the Week of November 17th, 18th, and 19th, 2010 (the last share of the 2010 CSA season!):

Italian Parsley

Salad Mix

Collard Greens

Red Radishes

Fennel

Mystery #1

Escarole

Sugar Pie OR Rouge Vif D'Etampes Pumpkin OR Chantenay Carrots

Mystery #2

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of November 10th, 11th, and 12th, 2010:

Bull's Blood Beet "Greens" (looks like deep purple chard!)

Spigarello (a leafy heirloom broccoli 'greens' relative)

Cilantro OR Parsley

Mystery

Chantenay Carrots

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of November 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2010:

Carola or Red Gold Potatoes

Cauliflower OR Cabbage

Lettuce (Lola Rosa, Red Butter or Green Leaf)

Mystery

Butternut Squash

Bunched Formanova and White Beets

Belgian White Carrots

Mystery

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of October 27th, 28th, and 29th, 2010:

Winter Squash (Carnival or Acorn or Delicata)

Lacinato Kale

Italian Parsley

Fresh Cannellini Shelling Beans OR Tomatoes OR Eggplant

Lettuce (Red Butter or Red Leaf)

Carola Potatoes

Mei Quin Choy OR Celery

Mystery

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of October 20th, 21st, and 22nd, 2010:

Yellow Carrots

Baby Turnips OR Mei Quin Choy

Young Swiss Chard

Lettuce (Red Butter, Little Gem or Red Leaf)

Tomatoes

Scallions

Delicata Squash

Strawberries OR Apples

Mystery

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of October 13th, 14th, and 15th, 2010:

Lettuce (Romaine OR Red Butter)

Sugar Pie Pumpkin

Strawberries OR Apples

Red Jalapeno Peppers

Mystery

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of October 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2010:

Sweet Potatoes

Chantenay Carrots

Mixed Sweet Peppers

Lettuce (Red Butter, Little Gem, or Green Leaf)

Tomatoes (Roma type or Early Girls)

Cilantro

Strawberries OR Apples (My Jewel or Braeburn)

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of September 29th, 30th, and October 1st, 2010:

Delicata Squash

Lettuce (Romaine or Little Gem)

Tomatoes (Dry farm Early Girls or Roma type)

Spinach

Gold Beets

Apples (Rubinettes or Jonagolds) OR Potatoes (Carolas or Red-Golds)

Italian Parsley

Strawberries (Update: the recent heat wave hit our strawberry patch pretty hard. Most of the fruit, including green berries, got burned and it may take the plants a couple of weeks to recover. We harvested carefully but please enjoy these berries as soon as possible as the heat make them more vulnerable to going moldy sooner!)

PDF of this week's newsletter.

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In the box the Week of September 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, 2010:

Spinach

Broccoli OR Savoy Cabbage

Tomatoes

Dill

Mystery

Lettuce (Romaine, Little Gem and/or Green Leaf)