From the Garden this Week…
From the Garden this Week…
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, White Salad Turnips, Carrots, Beets, Spinach, Salad Mix, Red or Green Lettuce Heads, Parsley, Oranges, Lemons
Coming Soon… Savoy Cabbage, Celery, Brussels Sprouts
Using your produce… by Julie Moreno
The cauliflower coming this week is pretty big. I brought one home and had to cut it in to four pieces, just to get it into my vegetable drawer. I started using the first quarter by making this pureed cauliflower soup. It’s fast and easy. Try mixing up the herbs and spices, as cauliflower has a neutral flavor that complements different cuisines. I used butter and sour cream, but you could leave out the dairy products for a wonderful vegan option, or try coconut milk instead (which would be great with curry powder). A couple more cauliflower ideas: try roasting, instead of steaming. I usually cook it at 425 degrees, for about 25 minutes. It is great with Italian seasoning too, and then I will eat it with marinara sauce. You can also try a cauliflower “rice” recipe. Pulse the cauliflower florets, in a food processor until the pieces are the size of rice. Then lightly sauté or steam, and serve like rice. You can freeze the raw cauliflower “rice” in portioned freezer bags for use later.
Cauliflower Soup
2 tablespoons butter or oil
½ large onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
¼ large head cauliflower, coarsely chopped, about 5-6 cups
1 teaspoon salt
2-4 cups water
½ cup half & half or cream or sour cream (optional)
¼ cup chopped parsley
In a large pot, heat the butter, onion and garlic over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the paprika and herbs, stir for one minute. Add the cauliflower, salt and water, to just cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 7-9 minutes. Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender, as desired. (You can make it more smooth or chunky, or even leave it unblended.) Stir in the cream and parsley and serve.
FACEBOOK…Most of you know that I am not a social media person. But I have been strongly encouraged to utilize the great community building aspect of it for the sake of our mission. I had to start a personal Facebook to create our Garden Facebook. But I will not be using my personal Facebook much if at all so please excuse me if I don’t reply to any posts directed at my personal account. I feel pretty lost in the social media crowd but I have some great mentors who are helping me to find my way. We would love to have 20 new subscribers by the end of January! If Facebook can help with that, then it will definitely be worth the effort of my social media learning curve! So when you see us out there, like us on Facebook!
Why is the Cauliflower Pink?…
We grew Purple Sicily cauliflower this year, but our white cauliflower, named Denali, has a pink tint, that looks a little odd. The scoop is that these are natural anthocyanin pigments that the plant forms naturally, due to sun exposure and other growing conditions like temperature, soil pH and nutrient availability. The color will change to white if you cook it, or eat it raw, and enjoy the variety that is just part of nature. I like to think that vegetables are like people; we are all a little different.
Because you might need another cauliflower recipe, here is my Cauliflower Fried “Rice”.
Cauliflower Fried “Rice”
This recipe is for a “normal” sized cauliflower; you might just use half of one of our large ones.
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons oil
2 carrots, diced
2 cups greens, like arugula or braising greens washed and chopped
1 cup cooked chicken, shrimp or pork, diced (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 egg
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Remove the end of the core of the cauliflower and grate it in a food processor or with a box grater*. In a very large sauté pan, heat the oil. Add the carrots and cook for about 2 minutes until they soften. Add the grated cauliflower, greens, cooked chicken and soy sauce. Cook over high heat, stirring well for 3-4 minutes. Make a hole in the center of the fried “rice” and crack the raw egg. Stir well, mixing everything together so the egg will cook in the hot vegetables. Garnish with the green onions and serve.
*This does work with a box grater, but it is really messy, you will have cauliflower flying everywhere.
Notes from Cindi….
Do you like receiving your individual produce items in separate plastic bags?
It has come to our attention that some CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) groups prefer to get most of their produce in one large plastic bag and then divide and conquer the spoils themselves in containers and bags they reuse. We definitely want to be “environment-friendly,” so I thought we could start a conversation about this. Please email me if this would be a “deal-breaker” for you in either direction. If you would stop purchasing your produce if we stopped bagging things individually (except loose greens like Spring mix or Arugula for example), then please let me know. We definitely don’t want to lose any of you over plastic bags. But we are still learning and growing and open to trying new ways of doing things. Be sure to email me if we do a “new” thing that upsets your apple cart. We are still small enough to do a few customized things for our beloved subscribers so please do not hesitate to let us know!
