From the Garden this Week...

From the Garden this Week…

Broccoli, Beets, Leeks, Kale, Celery, Watermelon Radishes, Carrots, Rutabagas, Dill, Oranges and Grapefruit

Coming Soon…Lettuce Heads, Swiss Chard and Spinach

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we have more beets and with the other assortment of vegetables including carrots, celery, rutabagas, leeks and dill, I immediately imagined a borscht recipe. Borscht is an Eastern European soup made with beets. You will see many variations out on the internet, so feel free to take the recipe in the direction that you choose. I kept the recipe vegetarian and added a can of white beans for extra protein. Usually, it is made with a slow cooked beef shank, incorporating the meat and broth into the soup. The rutabagas make a perfect substitute for the traditional potatoes. And I also used our leeks instead of onions making it more seasonally appropriate for what we have on hand.

Borscht

2 medium beets

2 carrots

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium leeks, cleaned and finely chopped

1 large rutabaga peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 celery ribs trimmed and finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon tomato paste

6-7 cups of broth or water

2 bay leaves

1 can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or to taste

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped dill

¼ cup sour cream (for serving)

Peel the beets and carrots if desired. Grate them on a box grater or cut into small bite-size pieces. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the beets, carrots, leeks, rutabaga and salt, sauté 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the tomato paste and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add 6 cups of broth or water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add the beans, vinegar, black pepper and dill. Bring to a boil for 1 minute and then serve topping each bole with a spoonful of sour cream.

More Broccoli…

This broccoli recipe I received many years ago from the first CSA that I belonged to. It is a crustless quiche. You can substitute gluten free flour if desired. It is very good eaten at room temperature or the next day.

Broccoli Bars

5 cups broccoli florets, leaves and stems, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup Milk

3 Green Onions, chopped

In a small sauce pan, place the broccoli and a ½ cup of water, heat over high heat and steam the broccoli for about 4-5 minutes, until cooked. Drain the excess liquid. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and combine the flour, salt, cheese, milk. Gently mix in the green onions and cooked broccoli. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve hot or cold.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul … by Ronda May Melendez

Uprooting a root vegetable like the rutabaga is made so much easier after a soaking rain. When it comes to harvesting, this is a fabulous thing…it is less difficult for the one who is harvesting! But even more than ease, it is the rootedness that stands out to me. I think it fascinating that the humble rutabaga offers its life as an object lesson. The infinite importance of being rooted well cannot be understated. According to MacMillan’s dictionary, “rooted” carries the following connotations: 1. If one thing is rooted in another, it is based on it, has developed from it, or is influenced by it and 2. Strong and difficult to destroy.

The rutabaga was certainly influenced by the earth, the sun and the rain it received, in addition to other items offered by workers of the soil. However, a rutabaga did not become a rutabaga because the earth, sun rain, were like rutabagas. Nor did the rutabaga try to be more like the earth, sun, and rain because it needed them. Indeed, they all remained their own unique being, carrying out their individual roles and responsibilities according to their designs. I find it quite interesting that the only things that will utterly destroy the rutabagas are fire and decay. Both are tremendously powerful in their own rights. Fire is fierce and intense, and decay is slow and merciless. However, the rutabagas root themselves in the ground regardless of the threats. They remained peacefully rooted until the time came for them to be harvested, hence humbly doing what they were created to do…grow and be fruitful. I question myself today. Am I able to show such humility and remain the one I was created to be when someone tugs at my life, pulling at my being? Can I as peacefully trust that the One who created me to bear fruit will allow my life to serve the purpose for which it was grown? he Apostle Paul said it this way, “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19