Circle M Farm

My biggest regret about this gardening season is that I didn’t cook more. As you’ve probably already discovered if you are endeavoring to eat more local and seasonal food, cooking fresh and cooking fast are often mutually exclusive.

Many nights in the heat of the summer, I chose to work outside while it was temperate, rather than come in to make dinner over a hot stove in my stuffy kitchen. And many days I got too busy to pick and wash and cut and prepare something wonderful and fresh from the garden. To my shame. But I’ve decided to compromise a bit this fall, and have taken to adding fresh vegetables to semi-prepared dishes. Soup, for instance. Recently, we added several cups of our own onions, parsnips and mystery greens (read about those farther down) to a dried Alessi Tuscan White Bean soup mix. It was rich and fabulous. And took about a half hour in prep and another 45 minutes to cook.

I think I’m not alone in being committed to eating fresh and local, yet finding it hard to carve out time in a busy life to prepare good food the way it deserves to be done. More than a few of our CSA members have expressed that eating all of the vegetables that come in their boxes every other week takes work and discipline. We are a nation with such boundless access to fast and cheap low-quality food that we’ve really forgotten how to live slow and well when it comes to eating. I’m certainly trying to learn, and I’d love to hear your stories and recipes and tips for what you do. Here’s what’s in the box:

In The Box: Box 9, Local Delivery, September 29, 2007

Edamame – This is the last harvest for these delicious fresh soybeans. Boil these for about 15 minutes in water with at least two tablespoons of salt. Salt really brings out the nutty flavor, and if they aren’t salty enough, you can shell them into a bowl and sprinkle salt on top before you eat. I’ve been seeing these served in salads, like nuts sprinkled over the top. Local CSA Member Esteban recently used them in a delicious soup. I hope to get that recipe soon! If you don’t use these in a couple of days, take them off the stems and store the bean pods in a sealed plastic bag.

Napa Cabbage – These crisp and gigantic Asian cabbages are terrific in stir-fry or any manner of salad. Ribbon, and toss with some sesame oil and rice wine vinegar with salt and pepper for unique slaw. Cabbage is so very happy in this weather: warm days and cool nights. I guess I’m happy in that sort of weather, too!

Herbs: Parsley and Fennel fronds – The fennel grew very odd and leggy in the heat, so the bulbs are quite woody. But these ferny leaves add a delicious anise flavor to salads, potatoes, soups and breads.

Hard Squash and Cooking Pumpkins – These are heirloom eating pumpkins, with firmer, drier flesh then the typical jack-o-lanterns we tend to see in stores this time of year. Use like any squash, or use like a sweet potato.

The Fresh Market Wisconsin cookbook says: “Most squash can be baked just like a potato – poke them two or three times and bake at 350 degrees until tender. Or cut them open, remove seeds and steam serving sized pieces over boiling water.” I hate to work with squash raw, because they are so darn hard to cut! So I prick them and cook in the microwave for a few minutes until I can more easily cut them. Then I generally slice in half, remove seeds, and stuff with something – rice or barley, bread stuffing, apples annd cinnamon, nuts and butter, whatever goes best with the meal. Then I bake them at 350. Of course, most of the ones you’ve got in the box aren’t cured, since their vines died so early, so they’ll be easier to cut through. Here’s a nice side dish recipe. Steaming the squash will warm up your kitchen and smell delicious, so do it on a cool day!

Nut-Crusted Winter Squash, adapted from Fresh Market Wisconsin by Terese Allen

Preheat oven to 350. Halve squash, remove seeds, cut into large chunks. Steam over boiling water in a covered pot for about 25 minutes. Cool, then scrape squash into a bowl. Mash with 1 T butter, 1 T brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Grease 1 quart baking dish, spoon in squash. For topping, mix all ingredients lightly together with your fingertips. Sprinkle over squash, bake 30 to 40 minutes.

Autumn Color Salad Mix w/ Baby Arugula

Mystery Greens – Check these out before you read the rest of this paragraph and see if you can guess what they are. Not collards, but like them, not kale, but almost. Cauliflower! Our cauliflower are going gangbusters with these cool nights, but not heading up yet. It seemed a shame to waste such gorgeous greens, which will yellow when the weather turns really cold. Since they’re in the same family, brassica, as other winter greens, I thought I’d shred them into soups in the same way. And they are delicious. Cabbage-y, substantial but not as tough as kale, and a very pleasing color. I hope you’ll give them a try, and here’s a recipe to get you started, out of Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables:

Kale and White Bean Soup

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium. Add garlic and fennel seeds, cook while stirring for one minute. Add onion, cook and stir 2 minutes. Add potato, carrot, parsnip and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, stock, bay and oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add kale, beans, sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add saffron, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bon Appetit!