Aloha, everyone!
(*note* There wasn’t a post last week for Week 19, since we were on vacation.)
We are back from a whirlwind trip to California for Wes’ brothers’ wedding, and we want to thank Sam and Erin again for taking care of everything during our absence. After 10 days of bizarrely consistent sun, warmth and lack of precipitation, we have returned to a nearly frosted and quite sodden Hudson Valley. (But what beautiful Fall foliage!) There was a scare that a frost might do in some crops on Sunday night, but luckily that event remains postponed. The usual time for that is mid-October.
This week, we step almost completely into autumn fare, but we still have one toe in summer with a few tomatoes and peppers hanging in there. Also, we have some cilantro, generally considered a summery herb, but below we’ve posted a few fall recipes incorporating it. New this week is celeriac, which is the knobby stem of the celeriac plant (closely related to celery). Some of you are familiar with it, but for those who aren’t, your taste buds may make a new friend this week. We love celeriac–it tastes like a mixture of celery and pineapple to us, and makes a delightful addition to soups and stews. It’s not the prettiest veggie you’ll have gotten this season, but with a little peeling (easiest to just use a sharp paring knife, not a peeler) and cubing, you’ll be in for a treat. There is a recipe below, and here is a site with some extra info about celeriac and other meal possibilities.
The idea behind including kohlrabi and celeriac together is to allow you to explore with some less traditional root-bakes; you can also include onion, garlic, and/or beets (as well as any other root-type veggies you have around).
Your share this week:
- Beans
- Carrots
- Beets
- Bok Choy
- Spring Raab
- Salad Mix
- Chard
- Kohlrabi
- Celeriac
- Peppers
- Tomatoes (probably one each)
- Onions
- Garlic
- Cilantro
CARROT AND CILANTRO SOUP (from Country Living)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 small Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds, crushed
1 pound Carrots, sliced
3 cups Vegetable Stock
1 bunch Fresh Cilantro, chopped, saving some for garnish
In a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and coriander. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots. Cook, covered, until softened, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate pot, bring stock to a boil. Add onion-carrot mixture and bring back up to a boil. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend (in batches, if needed) until smooth. Season with sea salt. To serve, return soup to pot, stir in chopped cilantro, and reheat on low. Ladle soup into warmed bowls and garnish with cilantro.
HONEY-GLAZED CARROTS WITH CILANTRO (from Martha Stewart)
This is well-matched to roasted chicken, pork or braised beef.
6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons dry white wine, low-sodium chicken broth, or water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
In a large skillet, combine carrots and olive oil; add just enough water to cover carrots (about 2 cups). Cook over medium-high until water is evaporated and carrots are tender, 15 minutes. Cook, tossing often, until carrots are light golden, 2 minutes. Add honey and wine, broth, or water; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until carrots are glazed, 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
SMASHED CELERIAC (from Jamie Oliver)
• 1 celeriac, peeled
• olive oil
• 1 handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3–4 tablespoons water or stock
Slice about 1cm/½ inch off the bottom of your celeriac and roll it on to that flat edge, so it’s nice and safe to slice. Slice and dice it all up into 1cm/½ inch-ish cubes. Don’t get your ruler out – they don’t have to be perfect. Put a casserole-type pot on a high heat, add 3 good lugs of olive oil, then add the celeriac, thyme and garlic, with a little seasoning. Stir around to coat and fry quite fast, giving a little colour, for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to a simmer, add the water or stock, place a lid on top and cook for around 25 minutes, until tender. Season carefully to taste and stir around with a spoon to smash up the celeriac. Some people like to keep it in cubes, some like to mash it, but I think it looks and tastes much better if you smash it, which is somewhere in the middle. You can serve this with just about any meat you can think of.
