glacier grist
Issue #12 • Thursday, December 18, 2008
24 December 2008 box contents:
from Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm and VanderWeele Farm:
Alaskan baby peeled carrots | Alaskan Russet potatoes | Alaskan onions | Alaskan red cabbage | Alaskan turnips
from Outside:
certified organic yams | certified organic broccoli | certified organic Texas grapefruit | certified organic navel oranges
Not in the box: turkeys!
Looking for delicious, free-range local turkey, raised naturally, without antibiotics 0r hormones? Triple D Farm has just-frozen half and whole turkeys, at $4.10/lb. Whole turkeys weigh about 26 pounds, and the half turkeys range from 13 to 22 pounds. Contact Anthony at 907.376.3338, or visit their website: www.alaskatripled.com.
PLEASE RETURN YOUR BOXES!
recipes
for glacier grist Issue #12
sweet & sour red cabbage
This recipe is based on one in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
1 ½ pounds red cabbage
½ teaspoon allspice berries
1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
4 cloves
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar or molasses
Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
½ cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
½ cup juice from the tomatoes, or water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1. Quarter the cabbage, remove the core, and slice crosswise into ½-inch strips. Bruise the spices in a mortar or grind them in a spice grinder (a.k.a., a coffee grinder dedicated to this purpose).
2. Heat the oil in a wide skillet with the onion, spices, and bay leaves; cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent—about 5 minutes, then add the brown sugar and cook another minute.
3. Lay the cabbage over the onion, season with 1 teaspoon salt, and spoon the tomatoes over all. Pour in the tomato juice, then cover and cook gently until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and toss everything together. Add the vinegar, raise the heat, and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated, leaving a syrupy glaze.
5. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and serve.
yam & orange casserole
This recipe is based on one from a Cooks Illustrated magazine. It’s not overly sweet—no marshmallows, which may disappoint some at the holiday table—but I think it’s just right!
3 pounds yams or sweet potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes), peeled, halved lengthwise, and halves cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
¾ teaspoon table salt
zest and juice of 2 oranges
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. In large pot or Dutch oven of boiling water, parboil yam slices over high heat until they are bright orange and the point of a paring knife easily pierces but does not break apart a few slices, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain yams well and turn into greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
2. Whisk oil, honey, molasses, ginger, salt, orange zest and juice, and cayenne in small bowl; set aside. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water in small bowl until totally smooth, then whisk into oil mixture; pour over yams and toss to coat well.
3. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until liquid is bubbly, about 50 minutes. Remove foil, stir yams gently, and bake until liquid thickens to glaze yams, about 20 minutes longer. Cool slightly and serve hot or at room temperature.
indian-spiced red lentils with broccoli
This delicious (and beautiful) recipe is based on one from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen
Basmati Rice (recipe below)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
2 medium or 1 large jalepeno chile, seeded with a spoon and finely diced
2 cups red lentils, rinsed
1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
Sea salt or kosher salt
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 to 2 heads broccoli, stems peeled and sliced into ¼-inch pieces, and head cut into bite-sized florets
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1. Start the rice.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to turn grayish, about a minute. Add the onion, two-thirds of the ginger, and the jalapeno and cook for about 2 minutes. Next add the turmeric, half the cayenne, and the bay leaf. Fry for a minute or two.
3. Add the lentils, 5 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer partially covered, until the water is absorbed and lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. Taste for salt, remove from the heat, and stir in ¼ cup of the cilantro.
4. While the lentils are cooking, steam the broccoli pieces (stems first, then the florets) until just tender but still somewhat firm when pierced with a knife.
5. Heat 2 teaspoons more of the olive oil. Stir in the last of the ginger, turmeric, and cayenne, cook gently over low heat for a minute, then add the broccoli and 2/3 cup of the cooking water. Raise the heat, add the last of the cilantro, swirl everything around in the pan, and cook until the water has evaporated. Season with salt.
6. To serve, pack the hot rice into small bowls and turn them upside down, one each, in a shallow pasta bowl. Spoon a cup or more of the lentils around them, then lift the small bowl off the rice, leaving the rice intact. Top the lentils with the broccoli, and garnish with cilantro.
brown basmati rice
I learned this technique from Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice
2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
1. Fill a medium-sized pot with 10 cups or so of water (it doesn’t need to be exact) and bring to a rolling boil. Add the rice to the water, turn down the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the rice is just tender.
2. Drain the rice in a strainer over the sink, and immediately dump rice back into the hot pot. Cover tightly with the lid and let steam OFF THE HEAT for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice.
mashed potatoes with turnips
This is a great way to serve mashed potatoes—the potatoes mellow the bite of the turnips, and the turnips add some really interesting flavor to the potatoes!
2 - 3 pounds russet potatoes
½ to 1 pound turnips
Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
freshly-grated nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)
1. Peel the potatoes and turnips, then chop them into chunks. Put them in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and add 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are tender (15 to 20 minutes). Scoop the potatoes and turnips out (or strain them), but MAKE SURE TO RESERVE THE COOKING LIQUID!
2. Return the vegetables to the pan and mash them, using the reserved cooking liquid to thin and loosen the mixture as needed. When smooth, add salt and pepper to taste. You can add olive oil or butter or milk or cream if you want!
Mango/Kale salad is delicious. And I love it amazingly. We all friends eat in the summer hot weather. It’s really really tasty. Yummy! 
