glacier grist

Issue #21 • Thursday, March 12, 2009

18 March 2009 box contents

from Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm and VanderWeele Farm:
Alaskan Yukon Gold potatoes | Alaskan carrots | Alaskan red cabbage | Alaskan onions

from Outside:
certified organic broccoli | certified organic celery | certified organic white mushrooms | certified organic collard greens | certified organic fennel | certified organic Fuji apples | certified organic navel oranges | certified organic d’Anjou pears


BOX LIMITS
Because we have to pre-order our Outside produce ahead of time, each week we set a limit for the number of boxes available. We’re excited to grow with you, so if we hit our limit one week, we’ll set the limit higher the following week! But if we hit the limit for the boxes in a week, you won’t be able to order for that week—so try and get your orders in early!

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!
Please let us know if you aren’t happy with anything in your box, and we’ll make it up to you in your next box.

THE PLAN FOR APRIL
We are opening up ordering for April!  We are trying an experiment in the greenhouse this year and if it works we will have some early Alaska Grown veggies for the CSA boxes. We’re really excited about the possibilities, and we’ll keep you posted!

ALASKAN ONIONS
Despite our best efforts to tell the good from the bad, sometimes an onion turns up rotten in the CSA boxes. Why is this? Arthur explains: “Onions are one of the newer crops we are producing here in Alaska, and we still have a lot to learn. Growing them is easy; the hard part is perfecting the curing process: getting the outer layer of the onion dry enough to protect the inner onion. In warmer climates, onions are cured in the field before they are stored. Here in Alaska, farmers are trying to figure out how to cure onions indoors, without the benefit of a longer, hotter growing season. We donʼt have the process perfected but we are well on our way.”

So--should we quit putting Alaskan onions in the box because of the risk of a rotten one ending up in the boxes? We decided to put extra onions in your boxes, so in case you get a bad one, you’ll still have plenty. You’re part of the process of Alaskan farmers learning how to cure onions!

NEW PICKUP LOCATIONS!
We’re excited about our several new pickup locations since the new year. If you’re signed up to pick up your box at a different location, but would like to switch to any of these sites (keep in mind, the ConocoPhillips building is a secure building--so only employees of that building can sign up there), just send us an email at and we’ll change your selection.

PLEASE RETURN YOUR BOXES!

For more recipes, check out my Alison’s Lunch blog, or the South Anchorage Farmers Market website.  And check out our

new glacier grist recipe index!

Cheers! And happy cooking!  --Alison

recipes

for glacier grist Issue #21

Print Recipes

broccoli with garlicky mustard vinaigrette & toasted pepitas

Since I usually have this vinaigrette in my ‘fridge, I make this dish all the time.  It makes a great quick lunch or side!

1 ½ pounds broccoli, tops cut into bite-sized florets, and stems sliced into ¼” slices (peel the stems first if the skin is tough)
garlicky red wine mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)
¼ cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a pot that you can put a steamer basket in. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
2. Put the broccoli stems into the steamer basket, and steam for 4-6 minutes until barely tender. Check them every minute after 4 minutes, poking with a sharp paring knife. Remove the stems, drain them, and immediately spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet spread with a dishtowel. (This cools the broccoli quickly and allows it to dry out.)
3. Put the florets in the steamer, and steam for 3-5 minutes until barely tender. Remove the florets and spread them out on a dishtowel as with the stems.
4. Toast the pepitas in a skillet on medium-high heat until puffed, light brown and fragrant.
5. Toss the broccoli with vinaigrette to your taste and top with pepitas.

garlicky red wine mustard vinaigrette
This will make more dressing than you need, but it keeps very well in the refrigerator, and you can use it on salad greens or other veggies!

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 medium cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Put first 5 ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Slowly pour in oil to make a creamy emulsion. Taste and season with more salt and/or honey.

beans & greens

If you don’t usually cook your own beans, this is a good time to try it! Although they take a little time to cook, they don’t need to be watched carefully, and they are so much tastier than beans from the can. You can use white beans, pintos, or kidney beans!

beans:

2 cups beans, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 bay leaves
sea salt or kosher salt

vegetables:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, finely diced
1-2 bunches collard greens or kale, leaves stripped from the stems and sliced into ½” slices
4 carrots, sliced thinly
4 celery stalks, sliced thinly
4 plump garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup chopped parsley (optional)
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper

1. Drain the soaked beans, then put them in a pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add the quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, and bay leaves and make sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender. This could take 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours, depending on the size and freshness of the beans. When the beans are tender enough to easily squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, turn the heat off. If you have time, let the beans sit in their liquid with the aromatics until cool. Remove the quartered onions and whole garlic and discard. Add salt to the beans to taste.
2. While the beans are cooking, chop the vegetables and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale or collards and boil until tender, 5 to 10 minutes or longer, depending on how big and old the greens are—just keep tasting them. Drain the greens and chop coarsely.
3. Warm the olive oil in a heavy, wide skillet or pot (non-stick works especially well). Add the onion and cook over medium heat with 1 teaspoon salt until the onion is soft and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and continue to cook until they are tender. Add the garlic and collards and parsley and cook for 5 or 10 more minutes.
4. When the beans are done, add them, along with a cup or two or their cooking liquid, to the pot. Make it as soupy as you like! Taste for salt and season with pepper. (You may have to add quite a bit of salt—greens need a lot of salt, as do beans.) Save the rest of the bean broth for vegetable stock in soups and stews—just freeze it until you need it.
5. This will taste even better the next day! Serve with toast, scrubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt if you like.

sautéed mushrooms with garlic & parsley

This really simple recipe is from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It’s great on toast or just as a side dish.

1 pound mushrooms, cut into halves, quarters, or slices about ¼-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil (part butter if you like)
salt & freshly-ground pepper
½ lemon
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 large garlic clove, minced

Heat the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms all at once and move them around the pan so they all pick up a little of the oil. Keep sautéing even though the pan appears to be dry. Once the mushrooms yield their juices and the juice cooks off, they’ll begin to color nicely. When golden, season well with salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon, then toss with the parsley and garlic and serve.

cabbage and sourdough bread gratin

This dish, based on one in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, is sort of between a soup and a stew. It tastes kind of like French onion soup, especially if you use the Gruyere cheese, and I just love it!

3 to 4 cups vegetable broth (if you make it yourself, add 6 extra garlic cloves)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to oil the pan
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh sage, or 1 tablespoon dried sage
3 pounds green cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced into ribbons
sea salt or kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper
4 slices hearty whole wheat bread (I like sourdough)
1 cup grated Gruyere or Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large gratin dish with olive oil. Make the stock and season it well with salt. 
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add the onion, juniper, and sage and cook until the onion begins to brown. Add the garlic and cabbage to the pan, sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt, and add ½ cup water. Cook until the cabbage is tender and browned in places, about 20 minutes. When done, taste for salt and season with pepper.
3. Place half the cabbage in the dish, cover it with the bread, then the cheese, then the remaining cabbage. Pour the broth over all, and bake until bubbling and the edges of the cabbage leaves are nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Spoon the bread and cabbage into soup plates, then pour the remaining juices around each serving.

fennel, tomato & potato stew

This is a version of bouillabaisse… except it doesn’t have any seafood it in. But you could add fish if you want! The neat thing is that it doesn’t need it, because of the briny kalamata olives. You can add cooked seafood at the end if you want, but it’s great without.  This recipe is based on one in Deborah Madison’s Savory Way.

1 ½ pounds waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold)
1-2 fennel bulbs
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
Sea salt or kosher salt
2 large yellow onions
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried thyme or herbes de Provence
2-3 pinches of saffron threads (optional, but great!)
1 large strip orange zest, 2 inches long
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
12 kalamata olives (or other strong black olives)

1. Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters or sixths. Trim the fennel, peel the outer leaves with a vegetable peeler if they’re scarred, and cut into wedges ½-inch thick or a little wider. Leave some of the core so that the piecese stay intact.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it well, and add the potatoes, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove teh potatoes, but save the water.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, warm the olive oil in a wide pan. When hot, add the onion, garlic, herbs, a little salt, saffron, orange zesr, and bay leaves. Cook slowly over medium heat until the onions have begun to soften (8 minutes or so); then add the wine. Led it reduce by about half, then add the tomatoes and their juices, the potatoes, fennel, half the parsley, and the olives. Pour in enough of the reserved potato water to cover, bring to a boil, and lower the heat.
4. Cover the pan and cook slowly until the vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes. Garnish with the remaining parsley, and you can also top it with any seafood you want if you choose to add it.

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