glacier grist

Issue #23 • Thursday, April 02, 2009

8 April 2009 box contents

from Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm and VanderWeele Farm:
Alaskan russet potatoes | Alaskan carrots | Alaskan onions

from Outside:
certified organic strawberries!!  | certified organic Fuji apples | certified organic D’Anjou pears | certified organic Navel oranges | certified organic cauliflower | certified organic Lacinato kale | certified organic arugula | certified organic radishes


UPCOMING PRICE CHANGE
As you’ve probably noticed, when we bring produce from Outside, we keep it DOMESTIC—from within the United States. It’s more expensive to buy certified organic produce from U.S. sources than from Mexican or Chilean farms, but we think it’s important, and we’re committed to paying the price. We’ve also heard from many of our customers that you’d like us to continue to include certified organic fruit in the boxes throughout the summer.

In order to be able to offer you a nice variety of domestic, certified organic vegetables and fruits along with your local produce, we’ve discovered that we need to raise the price of each box to $35.

LOCAL VEGETABLE FORECAST
We’re so pleased that we’ve been able to keep the boxes coming this winter—we weren’t sure how long our local vegetables would hold out! We’ve just run out of cabbage, but our carrots, potatoes, and onions are still holding out. We’ve been talking with lots of local farmers, asking them to plant lots of interesting vegetables for us, including plenty of storage crops for next winter!

The radishes have popped up in Arthur’s greenhouse, and we’re watching the spinach… We’re really looking forward to loading your boxes with local produce, in just a few weeks! Arthur has big strawberry plans (and lots of plants ordered)… Look forward to local FRUIT in your boxes as soon as strawberries can be harvested this summer!

Thanks so much for supporting your local farms through the winter, and we look forward to offering you even more exciting boxes as we move into spring and summer.

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.

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 #23

Print Recipes

roasted cauliflower

This is such an easy recipe… but it’s really yummy!

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 large head of cauliflower, cored and separated into florets

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and salt.
3. Coat 2 baking sheets with non-stick spray or oil. (This makes clean-up a lot easier.) Spread the cauliflower out on them in a single layer. Don’t overload each baking sheet—do this in two separate batches if you want to make a double batch, since the cauliflower will steam instead of roast if you crowd them on the sheets.
4. Roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes or more, stirring after 10 minutes to ensure even browning. Take them out when they are starting to get dark brown in spots and they are nice and tender when poked with a paring knife.
5. Transfer cauliflower to a serving dish. They are great hot or at room temperature, and make great leftovers.

arugula and roasted potato salad

This recipe is based loosely on one in Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s book, The Italian Country Table. I use this salad as a main course! But you could also use it as an accompaniment to fish, chicken, or burgers.

2 pounds garlic-roasted potatoes (recipe follows)
½ medium red onion, minced (½ cup or more)
¼ cup white wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil, or garlic oil (see instructions for garlic oil in the potato recipe)
1-2 bunches arugula, washed, stemmed and chopped
sea salt or kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Make the garlic-roasted potatoes.
2. While the potatoes roast, place the onions in a small bowl and pour a little boiling water on them, just enough to cover them. Let the onions soak for 30 seconds, drain, and toss the onions with the vinegar and a heaping ½ teaspoon salt in the small bowl. This takes away the sharp bite of the onions, but leaves great flavor and crunch.
3. Put the arugula into a large salad bowl while the potatoes are roasting.
4. When the potatoes are golden-brown and crispy and delicious, take them out of the oven and let them cool until they are just barely warm. (If you put the potatoes in when they are hot, this will turn into a potato dish with little wilted yummy green bits in it, rather than a green salad with roasted potatoes in it.)
5. When you’re ready to serve the salad, toss the arugula with the onions, vinegar, pepper, a tablespoon or two of olive oil or garlic oil, and another hefty sprinkle of salt. Add the potatoes (along with any garlic oil in the pan) and toss again. Taste the salad and adjust the seasonings with more vinegar, salt, or pepper.

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes
garlic oil (recipe in Step 1.)
sea salt or kosher salt

1. Make garlic oil: Mash or mince 3 or 4 garlic cloves and cover with ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Let steep for 30 minutes if you have time. Strain out the garlic and store the oil in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of garlic oil, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Toss again.
3. Lightly oil a large baking dish or sheet pan, and transfer the potatoes onto it, making sure that a cut side of each potato is touching the pan. (The side touching the pan will brown nicely). Roast the potatoes until tender and browned, 35 to 40 minutes.

enchiladas filled with braised greens and garlic-roasted potatoes

These are fun to make, especially if you make the components ahead of time. Make a double-batch of the garlic-roasted potatoes from the arugula salad, above, and make these the next day!

I invented this recipe with a little inspiration from Veganomicon, but the enchilada sauce is a variation on one from rebar modern food.  If you are feeding some people who don’t prefer greens, you can make some of the enchiladas without.  Also, if you don’t feel like making your own enchilada sauce, you could buy prepared sauce, and save yourself a step.

The Overview
1. Make the enchilada sauce first, so it has time to simmer and then cool.
2. While the sauce simmers, chop the potatoes and get them in the oven.
3. While the potatoes roast, chop the onions and braise the greens.
4. Put the enchiladas together and bake them!

The Enchilada Sauce
The ancho chile powder is different than regular chili powder—it is nothing but ground up ancho chiles. You can find at Summit Spice & Tea Co. (1120 E. Huffman Road, #4). For the masa harina (corn flour used for making tortillas), look in the Mexican section of most grocery stores. I found it at Fred Meyer. You could probably find pre-made enchilada sauce there, too!

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced finely
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup masa harina (corn flour)
¼ cup ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
1-2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt (and more to taste)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (or more to taste)

1. Saute the onions in the oil with 1 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat until golden-brown. Add garlic and cook 3 more minutes. Sprinkle in the masa harina, spices, and oregano, and stir until everything has a chance to toast a little bit. If you’re worried that it’s starting to burn, go ahead and add the liquid.
2. Whisk in the stock or water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and whisk in the tomato paste and sugar. Taste it, and add more salt and sugar to taste. It might not taste very good at first, especially because it will probably need a bit more salt and sugar, but don’t worry, it will taste better and better as it simmers.
3. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes, stirring regularly. If you want a smooth sauce, let it cool a bit and puree it, either with an immersion blender, or very carefully in a blender.

The Garlic-Roasted Potatoes
See instructions in previous recipe for arugula & roasted potato salad. 

The Braised Greens

1-2 bunches kale or collards, long stems removed and leaves cut into 1” ribbons
sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped fairly fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1. Plunge the kale into a large pot of boiling salted water, and cook until tender (5-10 minutes, depending on the greens). Reserve one cup of the cooking water. Drain the greens.
2. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions with a teaspoon of salt until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cumin and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add the greens and the reserved cooking water. Cook for 15 to 30 minutes on low heat until they are lovely, soft and sweet, and taste again for salt. They can really use a lot of salt, so don’t be shy about adding it until it tastes nice and seasoned.

The Whole Enchilada

12-14 corn tortillas
cheese (optional. You can use cheddar, or jack cheese, if you like, but these enchiladas are also good without any cheese !)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and coat the bottom of a large (9 x 13”) baking dish with a spoonful of the enchilada sauce.
2. Ladle a cup of enchilada sauce into a pie dish and if the sauce is quite thick, add a little warm water to make it the consistency of heavy cream. Heat the tortillas up a bit, so they are pliable. You can do this one at a time on a hot skillet, flipping from time to time, or just microwave several on a plate. Drop the softened tortilla into the pie plate filled with sauce, cover it completely with sauce, then flip it over and coat the other side.
3. Place the tortilla in the casserole dish and run a scoop of greens down the center. Top with a scoop of roasted potatoes, and if you’re using cheese, sprinkle a little on top. Roll the tortilla up and place it seam side down in the dish. Continue with the rest of the tortillas, tightly packing the enchiladas next to each other so they don’t come unrolled. Pour a cup or more of the sauce (the sauce that you haven’t watered down—the thick stuff!) on the top of the enchiladas, sprinkle with a little cheese if you’re using it, and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas look a little browned. Let sit for 5 minutes or so before serving.

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