glacier grist

Issue #3 • Sunday, September 28, 2008

1 October 2008 box contents:

Here’s a list of the Alaskan produce that will probably be in this week’s box.

beets with their greens | kohlrabi with their greens | collards | carrots | red cabbage | onions | maybe lettuce (frost dependant)

Vern Stockwell, of Stockwell Farm, is providing the delicious and sweet kohlrabi and the hearty collards. Glacier Valley Farm and VanderWeele Farm is providing the fresh-dug carrots, deep purple cabbage, and juicy onions (and hopefully lettuce, if it doesn’t freeze too hard!). The beautiful bunches of beets are coming from Bruce Bush, of Bush’s Bunches.

On the farm
Arthur says that winter’s on its way FAST—so all the farmers are busy trying to get their fall preparations done to be ready for winter. The snow is creeping down the mountains!

Alison’s Lunch
I’ve loaded lots more stories and seasonal recipes and their photos on www.AlisonsLunch.com! You can even sign up for an email newsletter!
You can always find lots more recipes at www.SouthAnchorageFarmersMarket.com, as well.

recipes

for glacier grist Issue #3

Print Recipes

red cabbage with berries & balsamic

This is the purple-est recipe I know, especially if you use Alaskan blueberries!  (Have some in your freezer?) This recipe is based on one from Mollie Katzen’s latest and greatest: Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large or 2 medium onions
8-10 cups red cabbage, cut into ~1-inch squares
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt (or to taste)
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 to 2 cups blueberries (fresh or unsweetened frozen)
freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the cabbage and stir well.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the vinegars, and cover the pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Turn the heat down to low, then stir in the salt and dried cranberries. Cover and continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is very tender. If the cabbage dries out and starts to stick, add a few tablespoons of water.
4. Stir in the blueberries, then taste to see if more salt is needed. Add black pepper to taste, and more red wine vinegar and/or balsamic vinegar. Don’t go too overboard on the sweet & sour, though—I still like to be able to enjoy the cabbage taste! Serve hot or warm.

beet salad with horseradish dressing

You will LOVE this recipe, even if you’re a beet skeptic. It uses the beets, stems, and leaves—and the red wine vinegar and the sharp horseradish contrast really well with the sweet, earthy taste of beets. This recipe is adapted from one in Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.

1 bunch beets, washed
the beet greens and stems
—————————————
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste
1 garlic clove, finely minced

1. Put whole, unpeeled beets in a baking dish or dutch oven and put ¼” of water in the dish. Cover tightly with foil or the lid of the dutch oven and bake them until tender when stabbed with a paring knife. Usually they take 40 minutes or longer, but young beets might be quicker, depending on their size. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
2. While the beets are roasting and then cooling, wash the greens and cut the stems off the greens. Chop the stems into ½” pieces. Steam the chopped stems in a steamer until they are tender. Remove them from the steamer and then steam the greens until tender. Drain the greens and chop them up a bit.
3. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip their skins off. Cut in halves lengthwise and then crosswise into ¼”-thick slices, or in wedges—as you prefer. Put them in a bowl with the greens and stems.
4. Mix up the remaining ingredients, pour the dressing over the beets and greens, and toss. Adjust the seasonings with more vinegar, salt, and/or horseradish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

tuscan white bean stew with greens

This recipe is very loosely based on one from a recent Cook’s Illustrated magazine. The interesting twist that they’ve found to get really tender, perfect white beans is to soak the beans in salt water! (But don’t cook them in the salt water!)

kosher salt or sea salt
1 pound dried large white beans (about 2 cups), like Great Northern or cannellini
½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 large onions, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
———————————————————
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 large or 2 small sprigs rosemary
———————————————————-
1-2 medium bunches collard greens or kohlrabi greens (or both!), leaves stripped from stems
ground black pepper

1. Rinse the beans in a colander. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak, at room temperature, for at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. Place mushrooms in a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Cover the bowl with a plate so it stays hot, and let sit for at least 10 minutes, while you chop the vegetables.
3. Pour the mushrooms through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth (saving the liquid!), then lift mushrooms out of the strainer and mince them. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook about 1 minute. Stir in 8 cups of water, bay leaves, soaked beans, and reserved mushrooms and their cooking liquid. Increase heat to high and bring stew to simmer. Turn the heat down, cover the pot, and keep the pot at a bare simmer (you’ll have to take the lid off and check occasionally) until beans are tender, 40 minutes to 1 hour, or longer, depending on the age and type of bean.
5. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice.
6. Strip the leaves of the rosemary off their stems and chop them very, very finely. The easiest way to do this is to pulverize them in a coffee grinder. It really works! Stir the rosemary in, too.
7. Taste the stew for salt, and add as much as needed to perfectly flavor it. Add pepper, too, to taste. After the soup sits, it may need more salt.
8. If you’re making the soup ahead (my recommendation—it always tastes even more divine then), just let it cool and refrigerate until the next day.
9. When you’re ready to eat the soup, prepare the greens. Chop them into 1-inch pieces, and sauté them in a pan in a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (add minced garlic, if you like) over medium-high heat until wilted. Add ½ cup of water or so and cover the pan, letting the leaves steam and simmer until they are completely tender. Add salt to taste as you cook them.
10. When the greens are tender, stir them into the stew, taste once again for salt and pepper, and serve. This soup is fantastic served with hearty sourdough whole-grain bread or toast, dipped in some really nice extra-virgin olive oil.

the easiest salad dressing (and salad) ever

If you have 2 minutes, you can make this, and it’s way better than anything store-bought. Make sure to get SEASONED rice wine vinegar for this—it’s already got the salt and sugar added.
Poke a whisk into a jar of Dijon mustard and scoop out about a tablespoon into a bowl. Pour a couple of tablespoons of seasoned rice wine vinegar over the mustard. Whisk briskly while pouring in extra-virgin olive oil to taste. Check for flavor balance, then pour over lettuce, grated carrots. Top with chopped toasted, salted nuts (like pistachios or cashews!)


For more recipes, and photos of these recipes, see AlisonsLunch.com and SouthAnchorageFarmersMarket.com. 
Cheers! And happy cooking!  —Alison  

Print Recipes

comments