glacier grist

Issue #67 • Tuesday, May 25, 2010

LOOK FOR YOUR NAME ON THE LABEL!
Look for your box label with YOUR name on it.  If you should happen to take someone’s box, please call customer service at 529.7630.
DO YOU HAVE ANY GLACIER VALLEY BOXES?
You can always drop them off early the day of delivery or bring and bag and leave your box the day of delivery. 
If that is not convenient, please let us know.  We will work with you to get rid of your box clutter.
ALWAYS REMEMBER that if you are not happy with something in your box, please let us know right away.  We are dealing with Mother Nature and sometimes she throws us a curve. We will make it up to you in your next box. 

recipes

for glacier grist Issue #67

Print Recipes

vegetarian borscht, deconstructed

(contributed by Alison)
This recipe was inspired by a traditional version in Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors. Beets, without a splash of mitigating red wine vinegar and horseradish, can be too sweet for me. So I keep the beets separate until the end, and before adding them to the soup, I make a little salad of them with the vinegar and horseradish—and then garnish the soup with it!
Like many soups, this one tastes even yummier the day after you make it, when the flavors have had time to meld and deepen. You can make a big batch, and then freeze half of the soup. Just thaw it out next time you have beets to add!

½ cup (about 1 ounce) dried porcini mushrooms
3 large onions
3 or 4 russet or white potatoes, peeled (about ¾ pound)
4 celery ribs
3 carrots
finely chopped parsley
3 bay leaves
8 garlic cloves, chopped
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
2 parsnips or turnips (about ¾ pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 cup fresh or canned diced tomatoes
2 cups cooked chickpeas (see recipe, below)

--------------------

1 ½ pounds beets, peeled
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1.  Cover the dried porcinis with 2 cups warm water and set them aside while you make a quick vegetable stock. If you prefer to use chickpea cooking water (I do, if I have it!), skip to step 3.
2.  Wash all the soup vegetables thoroughly since you’ll be using the trimmings. Put the following trimmings in a pot with 2 bay leaves, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 a chopped onion, and 1 teaspoon salt: potato peels, celery tips and leaves, carrot ends, and parsley stems. Cover with 12 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer while you chop the vegetables for the soup.
3.  Finely dice the onion. Chop the celery into ½-inch pieces. Dice the carrot into ¼-inch pieces. Peel the turnips or parsnips and dice into ½-inch pieces. Dice the peeled potatoes.
4.  Heat a large soup pot and add the onion, celery, carrot, parsnip or turnip, potatoes, cabbage, and remaining garlic. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables have wilted, about 20 minutes.
5.  Meanwhile, peel and cut the beets into long, thin batons. Steam them in a steamer basket until tender. The time will vary—anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes. You can also use roasted beets, if you make them ahead of time (recipe below).
6.  Add the tomatoes and remaining bay leaf to the soup. Chop the soaked mushrooms and add them, along with their soaking liquid, to the pot. Strain the vegetable trimmings out of the stock, then add the stock (or the chickpea cooking broth) to the pot of vegetables and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas. Taste for salt and season with pepper. It will taste even better if you make this the day before you’re planning to eat it!
7.  When the beets are tender, put them in a medium-sized bowl and add the red wine vinegar, horseradish, and enough salt to season well. Toss well.
8.  When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Top with a big scoop of the beet salad and a sprinkling of parsley.

chickpeas & their stock

Two cups of dried chickpeas will make something like 4 to 5 cups of cooked chickpeas, so it’ll make more than enough for the borscht. So if you make a big batch (8 or 10 cups’ worth), just scoop out what you need for this soup, then freeze the rest in labeled containers. Use the cooking liquid for soup stock!
sea salt or kosher salt

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf

1.  Rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add chickpeas and soak, at room temperature, for at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2.  Put the chickpeas in a pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Add the quartered onion, garlic, and bay leaves, making 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 30 minutes to 1½ hours, depending on the size of the beans and how old they are. The brining step really shortens the cooking time—so start checking at 30 or 40 minutes.
3.  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 cloves and discard. Drain the chickpeas, RESERVING THE LIQUID. Use this liquid for your borscht!

roasted beets

Preheat oven to 400, or whatever is convenient, and put whole, unpeeled beets in a dutch oven and put ¼” of water in the dish. Cover tightly and bake them until tender when stabbed with a paring knife (40 minutes or longer).  Remove from the oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip their skins off.

best roasted crispy kale chips-child friendly and tested

(contributed by Nancy)
I have been toying with roasted kale recipes for a while now and I saw a Jacques Pepin show, Fast Food My Way and he made them totally different than what I had been doing.  I had been doing them in a very high heat oven.  He did them low and slow and they are much, MUCH, better.  Even my kalephobic husband liked them!

1 bunch kale, washed, dried, and tough ribs removed
1 tablespoon of olive oil

1.  Tear the kale into pieces and place on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan (sides always help).
2.  Sprinkle the olive oil over the kale and massage in well.  You want to get the kale as evenly covered with the oil as possible.
3.  Place in a 250 degree oven for 25 min or so.  You can peek in and give it a stir now and then.  When they are crisp, take them out and sprinkle with a little salt to taste.

These make great snacks for kids.  They are crunchy and healthy!  They probably won’t even know they are kale!

asparagus salad with walnut oil vinaigrette

(contributed by Nancy)
This recipe does call for walnut oil which if you have it-great.  If you don’t have it on hand, don’t let that stop you.  It works great with just regular olive oil too.  Recipe by Emeril Lagasse, 2003

2 tablespoons cup white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and steamed until just tender
1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt and pepper. While continuing to whisk, add the vegetable oil in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Whisk in the walnut oil.
2.  Place asparagus on platter and pour dressing over asparagus. Garnish with walnuts and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

cabbage raab with lemon

(contributed by Nancy)

I love the flavor and aroma of lemons and this really lightens up the flavor. 
1/2 lb of cabbage raab, washed and roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tablespoons onion or leeks, minced
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of canola oil
to taste on salt and pepper

1.  In a small skillet heat your oil and add your garlic and onion and sauté until aromatic.
2.  Add your cabbage raab and toss with the garlic and onion and add just a about ¼ cup of water and cover.
3.  Cook for approximately 4 minutes until al dente.
4.  Place in a serving dish and drizzle with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Print Recipes

comments