Thank you Denny and Nancy Archey for helping again this evening. They love to pick peppers! The peppers are overflowing this year. I planted quite a lot because previous years have been very lean in producing colored peppers, which are actually ripe peppers. Green peppers are not ripe! This year was a bumper crop, due to the hot weather. Colored peppers contain lycopene , an antioxidant that protects against cancer like blueberries, tomatoes, and other brightly colored vegetables. Enjoy them raw, cut them up and freeze them to use in cooked preparations this winter, make soup (next week’s newsletter), stuff them, fry them, roast them, or make Stewed Peppers from Recipes For Health by Martha Rose Shulman. I have referred you to her column in the New York Times many times. She has published a cookbook, The Very Best Of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com
, based on this column, and I definitely believe it is worth purchasing. I plan on making the Stewed Peppers and serving it over polenta. Yes, I am overloading you with peppers, but they contain just as much if not more Vitamin C than oranges, so eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Kohlrabi White or red in your share. Can be eaten raw or cooked. Peel before eating. My brother-in-law loves to grill thick slices of kohlrabi! The greens are also edible, raw or lightly sauted.
Beets Not in all shares. If you didn’t get beets, then you got Leaf Beet (see below) Chioggia or Red Ace. Best served roasted: cut off tops and wrap roots in foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size, until tender. When cool enough to handle, peel skin, slice, and toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Saute the greens in olive oil and add to the roasted roots for a complete salad.
Shell Beans Tongue of Fire. You are probably tired of shelling beans, and this is the last of them, I promise. Store in the frig in the shell but shell them as soon as possible. (Do it in front of the TV!) Store shelled beans in the frig or cook them and store them in the freezer for use this winter in soups. DON’T EAT THEM RAW! Some fresh beans (cannellini, kidney, broad beans) contain a natural toxin that will make you very sick if not cooked first. To cook the beans for freezing: rinse the beans to remove any debris/dirt from shelling them, put in a heavy pot, cover with water by about 2 inches, add aromatics like garlic, rosemary, thyme, or sage, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Add more liquid if necessary during the cooking process. Remove from the heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and salt to taste. Let the beans cool. They should be saucy, not dry. Store in the freezer and use in recipes that call for dried beans, but guess what?, you have beans already cooked in the freezer, ready to use! Also see this recipe from Dad Cooks Dinner.
Sweet Peppers Yellow and red block peppers. Also green cubanelles. See above for tips on using sweet peppers. Cubanelles are sweet, but can be a little spicey sometimes. It depends on the particular pepper! Use them raw, stuffed, roasted whole.
Radishes Cherry Belle
Heirloom Tomatoes Brandywine, Goldie, Pruden’s Purple and/or Yellow Brandywine. May be the last, we’ll see if the weather holds out. The heirloom tomatoes actually held up better than the hybrids against the many blights that tomatoes are susceptible to.
Leaf Beet Related to beets and Swiss chard. Can be used like spinach in any recipe. Also called Gator, Perpetual Spinach. Enjoy raw or lightly sauted in olive oil with garlic, salt & pepper.
Collard Greens Only in large shares. Usually tough and long cooking, these collard greens are young and tender. Remove the stems before preparing. See a recipe for Collard Greens and Bacon in the newsletter.
Butternut Squash This year’s winter squash crop is very minimal. I have a terrible problem with squash bugs (stink bugs) that eat the young seedlings and the mature fruit! See the newsletter for recipes for Winter Squash Soup and Butternut Squash Gallette.
Thyme and Sage
Collard Greens with Red Onions and Bacon Gourmet | December 1995
Yield: Serves 8
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into fourths
3 medium red onions, chopped coarse (about 3 cups) 1 1/4 cups chicken broth 1/4 cup cider vinegar 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste 4 pounds collard greens (preferably small leaves), coarse stems and ribs discarded and leaves and thin stems washed well, drained, and chopped coarse
In a deep heavy kettle cook bacon in 2 batches over moderate heat until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons drippings and in drippings remaining in kettle cook onions, stirring occasionally, until browned slightly and softened. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
To kettle add broth, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and about half of bacon, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add about half of collards, tossing until wilted slightly, and add remaining collards, tossing until combined. Simmer collards, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in onions and simmer, covered, 30 minutes more, or until collards are very tender.
Serve collards topped with remaining bacon.
Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette
For the pastry: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1/4 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup ice water
For the filling: 1 small butternut squash (about one pound) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 to 2 tablespoons butter (if you have only non-stick, the smaller amount will do) 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons 1 teaspoon salt Pinch of sugar 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste 3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1. Make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Prepare squash: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined (for neatness sake) sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Caramelize onions: While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.
4. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.
5. Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.
6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.
Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
You might not have enough squash for the entire recipe. Cut ingredients in half or use all butternut instead of both squashes.
Serves 8
Soup 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1 large onion, finely chopped 4 large garlic cloves, chopped 3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth 4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)* 4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)* 1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme 1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 cup whipping cream
Croutons 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
For soup: Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)
For croutons: Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.
* If you are not confident in your knife skills or lack a very very sharp one, I’d suggest roasting the squash, halved and seeded, on a baking sheet coated lightly with oil at 425 until soft, scooping it into the pot, and cooking it the rest of the way there. Peeling, seeding and chopping raw squash is not the easiest endeavor. Alternatively, you could buy butternut squash already peeled and chopped in many stores. Haven’t seen acorn yet.
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