Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week there are a fair number of differences between the Family and Small share boxes. Tom says the Asian green called "Green Lance" (Family share only) is a dark-green leafy rapini-like vegetable (a Chinese broccoli), which can be cooked much like broccolini or broccoli raab, i.e. you eat all the parts: the stems, leaves and florets. I did a little research online and found a recipe even! The winter squash everyone's getting this week will be the orange Kabocha, called "Sunshine". And our farm apprentices are very excited about the iceberg lettuce they grew. When was the last time you had organic iceberg? They grew the 'green lance' also. - Debbie

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Let's start with a kabocha recipe! I like the sound of this one, from a recipe website called justhungry.com.

Sweet and spicy roasted kabocha squash

1/2 small to medium sized kabocha squash
3 tbsp. light brown, natural cane, or muscovado sugar, plus a bit more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper or hot chili powder, more or less to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. soy sauce
Oil for drizzling - pumpkin seed oil is preferred, or use toasted sesame oil, argan oil, or walnut oil (see notes).

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet or two with silicon baking liner or parchment paper.

De-seed and cut the squash into slices about 1/4 inch thick. (Use a sturdy knife for cutting squash or pumpkin, on a stable surface, and be careful!)

Combine all the dry ingredients. Toss the squash slices in this until coated thoroughly. Add the soy sauce and toss well again.

Spread the slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Drizzle them with the oil, and optionally sprinkle more sugar on them. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn over, drizzle with more oil and sprinkle more sugar, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes:
Toasted pumpkin seed oil (Krbiskernl) is a mainly Austrian speciality, though they make it here in Switzerland too. Its very nutty and dark, and is terrific in dressings and marinades. Toasted sesame seed oil or walnut oil can be substituted, or even expensive argan oil.

Instead of cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin, you can use a pumpkin pie seasoning mix (or if you are in the Germanic parts of the world, a Lebkuchen mix would do too.)


Here's the 'green lance' recipe.

Green Lance Braised with Fresh Ginger
from a blog called "The Crispy Cook"
serves 4

1 bunch Green Lance (or gai laan or Chinese broccoli), woody parts trimmed and sliced into one-inch sections

2 tbsp. peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (1 inch) piece ginger root, peeled and slivered

2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil


Heat oil in wok until very hot. Add garlic and stir constantly for one minute. Add ginger and stir 1-2 minutes more, or until very fragrant.

Add Green Lance and stir-fry 3-4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and cover wok to steam another 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove cover and add soy sauce and sesame oil and stir-fry another several minutes, or until Green Lance is tender.


Harkening back one more time to the Harvest Celebration pie contest, member Tarik Ono emailed me her recipe for the Swiss chard pie. I had tasted it and it was wonderful, and so asked her to send the recipe. Here 'tis!

Crustless Swiss Chard Pie
adapted from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

2 1/2 lbs. Swiss chard
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil for cooking the chard plus more for
 greasing the pan
2/3 C onion or leeks, finely chopped
1 C freshly grated Parmesan or other aged cheese
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1/4 C pine nuts
1/3 C seedless raisins
salt
pepper
9 1/2 inch pie pan

Wash chard. Cut leaves into 1/4 inch shreds and finely chop stalks. Saute the onions or leek in the olive oil. Add chard and cook until tender. You might have to add a bit of water, but you want it to be fairly dry when it is done. If it is too wet, squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can before doing the following steps. Preheat oven to 350. When the chard has cooled down to room temperature, add grated cheese, the beaten eggs, the pine nuts, and the raisins. Mix until combined. Add pepper and salt according to taste. Put about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pie pan and place in oven a few minutes to heat up the oil. Take pan out of the oven, and add the chard mixture. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes. Serve at room temperature.


Here's a great recipe that uses both Napa and red cabbage, and also scallions and basil!

Napa and Red Cabbage Salad with Fresh Herbs and Peanuts
from a blog called Kalyn's Kitchen

Kalyn says she adapted this recipe from the cookbook "From Asparagus to Zucchini, A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce" which was put out by a Madison WI area CSA.

2 C thinly sliced and chopped red cabbage
2 C thinly sliced and chopped napa cabbage
1/4 C thinly sliced green onions
1/2 C roughly chopped fresh mint, cilantro, or basil leaves, or a combination of herbs (or use more herbs if you have a lot)
1/4 C chopped peanuts

Dressing:
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. green Tabasco sauce, Sriracha sauce, or other hot sauce (or more, to taste)
3 tbsp. rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1-2 tbsp. soy sauce (use 1 T, then see if you want more)
2 tbsp. Tahini, almond butter, or peanut butter (Original recipe used Tahini, but use whichever one you prefer or have on hand.)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

Combine dressing ingredients, then taste to see if you want to add the second T of soy sauce or more hot sauce. (I used the bowl of my immersion blender to mix the dressing, but you could just make it in a bowl with a whisk.) Make the dressing first and let it sit so flavors can blend while you chop other ingredients.

Chop both cabbage types and green onions and combine in a bowl large enough to toss with dressing. Wash herbs, spin dry with salad spinner or dry with paper towels, then roughly chop. Put herbs in bowl, dry cutting board and knife, then coarsely chop peanuts.

Toss the cabbage-onion mixture with desired amount of dressing. (You probably won't need all the dressing.) Add fresh chopped herbs and toss again. Arrange salad on serving plates and sprinkle each serving with chopped peanuts.

This doesn't keep well, so only make as much as will be eaten right away. You can also mix the dressing, chop all the vegetables and herbs, store them in the fridge, and mix the salad right before you're going to eat it. After I made this once, I did that the second time and ate it for several days.


Member Molly McCarthy sent me this clever and tasty soup trick for using any veggies left in your fridge before you get re-supplied with the next week's box. I modified it slightly, per a later suggestion of hers, and per my knowledge of using miso:

Molly's Miso/Udon Leftover Veggie Soup Trick

Get a container of Miso paste from your local Asian store, and a bag of frozen Udon Noodles. Chop cabbage, leeks, carrots if you still have some, and add to a soup pot. (Optional items you can also add: cut up raw chicken, hot peppers from the box -- chopped and added if you like more heat, left whole and removed if you like less heat.) Cut a wedge of ginger in half; no need to peel it (but remove it before serving soup). Cover veggies with water and/or chicken broth, turn on heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender. Add frozen Udon noodles and cook for 1 minute more, or until noodles are done.

Turn off heat. Ladle a scoopful of the broth into a cup and dissolve 3 tbsp. of Miso paste into it. Add back to soup pot and stir. [Can't remember where I learned this, but I was taught to never boil miso; so I always add it at the end. - Debbie] Reheat until almost (but not quite) boiling. Voila -- Miso/Udon Soup. Before I serve it, I gently crack eggs into the broth, carefully so the eggs stay in one piece; they get poached and you can serve one in each bowl.

Leeks are a great substitute for onions in a soup... they add great flavor without having to saute them first.

You don't have to add salt to this soup because the Miso is very salty. If you are concerned about salt intake, look for a low sodium Miso paste.


Here's an unusual recipe sent to me by member Diana Foss, who acknowledges that it sounds really strange, but tastes wonderful!

Manchurian Cauliflower
From a 2009 recipe in the New York Times, adapted from Devi in New York.

About 2 quarts corn or canola oil, for frying
3 eggs
2/3 C cornstarch
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large or 2 small heads cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 C ketchup
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)
Steamed greens, for serving (optional).

1. Put at least 2 inches of oil into a deep-sided, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. (In a bind, put a pinch of flour into the pot; at 350 it will sizzle but wont burn.)

2. In a bowl large enough to accommodate the cauliflower, whisk together the eggs and cornstarch. Season with a large pinch of salt and pepper and add the cauliflower. Toss to coat the florets evenly.

3. Fry the cauliflower in batches, so as not to crowd the pan, making sure that the oil is hot each time you add fresh florets. Cook until the cauliflower begins to mottle, about 4 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain.

4. Now take a tablespoon of the hot oil from the frying pot and place it in a large pan over medium heat, swirling to coat the pan. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant, then add the ketchup, stirring occasionally, until it begins to bubble and caramelize around the edges. Add cayenne pinch by pinch to taste and then the cauliflower. Toss until hot and coated. Serve with white rice and steamed greens, if desired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~