csa box:: week 15

in the box:: beets, carrots, kale, lettuce, spaghetti squash, tomatillos, variety of tomatoes, pepper, onions, garlic, potatoes, cilantro.


extras I bought this week:: potatoes, butternut squash, oregano, chives, thyme, cilantro

What is in season where you live? How long is your growing season?

something old, something new.

Apple season is nice in that it goes on a long while. Some things are in season for such an instant that it feels like I must run run run to save it all while I can. Having a few months for apples means we can not only preserve and save, but also enjoy now. So, for apple season, here is a new recipe, as well as several from the archives that I make every year. An apple a day?


::baked cinnamon apples::

This recipe is my tweaked version of the one found in Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

3 Tbsp butter
4 baking apples, cored & halved
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
grated fresh nutmeg
pinch allspice
2 Tbsp ruby port
1/2 cup fresh apple cider

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter an oven proof dish, just large enough to fit 8 apple halves quite compactly (a pie dish worked perfectly). Place your apples in a baking dish cut side up.

Put a bit of butter on each apple center. Mix the sugar, cinnamon and allspice and sprinkle over the apples. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top, and drizzle with port. Pour the apple cider in the pan around/under the apples.


Bake for 30 minutes, then dribble the pan juices over the apples and add some more (hot) cider to the dish if needed. Bake for another 20-30 minutes until the apples are creamy on the inside and brown on the top. (time may vary a little based on the type of apple you are using)

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoon full of freshly whipped cream. Or, if you like take the juices from the bottom of the baking dish after the apples come out of the oven. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and heat on high to boil. Reduce heat, simmer a bit, and reduce slightly. Drizzle this thickened essence of apple over the top. SO GOOD!

+ + + + +

Some of my favorite recipes that I go back to often. I may tweak and poke around with different spices or types of apples, but the basic recipes always stay the same.

::carmelized apple tart::


::baked apples::


::apple butter::


::applesauce::

What are your favorite apple recipes?

an apple a day:: "Apple polyphenols are standout nutrients in this widely loved fruit. These polyphenols include flavonols (especially quercetin, but also kaempferol and myricetin), catechins (especially epicatechin), anthocyanins (if the apples are red-skinned), chlorogenic acid, phloridizin, and several dozen more health-supportive polyphenol nutrients. Apple is a good source of fiber, including the soluble fiber pectin, and it's also a good source of vitamin C."

CSA Box This Week

Today in our CSA box...we haven't gotten much squash at all this year in our boxes. Winter squash is one of my favorite things, and I always look forward to it. Today we got only 1 small acorn squash and a mini butternut squash - not a good year for squash, it seems. I traded the mini butternut squash in our box for more brussel sprouts. The wonder of our garden is that we fill in the gaps of our CSA, can get quantity of our favorite items, and so even growing only 1 vine we already have a decent number of butternut squash stored away for this fall and winter!

In our box this week:: lettuce mix, arugula, beauty heart radish, leek, carrots, brussel sprouts, green cabbage, acorn squash, cilantro.

In our box this week last year.

Transitions.

It finally happened. Snow! Not a lot, but snow flurries combined with temps in the 20s means we had to pick all of the last more tender bits in the garden.

Most of it went into the dehdrator for our winter herb and spice jars. We also collected some heads and veggies for seed saving, so that we can plant again next year.


This week marks a big date. Six months. We have gone six months without buying any produce from a grocery store...except for random lemons, limes, and the few times per summer guacamole from our local food coop. What does that mean? We have gotten all of our fruit and vegetables directly from a farm, farmstand, or our garden since May. We had our garden and our CSA, and visited farms as close to home as we could to visit on farm stands or u-picks. We have also had a good year for local meat, eggs, and dairy...more on that later!

So for the winter we transition to more root veggies and foods we preserved all summer. For fresh greens we love to sprout on our counter. And we return to more fresh breads and weekly baking. Last night we made a loaf of sunflower millet bread which made the house smell amazing. Very comforting on those cold days. I have some 'mad scientist' plans to experiment and try to grow several types of vegetables and herbs in our house this winter. I want more than a few window herbs, and we will see how it goes. I'll be seed-starting this week, so will share our plans as we go!

I love this season - from hot to cool, from light to dark, from rich garden and farms to a fully stocked freezer. We have relationships with many local farmers that will continue through the winter, but most of the action takes place INside, and all of this work we did all summer makes this time of rest seem even more satisfying!

CSA Box This Week

It is almost the end of our CSA season. Only one more week left - growing season does seem to fly in Wisconsin!

In our box this week: hakuri turnips, carrots, onions, potatoes, leek, parsley, romanesco, lettuce, and a head of garlic.


In our box this week last year.

in the kitchen...mid-october.

After a weekend trip in Minneapolis, we are back to preserving everything we can at the end of the year. I think our garden is in the final stretch - although we are still happily picking the last bits of things like beans and raspberries and swiss chard. We will still get radishes, turnips, chives and leeks a bit longer, but everything else is being cleared out.


We pulled all the tomatoes and brought in everything that was still green - it is all in tubs to ripen in the sun through the window. We are also continuing to make applesauce and dried apples. We have been baking pie pumpkins to make pumpkin bread and soup--and tomorrow we will can a big batch of apple pumpkin butter (recipe coming soon!). Yum.


Tomorrow on our way home from our CSA pickup we will be stopping at a few farm stands to load the car up with winter squash and root vegetables so we can store them. Can't wait!

What is happening in your kitchen this week?

pumpkin time.

We went to a farm last weekend to pick up our first batch of pie pumpkins. We love to make our own pumpkin puree, which we use for all of our fall baking. I like doing a few pans of pumpkin at a time to economize on time. Making fresh pumpkin puree is simple and has such a great flavor.


Take your small sweet pie pumpkins and cut off top/stem, then cut them in half. Scoop out the seeds and drizzle with a little oil. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350º face down 30 minutes, turn them over, bake face up 30 minutes. The inside should be soft. Let cool and then scoop out the insides. You can take the pulp and run it through a food processor or a food mill to get it the consistency of canned pumpkin (smooth & creamy).

So with all the fresh pumpkin we had to make something - pumpkin bars! These are nice in that they are moist and flavorful but not too sweet.


::pumpkin bars::

Preheat oven 350º

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups sugar or maple syrup
3/4 cup butter
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Beat the above ingredients together in a bowl.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Add the rest of the above ingredients into the mixture and stir. Pour into a lightly buttered 9x13" pan. Bake at 350º for about 35-40 minutes! Let cool and cut into squares.



ingredients tip::

"Pumpkin and winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese. In addition, winter squash and pumpkin is also a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid."