In Kim’s Kitchen

If I was stranded on a desert island with just one herb, I’d hope it was Italian Parsley. I like to keep a bunch handy in the refrigerator to chop and sprinkle the leaves over just about anything. The stems don’t look as pretty, but they have more flavor than the leaves, so I chop them especially fine and tend to use them in a cooked dish or mixed in, rather than as a final garnish. Italian parsley stands up well to the cold out in the field, but becomes pretty questionable as we move into November, so I hope my desert island isn’t as cold as the Upper Midwest in the winter.

In the fall, Spinach assumes an entirely different character than it has during the summer, becoming sweeter and toothier as the leaves thicken and sugar-up for the cold weather. We seeded this crop on the first of September, and it tastes absolutely delicious. I probably eat more spinach while I’m harvesting than I ever do in the kitchen, but in the kitchen, the following recipe for wilted spinach is one of our favorite tastes of the fall.

Wilted Spinach Salad

1/2 lb fresh spinach
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts or almonds
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt
freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the nuts and cook over low heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic near the end. Pour over the spinach, scraping in as much of the oil as possible. Toss until spinach is coated and the nuts are well distributed. Sprinkle in the vinegar and salt and pepper, toss again, and serve.

Spinach-Rice Casserole

Adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook

2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 Tbs. butter
1 cups minced onion
8 oz. fresh spinach
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne
black pepper to taste
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar
paprika

Cook the rice as you normally would. Preheat oven to 350, and oil a 9x13-inch baking pan. Heat the butter in a deep skillet; add the onion and sauté until soft. Add spinach, salt, and garlic, and cook for about five minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add this mixture to the cooked rice, along with seasonings and half of the sunflower seeds. Mix well.. Beat together the eggs and milk, and stir this into the rice mixture with the grated cheese. Spread into the prepared pan, sprinkle with the remaining sunflower seeds, and dust with paprika. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes until thoroughly heated and lightly browned on top.

Cabbage is a classic “fresh green” of winter, even when it’s been stored for a long time. This year’s Red Cabbage seems sweeter than normal, and Kim came up with this delicious slaw that makes the most of that sweet flavor. Cabbage stores well even after you cut it if you just put it in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer, so don’t feel like you have to use it all at once.

Light and Lively Slaw

The Dressing
2 Tablespoons rice wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced parsley
salt to taste

The Slaw
3 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh onion
1 small winter radish, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

In a bowl combine all the dressing ingredients. Set aside. Combine the cabbage, onion, carrot, radish, and sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Toss the dressing with the slaw ingredients. Wait 10 minutes for flavors to blend and serve.

Flowering Kale, with its bright pink leaves, is most commonly found as an ornamental plant outside of the dentist’s office; the variety we grow makes for much tenderer eating, similar to the normal green kale but a little lighter in texture. Steam with seafood for an elegant dish, or steam on its own and use it as a bed for meats or roasted winter vegetables. We often enjoy it sautéed with olive oil and lightly sprinkled with kosher salt.

Not only staples in the kitchen year round, Garlic and Onions provide substantial health benefits, both with their anti-fungal activity and their general tonic effect. While all of the roots and greens prefer high humidity storage, such as you find in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, garlic and onions both prefer dry storage. Cold is good, but keeping them dry will make more of a difference. A paper bag can help wick away moisture, as can an-unglazed ceramic pot.

The only truly black vegetable we know of, Black Spanish Winter Radishes have a nice, hot flavor and make a wonderful presentation. I like to slice them thinly with the peels on to show off their very cool color. Served with sharp cheddar cheese and a dark beer, they make an unbeatable winter repast.

Bright Scarlet Turnips add a little bit of a different twist to the turnip theme. Although these got a little bigger than we would have liked before harvest time, we have found them to be sweet and tender still. Use them anywhere you would use regular turnips, but with a little more sweetness and a little less of the iron-y flavor of the standard turnip varieties.

Roasted Turnips and Carrots

1/2 lb carrots
1 lb turnips
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme (optional)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare the carrots and turnips so that they are about the same size and shape, by cutting the turnips lengthwise into halves or quarters. Toss with olive oil and thyme, and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread evenly in a baking pan in a single layer, and roast, uncovered, for 20 to 45 minutes, stirring and tossing periodically until the vegetables are cooked through.