In the Kitchen

We went with a bigger box this week because of some bulky items. When you get it home, leave the Honeyboat winter squash out on the counter. Potatoes would like a dark place – I use a mixing bowl with a clean kitchen towel over it – that’s cool, but not cold. Onions want good air circulation and low humidity, so store them in a cupboard or in the pantry. Bag up everything else and put it in the refrigerator.

This week’s Spinach has suffered some from the frost, so it’s kind of ugly, but it tastes just out of this world, sweet and delicious. I love to heap it on a plate with dried cranberries, chopped nuts, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and lots of freshly-grated parmesan.

We chose to grow this beautiful Red Savoy Cabbage because… it’s beautiful. With its lighter texture, Savoy cabbage (always capitalized because it comes from the Savoy region of Italy and France) tastes best lightly cooked, or raw in slaws.

Wilted Cabbage Salad

2 lb savoy cabbage, washed and shredded
4 - 5 strips bacon, cooked crisp
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil

Put cabbage in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Place cabbage in a dry bowl and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Mix in the olive oil (or substitute bacon fat). Crumble bacon over warm salad.

On the other hand, we grow Celeriac because it’s ugly. Okay, not really, but I do think it is possibly the ugliest vegetable around. is the same species as celery, but bred for the swollen root rather than the fleshy stems. A more primitive version of the species, celeriac has contributed almost all of the modern pest resistance to celery varieties. The flavor chemistry is basically the same as that for celery, and the texture of the roots is similar to potatoes or turnips; in fact, it as at times been called “turnip-rooted celery”. Use it anywhere you would use potatoes, such as in soups or gratins. The strong flavors of celeriac salads taste wonderful in cool weather, and a little bit goes a long ways.

Celeriac Salad

2 lbs Celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 clove garlic (or a ¼ cup of chives)
1-1/2 tsp stoneground mustard

Blanch celeriac in boiling water for 2 minutes; dunk in cold water to stop cooking, then drain. Place in a bowl and add oil and vinegar. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Refrigerate, covered, for at least two hours. Crush garlic into a paste and combine with the mayonnaise and mustard, and add this mixture to the celeriac and stir well just before serving.

Kale is the quintessential winter green, tasting sweet and delicious after a frost, and so hardy that it will survive right into December in some years – plus it’s loaded with all kinds of good things for you. When I feel blue or like I’ve got something coming on, I dive into the kale in a big way.

Long Stewed Kale

1 slice smoked bacon
1 onion
1 small carrot
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch green kale
salt and pepper
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Cut the bacon into small dice and render it over low heat for about 8 minutes. Peel and chop the onion, carrot, and garlic into small dice and add to the bacon with a splash of water. Cover and stew the vegetables until they are soft and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Wash, stem, and coarsely chop the kale. Add the kale to the vegetables along with some salt and cook uncovered over moderately high heat; the greens will give off a lot of water. Keep cooking until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add half the cream and simmer until it has been almost completely absorbed, then add the other half and keep simmering until it, too, is nearly absorbed. Add the lemon zest, taste and correct the seasoning, and serve.

The Black Spanish Radishes have a spicier flavor than the Beauty Hearts. I especially enjoy them sliced thinly and salted, and served with a dark beer and sharp cheddar cheese. We mix these with carrots for Halloween treats at the local get together.

The crew has been cooking Honeyboat Squash quite frequently for lunch lately, and has started cutting them in half and just leaving the seeds inside. Not only do the resulting squash have a deliciously nutty flavor as a result, but the seeds cook up as well and make a nice extra treat.

The potatoes in this week’s box are Yukon Golds. As is characteristic of this great-tasting variety, they have a tendency to have a little bit of hollow heart, but this isn’t harmful at all. I like to boil up a batch and keep them in the refrigerator for rosemary home fries at lunch.