Prepare Beet Thoran with SonyaJoy

Beets are the October Harvest of the Month at PFP!

Make this simple, kid-friendly root vegetable stir fry with a kick of flavor from aromatic Indian curry powder. Before you start cooking, take a mindful moment to breathe and center. Learn about the journey curry took around the world. Finally dive in to prepare and taste test the dish.

Kids love getting their fingers pink from shredding the sweet beets. Be sure to protect your clothes from staining while you cook!

Jump to the end of the video for the complete recipe. Visit our website for more distance learning videos and seasonal recipes.

Companion Video
Learn About Global Beets: https://youtu.be/Wtv8CVVtRxc

Follow us on Social Media
http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...
http://facebook.com/farmproject
http://twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Beet Harvest of the Month resource page: http://farmproject.org/beets
More Online Learning with PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...
Donate to support our work: http://farmproject.org/give

Credits:
Close-up Cooking Video by Rob Kissner
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily
Main Music: “Kids Background” by PeacockMusic

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Prepara Thoran Indu de Remolacha con Lala M.

La cosecha del mes de octubre en Poughkeepsie son las remolachas!

Haga este sencillo salteado de tubérculos para niñes con un toque de sabor del aromático curry indio en polvo. Antes de comenzar a cocinar, tómese un momento consciente para respirar y centrarse. Aprenda sobre el viaje que hizo el curry alrededor del mundo. Finalmente sumérgete para preparar y probar el plato. Esta receta es una versión adaptada de un plato tradicional, simplificado para cocinar con niñes. Para un auténtico thoran de remolacha, pruebe la receta tradicional de Onam Sadya de Kerala, India.

A les niñes les encanta enrojecerse los dedos al triturar las remolachas dulces. ¡Asegúrate de proteger la ropa de las manchas mientras cocinas!

Salte al final del video para ver la receta completa. Visite nuestro sitio web para ver más videos de aprendizaje a distancia y recetas de temporada.

Video complementario
Más información sobre las remolachas globales con PFP

Auténtica remolacha de Kerala Thoran de Onam Sadya
https://www.cookingandme.com/2013/02/13/kerala-beetroot-thoran-recipe-onam/

Página de la cosecha de remolacha del mes
https://www.farmproject.org/beets

Más aprendizaje en línea con Poughkeepsie Farm Project
https://www.farmproject.org/digital-online-learning

Créditos:
Primer plano de video de cocina de Rob Kissner
Edición de posproducción por Forge Media
Música de introducción: "Upbeat Funk Commercial" de GuitarsState
* detalles de la licencia
Mindful Moment Music: "Sweet Gentle Piano" de water_lily
* detalles de la licencia
Música principal: "Kids Background" de PeacockMusic

Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy

Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy

Español abajo

Celebrate delicious local squash in a flavorful soup from Haiti. Learn how to make this simple recipe for Soup Joumou - Haitian Independence soup. Cook along with SonyaJoy as you dice, sauté and season your way to a dish that the whole family will enjoy. This video will describe where kids can safely get involved with cooking. This recipe was adapted from a traditional recipe, changed to make it easier to include children in cooking. For a traditional Soup Joumou, try the mouth-watering recipe from our friends at Soul Fire Farm.

Jump to the end of the video for the complete recipe. Visit our website for more distance learning videos and seasonal recipes.

Companion Video
Learn About Squash of the Americas with PFP

Soul Fire Farm’s Vegetarian Soup Joumou

https://www.soulfirefarm.org/soup-joumou/

Follow us on Social Media
http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...
http://facebook.com/farmproject
http://twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Squash Harvest of the Month resource page: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash
Resources for Educators on Squash: http://bit.ly/squashresources
More Online Learning with PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...
Donate to support our work: http://farmproject.org/give

Credits:
Close-up Cooking Video by Rob Kissner
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

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Cocina Sopa Joumou con Lala M.

Cocina Sopa Joumou con Lala M

Celebra la deliciosa calabaza local en una sabrosa sopa de Haití. Aprende a preparar esta sencilla receta de sopa Joumou: sopa de la independencia de Haití. Cocina junto con Lala Montoya, mientras cortas, salteas y sazonas hasta obtener un plato que disfrutará toda la familia. Este video describe dónde les niñes pueden participar de manera segura en la cocina. Salta al final del video para ver la receta completa. Visita nuestre sitio web para ver más vídeos de aprendizaje a distancia y recetas de temporada.

Video complementario Aprenda sobre Calabazas of the Americas con PFP: https://youtu.be/G33spjeDaLs

Síguenes en las redes sociales:

http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...

http://facebook.com/farmproject

http://twitter.com/farmproject

Obtenga nuestre boletín informativo para educadores o boletín informativo mensual: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up

Página de recursos de la cosecha de calabaza del mes: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash

Recursos para educadores sobre la calabaza o calabacines: http://bit.ly/squashresources

Más aprendizaje en línea con PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...

Done para apoyar nuestre trabajo: http://farmproject.org/give

Créditos: Video de cocina de primer plano por Rob Kissner

Edición de postproducción por Forge Media

Música de introducción: "Upbeat Funk Commercial" de Guitars

State Música de Momento contemplativo: "Sweet Gentle Piano" de water_lily

Musica principal: “Kids Background” de PeacockMusic

Learn About Squash of the Americas with PFP

Join Kathryn and the team at Poughkeepsie Farm Project to learn about winter squash, indigenous culture and farming practices! Then learn about a Haitian recipe using winter squash called Soup Joumou.

The word of the day is indigenous! Find out about the indigenous story and wisdom of the three sisters - corn, beans and squash and the practice of seed saving to grow the three sisters crops!

Relax and get centered with a mindful moment of deep breathing, and a nature moment in our seed saving garden. Then learn about indigenous seed keeper Rowen White who is growing ancestral Mohawk seeds with SeedShed in New York's Hudson Valley.

Companion Videos:
Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy - English: https://youtu.be/z-QIYg8HMTE
Cook Soup Joumou with Laura - Spanish: https://youtu.be/wzx6lziND9Y

Learn more about Rowen's seed keeping work: https://youtu.be/IooHPLjXi2g

Follow us on Social Media
http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...
http://facebook.com/farmproject
http://twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Squash Harvest of the Month resource page: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash
Resources for Educators on Squash: http://bit.ly/squashresources
More Online Learning with PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...
Donate to support our work: http://farmproject.org/give

Credits:
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

West African Jollof Rice with Kale

Prepare West African Jollof Rice with Kale

Español abajo

Celebrate delicious local kale in a mouth-watering rice dish from Ghana, West Africa. This recipe is an adapted version of a traditional dish, changed to include a seasonal vegetable, plant-based protein, and simplified so even small children can help prepare it! Cook along with SonyaJoy as you dice, sauté and season your way to a dish that the whole family will enjoy. This video will describe where kids can safely get involved with cooking. For authentic Nigerian Jollof Rice, try Chef Yewande Komolafe’s traditional recipe featured in the NY Times.

Jump to the end of the video for the complete recipe. Visit our website for more distance learning videos and seasonal recipes.

Companion Video
Learn About Multicultural Kale with PFP: https://youtu.be/xASSV6jc3Fc

Chef Yewande Komolafe’s Nigerian Recipes, NY Times Cooking: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/dining/nigerian-food-yewande-komolafe.html

Follow us on Social Media
instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarmproject/
facebook.com/farmproject
twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
More Online Learning with PFP: farmproject.org/digital-online-learning
Donate to support our work: farmproject.org/give

Kale Harvest of the Month resource page: farmproject.org/kale
Resources for Educators on Kale: https://bit.ly/kaleresources
Tomato Harvest of the Month resource page: farmproject.org/tomatoes-1

Lesson Resource Page: Learn About Multicultural Kale with PFP
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K...


Credits:
Close-up Cooking Video by Rob Kissner
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

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Prepara Arroz Jollof de África Occidental con Lala M.

¡La cosecha del mes de noviembre en Poughkeepsie es la col rizada! Celebra la deliciosa col rizada local en un delicioso plato de arroz de Ghana, África occidental. Aprende a hacer esta sencilla receta de arroz Jollof con col rizada. Cocina junto con Lala Montoya mientras cortas, salteas y sazonas hasta obtener un plato que disfrutará toda la familia. Este video describirá dónde les niñes pueden participar de manera segura en la cocina. Salta al final del video para ver la receta completa. Visita nuestre sitio web para ver más videos de aprendizaje a distancia y recetas de temporada.

Página de la cosecha de col rizada del mes https://www.farmproject.org/kale

Más aprendizaje en línea con Poughkeepsie Farm Project, la granja de poughkeepsie https://www.farmproject.org/digital-o...

Créditos: Video de cocina de primer plano por Rob Kissner

Edición de postproducción por Forge Media

Música de introducción: "Upbeat Funk Commercial" de GuitarsState

Música de Momento consciente: "Sweet Gentle Piano" de water_lily

Musica principal: “Kids Background” de PeacockMusic

Remember Those Kohlrabi?

Kohlrabi Carrot Fritters with Herbed Carrot Puree

Ingredients

Carrot Puree:
2 Tablespoon canola oil
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced*
8 ounces carrot, chopped*
¼ cup almond milk
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt

Fritters:
10 ounces Kohlrabi, shredded*
6 ounces carrot, shredded*
½ cup all-purpose flour (GF: chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Carrot Puree:

1. Put two tablespoons of canola oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. When oil is simmering, add garlic.

2. When garlic is aromatic, add carrot and cook until tender.

3. Take the pan off the burner and put the garlic and carrots in the blender with paprika and salt.

4. Blend the mixture until smooth.

5. Set puree aside in a dish for later.

Fritters:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Shred carrot and kohlrabi, squeeze out extra juice from vegetables and pat them dry.

3. Place the shredded kohlrabi and carrot on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil. Put them in the oven for 12-15 minutes. While waiting, heat a small amount of oil in a saucepan.

4. When shredded vegetables are roasted, place them in a bowl with flour, salt. lemon and the other spices. Combine these ingredients thoroughly.

5. Form this batter into small patties. Add more flour if necessary. Chill the patties for 15 minutes in your refrigerator.

6. Take the patties out of the fridge. Put paper towels on a plate and set it beside the burner you are frying the fritters on.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Heat oil in a medium sauté pan on medium high heat until it shimmers.

9. Fry each side of the patty until golden brown and place in oven for 7 minutes to finish cooking.

10. Serve fritters hot or cold with carrot puree and chopped parsley to garnish.

    
    
    *PFP Note: These are all items that should be in the July & August CSA shares!

Winter Sweets and Treats

Welcome to March, and to the next-to-last CSA distribution. To celebrate, we’ve got a few exciting offerings for our Winter Share members:

Spring-dug Parsnips! During the long cold winter, parsnips pump themselves full of sugars (which act as a natural antifreeze) to prevent their cells from freezing. Overwintered parsnips are candy-sweet.

Sunchokes! Also called Jerusalem artichokes and earth apples, these little nuggets are the tubers of a flowering plant (Helianthus tuberosos) related to sunflowers. They’re sweet and earthy, low in starch, and rich in inulin.

Cake! Well, a recipe for cake from one of our fellow CSA members. (We ourselves were lucky enough to sample it, and can vouch for its delicious-ness.)

Have a favorite recipe of your own? Share it with your fellow Winter CSA members! If you’ve got a favorite recipe you’d like to share, submit your recipe here!

Happy cooking and baking!

Featured Recipe Ideas:

Parsnips:

By now you’ve probably got plenty of parsnip ideas. These super-sweet overwintered parsnips are best prepared simply, to allow their natural candy-sweetness to shine.

• Cut into rounds (slicing bigger rounds from the top root into quarters for even-sized pieces)
• Toss in coconut oil (with a dash of cumin or curry) or olive oil (with sage, salt and pepper)
• Roast at 350 for 30-45 minutes until soft, tender, and slightly caramelized.

To prevent drying out, it helps to cover with foil for the first 15-20 minutes.

For more recipes including baked parsnip fries with rosemary, root vegetable tarte tatin, and spicy honey-glazed parsnips, click here.

Spring-dug parsnips are candy sweet

Sunchoke flowers in late September

Sunchokes:

Sunchokes sweet, earthy, nutty flavor is simply and wonderfully showcased in roasting. Pair with roasted potatoes and celeriac, mushrooms, or add to a roasted chicken.

• Wash and scrub clean (no need to peel)
• Cut into even-sized chunks, cutting out any discolored ends where the stems attached
• Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt (also: pepper, thyme, sage)
• Roast at 350 until tender and slightly golden in color.

For a slightly more rich and adventurous dish, try this Sunchoke Gratin featured in the New York Times:

• Slice 1 lb sunchokes into ¼ inch thick rounds and grate ½ cup Gruyere cheese.
• Bring 1 cup milk & 1 cup water to boil. Add sunchoke slices, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until tender but still firm (about 8 minutes).
• Drain, and arrange in a buttered baking dish.
• In small saucepan, heat ½ cup cream with a halved clove of garlic and dash of nutmeg just barely to a boil. Remove garlic and pour over Bake at 375 until lightly browned and bubbling (about 20 minutes)

Shirley’s Rutabaga Nutmeg Cake

1 c packed grated rutabaga
3 eggs
¾ c sugar
½ c plain, full-fat yogurt
½ c vegetable oil or melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ c all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Grease a 9” square tin and line with parchment
• Beat eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil or butter, and vanilla in a large bowl
• Stir in grated rutabaga, breaking up the shreds
• Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt
• Stir gently to combine, making sure there are no streaks of flour
• Pour into prepared cake pab and bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
• Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn over and remove parchment paper. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream together ¼ c cream cheese and ¼ c soft butter
• Sift 4 c powdered/confectioners sugar
• Gradually add sifted sugar and 1-2 tsp vanilla to the butters
• If necessary, thin out with milk or cream, a teaspoon at a time

Another similar cake calls for brown butter frosting. Thanks Shirley for sharing your recipe!

Carrot cake can easily substitute shredded rutabaga for carrots

February is for Fermentation

Hello, Winter CSA Members!
This week, we are providing you with nearly all of the ingredients you’ll need to try your hand at simple, safe fermentation: try your hand at sauerkraut, kimchi, or “kraut-chi”, a creative combination of the two!

Simply put, fermentation “cooks” the food, making certain nutrients more available to us and adding/changing the probiotic character of the food, using microbes instead of heat. Yogurt, bread, beer, wine, sake, cheese, meat and pickles are all products of fermentation.

Fermentation is a great way to add vibrant flavors and textures to your plate (without the addition of fats or processed seasonings), get creative in the kitchen, and diversify gut bacteria to aid in digestion. If you’ve never made your own sauerkraut or kimchi before, we hope this week you’ll consider giving it a try.

Have a favorite recipe of your own? Share it with your fellow Winter CSA members! If you’ve got a favorite recipe you’d like to share, submit your recipe here !

And now, let’s get the creative (and culinary) juices flowing:

Parsnip and Celeriac Soup

For those of you who won’t be trying your hand at fermentation this week, we suggest this Parsnip and Celeriac Soup: a sweet-and-savory winter soup with a creamy potato base.

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Sauerkraut & Kraut-Chi

Making sauerkraut, while it may seem intimidating at first, is really something anyone can do! Put simply, you’re using a salty brine solution to keep out the “bad guys” and allow the “good guys” (the microbes that occur naturally on the cabbage) to work their magic.

For step by step instructions with photos, read “Kraut-Chi: A Step-by-Step Guide” from From The Land We Live On which offers some helpful tips, or “Making Sauerkraut” from Wild Fermentation from the fermentation guru himself. Here’s the basic process you’ll follow:

• Remove the outer two leaves and clean off any damaged, discolored or otherwise bad-looking spots. Reserve one whole leaf for later.
• Using a mandoline or a sharp clean knife and a clean cutting board, slice your cabbage very thinly into a big (clean) bowl.
• Sprinkle in some salt . Be sure to use non-iodized, also “canning” or “pickling” salt. You’ll want 1.5-2 tsp per pound of cabbage.
• Massage salt into cabbage with clean hands until it starts to release liquid. This is your brine.
• IF MAKING KRAUT-CHI, follow additional steps below.
• Pack cabbage and brine into a clean (sterilized) glass jar, ideally one that has just come out of a dishwasher or been washed thoroughly and swirled with boiling water.
• Massage a pinch of salt into that whole cabbage leaf you saved at the beginning, and fit it down over the sliced cabbage like a cap .
• Use a smaller jar filled with pebbles or some other heavy material to press and weight the kraut down: your goal is to keep the cabbage submerged below the liquid. Any chunks of cabbage sticking up in the air could begin to mold.
  • If after 6 hours your cabbage hasn’t generated enough brine to cover itself, make a salt solution to supplement. Mix 1 heaping tablespoon salt with 2 cups boiling water, allow to cool fully (this is important, as you don’t want to cook your microbes!), and pour over kraut.
• Put a large paper bag, if you have one, over the jar. It helps prevent any ambient dust from settling into the kraut. I Also I enjoy writing fun things like “Ssshh I am fermenting” or “Burp me often!” on the bag.)
• Now, wait. Let it sit. In 1-2 days you’ll see bubbles forming, and can press down on the weight to “burp” your kraut if the brine is in danger of overflowing. It should stop bubbling in 2-5 days.
• Start tasting after a week. The longer you leave it out, the more sour it will get. You can start eating it at any time it tastes good to you. If you want to slow/stop the fermentation, put a lid on it and place it in the refrigerator.

Kraut-Chi Additions

Note: Some processes call for salting your cabbage, letting it sit, draining it, rinsing it, and then proceeding with the following steps. For the sake of simplicity, we’ve omitted those steps here.

• Add any/all of the following: Chinese cabbage or bok choy (thinly sliced), daikon or other radish (thinly sliced/shredded/julienned), scarlet turnip or carrot (thinly sliced/shredded/julienned), green onions/scallions (chopped), garlic and ginger (finely chopped), gochugaru (or some red pepper flakes or finely chopped fresh hot pepper), and/or seaweed flakes or fish sauce (optional).
• A more complicated process calls for making a paste out of the garlic, ginger, green onion, chili/gochugaru, fish sauce, and some of the vegetable brine, and stirring this into the sliced cabbage/radish/carrot mixture. This gives kimchi its distinctive reddish color. Make your own, or you can purchase kimchi paste from any number of sources.

To make straight-up kimchi, which traditionally includes the draining process and paste-making, check out ”How To Make Easy Kimchi At Home” from The Kitchn .

Tips and Notes on Safety

Fermenting vegetables is a very safe, low-risk endeavor. Sandor Katz, the guru of Fermentation (and author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation), asserts that, according to the USDA, there has never been single documented case of food poisoning from fermented vegetables. That said, here are some tips regarding cleanliness and safety.

Cleanliness is key! Make sure all materials (knives, cutting boards, jars, hands) are clean and/or sanitized with hot water or vinegar. There are ample online resources that provide information on best practices with regards to safety.

Smell: A funky, stinky-but-yummy fermented smell is good! Bad bacteria will smell… well, bad. Trust your nose, which should tell you if something is off.

Mold: Any material not submerged in the protective brine could start to mold. If you see any mold, just pull these pieces out, or skim off the top until what’s left looks fine. A little mold on top shouldn’t compromise the kraut that’s submerged.

Sliminess: Slime is bad! The kraut should have firm texture, and the brine should stay thin, like salty water. If anything gets slimy (and smelly), compost it and start again.

Happy Fermenting!

Introducing the Black Spanish Radish

Hello, Winter CSA Members!
This week, we are featuring one of our less familiar, more mysterious root vegetables: the Black Spanish Radish. Here are some notes on this vegetable, including preparation tips and recipe suggestions.

Have a favorite recipe of your own? Share it with your fellow Winter CSA members! If you’ve got a favorite recipe you’d like to share, submit your recipe here!

And now, let’s get the creative (and culinary) juices flowing:

The Black Spanish Radish (Raphanus sativus niger), otherwise known as the “Black Mooli”, is a uniquely beautiful root vegetable with a robust flavor and fascinating history.

The textured, matte-black exterior of the Black Spanish gives way to a smooth, bright cream-colored interior that is high in Vitamin C. The meat of this radish is firm, yet also tender: this a toothsome, almost velvety radish -- not a crisp, juicy winter radish like the watermelon or daikon.

It has been used by the Europeans, the Chinese, and the Ancient Egyptians as a medicinal vegetable to promote the health of everything from the gallbladder and the liver to the pulmonary and respiratory systems. This radish is known for its ability to help fight off infections, and to promote a healthy digestive system.

To eat raw, we recommend the following:

• Radish sandwiches! This is the winter version of a French breakfast treat: slice very thinly and serve on a piece of crusty bread with good butter and a sprinkle of salt
• Serve thin-sliced and tossed with a bit of olive oil and salt over a bed of greens
• Shred into a sauerkraut mixture or as addition to meat broth-based soups

If roasting, wash and cube the root (without removing the skin) into bite-size pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, and a bit of dried thyme or chili pepper flakes and roast at 350 until tender. Variations:

• Adding cubed celeriac and thick-sliced orange carrot to the pan creates a deliciously full-flavored winter roasted vegetable mix that is both savory and sweet.
• Adding Black Spanish radish cubes to the bottom of a pan of roasting chicken (and allowing the radish to cook in the juices) elevates the complex and savory notes of this vegetable.
• Enjoy roasted Black Spanish radish as a side, or mixed with rice.

Or try making them into chips! Slice thinly (into ¼ or ⅛ inch rounds), oil well, salt, and bake at 400 degrees until crispy (but not burnt). Watch these carefully as the time between perfect and burnt is very narrow. You can also follow this recipe.

For more recipe ideas, consider making them into soup or check out Cathy Erway’s article, Three Ways To Cook One Tough Radish.

Happy eating, and stay tuned for more recipes for the 2/17 distribution!

Harvest of the Month: Ode to Onions

February’s Harvest of the Month is onions. Harvest of the Month is an initiative of Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s Farm to School program. A different local farm product is served in school meals at area schools each month and we are helping to promote these locally available farm products.

Ode to Onions
By Allison Herries, Dietetic Intern, The Sage Graduate School

Onions are an ancient crop that has been grown by civilizations for at least 5,000 years.  The onion is part of the genus Allium and is related to other popular vegetables including garlic, shallots, leeks, and chives.  There are over 300 different varieties of onions that vary in shape, size, taste, and smell making this vegetable a versatile addition to almost any dish. 

Did you know that onions are the third most popular vegetable in the United States?  As a nation, we ate around 7.7 pounds of onions per person in 2015.  That’s a lot of onions!  And it is no wonder that we love onions so much when you consider the sweet and savory flavors that they bring to a dish.  However, an onion is so much more than just a delicious addition to any meal.  Onions are also high in vitamin C and fiber, and have only 45 calories per serving.  This means that onions can add tons of flavor to a meal without the additional fat and calories.  Onions are also rich in the antioxidant, quercetin.  This is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect our bodies from free radical damage.  Research suggests that quercetin may help protect against diseases including cancer and heart disease.

Having trouble cutting your onions through all the tears?  Slicing onions makes us cry because of the release of sulfuric acids from the cut onion.  These gases are a natural defense mechanism of the onion used to ward if hungry pests in nature.  When sulfuric acid interacts with the moisture in our eyes, it results in tears. One way to avoid this reaction is to chill the onion in the refrigerator before cutting into it. Another solution is to slice the onion under running water or while the onion is submerged in water.  These approaches will lessen the release of sulfuric acid.  No more tears!

Fun fact:  Onions held a sacred place in the ancient Egyptian culture. Ancient Egyptians believed that the many concentric layers of the onion represented eternity.  In fact, archaeologists have found evidence of onions being placed in the tombs of pharaohs because they were believed to bring luck in the afterlife.

Irrigating the onion crop

Mini-onion harvest!

Here at PFP, we grow a variety of both yellow and red onions.  We start our onions in the greenhouse around the first week of March and transplant them to the fields at the end of April.  Onions are harvested in the months of July and August, cured (the process where the outer layers are dried out into the papery layers), and then stored for use throughout the fall and winter months. The onions we are eating now are actually from this August’s harvest!

One of our favorite ways to enjoy onions is to caramelize them.  Here at PFP we think that caramelized onions make a flavorful addition to almost any dish.  Caramelizing or “browning” the onions takes away the sharp, raw flavor of the onions and replaces it with a savory, sweet taste.  All you need for this recipe is onions, a knife and frying pan, oil (we prefer olive oil for heart health), and salt to taste.  No added sugar necessary! The secret to great caramelized onions is to cook them slowly over low heat.  Remember low and slow is the way to go! Begin by washing your hands and all equipment.  Thinly slice onions, making sure to separate the layers.  You can make the onions as thin as you would like.  Heat the olive oil over low heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onions and cook uncovered on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Adjust the heat as needed so that the onions don’t burn.  Finally, add salt to taste.  Try adding caramelized onions to sandwiches, salads, and sides for a flavorful addition!

Sources:
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/fun-with-food/photos/cool-facts-about-onions/
https://www.onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/nutritional-facts-vegetables
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58340
https://www.onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/onion-health-research

Winter CSA Recipe Ideas

Hello, Winter CSA Member!

This week, you may see some less-familiar crops in your share. Featured vegetables for this distribution are celeriac, kohlrabi, rutabaga, Black Spanish and watermelon radishes, Bok Choy and Tokyo Bekana. We’ve pulled together some preparation ideas, as well as links to some of our farmer-favorite and staff-pics recipes.

Have a favorite recipe of your own? Share it with your fellow Winter CSA members! If you’ve got a favorite recipe you’d like to share, submit your recipe here!

And now, let’s get the creative (and culinary) juices flowing:

German’s pick is Mashed Rutabaga, a simple mash of soft-boiled rutabaga with butter, sugar and salt. Reserve the cooking liquid as a base for a pureed squash soup with coconut oil and red curry paste, or add a touch of sweetness to a potato leek soup.

Lauren’s pick is this Celeriac Apple Slaw. Quick and easy with lively sweet flavors, this raw recipe is a great way to enjoy some fresh winter crunch.

LK can’t choose between Kohlrabi Fritters from Early Morning Farm (to which she highly recommends adding some grated Pecorino or Romano cheese and black pepper) and this Root Vegetable Gratin from Smitten Kitchen: a great way to marry your celeriac, rutabaga, potatoes and sweet potatoes into a heavenly, hearty dish perfect for these freezing temperatures.

Zoe’s pick is Japanese Cabbage Rolls, for which you can use regular cabbage or Tokyo Bekana leaves. Enjoy as-is or serve with rice, quick-pickled radishes and carrots, and a bit of sriracha or chili oil.

Here are some additional preparation tips and general serving suggestions:

Asian Greens

Bok Choy and Toyko Bekana are both members of the cabbage (Brassica) family, mild-flavored, crunchy and tender. Wash and chop, keeping ribs loosely separate from leaves, as you’ll want to add ribs first. Then...

• saute with garlic, soy, and lemon or rice wine vinegar. Enjoy as a side, or...
  • serve over rice topped with pickled vegetables, sriracha, sesame oil and a fried egg
  • add to a chicken- or beef-based broth with ramen-style or rice noodles, chili oil and a poached egg
• blanch and wrap Tokyo Bekana leaves around ground beef, rice, and pickled vegetables to make wraps (or see this Japanese Cabbage Rolls recipe!)
• chop and add to kimchi, a fermented mixture made from Chinese cabbage

Celeriac

This celery-flavored knob is from the carrot (Apiaciae) family. With a consistency not unlike a dry, hard potato, this is a most excellent, savory vegetable when cooked. It tends to be a bit “thirsty”, soaking up oils during cooking. Cut off bottom roots and peel to remove rough skin, then...

• cube and pan roast with bacon fat, fresh thyme, and black pepper
•  cube (with or without potatoes, carrots, and Black Spanish radishes), toss with a bit of oil, and roast with a whole chicken, basting in the juices
•  shred equal parts celeriac and potato, mix with a little egg and flour, season with salt and onion powder, and fry into latke-like fritters
• steam/boil and puree with (or without) potatoes and butter/cream for a mashed side dish
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Kohlrabi

This member of the broccoli (Brassica) family is mild, juicy, and slightly sweet, raw or cooked. Use a knife to slice off green skin and any tough-looking white parts at the base. Slice and eat raw, or...

•  shred raw into salads with apples, walnuts, broccoli and a cream dressing
• make a raw slaw with shredded watermelon radish and carrots
• cube and roast simply with oil and salt, alone or with celeriac, potatoes, carrots and radishes
• cube, steam until tender, simmer with onions sauteed in butter and vegetable or chicken stock, and puree with a touch of cream and a splash of sherry for a creamy soup (great with garlic toast or croutons, or an herb oil swirl!)
• shred, squeeze excess water, mix with egg, flour, onion and garlic powder and grated Romano or Parmesean cheese, and fry into these little fritters.
• roast with a whole chicken or piece of beef or venison

Rutabaga

This close cousin of the turnip (also a Brassica) is sweet with a savory, earthy undertone when roasted or steamed. Use a vegetable peeler to remove skin, then…

• cube and roast with carrots and potatoes, or steam and mash with butter and black pepper
• cube, simmer with water, sugar, salt and butter until tender, and mash (see Mashed Rutabaga recipe!)
• shred with equal parts carrot and sweet potato, mix with flour, egg, salt, onion powder, cumin and paprika, and fry in coconut oil for a savory-sweet fritter
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Tune in next distribution (February 3) for some suggestions with what to do with all of your winter radishes!