On the same subject, not sure how many of you were able to witness yesterday's sudden storm. Right at lunch there was an intense lightening storm came over the farm and I really wish I had some photos to prove it. All of your farmers were out there ooo-ing and awe-ing together from cover. It definitely changed the course of our harvest and afternoon as hail, lightening and huge thunder claps continued on. Our pepper got a beating but no one got struck (I know several farmers that have been).
POTATO LEEK SOUP WITH COLLARD GREENS (from Andrea Beaman)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large leek, cleaned and chopped (use both white and green)
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3-4 potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
- 4-5 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 & 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tbsp. grass-fed butter
- 2 collard green leaves, stem removed, leaves sliced thin
YUKON GOLD POTATOES: Gorgeous yukon golds. Golden and gorgeous. When cooked they keep their golden hue and are creamy and buttery. Right now they've been stored in our root cellar so they are shock full of sugar (to stay alive in the cold). If you like your potatoes less sweet I recommend letting them sit out at room temp in your kitchen (in the dark) for a week or two so that those sugars convert back to starches. The sugars in them do make them perform differently when cooking. Yukons can be boiled and mashed or used to make gratins, hash browns and purees. They also work well in roasted, grilled and sautéed preparations. They are a popular potato choice when making french fries.
COLLARD GREENS: The quintessential fall green! These greens are gorgeous and can withstand cooking that many green cannot! You can go the common southern route or make wraps with them or as the farmers were talking about yesterday go the crock pot route and make delicious soups with them. You can use these guys in the soup recipe above! Not only are collard greens tasty but they are incredibly nutritious!
GREEN TOMATOES: Fried green tomatoes anyone? We won't fill your CSA boxes with these but we do have to send them at least once! You can fry them, make pickles, make a relish, roast them. So many different options. Here is a starting point.
STOCKY RED ROASTERS (Small Only): More of these gorgeous Italian sweet peppers. Tasty raw, sautéed or in a soup!
STOCKY YELLOW ROASTERS (Large Only): Love these yellow guys. I mean... the color!! Just like their red counterparts...we love to just take a bit into them but they are great in many a different dish. We hope you are starting to see the superiority of their flavor!
HOT PEPPERS (Large Only): One El Jefe jalapeño, one Basque espelette and one Maria Nagy cayenne pepper! We thought we would give you guys a sampling of some of the peppers we have on the hotter side of life. If you don't like spice, sorry and we hope you pass them along to someone who does. Honestly, none of our peppers are super hot as you have to have a heat in order to grow a hot pepper and this summer didn't see a ton of hot days. You can use these to flavor soups, chilis, pretty much anything. I love just adding a touch of spice to pasta even. I would say cayenne is the hottest (and can be dried to make pepper flakes), followed by jalapeño and the espelette being the least, although they can be sneaky! Remember that the seeds are always the hottest part so if you just want some spicy flavor just remove the seeds.
ACORN SQUASH (Large Only): The first of the onslaught of winter squash. These guys are totally beauts! They are the longest lasting of the different squashes so we always consume them first. Acorn squash is super tasty just baked in the oven and cut up, but you can always go a number of different ways from there: adding to pasta, salads, casseroles and soups. Here are great instructions on how to bake the squash in the oven from cutting up the squash to serving it at the table.
THYME (Large Only): A fantastic herb for roasts, soups, dressings and more! Rub it, sprinkle it, you name it! This little herb bundle can be hung in your kitchen where it will dry and can be used over and over again.
PURPLE CABBAGE (Large Only): Because we wanted to make your box really heavy!! This is a beautiful fall cabbage. Cabbage, like most hearty greens, can also be used so many different ways. It can be used for kraut, kimchi, slaw, soups, roasts so on and so forth! Here is a great mason jar kraut how-to. I'm also a huge fan of fried chicken in the winter so slaw is awesome. Especially with that jalapeño we put in the box!