CSA Week 8

Hi Corvus Landing family! What a beautiful start to our week, with the rains from last week energizing the farm, and the sun on Monday boosting the plants and allowing us to harvest bountiful beets and cauliflower! I hope you will enjoy what we have for you this week!

—-Full shares—-
Broccoli
Radishes
Tomatoes

—-Half shares—-
Cherry tomatoes

—Both—
Beets
Carrots
Zucchini
Cucumber
Cauliflower
Romaine
Basil

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We have our first beet harvest for CSA and it was such a joy to pluck these chunky, flawless beets from the earth. They are the biggest beets I have ever seen and they are ready to eat raw or cooked, after washing. Don’t let the greens go to waste! They are edible and a splendid option to a richly diverse salad. I also like to steam them and add them as a green-side to my breakfast tofu scramble. Some people prefer to peel them before eating, but Carolina and I enjoy beets without peeling them. Beets are great boiled, steamed, and served as a side to a hardy meal. Make a beet soup, or juice it for a power-house orange and beet combo, or my favorite ginger-beet juice combo. Shred beets on top of salad for a bit of color. Beets are very powerful in many ways, but I particularly want to remind everyone that beets can stain; hands, cutting boards, clothes, towels and the like. The red color can also show up when you do your daily bathroom business, so heads up!

Another joy that is gifting shares this week are our beautiful heads of cauliflower. I think the color is so pleasant to look at. The touches of purple highlighting the creamy off-white colors is indeed a pleasant display. Cauliflower is great in raw sushi. Raw food enthusiasts, or adventurous foodists, may like to try this one. It is the raw form of sushi; instead of cooked rice you use cauliflower. Cauliflower can also be added to tabouleh (a cold side salad), baked and added as a side to a hardy meal, or blended into a creamy cauliflower soup. I noticed cauliflower has gotten a lot of attention in health-food circles; being made into baked goods, wraps, dips and more. The vegan community enjoys buffalo cauliflower wings (recipe below), which is a great addition to an outdoor cookout or potluck.

Some more suggestions for reoccurring vegetables; if you have too many tomatoes, try making a tomato vinaigrette. Cucumber discs make great scoops for dips or guacamole or as a little bit-sized plate to top with cheese, hummus and herbs for a creative appetizer. You can also make long slices and use it to make stuffed cucumber sushi rolls. If you have a lot of extra romaine, consider lettuce wraps or use the leaves to replace taco shells.

Now, this is the time of the season when many of you may be getting a back-log of veggies and not sure what to do with all the extras. Carolina wanted to mention food preservation as an idea on how to save your extra produce to enjoy at a later date. Pickling, freezing, and fermenting are all ways to save and store your goodies for another day. Carolina suggests grilling or roasting zucchini and cauliflower before freezing. Many vegetables can be pickled, either in vinegar or by fermenting. Try making pickles out of cauliflower, beets, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and radishes! The cucumbers that we grow are NOT pickling cucumbers. They make a good quick refrigerator pickle, but any attempts at canning them may result in mushy cucumbers. As mentioned in the previous week, cabbage can be made into kimchi and preserved that way. Another option for herbs like basil is to dry it and store it in a container for tea or for cooking use, or to grind it in the food processor with olive oil and freeze for winter use.

For beginners, the USDA has a complete guide to home canning. Don’t get discouraged. Preserving food is a skill that takes time to learn, but is a great hobby and opportunity to make great gift ideas for the holidays or special events! However, if you don’t have time to learn a new skill, here’s a little guide for pickling vegetables for short-term preservation. https://www.cooking-therapy.com/how-to-make-pickled-vegetables/

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and enjoy these recipes! Remember that food taste better when shared with others!

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Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

A great addition to a cookout!

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (medium sized – 2 lbs)
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil melted
1/3 cup buffalo sauce
Optional: chopped scallions or chives

RANCH DIP:
1/2 cup coconut yogurt
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
pinch paprika
pinch pepper

Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Chop the cauliflower head into bite sized florets and set aside.
Step 2: In a small bowl, mix together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar to make a buttermilk. Set aside.
Step 3: In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the flour, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Add the buttermilk and whisk until smooth and combined.
Step 4: Dip the cauliflower florets one-by-one into the batter, and roll to coat, using a spoon to scoop the batter into all the nooks and crannies. Place the florets onto the baking tray, spreading out so they are not crowded.

Step 5: Bake for 20 minutes and then flip the cauliflower florets over to bake the other side for an even bake. Bake for another 20 minutes on the other side (total of 40 minutes).
Prepare the Buffalo Sauce:
In a large mixing bowl combine the melted coconut oil and buffalo sauce. Mix until smooth and silky in consistency. Set aside.
Prepare the Ranch Dip:
In a small bowl, combine the coconut yogurt, apple cider vinegar, dill, onion powder, sea salt, paprika and pepper. Mix to combine.
Step 6: Once the cauliflower florets are crispy and baked, transfer them to the mixing bowl and toss gently to cover in the sauce. Transfer to a serving platter along with the homemade ranch for dipping.

Put them on top of a bed of romaine or lettuce, and sprinkle with chopped scallions or chives, for presentation.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Hazelnut

This makes a great side dish or appetizer!

Ingredients
5-6 beets trimmed
1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
Balsamic reduction
1 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions
Step 1: For the balsamic reduction: In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the vinegar, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until it has reduced by two-thirds. Keep an eye on the vinegar to avoid burning it and reduce the heat if necessary. You should have about 1/3 cup (75 mL) of reduced balsamic vinegar left in the pan.

Step 2: Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Transfer the reduction to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. The reduction will thicken and firm up once chilled. Allow it to come to room temperature before using.

Step 3: For the salad: Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Step 4: Wrap each beet individually in a piece of foil and place them on a baking Roast the beets for 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the size of the beets, until a fork easily slides into the larg- est beet. Let cool for about 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

Step 5: Reduce the oven temperature to 300F (150C). Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the skins have darkened and are almost falling Place them on a damp dish- towel and rub vigorously until most of the skins fall off. Discard the skins and roughly chop the hazelnuts. Set aside.

Step 6: Carefully unwrap the beets and trim under cold running water, push the beet skins off with your fingers. Discard the skins.

Step 7: Thinly slice the beets into 1/8-inch-thick (3-mm) rounds and arrange 7 to 12 beet slices on each of 3 plates

Step 8: Sprinkle a handful of toasted hazelnuts on top of each plate and add a drizzle of Balsamic Reduction and a drizzle of oil. Scatter the leaves from 1 to 2 sprigs thyme all over the beets on each plate, and serve.

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From Fidé and the team at Corvus Landing,

We hope these shares will benefit your health for years to come! Have a great week!