In Your Share (Dec 12th edition)

escarole-jpgWe have been patiently (or impatiently!) waiting for this beautiful escarole, Coral, to grow through the fall and winter. It is a slow grower and requires a good freeze to sweeten up. This year the fall was wet – remember the October deluge – but not very cold. Finally last week we had our first real freezing temperatures and could start picking. These greens are such a treat! They are often mistaken for lettuce and while they are quite tender and sweet they also have a much more complex flavor. I like them in salad and they hold up well to cooking. Check out the recipes below.

Amazing recipes for winter squash and everything else in your share are available to members at Cook With What You Have. If you joined our Winter CSA you will find your password in the member email. Enjoy 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

  • Beets: Sweet winter beetroot makes a lovely Borscht or Raw Salad with Apples
  • Brussels Sprouts: One of my favorite things to do is mix the sprouts with a little salt & olive oil and roast them under the broiler. Make sure and stir several times and turn the pan around so they all cook evenly. Doing it this way they are nicely carmelized on the outside but never overcooked. I also love Gnocchi & Sprouts with Pesto.
  • Carrots: What could be better than sweet winter carrots : )
  • Garlic: Nice little heads this week from a variety we call Persephone because we got the original seed years ago from Persephone Farm in Lebanon, OR. Jeff & Elanor run the farm and have been good friends and generous farming mentors to us over the years. When we bought the seed from them, they weren’t sure what type of garlic this was so we decided to just name the mystery variety after them.
  • Escarole: This variety, Coral, is one of my favorite winter greens from local rock star seed breeder Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seeds. The complex flavor is a nice balance of sweet and bitter. I like it in salad or one of dozens of great escarole recipes at Cook With What You Have.
  • Kale: Red Ursa is the variety this week and it makes a nice raw kale salad or can be sautéed. Stems are very sweet and tender too!
  • Parsley: My husband made an amazing clam linguini with this italian flat leaf parsley last week. And don’t forget to put the stems in your soup stock!
  • Yellow Potatoes: Mashed, boiled or roasted these are great little potatoes. 
  • Delicata Squash & Pie Pumpkins: Delicata are among the sweetest of all winter squash and are often compared in flavor to a sweet potato. Cut them in half length wise, remove seeds, and bake, cut side down in the oven until the top is soft and the bottom is starting to caramelize. Or cut them the other direction and make Squash Rings. If pumpkin pie NOT from a can is on your holiday menu you should definitely try my Grandmothers recipe. These pumpkins also make great squash soup and pumpkin muffins.

Coming soon… Winter Solstice!