Did you miss CSA Box Week 9? Yeah, we were out of town and had our friends pick it up. So this is our last “official” CSA box! We have applied for the “extended season,” which means we will be getting a few more boxes in November and December, but I’m bummed that the main CSA is over.
I’m so glad we decided to be part of community shared agriculture this year for the first time. We were part of the CSA from Angelic Organics. I was challenged by the diverse offerings that came to us every other week and it made me a better cook. Also I get seasonality in a way I never did before. I definitely recommend being a part of a CSA and we plan on doing it again next year. Keep in mind that we got the half share — a full share would be a box every week. I don’t know how I would manage that much produce!
Chard and two bags of spinach
A bag of potatoes and some long garlic
Two bunches of lettuce and celeriac root(?)
Squash and brussel sprouts
More brussel sprouts and daikon radishes
I picked up the box after work on a very rainy day. When I got home and was unloading the box from the car, the box was so wet and soggy that it fell apart in the driveway. I had a huge heap of produce right on the blacktop and the white squash rolled under my car. I had to dig around in my trunk for the scraper to be able to retrieve the squash from under my car. I raced inside to get some bags to bag up my produce in the rain. The next morning I found a little bundle of herbs by the car door, but I didn’t recognize what it was. I hope that was all I lost!
When I first saw the “white carrots,” I immediately thought that I had jicama. I was so excited that I chopped of a bit and ate it. It was a radish and it was so strong that my eyes watered. My son thinks radishes are “spicy” even though when we first brought had some in our CSA box he liked them. Strange.
Here’s my favorite brussel sprouts recipe (Ina Garten). Seriously the best. When I prepared them that way, my son asked for more. That meal he ate more brussel sprouts than my husband or I did. Made me wish that I could serve brussel sprouts every week, but alas I don’t imagine they are in season all year long.
Accepting suggestions on how to prepare the squash, the celeriac root, and the radishes.
The two squash should be baked. You’ll love the butternut (beige). We grow hundreds of acres and they are delicious. Bake with a bit of butter, brown sugar or real maple syrup…yummy. I also grow celeriac…and I love it! Raw for salads, roasted with other root crops (bit of olive oil, garlic, shallots and sea salt) or in soups…it tastes like celery and I use it like celery…p.s. you can plant it and it will grow celery flavored leaves! The radishes are great fermented…kimchi.
The daikon is a Japanese radish that has a very good flavor. Traditionally (well at least the way my Japanese friends prepared it) it’s used with tempura. We would peel it, grate it using the side of the grater that has the bumpy circles (not the side you’d use for shredded cheese), get rid of some of the excess juice then add the raw daikon to the warm tempura dipping sauce. Another way I’ve had it prepared is simmered in Japanese broth or dashi with a dash of soy sauce. The daikon becomes soft and surprisingly sweet and mild tasting. It doesn’t have the “spicy” bite you’d expect from a radish when prepared this way. One other way to use the daikon is to julienne it and add it to your salad. Can you tell that I love daikon!
You should get a jicama they are so good! They are huge round beige roots. When we are in Mexco the cut them into strips then serve them raw sprinkled with ancho chili powder and lime. It’s so good that way.
You could also use your butternut squash in a risotto or a pasta once it’s roasted. I had a pumpkin from my Aunts garden that I made into curry last night. That was delicious. I’m sure you can do the same with squash.
I chop daikon up and use it in a veggie soup with carrots celery onion broccoli and sometimes brown rice. You can also grate it and use it on salads. I believe you can also roast it but I have not tried it myself. It’s supposed to be very healthy.
Love your blog!
Butternut squash: Peel and seed, then slice into “fries” and toss with olive oil. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or so.
You can mash celeriac root alone or with potatoes. 🙂
There are so many things to do with the squash! Besides the ones already listed here, you could bake them, then scoop out the flesh and make soups or even pies–both types could be substituted for pumpkin in the basic pumpkin pie recipe. As I make squash pies to sell at a farmers’ market, I bake really big ones, scoop out the flesh and freeze in in the appropriate measures for my pie recipes. That way you have the squash ready to use when the occasion arises!
I forgot to mention earlier–you can make the pies gluten free! I regularly make pumpkin/squash pies without crusts for customers who have celiacs. Just mix the filling as the instructions say, and pour into a buttered or greased pie plate. Bake according to the instructions, and you’ll have a lovely crustless pie!
I love Butternut squash soup. I use a recipe from allrecipes that calls for cream cheese but I substitute the cream cheese with heavy cream. A
lthough I suppose that won’t work since you are dairy free.
My favorite butternut squash recipe ever: Butternut Squash fries w/ chili salt & maple cream….to die for! : )
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/appetizer-starter-recipes/Butternut-Squash-Fries-with-Chili-Salt-and-Maple-Cream
Celeriac is great. Just cook it for a while whole in water till very soft and then you can puree it for mashed, or puree it with broth for a soup. If you cook it till its a bit less soft you can use it in a salad.
For the squash, I tend to make soup. Squash (especially butternut), sweet potato and apple makes a lovely soup – just use homemade veggie broth, some onions and garlic as well, and some spices – here, cumin, nutmeg and cinnamon are lovely. Alternatively you can roast the squash and then puree it, and use the puree as a filling for homemade ravioli. For the celeriac, you are in for a treat! One suggestion is to use it with the potatoes and daikon in a Morrocan inspired vegetable stew (be sure to add prunes, slivered almonds and chickpeas, as well as cumin, coriander and cinnamon), and serve it over couscous. Heavenly!
Are you sure it is daikon? It looks a little like a parsnip. I find that brussels sprout are generally available through the fall. I have tried the recipe you shared and I like it, but i have one I LOVE that I got from a friend so it probably isn’t online but you cook the sprouts with carrots in a skillet on the stove. It is so good.
For the celeriac, boil & mash like you would a potato, or dice and cook with celery, onion, some veggie stock and a little cream or milk to make what we call “double celery soup.” Epicurious has a decent recipe for something along these lines.
If you like celery, the celeriac is about to become a big favorite!
Daikon! Grated raw with lemon juice and grated carrots is yummy. It’s also very good in soups/stews, but if you’re using your slow cooker I would suggest cooking the daikon separately for a much briefer period as it can become a little bitter if cooked for too long. (A recipe in one of my cookbooks for “slow simmered daikon” uses rice, which is later discarded, to draw off the bitterness.) I like to sautee slices (half moons are my favorite ^_^) in a bit of butter, especially for breakfast; the texture is enough like home fries to satisfy my need for that “hearty breakfast” component, but it’s a *lot* easier to prepare and probably better for you.
Daikon is a winter vegetable, so you may be seeing it a lot in the next few boxes. Apparently it can be shredded and dried, which makes it mellower and sweeter; perhaps it could be used as a “filler” vegetable like zucchini sometimes is?
Mash the celeriac root and mix it into regular mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes with a kick!
Personally, I think celeriac root goes best au gratin style with potatoes, onions, etc. Otherwise, any recipes that call for a lot of root vegetables will work well. Maybe try a broccoli, potato, carrot, celeriac root and “cheese” soup. Delicious!
Try the Silver Palate’s butternut squash soup recipe. It’s delicious and very easy – saute carrots, celery, onions in olive oil, then the squash, potatoes, kosher salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes, then boiling chicken stock (homemade from Mark Bittman’s recipe, of course!). Simmer for half and hour, blend w/immersion blender and voila! delicious meal where the leftovers can be frozen for a busy night later. Enjoy!
My friend M has a CSA that gives her a giant (HUGE) box of veg every week. She uses what she can that week and preserves the rest. She actually just bought a new freezer right before the boxes started coming, and she’s set on veg for the winter. She also donates what she can’t eat to the local shelter; they’re often hurting for healthy, fresh foods because of the expense.
I have a great recipe for squash bread… my kids literally beg me for it anytime they see a pumpkin or squash in our CSA box.
http://stayathomefoodie.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/pumpkin-i-mean-squash-bread/
Also, it’s very English to just eat raw radishes with Eurpean butter and salt. I love making a crostini with butter, thinly sliced radish and sprinkled with salt. YUM!!!
My family just tried celery root for the first time – loved it; sliced 1/4 inch thin like large potato chips, drizzled with olive oil, a little salt and pepper, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
Celery root: I have been getting it in my CSA box as well. It’s one of my favorite root vegetables! I echo what many commenters said about mashing it in combination with potatoes – it fragrances the potatoes in a subtle and wonderful way!
It can also be eaten raw in salads, either sliced very thin, julienned, or shredded.
Here is a traditional Frech recipe for Celeriac Remoulade – it is shredded and mixed with a mayonnaise-based dressing (a recipe from David Lebovitz)
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/04/celery-root-remoulade-celeri-rem/
Or, julienned and dressed with a vinaigrette (from Gourmet Magazine, 1994)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Beans-and-Celery-Root-Salad-with-Mustard-Vinaigrette-11634
It’s a bit tricky to peel and chop – make sure to use a good knife.
Enjoy!