CSA Week 16

1 bunch kale

1 bunch carrots

1 bunch purple top turnips

1/2 pound salad mix

1 pound onion

2 pounds Kennebec potatoes

sweet peppers, eggplant, delicata squash

The go-to CSA mantra is Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, right? Well, there’s the flip side to this way groovy thought. Have you ever put yourself in my New Balance Classic running sneakers and thought about what it’s like to feed over a hundred people for 5 months? There are a lot of taste buds and belly tendencies in the mix and over the weeks I get to know what it is that you all fancy and what it is that you could do with out. I try to mix it up, keep it colorful, interesting, nutritious and delicious, with a balance of stables and bursts of wild cards. It all gets factored in as each share gets planned for the week, while I still keep in mind what is going nuts in the field, what sells well at market, what restaurants feature on their menus, and what we actually have time to harvest. Be that as it may, chefs and market customers can come and go, but CSA members are VIP’s in the Kettle world, therefore I take your feedback into consideration every time I plan your share, bunch a beet or snip a green.

As a window into the world of a CSA farmer, I have been know to think about the fact that Andy can’t stand chard, but Amanda is obsessed with it. The Snyder’s and the Van Oosterums can never, ever have enough potatoes, but Anita and Jackie don’t touch ‘em. Amy T., was way over cucumbers pretty early on, but Haven was ready to munch away on them in the car ride home. Jen H got full on lettuce, while Christine L. was psyched when she got the box that was accidentally packed with 3 heads. Nate doesn’t like collards and Terry is a recent convert (an now addict) to kale and bok choi. Lauren N, isn’t ready for fall root crops yet, but just posted an article on her blog, www.spicedplate.blogspot.com featuring BKF autumnal chow. Cindy loves her some eggplant, while Arunima tosses it on the trade table every time it shows up. The Hungarian Hot wax peppers hurt Shannon’s belly and although sweet to most, Rachel finds the purple Islander peppers spicy. Sarah B, says that BKF has the best garlic on the planet, and Darren and Skylar just do not ever have a taste for anything in the onion family. Then there’s the fearless, hardcore veggie power couples contingent of the Simpson/Riegel, O’Connell/Marks, Simpson/Korbet, Riegel/McEdward Dean/Henry and Hudson/Smith’s that know it all and eat it all, no matter what, no matter where. Linda H., is all sparkle, all the time. Some members chip away at the share and others plow through it in a few days. Folks get sick of tomatoes, but no one has never, not ever, traded a bunch of carrots in all my days as a Black Kettle farmer. Lots of crops, lots of opinions, nothing gets by me. If it’s not bugs, weeds or broken equipment, it’s your dinner menu, food allergies and cravings that put that hustle in this CSA bustle! Enjoy it y’all, because I sure do! So much love and bold italics…..

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Bon Appétit | April 2010

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 1 cup chopped white onion

1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 2/3 cups)

2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir cumin seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes; cool. Finely grind in spice mill.

Remove soup from heat. Puree in batches in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle yogurt over; sprinkle generously with cumin.

All Roots Roast, You Can Do No Wrong

No Frills Veggie Splendor by Laura Higgins Neale

Set the oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle olive oil onto a baking sheet.

Chop anything chunky that you have, including, but not limited to :

Potatoes

Rutabaga

Turnips

Beets

Carrots

Roll them around on a dish towel to absorb some of the excess water resulting in crispy veg.

Toss the veggies in the pan and move it all around with a wooden spoon.

Include whole cloves of garlic or chunks of onions, toss with salt and pepper and any herbs that may strike you, like oregano, thyme or rosemary. Sweet peppers roast nicely as well.

Pop in the oven and go along your merry way. Let roast for at least 30 minutes before checking, then poke your head in the oven, shake the pan, sample a turnip and give them some more time for the desired roasty and crispy effect.

Serve in a huge bowl and munch cold as leftovers.