Just Add Salt

Every so often, there is a vegetable in the weekly share that you either don't know or don't want. At the end of the season, I've been wowed by tomatoes, tickled by jalepenos, charmed by melon and persuaded by kale (which I now purchase regularly, even when it's not in our share). Call it harvest fatigue, but who wants to learn about a new vegetable right when we are supposed to be turning to our pantries, preparing soups and comfort foods, making use of bought legumes and anything we froze or canned in August?

So I'll admit that it was with a twinge of annoyance that I read, in this week's Wild Carrot: watermelon radishes. Come on! I'm not even that fond of watermelon, as melons go, and then radishes are nice, but . . . well, they are nice. But what is this thing called watermelon radish? Dessert or salad ingredient? Could I throw it in a soup? A stir fry? Would it take to the slow cooker? Plop it on pasta? Fearing I was condemning it to a slow and withering death in the back of the fridge, I chucked a bunch in our bag at pick up.

And then I peeled one. Wow! Look at these beauties! With slightly less bite than a tiny, red, summer radish, and a hint of sweetness that salt brings out nicely.

Peel, slice, and pass with a bowl of kosher salt for dipping. So delicious!

Tuesday's Child

I don't know what Tuesdays are like in your house, but in our house, they are nuts. This distinguishes them not one bit from the other days of the week (also insane) but for the fact that Tuesdays are our pick-up day at Rushton Farm. So, on top of that other "To Do" list -- you know, the one you never fully get through before adding additional items -- Tuesdays find us adding "Clean and prep vegetables from Rushton Farm." And then, because there is always that one amazing looking item from the weekly pick-up that you just have to eat that very night, we must add "Prepare dinner on the fly, incorporating whatever to-die-for veggie you happen to bring home."

This step has dissuaded many a family from joining a CSA: Who can keep up with all the vegetables? At the height of the growing season, there is no doubt that eight pounds of tomatoes slung at you on a given weeknight can feel daunting. And then there is that runaway sweet pepper, forgotten and crammed at the back of the crisper, that you find weeks later and must mourn its having passed, unused, into a liquid form that will now have to be mopped up. Keeping up with the bounty can feel like a part-time job, even if you are putting no labor into the farm itself. Families with small children, in particular, seem to be intimidated by the volume of produce they anticipate receiving from a CSA, worrying not only about the time involved in food prep but also the fact that there is no guarantee that your kids will even try what you bring home.

I would argue, however, that far from being a deterrent, our Tuesday ritual injects an element of calm and an aspect of thanksgiving into our weekly family chaos. We have no choice but to take Tuesday evenings off, and dinner will not be chucked straight from the microwave onto the table, eaten standing up, or thawed from a cardboard box. On Tuesdays, we drive to the farm, no matter how tired or crabby, no matter the weather, no matter what sort of junk we consumed the previous day. We go.

We arrive in shambles; sometimes, there are tears. But soon, they dry, as the children take off at a sprint and seek out their favorite things. Charlie heads for the sugar snap peas or the raspberry patch, depending on the month, and Margaret looks for Ashley, each child towing oversize bags behind them. We collect our produce, making sure it is carefully counted, weighed and distributed evenly among the bags. We name the vegetables and talk about how we will cook them and eat them. There is sniffing, some tasting, some jockeying over who puts what in which bag. And there is an awareness that you will not get at any store in the country. The potatoes are dirty because they just came out of the ground, right over there. Swiss chard looks like both rainbows and the feathers from the birds in the movie Rio. Bell peppers really do look like bells, but quieter. Chives are spicy; mint is sweet; don't even touch the little peppers because they will sting you.

On Tuesdays, in addition to our weekly share, we find small moments of grace, like the pinkish-orange butterfly who seems to have a distinct taste only for pink flowers. As the sun moves west, we follow the butterfly east, tracing the row of flowers and noting her preferences. We pick small bouquets and take only a few, so other families can enjoy the flowers, too. We share raspberries with the bees and then purchase honey to drizzle on tomorrow morning's toast. "Will the honey taste like raspberries?" wonders Charlie, learning at five the unique joy that comes from posing a question to which you can find an answer only through your own, subjective discovery process.

And it is not just the land but the people that cast a spell over my children, causing them to try foods they would never otherwise seek out. Our daughter worships "Farmer Ashley", and she has only to be told that Ashley planted or picked a certain vegetable to taste it eagerly. She has named a doll "Ashley" in her honor, and she now serves carrots and leeks at her tea parties. ("Organic Farmer Barbie" is surely in the works by some enterprising and foresighted toy company!) In the Spring, Charlie was persuaded by "Farmer Fred" to try Tat Soi, and by the time we got home, he had chomped up the whole bunch of it, raw, like a rabbit. This from a child who used to think pizza was a food group.

The Harvest Celebration at Rushton Farm is our favorite family event of the year, and the children have been anticipating this coming Saturday with an eagerness usually reserved for holidays that revolve around sugary foods (Easter, Halloween). Charlie has assured Margaret that if the scary ghosts are there again this year, he will protect her, and he informs her that this year, she will be big enough to carve her own pumpkin. I am quite certain that not a vegetable will pass their lips on Saturday night, and they will drink only cider, eat only marshmallows and other people's desserts. (Sorry in advance; that was my kid who stole your cookies.)



So be it. Guess what they ate last night? Leeks sauteed with garlic and Swiss Chard. And mashed celeriac. And to my great delight, there were no leftovers.

Leeks Sauteed with Swiss Chard
The recipe is both imprecise and can't-fail, making it perfect for a Tuesday. Or any other day, for that matter. Have more chard than leeks? Just change the name of the recipe: "Swiss Chard Sauteed with Leeks"

Ingredients

4-8 medium Leeks, washed carefully, halved lengthwise and then sliced into half-moons
1 large and colorful bunch Swiss Chard, stems finely chopped and greens cut into chiffonade (finely sliced)
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chicken stock

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan with a lid. Add leek and chopped Swiss Chard stems and saute, 5 minutes, until color deepens. Add garlic and saute an additional 3 minutes, until quite fragrant.



Add the Swiss Chard greens, stir to combine, and then add chicken stock. Cover and simmer, about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften but retain a slight bite. Salt and pepper to taste.



As an option, you can add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest or some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese off the heat. Leftovers would make a nice filling for a quiche or frittata.

Food Comes Alive!

A day-in-the-life of Rushton Farm volunteer, contributed by Sarah:

Volunteer day begins before dawn. It is dark and the moon is a little less than full. I have been looking forward to an honest day’s work during my entire 40 hour week at the office I feed the animals and my husband, get my hat, gloves, and thermos of cold tea, and head out through the quiet streets, onto the winding country roads toward Willistown, West Chester County. Dawn breaks as I drive into the parking lot at Rushton Farm.

Ashley, the field manager, is talking with Joanna and Lisa, her hardworking assistants, about the harvest plans for the day. She greets me with a (somewhat predatory?) smile, and I think to myself- OK- what torture does she have in mind today, thinking back to the time I picked 50 lbs of peas on a hot day a few weeks ago.

But, there is no torture in store for me today. I head out toward the lower field to harvest cilantro and dill. There is mist on the fields, and the row of dill sparkles in the morning light. Ashley shows me how to create bunches of dill with rubber bands and I start harvesting, my hands getting muddy and wet. A powerful aroma of fresh dill pervades my consciousness, adding to the magical effect of the call of a bobwhite in the distance and the light dancing around on the water drops from last night’s rain. This has to be some kind of heaven.

That day I harvested 20 bunches of dill, 20 bunches of cilantro, 20 lbs of Lipstick peppers, 10 pounds of Carmen peppers, 8 lbs of Poblano peppers - the kind you make chile rellenos with. Then there were the 6 lbs of Rosa Bianca eggplant, 10 lbs of the Orient Charm eggplants, and a few of the tiny fairy tale variety. The beautiful okra plants with their large white blossoms, similar to Rose of Sharon blooms, yielded a few lbs of okra, with patient searching through the understory of the leaves from a squatting position.

Trellising the peppers was much more physically taxing, as the task involved pounding wooden stakes into the ground every 4 feet for 100 ft with a 8 lb pole driver. Running string between the poles was even more challenging as the string under the pepper plants, heavy with fruit, has to be tight enough to keep the peppers off the ground. At the same time, I had to avoid breaking off the fragile branches of the plants which had been lying on the ground for a month. Sweat starting pouring from my face, my glasses fogged up, but I persisted. This was my first solo trellising job. At completion, Joanna checked my work and it passed her meticulous standards.

Feeling quite pleased with myself, I took a break for lunch at noon. After 5 hours of constant activity I was ready for a rest. A glass of water tasted like ambrosia. Then I headed up to the cherry tomato row for my favorite summer treat, Sungold tomatoes. I picked two pounds of the ripe fruits that had cracked overnight in the heavy rain, added them to some sliced cucumbers, beans and carrots I found in the cooler, and added some coleslaw I brought from home. You can imagine how delicious my noon meal wa s- a far cry from the office fare I endure 4 days a week. A nap in the shade of a hedgerow, with my farm hat shading my face, completed my lunch routine.

At the end of the day, Ashley invited me to pick some vegetables for a dinner I had planned for guests the next day. I picked fresh tomatoes, harvested fresh basil, and found some garlic in the farm shed. I baked bread, and with mozzarella cheese and olive oil, these ingredients made me a splendid bruschetta. Fresh picked dill, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, purple string beans and peppers, plus a few carrots from the farm cooler became a salad dressed with a yogurt-dill vinagrette concoction.

Our dessert, just picked watermelons and cantaloupe, stunned my guests, who were already heady from the fresh flavors of the meal, straight from the Farm. After the meal, we went into my backyard and I proudly gave my guests a tour of my own vegetable garden of 8 raised beds, trellised beans and tomatoes, and medicinal herbs, all of which I learned to grow during my summer volunteer internship at Rushton Farm.

It's a Sign

And what a sign it is!

Wanted: Your Recipes!

What an evening! The brief shower that passed through the area cooled temperatures and chased away critters, leaving CSA staff, members and friends to enjoy quite a feast indeed. The stars of the show were, of course, the tomatoes. It is hard to believe such a variance of flavor exists among fruits bearing the same name, but each was unforgettable and delicious in its own way. My personal favorites were the Striped Germans. Do you have a preference, or did you just love them all? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

We sat on comfy bales of hay and watched Farmer Fred's nieces play on the tractor as we ate. Blue sky peeked in gaps through the clouds, and although the heat returned to the area by Sunday, the temperatures were as pleasant on Saturday night as they have been all summer. We feasted on, to name just a few of the incredible dishes shared by participants: a bright purple beet-and-walnut-hummus; delectable baba ganouj, a salad of chick peas, tomato and basil; curried squash soup; a potato and onion tart; a rich tomato tatin; tangy shrimp salad; crunchy lentil and carrot salad; and a scrumptious eggplant gratin.

The Beckett family has forwarded the recipe for their incredible baba ganouj, and we're thrilled to be able to share it.

We'd love to hear from the rest of you! Please email recipes to diggingrushtonfarm@gmail.com if you'd like to share!

Baba Ganouj (roasted eggplant dip)
Mollie Katzen, Moosewood Cookbook

2 medium-small eggplants
Juice from one large lemon
½ cup tahini (sesame paste)
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
¼ cup finely minced scallions (optional)
Lots of fresh black pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off the stem-ends of the eggplants, then prick eggplants all over with a fork. Place eggplants directly on oven rack and let them roast slowly for about 45 minutes (put a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips). When the eggplants are sagging, wrinkled, crumpled and totally soft, you’ll know they’re ready. Remove them from the oven and wait until cool enough to handle. Scoop the insides out and mash well. Combine with all other ingredients, except olive oil. Chill completely. Drizzle olive oil (if using) over the top just before serving.

Good with fresh or baked pita bread or crudités.

Tomato Jam

Cookbook author Mark Bittman is a tremendous essayist, a courageous activist and a modern-day hero on the national battlefield of food politics. He calls attention to the plight of small farmers, points out conflicts of interest among the various parties clamoring for agricultural subsidies or changes thereto, and has personally changed his way of cooking and eating to reflect his beliefs, eating less meat and seeking to boost his vegetable intake for both his health and that of the environment. If you aren't already reading him, we'd suggest you have a look.

And by the way, the man can write a serious recipe.

This tomato jam, from Bittman's column, "The Minimalist" in the New York Times, is sweet and savory, with a hint of fire from the peppers. We've made tomato jam that tastes just like ketchup, leaving you to wonder why you've wasted your afternoon in front of your stovetop. Not this one. The clove and ginger bring an exotic complexity to the tart-sweet jam that makes it just about the ideal summer condiment. It's delicious on grilled meats and vegetables -- we'll be bringing it tonight to serve with grilled flank steak, grilled chicken and grilled eggplant -- and is also great with a soft cheese (goat, ricotta, even Philadelphia's finest, cream cheese) and crackers.



Tomato Jam
Mark Bittman, The New York Times (Aug. 20, 2008)
Here is the recipe, cut and pasted from the column. We can't remember the last time we didn't make changes to a recipe, but no need here. The recipe doubles beautifully, and if you are handy at canning, this would seem a good keeper.

1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste.

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.

Yield: About 1 pint.

Send us your recipes!

Will you be attending the Tomato Celebration and potluck supper tonight? What will you bring? Please be sure to send recipes to diggingrushtonfarm@gmail.com, and we will post the menu, with recipes. Check back here next week for photos, recipes and stories!

Magic Beans

So truly, we meant to do something creative with the gorgeous purple beans we received today. I mean, look at these beauties!



We had a lentil salad in mind, inspired by a delicious lunch at Public in New York City last month. We were thinking a shallot vinaigrette, perhaps some walnuts, some tomatoes, some avocado. Maybe some basil or mint.

But then we cooked the beans, for about four minutes, in boiling, well-salted water. And here is what happened:




They changed color! And it was so exciting. . . and they were so delicious. . . that we ate them straight from the pot, with just a bit of salt.

Magical!

Midsummer Night's Supper

This week's share from Rushton Farm includes many summer favorites: juicy red tomatoes, bright yellow squash, a flash of deep green basil. Put them all together, and you've got a flavorful summer vegetable gratin. The instructions involve removing much of the moisture from the vegetables before cooking, to avoid a soupy gratin. This extra step is well worth it, and involves merely letting the lightly-salted vegetables rest and drain, giving you plenty of time to prep the remaining ingredients and even to marinate chicken or whip up a chilled dessert while you are waiting.

This makes enough for four vegetarian main dishes (serve with a simple tossed salad and a well-chilled white Burgundy) or six-to-eight sides, perfect with grilled chicken or fish.

Gratin of Summer Squash and Tomatoes
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated (July 2008)

Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pounds summer squash (prettiest with green and yellow, but either works), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick coins
2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice white sandwich bread, ripped in four
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in upper-middle position. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish (or gratin casserole dish) with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside.

Place summer squash slices in a colander. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt and let rest about 45 minutes. Transfer squash slices to clean, absorbent towels. Cover with paper towels and press firmly to remove as much liquid as possible. You will be amazed at how much liquid comes out!

Place tomato slices in single layer on absorbent towels. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let rest about 30 minutes. Cover with paper towels and press firmly -- but not too hard -- to dry tomatoes. The idea is to dry them without squashing them.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions: heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, melty and deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set onions aside.

In a small bowl, mix garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme. Toss dried summer squash in a large bowl with half of oil mixture, then layer in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Evenly layer caramelized onions over squash. Layer tomato slices on top of onions. overlapping slightly if necessary. Top with remaining garlic-oil mixture, spread evenly over tomatoes. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to crisp at edges.

For topping, pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, no more than 10 seconds. (Yield: approximately 1 cup crumbs) Mix bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon oil, cheese and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and crank heat to 450 degrees. Top the vegetable mixture evenly with the bread-crumb mixture and bake gratin an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is just browned. Sprinkle with minced basil and let rest out of oven 10 minutes before serving.

The whole of summer in each bite.

Presto!

Few things taste of summer quite like classic pesto: that bright, fresh basil, the tang of good cheese, the earthiness of nuts and the spice of raw garlic. Too often, though, the garlic overpowers the other ingredients and, even worse, stays with you well into the next meal. To combat this problem, some recipes suggest blanching the basil leaves to boost their flavor and parboiling the garlic to dull it, two labor- and heat-intensive steps that defeat the spirit of the dish. After all, this is not lasagna; as with all good summer dishes, pesto is meant to be simple to prepare, something to throw together straight out of the garden, with your eyes closed and your oven turned off.

However, because it is critical to toast the pine nuts -- they are bitter unless toasted and have none of the sweetness that makes them such a distinctive and critical component of this recipe -- I will concede that one pan and one burner can be used to prepare pesto. Therefore, I was willing to try this solution, from Cooks Illustrated's The New Best New Recipe: pan-roast the garlic in the same skillet used to toast the pine nuts. The result? Slightly mellower garlic and a classic pesto flavor, without the harsh aftertaste and with only one skillet to clean. Presto!

This pesto is delicious on pasta -- linguine or fusilli hold the sauce beautifully -- but is equally tasty spread straight onto still-warm-from-the-vine tomatoes or good, crusty bread. Any leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge, especially if you press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto.

Basil Pesto
1/4 cup pine nuts (walnuts work nicely, too)
3 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (optional -- this is mostly to boost the green color)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toast the nuts in a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until nuts are golden and fragrant. Be careful: they burn suddenly and disastrously. Tip the nuts into the bowl of a food processor to cool.

To the same skillet, add the garlic and toast for about 7 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until garlic is slightly darkened and fragrant. (For an even mellower flavor, leave the garlic in for a few extra minutes, and the texture will start to be more like roasted garlic, as will the taste.) Let the garlic cool, and then peel it and dump it into the food processor.

Wash and spin the basil leaves (and parsley if using). Make sure they are fairly dry. Dump the dried leaves into a plastic zipper-lock bag, and whack the basil until it is slightly bruised, using a rolling pin, meat pounder or other blunt object. This is kind of fun, depending on the kind of day you have had.

Add the bruised leaves, oil and salt to the food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt.

If you'll be adding this to pasta, this makes about 3/4 cup which should cover about 1 pound of pasta. Cook the pasta in boiling, well-salted water. Drain al dente pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Thin pesto with about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water before tossing it with the pasta. Add more water if needed. At the table, pass more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a large bowl of fresh, diced tomatoes.

Salad Daze!

Rumor (that is, The Wild Carrot) has it, we'll be getting some good greens this week.

What are your favorite salad dressings?  Do you have a special family recipe?  A weeknight go-to?

Here is our workhorse vinaigrette, which lends itself to wonderful variations, depending on the composition of the salad.  Greens on the bitter side?  Add a teaspoon of Agave nectar, maple syrup, honey or apricot jam.  Pomegranate molasses works beautifully, as well, and adds a warm, fruity note. Want just a hint of spice?  You can use a spicier mustard, and a bit more of it.  Need something richer?  Swap out the white wine vinegar for balsamic, and replace the shallot with garlic.

Another quick salad tip: Save an old mustard or jam jar, and you'll have the perfect salad dressing shaker.  Simply add all the ingredients, and shake until emulsified.

Basic Vinaigrette

3 teaspoons white wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Whisk together, and then slowly whisk in 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Lentil Salad with Kohlrabi, Couscous and Greens

Kohlrabi, a cabbage-like bulb with a radishy flavor, is surprisingly difficult to find in most grocery stores and instead is available primarily through farm markets, friends' gardens and CSAs, and only when in season. But it's worth the wait. It makes for a marvelous afternoon snack, with just a bit of Kosher salt, but provides a nice crunch in a bean and grain salad, the same way a radish might.

The flavors of this salad are strong, so the couscous and greens provide a mellowing base, not to mention an elegant presentation. This is hearty enough for a vegetarian dinner, and yes, you read that correctly: this recipe will make 8 main-course servings.

Curried Red Lentil, Kohlrabi and Couscous Salad
Adapted from Bon Appétit (August 2010), via epicurious.com

Serving size: 8 adults
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet curry powder
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 16-ounce package red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
3 large kohlrabi (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), leaves stemmed and thinly sliced, and bulb peeled and cut into a 1/3-inch dice (about 3 cups)
1 cup plain couscous
1 cup chopped green onions OR 3/4 cup diced red onion
Several handfuls of spinach or other mild-flavored greens
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or 1/8 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins

Make the vinaigrette: In an empty glass jar with a lid, combine sherry vinegar, curry powder and pressed garlic. Pour in olive oil and shake vigorously until emulsified. (If you don't have a glass jar, you can, instead, combine first the vinegar, curry powder and garlic, and then slowly whisk in the oil.) Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Cook the lentils: Bring about 6 quarts of well-salted water to a boil. Add lentils and kohlrabi leaves and cook until lentils are "al dente", a bit tender but not at all mushy, about 6 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool, and then leave in the colander to drain some more while you finish cooking.

Cook the couscous: In the same, now-empty saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups water to boil. Remove from heat, and then add in 3 tablespoons dressing, a pinch of salt and 1 cup couscous. Give it a good stir, and then cover the pot and leave it for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the couscous with a fork to keep the grains from sticking together, and transfer to a medium bowl to cool. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Once cool, toss with the mint or cilantro.

Make the lentil salad: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the cooled lentils with 1/2 cup dressing, the diced kohlrabi bulb and either the chopped green onions or, for a bit more bite, the diced red onion. Stir in the raisins and pecans. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put it all together: To serve, toss the spinach leaves with 2-3 tablespoons of dressing, and a sprinkle of salt, and the spread the greens across the bottom of a large, rimmed platter. Mound lentil mixture in the middle of the platter, atop the greens. Spoon the couscous around the lentils. Pass the remaining dressing on the side.

The Other Broccoli

There are so many ways to enjoy this bittersweet green -- and they all include extra virgin olive oil and garlic, no? -- but this Italian classic is about as foolproof as it gets.  Submitted by new CSA member Megan Hope and adapted from Gourmet, via epicurious.com, this recipe is equally delicious made with Italian-seasoned turkey sausage.

Broccoli Rabe with Sweet Italian Sausage 

Serving size: 8 servings

Active time: 30 min

Total time: 30 min

 

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds broccoli rabe (about 3 medium bunches), trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped

Prep:

• Bring roughly 6 quarts of water, aggressively salted, to a boil in a large pot.  Add broccoli rabe and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain and then rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Squeeze out excess water.
• Preheat broiler.  Broil sausage a few inches from heat, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm, covered.
• While sausage broils, heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute.
• Add cooked broccoli rabe to the pan, and sauté in garlic oil until coated with oil and heated through, about 4 minutes. Stir in sausage.
  
  

CSA Advice

Here's a great link for those new to CSA cooking and meal planning.

First of the Season

Look at these beets. . . oh my!

And while there are so many inventive, gorgeous beet recipes out there -- please share! -- I can't resist my favorite and simplest for this first harvest.

Roasted Beets

Preheat oven to 425. Scrub beets, trim "beard," and trim stems to about 1/4 inch. Lightly toss with a bit of olive oil, wrap each beet in foil, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. They are done when you can easily slip a knife through them.

Once they are cool enough to handle, you'll be able to rub the skins right off. Trim any stubborn bits.

You can slice the beets and eat them, warm or cold, drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of kosher salt. They are wonderful in a salad -- on Rushton Farm greens, of course! -- with some toasted hazelnuts and a lemony vinaigrette. Blue cheese, feta or crumbly goat cheese are a lovely addition for those who eat dairy.

So let us know. . . how will you be cooking your beets this week?

We can't wait to hear from you!

Season Opener!

Welcome to Eating Rushton Farm!  The purpose of this blog is to permit members of Rushton Farm CSA, connoisseurs of the gorgeous produce available weekly at the Rushton Farm Market (Saturdays from 11 to 3, starting June 18, 2011!), and members of the larger Williston Conservation Trust community to post and view recipes made from the bounty of Rushton Farm.

Our goal is to update the blog frequently with recipes using the produce available in each week's share.  Think of this as a forum to explore exactly what farm-to-table means in your very own kitchen!  Have a recipe you love?  A favorite cookbook?  A question about how to clean and prep your veggies when you first walk in the door to help maximize flavor and nutrition throughout the week?  Wondering what, exactly, to make of all that Swiss Chard?  Not sure what a scape is?  Let us know and we can develop and share answers together!

We will also try to provide links to Farm events, farm-to-table community events and exciting developments in our area related to organic eating, growing and living.

So tell us. . . what are you eating these days?