The Gems of Fall: Root Crop Season!

8:36 PM Adrian 0 Comments

 Hello everyone!  For all of you Fall CSA folks, boy, do we have a great CSA line-up for you this week!  Just wait 'til you scroll down to see our list!  We've got for you an earthy selection of root crops, accented by a medley of fresh, leafy greens that we don't typically offer. 

Fall is the time for showcasing an entire range of colors and beauty possible in vegetables that are frequently overlooked at in the store.  For example: the humble turnip.  Turnips come in an array of colors.  There's the standard Purple Top, but we also grow ruby Red turnips, Gold turnips, and even the dainty yet tasty White variety.  Maybe you felt risky one day, ventured to the Co-op and bought yourself a turnip or two, and felt well-versed and worldly after wearily figuring out how to incorporate it into your meal somehow.  Then you forgot about it.  But turnips can be easier to prepare and integrate into meals than you'd imagine.  For all of you, especially those dedicated vegans out there, turnips are one of the highest sources of proteins you can find in a vegetable!  Turnip pastes are pretty delicious and simple to make: pastes are self-explanatory.  Eat the paste on your favorite sandwich!  You can easily find online the most basic turnip roasting recipes which, in my opinion, are the best way to prepare these roots.  Also, check out our scrumptious "Turnip Fries" recipe from an earlier newsletter this season!

We also have our wonderful lineup of radishes, both spring and winter!   In the last newsletter I told you all about winter radishes, the larger, more hefty, down-to-earth version of your light and crisp spring breeds.  Winter radishes come in a startling spread of colors.  Watermelon and Beauty Heart radishes have bright red, succulent-looking insides when you slice them open, looking very much like a cut-open watermelon (hence the names).  The skin on the outsides can range from a palish-green and white to more vivid rosy pinks and purple blushes, making one recall a beautiful fall sunset.  The intense Spanish Black radish, on the other hand, lives up to its name with a remarkably dark skin.  Spanish Blacks are notably more bitter, and this is actually due to this particular kind of radish's high nutritional content.  It is an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C, as well as boasting anti-cancer and anti-toxic properties, especially against hepatic cancers.

Our D'Avignon French Breakfast radishes have long been pulled since the last few times we've added them to your shares, but now we've got our other Spring varieties, the Easter Eggs and Cherry Belles, to follow in.  A hearty bunch of Easter Egg radishes looks simply mouth-watering and could almost be the vegetable equivalent of a gum ball machine!  They are perfectly round, coming in a variety of contrasting colors: purple, white, pink and rose.  Also relating to gum ball machines, sometimes you can't help yourself and it's hard to stop poppin' these radishes in your mouth once you get started.  Cherry Belles are similar, though they are our standard red, round radishes and come in one uniform color.  These two varieties are noticeably less tart and hot than the French Breakfast (which are my favorite!), though from my experience, they can be just as addictive after biting into that first one.

Last but not least, the lean-and-spicy Daikon!  An Asian icicle radish variety that is the biggest, the longest...and the hottest!  We pulled our record largest Daikon out of the ground today, it was at least two feet long!

Find us at the Farmer's Market and you'll get to see the entire spectrum of root crops before you!   We've been filling up baskets with turnips, spring and winter radishes respectively to put on our table, and the result is a quite astonishing display of those root crops the average shopper tends to overlook.  We hope you take a minute to take in an eyeful, and give these delicious and healthy veggies a chance.  Here at Echollective, it's one of the most beautiful things about Fall: all the colors!

Along with beautiful roots, we've got some special greens this week to accompany your vibrant root selection: Broccoli is back on the table after a little vacation!  A little bit of patience and a lot of rain has given us a lot of florettes recently.   You can also get a taste of some Broccoli Raab (a.k.a. Rapini) and we are happy to give to our CSA members, for the first time this year, a generous bunch of Yukina Savoy!  (Yukina Savoy is a larger, denser relative/version of tat soi.)  We'll provide some recipes for you to enjoy with these veggies in the coming week!

We're sure you'll enjoy the selection this week...see you at market!


CSA This Week!:

• Kale
• Sweet Peppers
• Yellow Zephyr Squash
• Garlic
• Spring Radishes
• Winter Radishes
• Red, Purple Top, White, or Gold Turnips
• Daikon Radishes
• Bok Choy
• Arugula
• Head Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Tat-Soi Bunch (Yukina Savoy)
• Broccoli Raab (Rapini)
• Winter Squash

Recipes

Moroccan Yukina Savoy and Red Quinoa Skillet (Gluten-Free!) (www.glutenfreecat.com)


Ingredients:

• 1 lemon – juice and zest
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 ½ c. carrots, chopped
• 2 cans white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 bunches yukina savoy or 4 c. of another green (bok choi, spinach, kale…)
• 1 c. dried apricots, chopped
• 1 c. red quinoa
• 3 c. gluten-free vegetable stock
• 1 handful of chopped parsley

Directions:

1.  Place the red quinoa in a bowl of water and soak while preparing the next four steps.
2.  Combine the paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
3.  Zest the lemon, juice it, and set them aside separately.
4.  Chop the onion, carrots, yukina savoy, and set them aside separately.
5.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and sauté the minced garlic until it’s lightly browned.  Add the onions, lemon zest, and apricots and cook until the onions are soft.
6.  Drain and rinse the red quinoa, and add it to the skillet.  Then add the lemon juice, carrots, cannellini beans, spices, and chicken stock.  Raise the heat, bringing the mixture to a boil, and stir for 3-5 minutes.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
7.  Add chopped yukina savoy, or greens of your choice, stir to combine, and cover for 5 minutes or until the greens have softened.
8.  Keep covered, remove from heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
9.   Gently stir, serve, and garnish with parsley.

Serves 6


Broccoli Raab & Orzo Salad (www.eatingwell.com)

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup orzo, preferably whole-wheat
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 pound), trimmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add orzo and cook 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add broccoli rabe; cook 3 minutes more. Drain in a colander and gently press out as much water as possible.
2. Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add oregano, salt, pepper, the broccoli rabe and orzo. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in feta and lemon juice.

Nutrition

Per serving: 192 calories; 10 g fat ( 2 g sat , 6 g mono ); 8 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 8 g protein; 6 g fiber; 288 mg sodium; 247 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (61% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv)
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 fat

Daikon Radish Stuffed Flatbreat/Mooli Paratha (www.yummly.com)

 Directions: