an experiment in turnips

Much like Amy (see below), I'm not one who dabbles in the unknown when it comes to cooking. I tend to stick to what I know (not that much), and follow recipes to a tee when I feel like making something new. This way of using food has led me to a pretty standard and, admittedly, pretty boring Midwestern diet. Part of what I hope to gain from participation in the CSA is simply new food knowledge - an expansion of my food base on which to build over time.So this week, realizing that my roommate (who does most of the cooking at our apartment) would be out of town and thus out of reach for ideas and inspiration on how to use such rare (to me) items as turnips, I decided to try out Clare's recipe for serving turnips with their greens. The result was pretty delightful!


I've never cooked turnips before, but even I could tell this was going to be a fairly simple dish. I set the turnips in a steaming basket with a few red potatoes I had on hand, while at the same time cooking their greens (washed and stems trimmed down a bit) in boiling water. The greens were ready first (in about 8 minutes), and after following the recipe's advice to remove excess water, I tossed them in a little melted butter and arranged them on my plate. The turnips and potatoes only needed a couple more minutes, then they were tossed with the buttery mix as well. I laid the turnips on the greens and moved the potatoes to the side; I felt it was important to experience the turnips and greens without their flavor being tainted by the other roots. Clare suggested topping it all with a little salt, pepper, and lemon thyme. Here's where my lack of herb knowledge came back at me... we have thyme but not the lemon variety... and what about other herbs? What else would season this dish nicely? I guessed and grabbed a sprig or two of lemon verbena, rosemary, some chives, and plain old ordinary thyme from our herb garden. I have no idea if this was an appropriate combination, but it tasted pretty great to me! If anyone can offer some herb pointers, I'd really appreciate it. Otherwise I will just continue making my best guesses!

[This post submitted by Dena]

beets in the big city

That's a turnip. Tonight I boiled it with a baby red beet, sliced them up, added olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and there you have it: something I never would have cooked up 5 days ago. This routine has not been wholly uncommon these last several weeks, and for someone who never considered herself a confident cook, that's a big deal. I never would have suspected it, but meeting and greeting these unusual vegetables (ok, I know, turnip is not that unusual) has somehow given me a new command over my kitchen.

Before: "Ok, let's see... what does the recipe say?"
After: "I've got kohlrabi, garlic scapes and napa cabbage... oh what the heck, let's see what happens!"

[that's what happened]

We have been really excited about our CSA opportunity, and the benefits have been instantly recognizable. Vegetables that were once unknown and intimidating have now become accessible and encouraging. Not only have I been able to incorporate new veggies such as kohlrabi and mizuna into meals (a stir fry is truly a great way to go), but now I even know what kohlrabi is! And I have to agree with Clare that it does look like a spaceship and it does taste fantastic raw, lightly salted. Who knew?

There's something a little counterintuitive and a little wondrous and a little inspiring and a lot cool to see the farm amidst our city, the rural among the urban, the soil amid the brick. It is a reminder that great things are possible when we support each other and work together. It is a reminder that we need each other, a reminder that no matter how much dirt the city may hold, there's not too much soil... and so for that, we look to our faithful farmers to whom I and my kitchen owe much thanks.

[This post submitted by Amy]

garlic for lovers

We are of course referring to the mostly unknown and underutilized garlic scape. A new version of garlic to most of us, apparently garlic scapes have been wildly popular in Europe and Japan for many years. For the uninitiated the garlic scape is the long, green, scallion-like shoot that the hardening garlic bulb sends up through the ground. The beauty of the garlic scape is that it has a wonderfully mild garlic flavor which means that it might just be the perfect ingredient on your next date night.

According to my Google searches garlic scapes have become very popular in the last couple of years among the young, cutting edge, chef set and foodie bloggers. Here is a featured article from the Dining & Wine section of yesterdays NY Times with a simple recipe idea.

week three!

[a beautiful look at our beets, turnips, and kohlrabi by Lisa]

week two!

[one expression of the amazing salad, by Lisa]

This week's yield included bok choy, tatsoi, radishes, sprouts, mustard greens, head lettuce, and a greens mix or bunching onions—the makings of a really amazing salad!

The beloved arugula from last week is already out of season! A good reminder that we are eating according to the farm's rhythms. Sometimes, as in the case of the arugula, that means a really short window of time to enjoy something in.

When I found out we were getting tatsoi and bok choy I was really excited about using them in a stir fry. As I started washing, prepping, and cutting up all the veggies, I realized that I hadn’t really made many stir frys before and thought it might be best to consult some type of recipe. But either through stubbornness, laziness, or pride I pushed forward assuming I’d figure it out as I went along.

After an hour or so of washing, drying, chopping, and dicing I was ready to give it a shot. I knew that different types of veggies would take longer to cook than others so I threw in the broccoli first followed closely by the carrots and some ginger. After a couple of minutes I tossed in some chopped onion, sliced green peppers, and the farm's bok choy and tatsoi. I let all those cook for quite awhile, about half a beer, and then tossed in the greens along with some tofu. Thoughts of Iron Chef glory were racing through my head as well as a name for my new creation, maybe Ryan’s Best Ever Stir-Fry or perhaps World’s Best Stir-Fry.

I decided it probably needed some kind of sauce to go with it so I put the few remaining drops of rice wine vinegar that we had left as well as some soy sauce, from those little take-out packets of course. For a little extra flavor I even ended up throwing in a bit of chicken stock and some cornstarch to thicken it up.

What I hadn’t anticipated was how long it would take me to track down all the ingredients for my impromptu sauce, or to open 6 take-out sized packets of soy sauce, all the while the veggies were cooking along at a nice high heat. The result was a nearly flavorless dish with almost raw broccoli, mushy carrots, and really tough stringy greens. Not ready to admit defeat, I found a bottle of store bought General Tso’s sauce sitting in the refrigerator and in one last act of desperation doused the entire stir fry with it. It did help just enough so that I could choke it down along with my disappointment. I have heard from others of you though that have made stir-frys and they’ve turned out great. I would love to hear any recipe suggestions or at least friendly advice as to where I went wrong.

On a more positive note I’ve been feeling a lot healthier over the last couple of weeks. I wasn’t sure whether to chalk that up to finally being able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful summer weather, or to the fact that I was eating a lot of local, organic produce. Based on some surfing I did, it appears that I most likely have the radishes to thank for my general feeling of healthiness. According to the site www.organicfacts.net (“Your Gateway to Unbiased Information”) radishes freshen breath, regulate metabolism, improve blood circulation, treat headaches, constipation, nausea, sore throat, fever, whooping cough, gastric problems, gallbladder stones, dyspepsia and even promote weight loss. So keep those radishes coming!

week one!

CSA season has begun! After months of anticipation the first shares finally arrived. Mike & Clare provided us with a beautiful assortment of produce which included spinach, Flashy Troutback lettuce, radishes, kale, arugula, green garlic, and mizuna. Rarely have I been faced with that many different types of greens at one time. As I talked to different people throughout the week, I found that people were finding all sorts of creative ways to use their greens: sautéed, raw, in sauces, soups, and on sandwiches.

The clear favorites from this week seemed to be the arugula and the radishes. Crunchy, earthy radishes! They're delicious on their own with a little salt or even better sliced and placed on a piece of crusty bread with butter and herbs (rosemary works great).

This week has required a different way of eating for me, necessitating a more thoughtful and deliberate approach to what I should prepare and eat each night. So far I am finding that challenge to be very rewarding. A daily exercise that forces me to consider not only the possibilites for the produce but where it came from as well. And now, as I stare at a nearly empty fridge I can’t wait for the next share to arrive!

visiting the farms

Over Memorial Weekend we went out to visit Mike and Clare's Farm and Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm, which share land just north of Ottawa, Illinois. Jody, Beth, and Mike showed us how they are growing and raising good food.

[cedar valley sustainable farm pigs]

We saw Mike's no-till farming method in action. In his words, no-till "means we can sequester carbon in the soil, keeping a greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere." He and Clare also think a lot about how to make the best use of the soil food web, so they don't have to add much besides compost to the soil.

[in the greenhouse]


[mike]

[flashy lettuce]

[meat birds protected from meadow predators]

[laying hen]

about our share

This growing season we got some friends and neighbors together and bought shares in Mike and Clare's Farm. We like what Mike and Clare are trying to do and like the idea of eating near food in season. The omnivores among us are also sharing shares from Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm for eggs, fowl, beef, and pork.

This blog is a space where we'll swap recipes and photographs and anecdotes from our experience learning to cook new foods, watching crops fail and succeed, growing some of our own herbs and vegetables, and visiting the farm.