CSA Week 5

Vegetable List

Oh Boy! Beets!
Napa Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Raquel Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Kossak Kohlrabi
Muir Head Lettuce
New Red Fire Lettuce
Serrano Peppers
Ailsa Craig Sweet Onions
Radicchio
Corvair Shallots
Sungolds
PYO Herbs
PYO Flowers

Notes from the Farm

It can be an adjustment putting veggies at the center of the meal... I mean, we eat around pasta and rice, beans and bread. And I love those things, but ultimately, they are in essence, fillers... albeit really good fillers.
But faced with a fridge of veggies and a commitment to fillers, eating the share can be overwhelming... sometimes it can feel overwhelming... well, maybe not overwhelming, but maybe like a little bit of a challenge.
Napa Cabbage is my favorite lettuce... I eat it like lettuce. Cut thin, dressed elegantly, maybe with some grilled fish, blacken chicken or seared beets... it's hard to beat. Don't think of Napa like a cabbage, think of it like a lettuce.
I will die on the fennel hill. There is no dish that is not made better by adding sauteed fennel. With some oil or butter, cooked on low with a lid, stirring occasionally, it's absolutely the best. Start there, let the fennel soften and caramelize, add some onion or shallot.... and plate it. It is delicious on it's own and I have never met a person who when faced with plated soft sauteed fennel didn't become a convert.
Green, Red & Savoy cabbage aren't just for slaw... cut it into rounds and grill it, bake it, broil it until it becomes crispy and tender. Cabbage loves fire and salt. Help it love fire and salt.
Cucumbers, diced fine, bring freshness and life to salsas.
Refrigerate your corn and don't husk it until you're ready to cook it... and for the love of everything holy, don't boil it... boiling corn strips the sugars. Steam it if you have to, roasting or grilling is better (husks on or off), cut and seared it great... or if you have to, and I offer this cooking advice while rolling in my future grave, microwave it... do anything but boil it.
Let the sauces be the fillers... let the proteins of choice be the fillers... let the vegetables shine. I mean, if you're eating good, fresh veggies, you can eat a ton of them and still feel great! Crush a whole head of lettuce for lunch. Piehole a kohlrabi like an apple. Steam a beet and make a thin sliced beet carpaccio.
You can eat locally year round in Maine... a lot like you can swim year round in Maine... Honestly, now that I think about it, swimming and eating locally in Maine are exactly the same experience... yes, it's empowering and exciting swimming/eating locally in January, but it's a type 2 kind of fun. Summer though, summer is lovely, and easy, and comforting... lean into summer, ditch the filler, and enjoy the ease of the experience.

Recipes

Beet Carpaccio with Mint Vinaigrette

6 2-inch beets, trimmed, as evenly sized as possible
2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, or more to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
⅓ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon white sugar

Fill a pot with 3 inches of water, insert a steamer basket, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and place beets inside the steamer basket. Cover pot. Cook until beets are easily pierced with a knife, checking water level periodically, 35 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 30 minutes.
Don't peel the beets. Remove any remaining root stems. Thinly slice beets and arrange on a serving platter. I use a round plate and start in the center, alternating red and golden beet slices. Dot the top with goat cheese – you want to be able to see the beets but have enough cheese because it pairs so well with the beet. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
Combine rice vinegar, olive oil, mint, and sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle over beets.

Serrano Corn Pudding

Corn cut off 6 cobs (4 cups)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Serrano Chiles, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (6 ounces), divided
5 large eggs, room temperature
⅔ cup heavy cream
½ stick unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree 3 cups corn in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in remaining cup corn, the salt, scallions, chiles, flour, and 1/3 cup cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and cream just until combined. Stir into corn mixture.
Place butter in an 8-inch square baking dish, and place in oven until butter is melted, about 10 minutes. Pour batter into hot baking dish, and sprinkle top with remaining 1 2/3 cups cheese. Place a baking sheet on lower rack to catch any drips, and bake until puffed and bubbling and cheese is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Radicchio

1 medium head radicchio, quartered lengthwise
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put radicchio wedges on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat, and turn each wedge so a cut side faces sheet. Roast, turning once, until leaves are wilted and slightly charred, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
Just before serving, drizzle vinegar over each wedge, and garnish with cheese shavings.