Ohmygato Farm Newsletter #22
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by admin
HAPPY HALLOWEEN People!! I’m writing this on Wednesday night, October 28th and I must say that the cold front has officially arrived. This is soup season, so I hope you’re all finding ways to put all those greens to good use. I would like to encourage those interested in making a fantastic purchase: a pasta maker or attachment to your mixers. Anthony made fresh (from scratch) ravioli last night stuffed with sauted rainbow chard(leaves and stems chopped finely), onions, butter (or olive oil) and gorgonzola cheese. YUMM!! Last time we made butternut squash ravioli topped with parm. cheese and fried sage leaves. There’s no end to the goodness of fresh organic veggies! You can certainly freeze your greens (collards, kale and chard) for later use. I like to chop and saute them and then freeze them. This way I can put them in a soup later on.
You all may know this already, but Brosai’s Farm in Winston has an amazing pumkin patch..if you haven’t picked your pumpkin already I would recommend his farm for some October fun. The other thing is that I want to remind everyone that our CSA Season is quickly coming to a close, so keep a watch on your calendars because we only have (after today) six deliveries left. We’re hoping to make it to the very end, but we’re aware that the last two weeks might be a little tough. We definitely put in a winter garden so we should make it. If for some reason we have to end the season a little early you will all get the first two boxes in the spring in order to make up for the loss. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best! Contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this. We’ll be happy to talk more about this in our upcoming newsletters. We’ll certainly keep you all posted as we go along.
I hope you are all enjoying the lovely salad greens. They have been a delightful part of our harvest and very good box item because I think it’s something everyone appreciates after summer.
Today’s Harvest:
Mixed Salad Greens
French Fingerling Potatoes
Green Tomatoes (put on a counter or window sill until ripe or make Fried Green Tomatoes w/ garlic aoli sauce!)
Rainbow Chard
Kale
Red Delicious Apples
Pumpkin (maybe a wedge of a large pumpkin or a whole small curry pumpkin..yet another surprise)
Radishes
Some recipe’s for you…
Warm Pumpkin Salad with Polenta and Candied Pumpkin Seeds Gourmet | October 2001
Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 5 hr
Yield: Makes 6 servings
7 1/2 cups water
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tablespoon fresh pomegranate juice (see cooks’ note, below) or cranberry juice cocktail
2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small cheese pumpkin or butternut squash (2 lb), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and seeded
1 (6-oz) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 oz arugula, trimmed
Prepare polenta:
Bring cornmeal, water, and 2 1/4 teaspoons salt to a boil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until polenta is creamy and tender, about 50 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in 11/2 tablespoons butter and cool slightly.
Spoon polenta onto center of a lightly buttered large baking sheet, then spread evenly into a 10- by 7-inch rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Cover with plastic wrap, then poke several holes in wrap with a small sharp knife and chill 2 hours.
Candy pumpkin seeds:
Melt remaining tablespoon butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in sugar, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then cook, without stirring, until caramelized. Add pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until seeds are puffed and golden. Transfer to a plate to cool. When seeds have hardened, break up any clumps with your fingers.
Make vinaigrette:
Whisk together pomegranate juice, vinegar, and shallot and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.
Roast pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut pumpkin quarters crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow baking pan and arrange slices in 1 layer. Roast in middle of oven until just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, then cover with foil to keep warm.
Fry polenta while pumpkin roasts:
Trim polenta into a 9- by 6-inch rectangle. Cut polenta into 6 (3-inch) squares, then halve each square diagonally. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet until hot but not smoking, then cook polenta in 2 batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 8 minutes (if necessary, use remaining tablespoon oil for second batch). Transfer as cooked to a plate and keep warm, covered.
Assemble salad:
Shave 12 strips from cheese with a vegetable peeler.
Whisk vinaigrette, then toss arugula in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Place several pieces of pumpkin and 1 piece of polenta on each of 6 plates. Top with arugula, more pumpkin, and remaining polenta. Sprinkle with candied pumpkin seeds and top with parmesan shavings, then drizzle with remaining vinaigrette.
Cooks’ notes:
• Polenta, spread on baking sheet and not yet fried, can be chilled up to 1 day. • Candied pumpkin seeds can be prepared 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. • To juice a pomegranate, firmly roll it on a work surface until it feels softer, then cut a small hole in skin and squeeze.
Fried Green Tomatoes Cookie | June 2008
by Victoria Granoff
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon paprika or pimentón (a Spanish smoked paprika, available at latienda.com)
2 eggs
Vegetable oil
1. Sprinkle the tomato slices with the salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Combine the cornmeal and paprika in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs.
3. Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with 1/2 inch of oil, then place it over medium-high heat.
4. Coat the tomato slices in the egg, then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture.
5. Fry as many tomatoes as fit comfortably in the pan until nicely browned, about 2 minutes a side.
6. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined platter. Repeat until all the tomatoes are cooked.
ourselves. We’ve started playing backgammon and making fires in the evening time. Not to mention that Anthony has been really inspired to make wonderful meals almost every night! We’ll continue to share the recipes with all of you and hopefully you’ll want to share some of your yummy dishes with us as well. Go ahead and post them on the blog if you’ve got a good one to share. Did you all hear the thunder last night!! I have to admit that I get a little scared everytime I hear it…then when the rain comes I feel calm again. How about you?