This week’s share includes:
Nonconformer Cucumbers
Fennel (NSOF)
Curly or Lacinato Kale
Sweet Habanero Peppers
Fuyu Persimmons
Watermelon Radishes (COG)
Roselle
Purple and White Potato Mix
Cherry Tomatoes (WAT)
Welcome to your fall share! Week one brings us a diverse mix of fruits and veggies, including our first fennel of the season from partner New Sprout Organic Farms up in Appalachia. We’ve just made our final trip of the year to North Carolina. Now that the extreme heat of summer is behind us, we’ll have more variety to offer from our own farm.
The arrival of fall brings us great news on the personnel front too! We’re happy to report the safe arrival of our seasonal guest worker crew. Each year they come from Mexico to plant, maintain, and harvest crops during our peak growing season of October-June. This highly skilled team is authorized to work on the H2A visa which is especially for agricultural work. This program requires a lot of paperwork, expense and hassle, but every year it has been worth the effort to host these reliable, hardworking, and high quality folks who do amazing work to grow organic food for our community. Bienvendios!
We hope you enjoy this week’s recipes, all inspired by your share. We love seeing our own kitchen magic! Please tag us on IG @frogsongcsa and show us how you’re loving our tasty, fresh fruits and veggies!
Fennel/Potato Au Gratin – adapted from oliveandmango.com
Ingredients:
- 1-2 large bulbs fennel, stalks removed, halved lengthwise, and cut into ½ wedges
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes, thinly sliced (white, purple, or red)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- ½-1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1½ cups finely grated Parmesan, divided
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 425°F. Place fennel and potatoes in a medium size 3-qt casserole dish, sprinkle rosemary, garlic, chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste and 1 cup of the Parmesan. Pour cream and toss everything to combine. Dot with butter. Cover dish with foil; bake for 60 minutes.
- Uncover baking dish; combine remaining Parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over top and until golden and bubbling and fennel is tender about 20-30 more minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes then serve and enjoy. Garnish with rosemary and, if desired, the snipped reserved fennel fronds.
Quick Pickled Watermelon Radishes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar (120ml)
- 1/2 cup water (120ml)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (13g)
- 1-quart watermelon radishes, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar until sugar and salt are fully dissolved.
- Add the radishes and toss to coat.
- Lay a clean paper towel on the surface to keep the radishes submerged. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Pickled radishes can be packed into a jar with their brine and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Habanero-Jalapeno Chili
Ingredients:
- ½ pound FSO bacon
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
- 6 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 pound kidney beans (cooked)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 1 ounce chili paste
- 2 cups water
Instructions:
- Place bacon in a large soup pot. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess grease, leaving enough to coat bottom of pot Remove bacon, drain on paper towels and chop.
- Brown beef and pork in pot over medium high heat. When meat is browned, stir in the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, chili powder, crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, beer, tomato paste, chile paste and water.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and bacon and continue simmering for another 30 minutes.
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