Month: November 2013

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Collapsed Hoop House
Collapsed Hoop House

 

 

 

Hoop House "B" Unharmed will save the day. Providing Greens for our last Fall CSA Pick-up/
Hoop House “B” Unharmed will save the day. Providing Greens for our last Fall CSA Pick-up.

We have been moving snow for the past two days after the 30 inches we got on Saturday night. Fortunately, we have the root crops for next Saturday’s  last Fall CSA pick-up all dug and in cold storage! We will be digging kale out of the snow later in the week and harvesting salad greens from under one collapsed hoop house. The weight of the snow was too much for it! Yesterday, we took a team of Suffolk Punch horses out to break a trail with the big bob sled and they were so worn out from ploughing through the snow that we had to turn around before we reached the main garden area and head back up to the barn. The snow has settled somewhat today and we are expecting to be able to make it down to the garden by the end of the week.

I have had my eye out for onion recipes because we have had such a bumper crop of onions. The following two recipes are from Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.

Caramelized Red Onion Relish 

Balsamic vinegar is the magic ingredient in this recipe. It adds a pungent sweetness to the caramelized onions. Serve with barbecued or broiled meats such as steak, lamb chops and chicken.

2               large red onions, peeled

1/4 cup    firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup        dry red wine

3 tbsp       balsamic vinegar

1/8 tsp      each: salt and freshly ground pepper

1.  Slice onions into very thin slices. Combine onions and sugar in a heavy non-stick skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes or until onions turn golden and start to caramelize, stirring frequently.

2.  Stir in wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil over hight heat, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently.

3.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon into clean jar and refrigerate to use within 3 weeks or freeze.

Caramelized Red Onion and Tomato Pizza 

This tasty appetizer is easily prepared using Caramelized Red Onion Relish

1/2 cup       Caramelized Red Onion Relish

4                  individual pizza crusts

1                  medium tomato, diced

2 cups       shredded mozzarella cheese

Divide onion mixture among pizza crusts, spreading evenly. Combine tomato and cheese; sprinkle over onion. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted. Cut each pizza into 6 wedges.

Makes 24 appetizers.

Onions Frying
Onions Frying

 

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The following is a recipe sent to me by CSA member Lisa Koivu to share:

Hi, Martha:

I just tried one of my favourite pumpkin muffin recipes with a cinderella squash and it was sublime, so I thought I’d share. I cooked the squash and froze it in one cup portions, so when I want to make the muffins, it’s already measured. It’s true – this recipe has NO fat.

Pumpkin oatmeal muffins – Oven 400

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup cooked pumpkin

Beat egg and milk, then add sugar, applesauce and pumpkin.
Then stir in:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Let it sit for about 5 minutes for the oats to absorb the liquid.

Meanwhile, stir together:

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Add to wet mixture. Put in greased muffin tins. Cook at 400 F for 25 minutes.

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Caesar inside on a Rainy Day
Caesar inside on a Rainy Day
Ken Making his "to-do" List
Ken Making his “to-do” List
Ken and Caesar Sorting out the Wood Plie
Ken and Caesar Sorting out the Wood Plie

Between our by-weekly Fall CSA pick-up days we have had time to catch up on some of our “to-do” list, or in Ken’s case making a new “to do” list…Caesar is adjusting to life without apprentices, but he really looks forward to pick-up days. Today Ken and Caesar are sorting out the lumber in the storage getting ready to saw more logs. We have wood for sale, for any interested woodworkers. There is also an opportunity to have it sawn to their own specifications.

Lots of Onions
Lots of Onions

I have had some time to post some recipes. We ended up with a bumper onion crop this year and I am posting a couple of my favourite onion recipes. A number of years ago a German friend of ours introduced us to onion pie as a main course dish and I have always been a fan of French onion soup.

ONION PIE
(Zwiebel Kuchen)
A main- dish pie of German origin

Pastry for baked 10” shell:
1 ½ cup sifted flour
¾ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
½ cup shortening
2 to 3 tbsp. water

Combine flour, salt and caraway. Add shortening; cut into flour until mixture resembles small peas and coarse cornmeal.
Stir water in lightly with fork; stir until mixture adheres and follows fork around blow.
Turn onto floured board; roll to 1/2” thickness. Fit into 10” pie pan.

Filling:
3 cups peeled onions, thickly sliced
3 tbsp. melted butter
½ cup milk
1 ½ cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, well beaten
3 tbsp. flour
Bacon slices (optional)

To make filling: Sauté onions in fat until lightly browned. Spoon into pastry shell.
Add milk, 1 ¼ cup sour cream and salt to eggs.
Blend flour with remaining ¼ cup sour cream. Combine with egg mixture; pour over onion mixture.
Bake in slow oven 325 degrees F. 30 minutes, or until firm in center.
Garnish with crisp bacon. Makes 8 servings.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

½ cup butter
4 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup red wine
3 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, cut into croutons
½ pound grated cheese (a mix of aged Cheddar and Swiss is nice)

Melt butter in a large pan; add onions, garlic. Fry in butter until soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil and simmer until wine is evaporated, stirring as needed. Add flour and cook stirring on low heat for about 10 minutes to cook out the raw taste of the flour. Now add the beef broth, bring soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you’re ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Put croutons into oven ready bowls, ladle the soup on top and cover with grated cheese. Put under broiler until cheese melts.

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Our Suffolk Punch Draft horses are getting a much deserved rest after a very busy CSA season. Their main job these days is hauling wagons of produce up from the garden, when we are getting ready for our bi-weekly Fall CSA harvests. In the Fall CSA  we are featuring lots of greens and even some tomatoes from our hoop house and outdoor peppers! It is hard to believe that we harvested over 4 bushels of peppers on November 1st. Of course, the main stay of the Fall CSA are the storage crops and root vegetables. Rutabaga are a wonderful addition to soups and I am including a soup recipe here for our CSA customers who don’t know what to do with rutabaga, as well as casserole recipe.

RUTABAGA APPLE SOUP

1 medium rutabaga, peeled and chopped into cubes

2 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup chopped green onion

2 apples, peeled and chopped

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup milk or 10% cream

1/4 cup maple syrup or brown sugar

salt and pepper

Cook green onions in butter over low heat until soft ( about three minutes). Add stock, apples, and cubed rutabaga, bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat until very soft (about 35 minutes). Puree in blender or processor in batches, and return to the saucepan. Stir in milk or cream and maple syrup or brown sugar, add more stock if it is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste reheat and enjoy. Like many soups this will taste even better on the day after it is made.

RUTABAGA CASSEROLE – Serves 4

1 rutabaga, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)

1/2 tsp        salt

2 Tbsp        bread crumbs

1/4  cup     heavy cream

1/4 tsp       nutmeg

1/2 tsp       salt

1                 egg

1 tsp          butter, softened

1 Tbsp       butter, diced

Place the diced rutabaga in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Add salt and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 – 20 minutes or until the rutabagas are soft. Drain and puree in a food processor. In a bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the cream for a few minutes. Stir in the nutmeg, salt and eggs. Then add the pureed rutabagas and mix throughly. Butter a 9″x 9″ baking dish liberally. Transfer the rutabaga mixture to the dish and dot with the diced butter. Bake, uncovered, in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40 – 45 minutes until browned. Serve with pork, ham or turkey.