Kellan prepared a stir fry-- turnips (roots and greens), carrots, and mushrooms seasoned with five spice and cayenne.
Wil made cilantro chutney from Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing.
3 cups fresh cilantro
1 cup water
1 cup unsweetened coconut
½ small green chili, chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine (Kellan says use a spoon and less of the best ginger, near the skin, will be lost)
1 tablespoon ghee
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon mustard seed
1 pinch hing
4 curry leaves (excluded because we did not have them)
½ fresh lime (also excluded)
¼ teaspoon salt
Wash the cilantro leaves. Put in a blender along with the water, coconut, chili and ginger.
Blend at high speed until well mixed and a finely ground paste. It may be necessary to stir it down several times.
Heat a saucepan on medium and ad the ghee, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Cook until the seeds pop. Cool and mix well into the cilantro paste
Squeezed in the juice of the lime, add the salt and stir gently.
Eat a dab with each bite of food.
Store in the refrigerator. Good for 2-3 days.
This recipe is balancing for tridosha. Pitta might want to decrease the chili, salt and mustard seeds even though the cilantro is very cooling.
This recipe finished off the cilantro bunch but, we had the chutney to eat over the next few days.
We did not use all our turnips or carrots.
Saturday Day 2
For dinner Kellan prepared a turnip and onion soup from Vegetarian Cooking for everyone. It was delicious, think potato and leek.
We also had a quinoa salad with mixed greens and carrots.
Turnip Soup
4 medium turnips -- up to 6
1 1/2 (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
with their greens if available
3 small boiling potatoes (excluded, we don’t have any…but, we‘ll plant soon.)
2 tablespoons butter
2 leeks -- thinly sliced
white parts only (We used green onions, and wouldn’t throw away the green parts anyway.)
1 garlic clove -- minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 thyme sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly milled white pepper (we used black)
6 cups water
OR Basic Vegetable Stock
1/2 cup cream or milk
Peel the turnips and potatoes, quarter, and thinly slice them. Discard the
stems and any yellowed leaves from the greens. Wash the remaining leaves well.
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the turnips, potatoes,
leeks, garlic, parsley, and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add 1
'/2 teaspoons salt and the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and
simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 25
minutes. Puree all or just part of the soup, depending on whether you like
a smooth soup or one with some texture. Stir in the cream.
While the soup is cooking, chop the greens into small pieces. There should
be about 2 cups, although more is fine. Simmer them in salted water until
they're tender, then drain and add them to the finished soup. Taste for
salt, season with pepper, and serve with two cheese croutons in each bowl
or on the side.
The soup finished off our turnips but, we did not finish off the soup.
Sunday Day 3
We enjoyed an Arugula Salud, chopped arugula added to the mixed greens. We made a dressing using 1 cup yogurt, a handful of cilantro, few cloves garlic, green onions, and quickly sautéed cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds.
Winter Vegetable Soup (also a recipe by Deborah Madison)
Ingredients
Aromatics and milk
10 peppercorns
5 juniper berries
4 large parsley branches
1 large thyme sprig or 2 pinches dried thyme
2 bay leaves
½ onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, halved
2 cups milk
Soup
3 Tbsp. butter
4 leeks, about an inch across, white parts plus 1 inch of the greens, sliced diagonally about 1 inch thick and rinsed
8 to 10 cups (about 4½ pounds) root vegetables (see Introduction, above, for suggestions), peeled and cut into bold, attractive pieces
2 cups (10 ounces) carrots, peeled and left whole if only 3 inches long, otherwise cut into large pieces
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
~ Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
Bread, cheese, and garnish
6 large slices country bread, toasted
~ Grated or sliced Gruyère or Cantal cheese to cover the toast
~ Chopped parsley or tarragon (or both) for garnish
Steps
Prep the aromatics and milk: Lightly crush the peppercorns and juniper berries together in a mortar and pestle. Put the crushed peppercorns and berries, along with all the other ingredients for the aromatics and milk, in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Cover and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.
Prep the vegetables: Melt the butter in a wide soup pot. Add the vegetables, bay leaves, and parsley, and sprinkle with 1½ teaspoons salt. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or so to heat them up, gently moving them about the pan.
Make the soup: Stir in the flour, then add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender but still a tad firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the milk into a blender, add 1 cup of the vegetables, and purée until smooth. Add the purée back to the soup. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
To serve: Lay a piece of toast in each bowl, cover it with grated cheese, spoon some of the soup on top, and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.
Monday Day 4
Leftover day.
Tuesday Day 5
Empanadas with Mixed Greens
Inspired by Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Empanada Dough:
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 sticks + 2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons ice water
Filling:
2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil or ghee
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 cup mixed chopped greens such as Swiss chard, beet greens, kale, spinach, and/or escarole
2/3 cup shredded fontina cheese (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 beaten egg + 1 Tablespoon milk
1. Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. With the machine running, slowly add the water through the feed tube and pulse until a ball of dough comes together.
2. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Use your hands to pat the dough into a disk. Wrap the dough with the parchment (or plastic wrap) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Divide the dough into 24 pieces: first cut 8 equal wedges, like a pizza. Then cut each wedge into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 4-inch circle. Transfer to a sheet pan and refrigerate.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make the filling: Heat oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes. Saute until the onion is tender, about 4 minutes. Add the greens and sea salt and pepper to taste and cook until softened, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. If there’s a lot of moisture, drain some of the liquid.
5. Add the cheese to the greens and taste for seasoning. Allow to cool slightly before filling the pastry.
6. Place a spoonful of filling on the lower half of each dough circle, then fold the pastry over and seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned. (If you are baking these directly from the freezer, bake an additional 10-15 minutes.) Serve warm or at room temperature
Wednesday Day 6
On day 6, we wrote this. It is difficult to tell what, if anything, is left of our bag. Honestly, the bag we picked for ourselves had the same fate as all the other produce we harvest. We sold it.
So, we did our best to recreate it but, we never harvested a full share at one time.
At the very least, this was an opportunity to share some recipes we really enjoyed. All the recipes here were pilfered from the internet. We always exclude what we don’t have and substitute what we want to cook. We hope you will do the same.
