Let's Get Some Spice On!

When I saw the green beans in today's box, for some reason my mind jumped to curries.  I often use a mix of veggies in my curries, but for some reason I almost always include green beans.  We can use the potatoes and the sweet potatoes we've gotten recently, and if you have any carrots left, those would be good too.

Curries originated in southeast Asia, notably the area around Thailand.  From there, they expanded west across India, parts of the Persian Gulf, and into eastern Africa, jumping with the slave trade to various parts of the Caribbean; and they expanded west to places like Fiji and other islands across the Pacific.  At its most basic, it's a dish using lots of spice and almost always includes chilis of some sort.  Some are more like a soup, usually served over rice, others are more like a stir fry with a heavy sauce, again served with rice.

Photo via about.com

The key ingredient in curry is curry powder, which is simply a blend of spices.  That's it.  Take half the spice drawer, put it all together, shake until mixed, and voilà, curry powder.  Well, not exactly.  it is a measured quantity of each of certain spices, then shake 'em all together and you have curry powder.  Which spices are going to vary wildly by region, but most of them have cumin and turmeric as a base.  For example, Thai curry powder usually contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger and chilis as its starting point.  As you move west through India, you'll start seeing less coriander and more cardamom, for example.

Photo via Jamie Oliver

Curries are usually quite simple to prepare.  Some are yogurt based, some start with a tomato sauce, others use coconut milk.  In essence, you start with the base, add the spices, add whatever half-cooked veggies and browned meat you'd like, and let it cook together until the meat is finished and the veggies are soft.  Some other recipes I've tried and liked are found here, here, and here.

Most of the time, curries can be prepared really quickly with whatever veggies you have on hand.  Great for those weeknights when you need a dinner in 30 minutes or less.

Photo via Food & Wine

They're Not the Same

They're not the same.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes, I mean.  They're actually really different.  Ever cut up potatoes, then leave your knife on the cutting board for a while?  The white residue is potato starch.  Sweet potatoes are much less starchy.  They have a different nutritional profile, too.  Like most orange veggies, they're really high in Vitamin A.  Even though they're different, you can use the them in a lot of the same ways.

Photo via Chez Us

Baked

When I asked around the staff, the most common use of sweet potatoes was simply baked.  Way easy, too.  Use a fork to poke holes in them to vent steam, then nuke 'em for 8-12 minutes.  Done.  Serve with butter, sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup... You get the idea.  You can even twice-bake them (recipe at the end of the post).

Photo via Simply Recipes

Mashed

This is my favorite way.  You can actually replace potatoes in most recipes with sweet potatoes, so make just like you would standard mashed potatoes.  Don't add sour cream or creme fraiche, though.  Just butter.  To dress them up, molasses is wonderful.  Or do something with a touch of bourbon.

Photo via Cookstr

Pancakes

Anyone else love potato pancakes?  Replace regular potatoes in whatever recipe you use.  You might change out the seasonings, depending on what you do.  Or add some shredded apples.

Photo via Parade Magazine

Pie

Not being from the South myself, this isn't something with which I've had much experience.  But the staff would likely run me out on a rail if I don't mention it.  Some promising-looking recipes are here, here and here.

Sweet potatoes don't have to be the big Thanksgiving production with marshmallows.  But they're great that way, too.  Or, this year, try a little twist to the old favorite.

Twice-Baked Orange Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 oranges peeled, sectioned and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Prick sweet potatoes with a fork; bake 1 hour or until tender. (Leave oven on.) Halve sweet potatoes lengthwise; scoop out the pulp and reserve the skins. Mash pulp with orange juice, butter, salt, pepper and ginger; stir in oranges.

Pile mixture into reserved sweet potato skins; top with almonds. Bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve hot.

Throwback Thursday: A (Short) Trek Down Crop Share Memory Lane

So I've apparently contracted some sort of plague, and while I've attempted to kill the germs with fire (inhuman amounts of garlic sauce from Baytna Mediterranean Kitchen in the Landsdowne Plaza and troughs of green tea), I still feel like someone hit me with a bus and then backed over me for good measure.  Thus, the new posts will be few and far between tonight.  Instead here's a smattering of past recipes centered around this week's items, and once I'm feeling less plague-like, gird your loins -- your sirloins that is -- for a homemade version of a Chinese take-away classic, Beef with Broccoli.  But until then, between sips of tea, I give you some past recipes...

Lentil & Potato Soup

Spaghetti with Broccoli, Sausage & Hot Peppers

Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup

Chipotle & Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Eggplant & Pepper Curry

Leek & Potato Soup

Chipotle & Herb Roasted (or Grilled) Sweet Potato Chips

If there is sweet potato anything on a menu, you can bet I'll be ordering it.  So every time we wind up with sweet potatoes in the Crop Share, I do a little happy dance.  Normally, I like to bake them up whole and then stuff them with all sorts of goodness, but with this being a holiday weekend, it's time for some cook-out ready ideas.  So here's one of my favorite preparations with an added adaptation for the grill...

Chipotle & Herb Roasted Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, sliced into about 1/4 to 1/8 inch rounds

Chipotle powder

2 tsp thyme

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay sweet potato slices onto a baking sheet, making sure they are evenly spaced with no overlapping.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with chipotle powder, 1 tsp of thyme and Kosher salt (add a dash or more of chipotle depending on your heat preference).  Flip rounds over, drizzle with olive oil and repeat seasoning.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once half-way through, until edges have begun to crisp.  Season with additional Kosher salt if needed/desired.

Adaptation for the grill:

Season and oil as above.  Place onto direct heat on a pre-heated grill and grill for 3 minutes on each side or until well-marked.  Then transfer to a top rack or on indirect heat for an additional 20-30 minutes, turning half-way through.

Homemade Sweet Potato Chips

One of my absolute favorite blogs, Cupcakes and Cashmere got it so right with this recipe for homemade sweet potato chips! They are so simple and so tasty. Use your favorite creamy dip for these. I like to make my own dip that's just plain greek yogurt with garlic salt mixed in. Have some of the spring Vidalia onions left from last week? Chop finely and mix right into your dip! 

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
vegetable oil
sea salt
your favorite season-all

Please click through to view the rest of the recipe at: http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/homemade-potato-chips/)

Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Braising Greens

For those of you who have never cooked swiss chard before, you can use it like you would use spinach. Wash well and remove the stems. The greens cook down a lot. I think the recipe below would make a great side dish for a pork tenderloin.


Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons melted
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 medium fuji apples
6 cups loosely packed swiss chard, stems removed and torn into 2-inch strips
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Potatoes-Apples-and-Braising-Greens-240487#ixzz2Iw5QrQ6a

Thanksgiving Survival Kit

Thanksgiving is only a week away! Can you believe it? I can't wait to to slip into a food-induced coma after all the festivities. We know that you have a lot of running around to do before the holidays. You have relatives to pick up, a mile-long shopping list and dietary restrictions to consider when making dinner. Well, we want to make things just a little bit easier for you. Our Thanksgiving Survival Kit puts everything together for you. We gather quality produce for you along with other great items like butter and dinner rolls and just have you pick up a couple days before Thanksgiving. All you have to do is find the turkey or ham. You can simply print out the form here and bring it in. The deadline is Thursday, November 15th.

Any questions? send us an e-mail at info@nallsproduce.com or call us at 703-971-4068. You can always stop by, we are located on 7310 Beulah St Alexandria, VA 22315 and our hours are 9:00 to 6:00 Monday - Sunday.