A Spin on Spinach!

Most of us are used to spinach as the base for a salad or as a creamed side dish that is equal parts comforting and also kind of disturbing.  But one thing we're all used to is...gritty spinach.  It's true, spinach collects more grit than a bathing suit bottom after a day at the beach.  But we've got a fail proof way to Beat The Gritty Spinach Blues and say goodbye to grit for good.  So follow that link little grasshopper and learn the the wisdom of grit free spinach because then you are all freed up to explore the versatility of this tasty green.


If you're wanting to pre-game your body before the Thankgiving caloric onslaught, plan to toss a handful into your next smoothie or juice it up and use up your beets and apples from this week for some ABC Juice.  When you juice spinach or add it to a smoothie, it has such a neutral flavor that it's easily hidden yet you still get all the wonderful health benefits, including that great iron boost.

ABC (Apple Beet Carrot) Juice

Speaking of pre-gaming, throw some of that spinach into your tailgating festivities!  No not with a salad...with crunchy, savory treats!  Whenever I made these Baked Chicken Flautas, I always sneak some spinach into the mix, because then I feel a-okay about dipping mine right into sour cream.  I have a bit of an obsession with sour cream.

Baked Chicken & Spinach Flautas

Did I mention my obsession with sour cream, because if not, you should know, I have a bit of an obsession with sour cream.  Now that that's out of the way, it's time to talk about another tailgating spinach classic...creamy, dreamy spinach dip.  I've been drooling over this recipe from Skinnytaste all day (it contains sour cream, tee-hee!) and this is exactly what I plan on doing with my spinach this week.  And before I bake it, I'm going to freeze that bad boy up, because a dip of this magnitude deserves to be featured during the Ohio State vs. Michigan game next Saturday.  Did I say game?  Oh I mean slaughter!!  Sorry Wolverines, though I'm sure the spinach dip would be a great comfort food to lick your wounds to.  So, enjoy this recipe from Skinny taste and for all my fellow Buckeyes...O-H-

Hot Spinach Dip via Skinnytaste

An Apple A Day In Time For Turkey Day!

It's almost Thanksgiving so that means it's time to get ready to get your bake on!  And the Rome apples in this week's share are a perfect baking apple.  So while I await some of you to send in your family apple pie recipes, here are some of our favorite baking with apple recipes to get your wheels turning for the holiday.

I have the pleasure of hosting my very first Thanksgiving this year (for possibly 13 people...help me ghost of Julia Child!), and right now I'm torn between making a Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake and this, my no-fail standby...

Cinnamon Apple Tart

It's all the fun of an apple pie, minus having to fight with a top crust.  I simply cannot abide getting my edges perfect and do not talk to me about a lattice top, there is not enough wine in my apartment for such baking intricacies.  Plus, this tart is delicious with a caramel sauce drizzled over top.  Hmm, a caramel sauce with some apple cider whisked in.  Ooo, that needs to happen!




Also, I've been hoarding apples since the Fall Crop Share round because I plan on making some homemade applesauce.  So if you have a mish-mosh of apples you've been collecting, this will use them right up, plus it will dazzle your guests that you made your own applesauce.  Even stir in some pumpkin puree for a pumpkin applesauce!

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Perhaps you're flying solo for Thanksgiving, or it's just you and your sweetie, and the idea of making a huge feast is a tad illogical.  Then you can still plan on getting your apple dessert fix the quick and easy way with some quick 2 minute, microwave apple crisp.  Each serving is cooked in it's own mason jar or microwave safe mug, making clean up a breeze.

2 Minute Mason Jar Apple Crisp

These are some of our favorites, now send us some of yours!  Send your family apple pie recipes to cropsharerecipes@nallsproduce.com and we'll feature them here in the next week!

Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley

As I mentioned in the Crop Share spoiler e-mail, Ann on our staff (many of you know her as Tie-Dye Ann!) has been bringing in delicious smelling leftovers of this veggie medley she's been roasting up on a regular basis.  Now the fact that it contains cauliflower and I even thought it smelled good and looked appealing, should tell you something right there!  So Friday night when I got home from a day of Crop Sharing and shivering, I decided to annihilate nearly everything in this week's share by roasting my veggies Ann style.  To say they were delicious is a vast understatement.  In fact, I even made vegan soyrizo mac & cheese (may sound gross, but trust me, it's taco dip on pasta...just minus the calories and cholesterol) which is our guilty pleasure comfort food at home, and both of us finished our veggies before we'd taken 3 bites of the mac & cheese.  The Mister even said, "What on earth did you do to turn this mix of disgusting vegetables into the best thing I've eaten in a long time?"  The secret...roast the heck out of it, a generous bit of olive oil, and Dizzy Pig's Cow Lick Seasoning (available in store).  That's the winning combo!  Plus, I even got super daring and decided to waste not, want not and roast up the cauliflower leaves too.  Amazingly delicious decision!  So whether you use the veggies I did or you come up with your own mix, this is an excellent way to use up your Crop Share veggies, especially any of that hard squash you still have hanging around.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved, seeds removed, and cubed
1 head of cauliflower, rough chopped (save the greens!!!)
Cauliflower greens, removed from stalk and rough chopped
1/2 bundle of kale, leaves removed from stalk and rough chopped
1 quart brussels sprouts, stalk trimmed and sprouts halved
4 baby potatoes, cubed
Olive oil
Dizzy Pig Cow Lick Seasoning


Preheat oven to 415 degrees.

Prep all of your veggies and if you're making as much as I did, you'll need 2 baking sheets, one for the greens and one for the rest of the veg.

On one sheet, evenly spread out vegetables, minus the kale & cauliflower greens.  Drizzle with a good bit of olive oil, enough to well coat everything.  You don't want them swimming in oil, but you need enough oil for them to caramelize rather than burn.  Then season generously with the Cow Lick Seasoning.  Toss the veggies to evenly coat each piece and place into the oven onto a lower rack to begin roasting.

Prep your kale & cauliflower greens the same way, and then let them sit tight, as you won't pop them into the oven until the other veggies have roasted for about 15-20 minutes.  Place the sheet of greens into the oven onto a top rack and roast for 5-10 minutes, checking to make sure nothing is starting to turn into kale chips (if so, you may need more oil).  Remove both sheets of veggies from the oven, and combine the greens onto the pan with the rest of the veggies, carefully tossing to mix everything up.  Then place them all back into the oven to roast for another 15-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on things, and turn veggies about every 5-10 minutes to allow browning on all sides.  If after a full 40 minutes of roasting things are still not browning up and the squash is still not soft, then put them back in the oven and make them suffer longer!  They'll be done when they look bronzed like the photo above.

This makes a ton, so it would be a great Thanksgiving side dish, or one to re-heat portions in the oven for a ready-to-go side dish for weeknight meals.

Citrus & Pomegranate Salad

We just got some gorgeous looking pomegranates in this week, so as I was musing over that citrus salad from the Crop Share Spoiler, I thought no, pumpkin no, this need to be a Citrus & Pomegranate Salad.  I'm sure you've seen the pom-everything drinks in stores and heard all about the amazing benefits of pomegranate, but frankly I just think it's gorgeous.  They're like little jewels on your plate.  So snag a pomegranate when you're in this weekend, and really make this fruit salad pop!  And for a great tutorial on how to cut and remove the seeds from this tricky little bugger, check out this great and adorable tutorial.

Citrus & Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:
2 oranges, peeled, pith removed and segmented
4 tangerines, peeled, pith removed and segmented
(still have grapefruit from last week, throw segments from one of those too!)
Seed of 1 pomegranate (click here to see two easy methods for removing the seeds)
2 tsp fresh mint, rough chopped
2-3 Tbsp local honey
Splash or two of vanilla extract









Arrange citrus on a serving plate and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and chopped mint.

In a bowl, whisk together honey and vanilla.  If the dressing seems to thick, cut it with a bit of water.  Then dipping a spoon into the dressing, drizzle it evenly over the entire salad.

For a warm citrus salad, arrange everything on an oven-safe platter and broil on high for a minute or two.