Keeping the Green Stuff Pretty

On occasion, we get a bunch of herbs in our box.  This week was Italian parsley.  This is good for more than garnish, believe me!

But herbs wither and get ugly pretty quickly, don't they?  They do, if not optimally stored.  I've kept lots of different herbs pretty and usable for weekS.  Yes, that's plural, as in two or more.  How?  Easy.  It's a plant, it needs water.  Wash them like salad, and spin dry.  Cut off like the bottom 1/8 inch from the stems and stand them in a tall, slender glass of water.  Put an Ziplock bag over the top of the glass, leaving the bag open around the bottom, and stand it in the fridge.  See this for details.

Photo via Serious Eats

Check back in a few days, and as long as you keep water in the glass, the herbs will stay fresh. See? No throwing away withered ones!

What to do with your now long-lived parsley?  Here's three options:

Photo via Taste of Home

My favorite is buttered parsley potatoes.  Wash and halve baby potatoes (I find reds work best for this) and boil them until soft.  Drain the water and add butter to the still-hot pot with the potatoes.  Salt & pepper generously and liberally add fine-minced parsley.  Toss until the butter melts and the herbs are evenly distributed.  Leftovers are great for breakfast, seared in a hot pan.

Valerie suggests this chickpea salad.  Like lots of these sorts of salads, it's better after a day or two in the fridge.

Photo via Food.com

Remember our discussion about pesto?  Parsley walnut pesto is a great topping for grilled beef or pork.

Just the Tools at Hand

Today is the first time I've been camping in a long, long, long time.  It's my little guy's first experience.  His enthusiasm was... effervescent.  Of course, this involved campfire cooking.  Other than forgetting how long everything takes (coffee might be done by lunch), it went well.

My Boy Scout days taught me the utility of cooking in foil.  But let's just say that my palate has progressed past a hunk of ground beef with onion and potato slices.  The art form, however, can still be beautiful.

You also don't have to wait for a camp out to do this.  The coals in the barbecue grill work just fine too.

Campfire potatoes are simply sliced Yukon golds, fresh rosemary and thyme, generous salt & pepper, and some fat (olive oil works, and so does leftover duck fat).

Dessert (well, pre-s'mores anyway) was this delicious stone fruit concoction.  Ginger snaps, sliced fruit, lime zest and juice, and I substituted dark rum for brandy and maple syrup for sugar, and WOW.

The true stroke of genius, though, was using leftover ginger snaps for the s'mores.  OH YEAH.

Thanksgiving Favorites: Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley

Thanksgiving In Nalls’ Kitchen!

7310 Beulah Street, Franconia, VA 22315

(703) 971-4068 ~ info@nallsproduce.com

Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley

From the kitchen of our own “Tie-Dye” Ann!

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

**You can also throw in sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, garlic, parsnips or turnips

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! 

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.

Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

I have a confession. I am a little obsessed with The Pioneer Woman. You old time Crop Share members may remember when we were doing paper recipe hand outs, one week you got all Pioneer Woman recipes. Now some of you may be thinking, "What the heck is The Pioneer Woman?" She. Is. Genious.

The Pioneer Woman is a real person name Ree Drummond. She is a self-proclaimed accidental country girl. The Pioneer Woman is a very successful blog that you should visit. Did you notice that "visit" was blue? That means click on it and it will take you somewhere, this time to The Pioneer Woman's blog directly. There you will find her recipes - good old favorites with basic ingredients that are full of flavor. She also has a Saturday morning tv show on The Food Network. This week at home I made her Beef with Snow Peas. Delish! Tasted just like carry out!

Anyway, here is her recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes, a perfect side for almost any meal!

Ingredients

• 12 small potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper

Click through to read the rest of the recipe at Food Network...

Warm Veggie Sausage & Potato Salad

I discovered warm potato salad a couple weeks ago and I am a fan. I may never have cold again. Now that fall is here, you can transition the favorite summer side dish into the season. 

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs white or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
white wine for cooking (optional)
6 oz green beans
6 oz mini bella mushrooms
1.5 cups grape tomatoes cut in halves
2 veggie or turkey sausages
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
4-5 cups spinach

Dressing
1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 shallot, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.vanilla-and-spice.com/2012/08/warm-veggie-sausage-potato-salad.html

Asparagus & Potato Salad

I am not a huge fan of potato salads. Usually it's because there is too much mayonnaise in them. This recipe ditches the mayo completely and incorporates delicious spring vegetables and herbs. It is also vegan and gluten free!

Ingredients:
Roasted Potatoes:
2 lbs potatoes, washed & chopped into 1” pieces
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

Dressing:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped

Sautéed Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and chopped into 1” pieces
extra virgin olive oil + 1/4 tsp salt, for sautéing

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/24/asparagus-and-potato-salad/