Roasted or {Grilled} Garlic Scapes with Sea Salt

Ingredients: 

• 1 bunch garlic scapes
• olive or coconut oil
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry your scapes. Break off the harder ends {as you would like asparagus} and cut into thirds. Drizzle a light amount of oil on the scape and sprinkle it with sea salt. Roast at 400 for about 15 minutes; flip over half way through. The scapes are scrumptious to eat when soft and golden brown.

To grill, prepare the same way with the oil and sea salt but do not cut them into thirds. Leave whole, toss on the grill and remove when soft and golden brown.

For more information and recipes from Sherrie visit her blog, With Food + Love

Fresh Avocado Salsa

Here's a great summer salsa that's hearty enough to serve as a side dish or a salad.

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes, diced
1 ear of corn, removed from the cob
1 ripe Haas avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, smashed and finely diced
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
 juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

Method:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.   This salsa gets better if it can sit for an hour or so to allow the lime to take some of the edge off the onions and to allow the flavors to combine.  The lime should prevent the avocado from browning.  Avoid refrigerating, as this will ruin the tomatoes and avocado. 

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad 

makes about 8 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes

3 ears organic sweet corn

1 organic red pepper, chopped

1 organic red onion, chopped

1 18 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 C fresh cilantro leaves

1 C organic grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or whole

juice from one lime

1-2 avocados, cut into small chunks [optional]

1. To prep the corn, shuck each ear, and cut each cob in half.

2. Place the prepped corn cobs in a large pot of boiling water, and boil for 3-5 minutes, or until the corn is tender. [Alternately, you could skip this step and use raw corn kernels.]

3. Remove the corn from the water and let cool until you can safely handle them. (Since I was in no rush, I let the ears cool in the fridge overnight.)

4. After the corn has cooled, use a sharp knife to carefully cut the kernels from each cob.

5. Place the kernels into a large serving bowl.

6. Stir in the chopped red pepper, red onion, and black beans.

7. Add in the tomatoes and stir to combine.

8. Stir in the fresh lime juice.

9. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

10. Place in the fridge and let chill for at least half an hour. Give it a stir before serving.

11. If you want to take it up one more notch, top with chunks of avocado just before serving.

12. Serve the corn and black bean salad by itself or over a bed of quinoa.

Warm Root Salad in Horseradish Vinaigrette

This is another kohlrabi recipe that I'd like to try soon, as the new red potatoes will be in our share for the first time this week! This recipe is adapted from A Veggie Venture blog. The author writes that this is a "concept" recipe, so be creative and adapt based upon what you find in your share.

Warm Root Salad in Horseradish Vinaigrette
"Allow about 2 cups unroasted vegetables per serving for a main dish, about 1 cup per serving as a side dish."

Salad Ingredients
2 medium purple-top turnips, ends trimmed, peeled with a carrot peeler, cut cross-wise about ⅓-inch thick, then diced
2 kohlrabi, ends and knobs strimmed, peeled with a paring knife, cut cross-wise about ⅓-inch thick, then diced
1 sweet potato, peeled with a carrot peeler, cut cross-wise about ⅓-inch thick, then diced
2 small potatoes, skins on, cut cross-wise about ⅓-inch thick, then diced
½ celeriac, peeled with a paring knife, cut cross-wise about ⅓-inch, then diced
3 parsnips, ends trimmed, peeled with a paring knife, quartered lengthwise, woody cores removed and discarded, then diced
3 carrots, ends trimmed, thick ends halved or quartered with carrot left intact, then cut cross-wise
1 onion (or 2 to 3 fresh onions), peeled and roughly chopped
1 ounce pancetta, diced small (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 8 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons horseradish, or more, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prep vegetables and toss in a bowl with olive oil. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet (you may need two, depending on the amount of vegetables used) and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 60 minutes, stirring well after 30 minutes, and stirring well and adding pancetta after 45 minutes.
2. While the vegetables are roasting, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Mix the roasted vegetables with the vinaigrette and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over lettuce greens (no need to dress the greens, the horseradish vinaigrette will be enough) with good bread and butter.

Kohlrabi Remoulade

LFFC purple kohlrabi!

Kohlrabi is a new vegetable for me, and I've been searching for some fun and interesting ways to try it out! This recipe is courtesy of Nourish Me blog, originally adapted from a recipe by Nadine Abensur.

Kohlrabi Remoulade
Serves 2 to 3

Remoulade Ingredients
2 kohlrabi, thickly peeled
2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise
3 fat green olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, crushed
small handful hazelnuts, roasted, cooled, and chopped
2 teaspoons of grain mustard
sea salt and pepper

Salsa Ingredients
3 small tomatoes (or a good handful of cherry ones)
1½ tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
1 large avocado
1½ tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (optional)
1 tablespoon of parsley, very finely chopped (optional)
handful of greens (spinach, lettuce, etc.)

Directions
1. First, make the remoulade. Coarsely grate the kohlrabi. Place in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, chopped olives, garlic, hazelnuts, and grain mustard. Season with a little salt and pepper and mix well. Set aside.
2. Second, prepare the salsa. Chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl with their juices. Stir in the sweet chilli sauce. Peel and cut the avocado into 1-inch dice. Add to the tomato mixture, taste for seasoning (adding a little more sweet chill if need be) and stir gently to just combine. Set aside.
3. Mix the extra virgin olive oil and parsley together (optional).
4. Divide the leaves between two or three plates (depending, of course, on how many you are). Place a mound of the salsa on top. Carefully place a mound of the remoulade on top of this. Drizzle a little of the parsley oil if you’re using it around the plate and serve at once.

Sautéed Kale

Thank you to Leslie, a CSA shareholder, for sharing this "delicious and easy" kale recipe with us, which comes from a 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Sauteed Kale

makes 1 serving (plus leftovers)

1 lb kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and leaves cut into 1-inch-wide strips (8 cups)

2 T olive oil

1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 garlic clove, minced

pinch of dried hot red pepper flakes

1 T red-wine vinegar, or to taste

1/4 t salt

1. Cook kale in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 10 minutes, then drain in a colander.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Reduce heat to moderate, then add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

5. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and salt.

Note: Sautéed kale can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Grilled Scallions with Lemon

Thank you to Teresa, a CSA shareholder from Philadelphia, for sharing this scallion recipe with us, which comes from a 2003 edition of Gourmet. Teresa writes, "Even without lemon, they were awesome and a great way to savor the scallions that are so plentiful this time of year."

Grilled Scallions with Lemon
Ingredients
12 large scallions (10 ounces total), trimmed, leaving most of greens attached
½ teaspoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
½ lemon

Directions
Toss scallions with oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Line up scallions side by side on a work surface and thread skewers, 1 at a time, crosswise through all scallions to form a solid rectangle. (Skewers should be inserted about 2 inches from each end.) Grill on lightly oiled grill rack, uncovered, turning over once or twice, until softened and charred in patches, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer scallions to a platter and squeeze lemon evenly over them, then remove skewers.

Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad

This recipe is adapted from Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com), which credits author Gil Marks of Olive Trees and Honey, published in November of 2004.

Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad
Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients
1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped or grated (about 4 cups)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
pinch of salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days to allow the flavors to meld and permeate the carrots. Served chilled or at room temperature.

Celeriac Remoulade

Many of you may be enjoying celeriac (celery root) from Farmdale Organics this week! This is a new vegetable for me, and I'm excited to give it a try! I've been researching a few recipes to share with you. If you have any suggestions—send them our way! As always, we welcome recipe suggestions at csa@lancasterfarmfresh.com. A remoulade is mayonnaise sauce often flavored with herbs and mustard and served with a salad or cold meat. The following remoulade recipe comes from CookItSimply.com (http://www.cookitsimply.com/).

Celeriac Remoulade
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 lettuce leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 head celeriac, washed, peeled, and coarsely grated
½ small onion, peeled and finely chopped
8 ounces thick homemade mayonnaise
2 teaspoons spoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon French mustard
1 tablespoon diced chives to finish

Directions
1. Place a lettuce leaf on each serving plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl, ensuring that the vegetables are thoroughly coated in the mayonnaise.
3. Season to taste. Spoon onto the lettuce and sprinkle with diced chives.

Mashed Parsnips

Looking for an alternative to mashed potatoes? Try this very versatile change of pace. My late-season parsnips were big and had slight notes of horseradish.

2 lbs parsnips (or four large ones)
Salted water for boiling
2 tbsp butter, blue cheese or good olive oil
1/4 cup milk or mild soy milk

I chopped it into small pieces striving to keep the pieces to about equal sizes so that they'd all cook about the same. I added them to slightly salted water to enhance the flavor and put them on a rolling boil covered for about 12 minutes. If you don't like using timers just use the fork test to make sure they're nice and tender.

I have a ricer to put it through but a fork would work just as well. You may have heard that you shouldn't use a blender on potatoes because it makes it gluey. I don't think that would happen with parsnips.

Blend with your flavorings of choice. I didn't add salt because the salty water added all that I needed. Tonight I added butter and just a touch of garlic and served it alongside a salad that I made with spinach and sliced turnip tossed with balsamic and olive oil.

Braised Radishes

This recipe is courtesy of the Rachel Ray and the Food Network (www.foodnetwork.com). Another idea for the abundance of radishes we are seeing in our shares this week!

Braised Radishes
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 bunches radishes, about 1 pound, trimmed of tops and roots
1½ cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions
Place radishes in a skillet with stock, butter bits, shallots, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Uncover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook radishes 10 to 12 minutes and if the stock has not cooked away, remove radishes and cook down to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Baked Cherry Tomatoes: My New Favorite Side Dish

So simple, but so, so delicious.

drop 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes (or as many as you like, really) into a baking dish. Drizzle with some good extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper and any other dried herbs you like. I used an "Italian Seasoning" mix of dried herbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so - the skins on the tomatoes should start to split and get a little squishy.

Deeeelicious!