Pasta with Shredded Collard Greens

Chard in one of our hoop houses.

All sorts of hearty greens can be substituted in this simple recipe from Ian Knauer's cookbook The Farm: rustic recipes for a year of incredible food. Knauer's simple recipes, beautiful photographs, and colorful writing has made this cookbook a new favorite here.

Winter greens, bacon, and walnut pieces? Do I really need to say more, dinner tonight is certainly decided.

4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 large bunch collard greens (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for the table
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
8 ounces elbow macaroni

Cook the bacon and walnuts in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, turning, until the bacon is crisp and the walnuts are golden. 6 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel and let cool, then crumble the bacon. Do not clean the skillet.

Stack and roll up the collards tightly, like a cigar, then slice them as thinly as possible so they resemble Easter grass.

Add the oil to the skillet, along with the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden. 1 to 2 minutes. Add the collard greens and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook over high heat, turning with tongs until the collards are wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Parmesan and vinegar to the collards along with the bacon and walnuts, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in heavily salted boiling water until it is al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta-cooking water, drain the pasta, and toss it with the collards, along with the reserved cooking water. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve the pasta with additional Parmesan.

Double Celery Soup

The soup season is upon us! Can you believe it? Below is a delicious and comforting recipe to help us celebrate. If you haven't tried celery root now is certainly the time, we have plenty of it that we are bringing in! Check out the picture below as you can see there is quite a bit that needs to be peeled from the root but once that is done it is simply delicious and tastes just like celery. And unlike most other roots it has a low starch content, 5% to 6%, which is why we add plenty of potatoes to our soup. But it can also be enjoyed raw, check out the Best Winter Veg Coleslaw.

• 
  
  2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 

  Homegrown celeriac, or celery root.

  2 medium celery roots (celeriac; about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 large fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 5 celery stalks with leaves, stalks thinly sliced, leaves reserved

• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 
  

Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and onion and sauté until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, celery roots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Add celery stalks and simmer until all vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes longer. Cool slightly.

Our very own celery! Fresh picked from the field.

Using handheld blender, puree soup in pot. Stir cream into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill celery leaves. Cool soup slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm soup over medium heat before serving.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with reserved celery leaves and serve.

Ratatouille Bake

This bake is one of Terry's favorites! From a cookbook called Rolling Prairie Cookbook by Nancy O'Conner, which was written especially for her CSA members. Enjoy!


Ratatouille Bake

1 tbsp olive oil

3 to 5 cloves

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups eggplant, peeled and dlced

2 cups zucchini, or other summer squash, diced half inch or so

1 large green or red pepper, diced

2 to 3 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

8-10 oz package frozen filled tortelloni or ravioli

4 ounces Mozzarella cheese, grated


Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, and eggplant and saute for several minutes, stirring constantly. Add zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.  Stir well and cook over medium heat several minutes more. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook until vegetables are tender and flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. While vegetable are simmering, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Lightly oil a large casserole and line bottom with cooked pasta.  Cover with hot ratatouille. Top with grated cheese. Broil until nicely brown on top.  Serves 6.

Whole Little Cauliflowers with Crispy Bread Crumbs

Here's a great way to use small cauliflowers!

4 small cauliflowers, no more than 5 inches across
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Dijon or coarse mustard
sea salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese

1. Wash the cauliflowers well. Toast the bread crumbs in the oven or in a skillet until crisp and golden. Melt the butter.
2. Steam the cauliflower, the curds facing down in the pot, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Set them on individual plates or a platter. Mix the melted butter with the parlsey, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper flakes. Pour it over the cauliflower, then add the bread crumbs and grate a little cheese over all.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Tomato season is upon us and the farm store is filled with them. We have several heirloom varieties which we are proud to grow along with some favorite red varieties and delicious, sweet cherry tomatoes. A little more on the heirloom varieties: while their interesting shapes and sizes make them unappealing for most stores to sell them, we find that their taste makes up for the appearance. Not to mention that we have pick them when they are just ripe enough to eat, so they don't store for more than a few days at a time. But just in case you don't get to them and they get a little too soft to enjoy raw, here is an excellent sauce recipe that Terry made on Saturday and we have all been enjoying since. Use any variety of tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato Sauce
In The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

4 pounds of tomatoes
1 pound sweet onions, chopped
5 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
3 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped

Use very red summer tomatoes (12-16 medium tomatoes). Peel the tomatoes in the usual way: cut a cross in the bottom of each one with a sharp knife and put them into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them from the hot water directly into cold water, then slip off their skins and trim them over a bowl, catching all juice. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks or wedges.

Peel and chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Toss together all the ingredients, including the juice of the tomatoes, and spread it all evenly over a large baking sheet with edges.

Put the tomatoes in a 375 degree oven and roast them for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring once after the first hour, then every 30 minutes or so. Most of the liquid will cook away and the tomatoes will melt into a soft, thick, slightly caramelized marmalade.

Serve this on pasta, with rice, on pizza, with polenta, in soups, in a quesadilla, in an omelet, or alongside anything that goes well with tomatoes.

Caramelized Fennel and Onion

A fennel bulb is the thickened, succulent stem of the plant that grows just above the ground. It can be used either raw or cooked in recipes. When used raw it is crunchy with a distinct licorice flavor, and cooked the flavor mellows out significantly. Below is an easy recipe for caramelized fennel and onions, one of my favorite ways to eat fennel. Enjoy!

2 large onions (3 cups sliced)
2 large, trimmed fennel bulbs (3 cups sliced)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste
1/4 cup slivered kalamata olives
White wine to taste, 2 tbsp to 1/3 cup
Fresh ground black pepper

1 loaf of crusty, Italian bread (ciabatta)

Peel the onions, quarter them lengthwise and slice them thickly. Trim onions and fennel bulbs and slice them to a similar size. In a heavy bottomed, nonstick pan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion and fennel, salt it lightly, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are a beautiful golden brown. This may take 45 minutes or more. Stir in the slivers of Kalamata olives and white wine. Continue stirring until the wine is completely absorbed. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt or pepper. Meanwhile, slice the bread about 1/2 inch thick. If it's a large loaf, cut the slices down to about 3 by 2 inches. Toast the slices in a 400 degree over until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides. Brush them lightly with olive oil. Spoon the fennel mixture over the toasts, or use toasts for dipping.

Raspberry Crisp

Well, it's getting to be the end of August and the raspberries are still coming in although our inventory on the farm is not nearly as overwhelming as it was last week! We are harvesting two varieties of red raspberries right now, both incredibly sweet and suited to grow well in western washington. They are known as tulameen (our smaller berry) and cascade delight (considerably larger berries, although I find them to not be as sweet). I finally made my first raspberry crisp of the year last night with a friend. This recipe was a hit! Definitely definitely top it with vanilla ice cream, it just doesn't get much better.

• 2-1/2 cups Raspberries
• 1 Tablespoon (Heaping) Cornstarch
• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup Oats
• 1/4 cup Pecans, Chopped
• Dash Of Salt
• 3/4 sticks Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
• Whipped Cream Or Vanilla Ice Cream, For Serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine (rinsed) raspberries, corn starch, 2/3 cups sugar, and vanilla. Stir and set aside.

In a separate bowl (or food processor) combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, oats, pecans, dash of salt, and butter pieces. Cut together with a pastry cutter (or pulse in food processor) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add berry mixture to a small baking dish or pie pan. Sprinkle topping mixture all over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Allow to sit for ten minutes before serving. Scoop out with a spoon and top with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.