RECIPE: Bucatini with Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and large sprouts halved

1/3 cup Parm-Reg, grated, plus additional for garnish

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp evoo

3 tbsp chopped walnuts

2 tsp lemon thyme, finely chopped

1/2 lb. bucatini

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place sprouts in cast iron pan with garlic and evoo. Season with s&p. Toss so that all of the ingredients are evenly coated in evoo and well-seasoned. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, add walnuts and lemon thyme. Stir brussels sprouts so that sprouts flip over and walnuts and thyme are evenly distributed. Roast until brussels sprouts are nicely browned, with some of the outer leaves looking almost charred. Trust me, charred brussels sprouts are happy brussels sprouts.

3. Meanwhile cook bucatini according to package specifications in a large pot of boiled, salted water. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Add pasta to brussels sprouts. Toss in parm-reg, and drizzle in approximately 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Toss to combine. If the sauce is still thick, add remaining pasta water until it loosens and just coats the pasta. If desired, drizzle in additional 1 tbsp evoo over warm pasta.

4. Serve pasta in individual pasta bowls (or plates), garnished with additional parm-reg (if desired).

Submitted by Vicki Boyne

FARM NEWS 10.4

Hi folks,
Attached is a photo of Dan bringing in the harvest of parsley.
This week on the farm, recovery from last weeks torrent of rain. Pounding, 4" in four hour rain. The crew was soaked, the veg was in mud, the lettuce mix was pounded. Wow, after such a spell of dry weather, what a reverse in extremes. Farming, among many things, is working with the elements. Seeing how far you can push yourself and your crew before they resent you....I think we're all OK though, we had several half days last week. Hopefully y'all as sharers hardly noticed the mud.

This week on the farm, more compost spreading, more cover crop seeding, harvesting for our CSA, pigs to pasture, meat birds to pasture, greenhouse cleanup (from the greenhouse tomatoes.) Also, Cody will start building a root cellar in the barn so we can offer winter veggies to our CSA members in the future.

Here's the harvest:
Onions
Carrots
Beets
Broccoli
Peppers
Eggplant
Chard
Arugula
Salad Mix
Kale
Daikon Radish
Winter Squash
Parsley

Bon appetite!
Your farmers,
Dan, Tracy, Bea and Baxter

RECIPE: Black-Eye Pea Stew with Kale and Squash

Adapted from Veg Times

Ingredients:

2 cups squash, cut into ½ inch dice
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrot
2 cloves garlic minced
finely chopped kale or collard greens, tough stems removed
4 cups of water
1 table soup veg soup base
black-eyed peas

Procedure:

1. Soak Black-Eye Peas overnight, or bring to boil and let stand for 2-3 hours.

2. Add oil to pot. Add squash, onion, carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Stir in garlic and cook one minute more. Add greens, four cups of water and veggie soup base. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat. Simmer until greens and squash are tender.

3. Add black-eyed peas, season with salt, pepper and, if desired, fresh thyme, serve hot.

RECIPE: Arugula with Tomato Raisins

Adapted from Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking b

y Mario Batali and Mark Ladner

Ingredients:

1 pint (about 2 cups) cherry or grape tomatoes

1 tbsp evoo

kosher salt

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup evoo

1 lb. arugula, trimmed, washed and spun dry

Maldon or other flaky sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Tomato Raisins (recipe follows)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2. Toss the tomatoes with evoo and salt in a bowl. Spread the tomatoes out on the baking sheet and bake, stirring and turning the tomatoes occasionally, until they are lightly browned in spots and shriveled, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for grape tomatoes or 3 1/2 to 4 hours for cherry tomatoes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, marmalade or zest, and evoo.

4. Toss the arugula with just enough vinaigrette to coat the arugula in a large mixing bowl. Season with s&p.

Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, garnish with the tomatoes, and serve.

Submitted by Vicki Boyne

RECIPE: Maple-Roasted Delicata Squash

Ingredients:

2 Delicata squash

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into quarters

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

salt and pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Using a strong knife, cut each squash in half lengthwise. Spoon out seeds and stringy bits in the center of each half, just like you do when you are making a jack o'lantern. Place squash halves in a rimmed baking pan, cut side up. Add butter, brown sugar, s&p, and cayenne. Drizzle squash with maple syrup. Add a little water, about 1/4 inch, to the bottom of the baking pan to help the squash steam and to keep it from drying out.

3. Squash is done after it is nice and tender, which should take about an hour. Remove from oven and serve squash halves with melted butter mixture inside the cavity.

Submitted by Vicki Boyne

RECIPE: Roasted Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

32oz jarred tomato sauce

2 small squash (acorn, butternut and/or delicata), seeded, roasted

3 bunches of spinach, trimmed and washed

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 container (15oz) ricotta cheese

2 cups grated Parmesan, split

1 egg

¼ tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg

1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced

9-11 no-boil lasagna noodles (6oz)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Halve squash and remove seeds. Wrap in foil and place on baking sheet. Roast squash until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Scoop squash out into a bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Gradually add spinach and toss until wilted, about 4 minutes. Transfer spinach to a strainer and press to release liquid. When cool, chop spinach and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, egg, and nutmeg until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

3. Lightly oil a 13- by 9- by 2-inch (3 qt). Spread one-quarter the tomato sauce in dish, top with 3 noodles (you can use a couple of extra trimmed noodles to fill in the extra spaces). Top with half the ricotta mixture, half the squash, one-quarter the tomato sauce, and 3 noodles. Top with remaining ricotta mixture, cooked spinach, one-quarter the sauce, and 3 noodles. Top with remaining sauce, 1 pound mozzarella, and 1 cup Parmesan.

4. Bake lasagna on a rimmed baking sheet until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let lasagna cool 15 minutes before serving.

Submitted by Stephanie Leonard

RECIPE: Roasted Beet Risotto

Makes 6-8 side dish servings.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets (1.5 lb with greens), trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached

3.5 cups chicken broth (28 fl oz)

3 cups water

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups Arborio rice (14 oz)

½ cup dry white wine

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (½ cup)

Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings, made with vegetable peeler

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Tightly wrap beets in foil and roast on a baking sheet until very tender, 75-90 minutes. Cool to warm in foil packages, about 20 minutes. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, discarding stems and root ends, then cut into ½ - inch cubes.

2. While beets are cooling, bring broth and water to a bare simmer in a 2-3 quart saucepan. Keep at a bare simmer, covered.

3. Cook onion in oil in a wide 4-6 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth, ½ - cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender and creamy-looking, 18-22 minutes. (Reserve leftover broth.)

4. Stir in beets, salt, and pepper (mixture will turn bright pink) and cook, stirring, until heated through. Thin as necessary with some of leftover broth, then stir in cheese and remove from heat.

Submitted by Stephanie Leonard