This week you will be receiving a double share for weeks 17 & 18. You will receive lettuce, arugula, radishes, russet baking potatoes, yellow potatoes, red & yellow onions, husk cherries, shallots, leeks, parsley, dill, tomatillos, kale, Spaghetti Squash, Sweet Dumpling Squash, Hot Poblano Peppers, Sweet Peppers & possibly eggplant.

We got our first frost Friday night and while it was light it did damage the eggplant. Thankfully the sweet peppers only received slight damage and we were able to harvest most of the winter squash during the day on Friday. The husk cherries, melons, corn & most of the hot peppers were destroyed.

Squash, onions, potatoes, peppers & eggplant store best outside of the refrigerator. Store the onions & potatoes separately from the squash, peppers & eggplant as the ethylene gas that ripens the squash peppers & eggplant can cause the onions & potatoes to sprout. Use up your peppers starting with the ripest ones. Once the peppers are ripe and you do not have a use for them right away it is okay to place in the refrigerator (we have kept unripe/partially ripe peppers for over 2 weeks just in a basket in our dining room while the ones we placed in the refrigerator became all wrinkly and less desirable in about a week).

Lettuce & arugula can be stored in a produce bag in the vegetable draw of your refrigerator. Lettuce is best stored by washing, cutting up & using a salad spinner to dry the leaves we just store our cut up lettuce in the basket of the salad spinner so any excess moisture collects in the bottom bowl and the lettuce isn’t sitting in water. If you don’t have a salad spinner dry the lettuce as best as possible and place in a ziploc bag with a piece of paper towel folded in the bottom to collect moisture. The same can be done with the arugula. Radishes should be stored in a perforated bag with out the tops. Leeks will last if stored with their root ends in a little water in the refrigerator. I find the parsley & dill will last longer if stored in a cup of water like flowers but in the refrigerator. Tomatillos also do not need to be refrigerated. Kale will keep for over a week in a produce bag in the refrigerator. I would plan to use the eggplant within 2 to 3 days.

Dill Dip
Fresh Dill
Plain Yogurt (greek or regular either will work)

Strip dill leaves from the stem. Mix with yogurt. Enjoy as a dressing with salad, to dip cut up vegetables, as a topping for potatoes, as a dip for hot wings etc.

Roasted Poblano & Tomatillo Guacamole

1 Leek
2 Poblano Peppers
1 Onion
4 cups Tomatillos
Olive Oil
3 Avocados, diced
1/2 bunch Cilantro (optional)
Juice of 1 Lime

Cut the leek, poblano peppers, onion and tomatillos into 2 inch pieces. Place in roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 350°F for about 15 minutes. Process roasted veggies with the juice of one lime and let cool. Add 3 avocados and 1/2 bunch cilantro and pulse until combined.
Serve with tortilla chips.

Steamed Leeks with Mustard Shallot Vinaigrette

leeks, cut lengthwise and then into 2 inch strips
1 small shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

In a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add the leeks, cover and steam until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the leeks, pat dry and refrigerate until chilled, 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the shallot with the mustard and the red wine and balsamic vinegars. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
Mound the steamed leeks on plates. Drizzle them with the vinaigrette, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Creamy Kale Sauce

5-6 Kale leaves, stemmed
1 tbs butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
about 1 cup of milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

Steam the kale until softened. If you don’t have a steamer, place in a covered pot with about ⅓ cup of water and cook until soft. Remove the kale and set aside to cool. Discard the cooking water. Melt the butter in a non stick skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking, stirring often about 1 minute, then remove from heat and set aside.
Place the cooked kale on a large wooden board and chop very finely. Place the chopped kale in a large bowl and add the onion and garlic mixture, and the ricotta. Mix well. Add enough milk to get consistency similar to Greek yogurt. Mix again. You can leave the sauce as is, or use an immersion blender to give it even smoother consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over spaghetti or spaghetti squash.

Sweet Dumpling Bowl

Sweet Dumpling Squash
Olive oil
Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick spray. Cut the tops off the squashes and, using a spoon, scoop out all of the seeds (you may need to remove a bit of the flesh at the top to reach them all). Place the squash, bottoms and tops, in the baking dish and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil, inside and out, sprinkling with 1 teaspoon salt. Place the squashes in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, until fork tender, but not mushy. Use as a bowl for risotto, rice, soups or stuff with roasted vegetables top with cheese and broil for a few minutes.

How to cook Spaghetti Squash

Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in a baking dish with about a 1/4 inch of water. bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until tender. Let cool and scrap the inside with a fork to release the strands of squash. We like to add sauce to the strands and fill the empty squash shells back up, top with cheese & bake until melted.