Husk Cherries and Tomatillos

What's the difference between Husk Cherries and Tomatillos? 

According to kitchn.com, "Husk Cherries, also commonly referred to as ground cherries or husk tomatoes, are small pale orange fruits wrapped in a crinkly, paper-like husk. They look a little bit like small tomatillos. Their flavor is mild, yet quite sweet and very unique. I've heard them compared to a cross between a tomato and a pineapple. They're also quite similar to the cape gooseberry."

Then according to, Wikipedia, "Tomatillo, also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos originated in Mexico and were cultivated in the pre-Columbian era."

Need ideas on what to make with your Husk Cherries and/or Tomatillos? Lucky for you, I've done some digging and rounded up my top 2 recipes. Please remember, everything posted below is to taste. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Tomatillo Salsa - This is by far the easiest recipe to whip in your kitchen. In a blender or food processor, add in your tomatillos (without the husk), garlic, onion, cilantro, a pinch of salt, and lime juice. This is the perfect tortilla chip dip while entertaining your guests.

Husk Cherry Salad - Another easy peasy recipe. Bite sized lettuce pieces, pumpkin seeds, jicama cubes, and ground cherries. Use your favorite dressing or create a Ground Cherry Vinaigrette, the recipe can be found here. 

Want to create a Salsa with Tomatillo and Ground Cherries, try this one out this upcoming weekend.

What are your favorite recipes?

Cabbage, Cabbage, and, Oh Wait, More Cabbage

by Anna Petsching

I buy cabbage approximately two times a year. Once in the early fall to make golumpki soup (a lazy way to eat the delicious, Polish, stuffed cabbage dish). I buy cabbage a second time midwinter to, once again, make golumpki soup. My soup recipe makes enough to feed a village so I generally am thoroughly sick of the soup after making it just twice. And that's it. That's my cabbage consumption for the year. Done. Voila. Everyone lives happily ever after.

But then (dun dun dun!) enter the CSA. Enter more cabbage in three weeks then usually graces my kitchen in an entire year. What to do, what to do? First, I did what I think every CSAer does as some point in their agriculture supporting career, I put the offending vegetable in the fridge and ignored it. Cabbage will last a week or two. I'd think of something to do with it. This plan always backfires, because the next week's share had yet more cabbage. No worries, I knew I'd think of a plan. That cabbage sat in my fridge for another week. Wednesday night, with two cabbages in my fridge, an email telling me I'd be getting more cabbage the next day, and an absolute hatred for wasting food I did what any modern day American would do. I Googled it.

And Google, in it's infinite wisdom, didn't fail me. I found a whole bunch of recipes for cabbage fritters. From that plethora of recipes I spent a harrowing five or ten minutes narrowing down my options. Here's the surprisingly easy and delicious result of that.

As an aside, before I write this up, I have to apologize. I HATE when people give me recipes that aren't exact. I want a recipe that says use a cup of flour, one egg. None of this "add milk until the consistence is similar to the mud pies you made as a child" No. Exact please. My mother doesn't seem to have this figured out. I'll call her to ask her how to make something and she'll say things like "cook it until it looks right." WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

And yet, I'm about to do the same thing. That's it folks, I've become my mother. I'm going to give you a super inexact recipe and then leave you to it. So, don't burn the kitchen down. Kidding. That'd be pretty hard. This is pretty simple. (Huh, there I go sounding like my mom again).

Okay. Ready?

Take some cabbage. Chop it up. Coat it in flour. Throw in an egg, maybe two or three (enough to make everything stick together). Top all of that off with a dash (perhaps a teaspoon or so) of sesame oil and another dash of soy sauce. Mix it all together. Form the batter into patties with your hands. Fry in canola oil for just a few minutes on both sides. Serve with soy sauce.

That's it. Done. Once again, everyone lives happily ever after. Of course, I've made this a half a dozen times now in the last month, and much like the golumpki soup, I'm starting to get sick of it. So, if we get more cabbage? Well, that's when I'll get real serious. Rather than Googling it, I'll call Grandma and ask her what to do.

Vegetable Stock Recipe

Ever thought of what to do with all of your vegetables once they go limp? Life happens and before you know it, you're receiving your next share and don't know what to do with your not quite compost ready vegetable. 

As everyone knows, food in the bin means money in the bin. No one wants to waste their share of food especially for someone as frugal as me.  Although it's always best to eat vegetables at their freshest, sometimes we simply forget or as I mentioned before, life just happens. But it doesn't mean we have to compost it away and promise to do better the next time around. 

Create your own vegetable stock next time you find yourself with limp, soft and rubbery vegetables. 

Vegetable Stock Recipe (from wellpreserved.com)

1. Heat a neutral cooking oil like grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Start it hot and cool it off when needed. (please don't use olive oil as it smokes too much)
2. Dump your vegetables into the pot and brown them. Don’t worry about over browning but the more they fry the better they will be.
3. Pour enough cold water to JUST cover your vegetables.
4. Add seasoning (but no salt) and/or spices. You can also do this while frying.
5. Bring water to a simmer and reduce by half. This should take about 90 minutes.
6. Strain and cool as fast as possible.
7. Store in fridge or freezer, covered. 

Below are a few additional tips on how to keep your vegetables crisper in the fridge and more. Click HERE and HERE!

Norwood CSA Summer Bounty

While Michelle and I were putting away veggies after picking up our August 10, 2017 CSA single share, we were amazed by the quantity, variety, and quality of the food.  Nine veggie types in amounts large enough to base a meal around them.  Hurray for summer's bounty!

We couldn't resist taking a picture, perhaps to promote the CSA to future members.  Enjoy!

Cabbage & beets, together as one.. jar of pickles

It's still pretty hot outside, and I don't much feel like cooking.  A couple of weeks ago I suggested that you pickle your beans, and this week I suggest a similar fate for your surplus cabbage.

I love both cabbage and beets, but when I don't really feel like turning the oven on, what's to be done with them?  Shred 'em and pickle 'em is my solution!  This cabbage and beet salad recipe makes good use of these share ingredients.

Feeling adventurous?  Add some (or a lot) of crushed chili flakes to your pickle recipe.

Pictured:
Annual of true blue seeds.
From the Biodiversity Heritage Library and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library