It’s so nice to be back!

By : Margaret Groarke

Several years ago, my family was part of Norwood Food Coop CSA. We enjoyed the vegetables, the yogurt, and the community. I enjoyed feeling like I was helping Zaid develop his farm. But at some point, my life became a little overwhelming, and we were composting too many of the vegetables, and we dropped out. 

Last spring, Laura C. sent me an email asking me if I’d like to join Norwood Food Coop. I hadn’t thought about it in a while, but the time seemed right. I signed up. And I’m so glad I did!

Things were a little different during coronavirus – no longer did picking up your vegetables at the Bainbridge Garden mean hanging around the garden for an hour chatting with other members. But I learned that three other members lived on my very block (and Laura nearby), so we arranged group pick-ups, building a small community. We ate well all summer, and when we were out of town we gifted our share to a neighbor, enticing them to join too. 

My favorite part of the CSA has always been the surprise of what we get each week. This year, everything comes pre-packed in a box – so opening the box reveals what lovely vegetables Zaid has sent us this week. There’s always some familiar vegetables; Zaid grows some wonderful potatoes, and this winter we’ve gotten a lot of beautiful red onions. And there’s always some less familiar ones, which send me running to How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman, the staple cookbook in my kitchen, to figure out what to do with Kohlrabi or Winter Radishes. 

A particular pleasure this winter has been the Raw Milk Cheddar and Yogurt from Ithaca Milk. The Cheddar is extra sharp and delicious. The Yogurt has a thick creamy layer on top, and a pleasant mild flavor. 

One of the nice things about the winter vegetables from the CSA is that so many of them take well to roasting. One of my favorite easy dinners this winter has been to cut various vegetables – carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips – into similarly sized pieces, toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and shake of a dried green herb, and roast them on a sheet pan in the oven until them brown. Roasted vegetables over rice, with or without a little sauce or yogurt, is a great weeknight meal in the winter. If you’re a meat eater, roast vegetables go well with any kind of meat – you can even roast a piece of chicken on the pan with the vegetables!

And now that winter is giving way to spring, we look forward to the tender crops of early spring – garlic scapes, and salad greens, and other things that will surprise me when I see them in my box. Rejoining the coop has introduced me to new people and new vegetables, and reacquainted me with the rhythm of the seasons. If you aren’t already a member, Join us for the Summer 2021 season – go to http://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/p/what-is-norwood-csa-and-how-to-join.html to find out more. 

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Creamy Parsnip Soup

By : Chris Ekstrom

What do you do with a parsnip?  Parsnips have a unique subtle flavor I was first introduced to in the form of a soup, Creamy Parsnip Soup.  Sure, there are many ways to eat a parsnip but this soup is a simple delicious way to experience the goodness of parsnips.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Of chopped parsnips (approx. 1” cubes)

1 onion or leek, chopped                                       

1 clove garlic, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups milk

Parsley or cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  First, add chopped onion or leeks and stir frequently until creamy but not brown, about 10 minutes, then add garlic; cook an additional minute or two.  Next, add chopped parsnips and vegetable broth, then heat and simmer until parsnips are tender, about twenty minutes.  Next, blend the mixture with either a hand held immersion blender or an Osterizer-type blender; if using the latter, let prepared ingredients cool and blend in batches.  Finally, gradually stir in milk while simmering; be careful not to curdle milk with too high a heat.

Garnish with parsley, cilantro, ground pepper and/or salt.

Beets in a different way—what’s not to beat?

by : Sabine Stezenbach

As I child I had unhappy experiences with beets and thus tried to avoid them as an adult. But we all know they are good for you. They are low in calories, yet high in valuable vitamins and minerals. In fact, they contain a bit of almost all the vitamins and minerals that one needs. And as we all know as members of the CSA, they are a frequent part of the winter shares as they have a long shelf life and are ready to be harvested in late summer and fall. On one of my searches for what else I could do with beet root aside from roasting I came across a recipe for “Chocolate Beet Muffins” which since has become one of my favorites. They taste earthy yet chocolately and are easy to take along to a picnic.

Ingredients

 2 medium size beets, raw

 Scant 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)

 2 tablespoons cacoa powder

 1 ½ tablespoons of baking powder

 ¼ tablespoon salt

 2 large eggs

 ¼ cup of whole milk

 ¾ cup of brown sugar or equivalent natural sweetener

 ¼ cup of unsalted butter, room temperature

 ¼ cup of sunflower oil

 1 cup of semi- sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

 preheat oven to 355 degree Fahrenheit

 peel the beets if you wish and grate

 in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt

 in a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk

 in a large bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the sugar, butter and oil. On low

speed, beat in the egg mixture. Slowly fold in the flour mixture.

 Using a spatula, mix in the grated beets and chocolate chips.

 Evenly divide the batter into 12 muffin cases in a greased muffin form. Each case should be a bout ¾ full

 Bake for 20—25 minutes until the muffins are springy to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool in

pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling

 Enjoy!

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Two Recipes: Open Face Egg Sandwich and Crab Chowder

By: Andrew Li

Open-faced breakfast sandwich:

Used the onions and eggs in we have in the food delivery.

First take any thin fatty meat and fry in a pan. I used some leftover salami.

Once meat is crispy set it to the side and toss in sliced onions to cook in the meat fat.

Once the onions are brown, can remove and set to the side.

Take a slice of bread, butter one side and put face down in a skillet. Use whatever cheese you want and put in on top. I used a mild cheddar.

Cook an egg.

Assemble by putting meat on the cheese side of bread, fried onions, then an egg. Garnish with whatever you feel like. I did black pepper and green onion.

Winter crab chowder:

Used potatoes from delivery.

Take king crab legs, remove the meat. Boil in a pot the shells with black peppercorns, garlic,  and sage for 1-2 hours to make a quick seafood stock. Strain out the solids.

Add finely chopped potatoes to stock and boil for 15 min. Then add corn.

10 min later add black pepper, tomato paste, heavy cream. I go more tomato than cream but do it to your own taste.

Stir around. Add in chopped crab meat. I didn’t need to add any salt but season to taste.

The Unboxing

 by Matthew López-Jensen

“Is it snowing again?”

“No, it’s actually sleeting. You can hear it on the windows. It sounds like sand.”

“It was snowing earlier. Big fat flakes.”

“Should be done and the sidewalks cleared by Wednesday for the pick up.”

“We did sign up for it; for the winter walks.”

“So worth it, though.”

“For the greens alone.”

“I know. Eating a salad with these greens in the middle of winter in the middle of everything that’s going on. It almost feels wrong.”

“That’s just how tame we are. A salad feels illicit.”

“Not that kind of wrong. It’s just at what other time in history could you walk a few blocks and snag amazing organic veggies with organic baby greens grown in the middle of winter.”

“Maybe you just feel bad eating anything that has the word “baby” in it.”

“Could be. But there’s like five kinds of babies in there!”

“Are you going to make the same dressing you made last time?”

“Is there anything else?”

“No. What do you put in there again?”

“Half a lemon, three teaspoons of olive oil, squirt of Dijon mustard, pinch of salt, black pepper, and a bunch of the dill I dried in November. Dill tastes like summer.”

“That’s it? Why’s it so good?”

“Maybe it’s the dusting of lemon zest. The box this week came with a bunch of red onions. I think I’ll mince some, just a bit, and put them in the salad.”

“You can pickle some.”

“I will this weekend. Along with some of the radish. Faaa! These apples. It’s February but they look perfect, like Crispins.”

“Let’s eat one now.”

“The potatoes look amazing.”

“We’re having them tonight in rice and beans.”

“Yes, please.”

A Salad a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

by Kathi Carter Rodriguez

We’re almost a year into COVID and who hasn’t gained a few pounds while sheltering in place?  Well I have.  I’ve put on about 10 pounds and that’s why my two posts reflect a consistent theme…..recipes designed to help lose weight. 

I was excited to receive this week’s bounty because I was anticipating all the colorful veggies I’d add to my daily salad. Ah…. mesclun, carrots, beets, Jerusalem artichoke and onions…what a treat!

Before chopping and dicing starts, I clean everything with my ubiquitous spray bottle of white vinegar.  As my grandmother would say, “I went to town” cleaning and scrubbing my veggies.   

While sautéing the onions, I chop mesclun, carrots, beets and Jerusalem artichokes. I combine everything into a serving bowl and add protein.  Today, its leftover roasted chicken, but on other days, it might be turkey, boiled eggs, tuna, salmon, mackerel, chickpeas or lentils).  Then comes the fun stuff:  avocados, golden toasted flaxseeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatoes and pitted Kalamata olives (I absolutely love them). 

Lastly, I dress my salad with Braggs apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Voila!  A guilt-free meal that’s satisfying enough to get me through till dinnertime.  

If Popeye Owned a Vitamix….

by Kathi Carter Rodriguez

My Dad turned 77 last week and credits his good health (no aches and pains whatsoever) to his juice fasts once a week.  So my Dad, Popeye, and this week’s goodies have inspired my second post about juicing.  Juicing is super easy; gives you a natural source of energy; and removes toxins from vital organs (liver, kidney, intestines, etc.).  What’s not to love about juicing? 

This is one of my favorite juice recipes because it’s simple and contains 4 powerful antioxidants------spinach, carrots, beets and apples (all items in this week’s share). 

Here’s the nutritional rundown:

• Spinach is an extremely nutrient-rich vegetable. It packs high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium.

• Beets are a superfood that’s packed with potassium, iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin B9 (folate), manganese and fiber.

• Carrots are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, especially biotin, potassium, and Vitamins A (from beta carotene), K1, and B6.

• Apples are fraught with Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C and folate (folic acid)

INSTRUCTIONS:

• A handful of spinach 

• 2 carrots

• 1 beet

• 1 apple 

Clean, peel, and place the items in your Vitamix or juicer.  Juice for about 15-30 seconds and drink immediately to reap the most nutrients.  If you need to store in the fridge, add about ¼ teaspoon of Vitamin C Crystals to preserve freshness. 

This recipe reaps about a cup or two. 

I’m sure my Dad and Popeye would give this recipe a thumb up. ☺