The Best Cabbage Soup I Ever Made

Really. Just ask my family and friends.

Valle D'Aosta Cabbage Soup
(Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

SERVES 4-6; PREP TIME 35 min

INGREDIENTS
4 cups cubed bread (about 1/2 lb. - hearty grain bread is best)
5 Tblsp. butter
5 to 6 cups thinly sliced or grated cabbage
1/2 tsp. ground/grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
6 cups vegetable stock or broth (we used chicken broth)
2 cups grated Fontina cheese

Preheat the Oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Spread bread cubes evenly in a 9x13-inch casserole dish or 2-quart ovenproof dish (A little larger pan would probably be good. I had to use a little less liquid since it was so full.)
If the cubes aren't dry, toast them briefly in the oven. Melt 3 Tblsp. of butter and drizzle over the stale bread. Set aside.

When the water boils, blanch the cabbage just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain well. Spread the cabbage over the bread. Melt the remaining 2 Tblsp. of butter and stir in the nutmeg, pepper and salt, and pour the seasoned butter on the cabbage and bread. Pour the stock over everything and evenly spread the cheese on the top.

Bake until cheese melts and starts to brown, 25-30 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Three Month Winter CSA: Last Share

Winter is here! The temps are predicted to drop to 19 degrees tonight, and no higher than 32 tomorrow. It will be a chilly day for shareholders. The good news is that this share is really nice, well worth a little shivering. The Picadilly farm crew moved through the fields quickly on Tuesday, harvesting as many leafy greens as they could before the snow hit. We will reap the benefits of their work: head lettuce and a bag of kale & collard greens in the share. Jenny's sending along some extra spinach (sweet, sweet frost-kissed spinach!), too!

Lots of roots in this CSA share. If you're looking for new root recipes, check out shareholder's blogs in the sidebar. I found Moroccan Vegetable Stew on Semi-Sweet and can hardly wait to try it. Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary and Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew, both from epicurious.com, are nice root recipes, too.

Here is what you will find in the last winter share:

Cabbages, red and green cabbages. Russian Cabbage Stew from Wicked Whisk is excellent.

Kale/Collard mix, 1 bag. Here's another recipe from Sarah at Semi-Sweet: Caribbean Kale & Sweet Potato. These crispy kale chips are a new favorite in my house.

Lettuce, 2 heads

Leeks, 1 bunch

Onions, 2 pounds

Beets, 3 pounds

Carrots, 6 pounds. Given how sweet these "bolero" carrots are, maybe this recipe for Baked Carrots could serve as a dessert.

Celeriac, 2 pounds. New to celeriac? The Seasonal Chef offers five easy recipes, all of which look delicious.

Parsnips, 2 pounds

Popcorn, 1 bouquet. How to pop corn! Meghan and Rob at Riverland Farm grew the popcorn you'll find in the share.

Potatoes, 5 pounds

Winter radish, 1-2 pieces. The variety in the share is Misato Rose.

Sweet potatoes, 4 pounds. Sweet potato latkes were a hit with my 8 and 11 year old neighbor kids yesterday. Max and Tjaden informed me that latkes are for Hanukkah, and Hanukkah is all about oil, and I really should have fried these latkes in oil. Maybe next time. And there will be a next time, 'cause these are delicious!

Turnips, 2 pounds

Winter squash, about 7 pounds of butternut. This Pumpkin and Sweet Potato soup should work with butternut squash. And here's a Butternut Squash Soup recipe that looks good.

Shareholders who pre-ordered them will be picking up bulk roots (carrots, celeriac, garlic, onions, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes), dried turtle and navy beans, organic maple syrup, raw honey and butternut squash.

Popcorn

Here are directions from Rob at Riverland about how to pop Riverland's popcorn.

The popcorn you get in your share has just been picked from the field. The kernels will still need time to dry (At least 3 weeks in warm non-humid environment) before they are ready to pop. You may want to test pop the corn after 3 weeks to see if it pops well. If it does, it is dry enough and ready to pop. The husk has been peeled back to allow the corn to dry. Just hang or store your bouquet in a dry place. In approximately 3-4 weeks get your pan warmed up and toss in a couple kernels. If they pop fully then the rest are ready to pop and eat. If the kernels only half pop let the corn dry a little longer. It is worth the wait.

We have had the best success popping the corn on the stovetop. Some have tried in the microwave. I have yet to find any good tips on popping right off the cob. If anyone has a trick let us know we will put it up on our website!

* 1 ear of pop corn
* 1 tsp olive or vegetable oil (per 1 cup)

Using your hands work the kernels of popcorn off the cob. Start from the tip of the ear of corn and work toward the base. Place the kernels in a 5-6 quart sauce pot (with lid with just enough oil to cover the kernels. Heat corn and oil on medium high heat. After about 3-5 minutes the kernels will begin to pop. Once you hear that the popping has slowed and almost stopped remove from heat and put into bowl and season to taste.

Cabbage

Check out this sauerkraut making video. This is a nice way to use cabbage, as well as any Brussels sprouts lurking in your fridge!

Here's a nice Russian Cabbage Soup recipe from the Wicked (awesome) Whisk that makes use of raw and fermented cabbage. Yum!

Two Month Winter CSA: Last Share

The mild "winter" weather we've been experiencing has resulted in some veggie treats we don't usually get this time of year in New England. The head lettuce in today's share is one of those treats. Picadilly is sending more of these treats with the winter share today, and they will be available for purchase. Harvested on Friday (December 4!!!), they include: spinach, red kale, lacinato kale, collards, salad turnips, napa cabbage, and daikon radish.

Lots of roots in the share today. Two of my favorite recipes make use of many of them: Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary and Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew.

Here is what you will find in the share today:
Cabbages, 2 small heads of red cabbage, 1 head of green cabbage
Kale, 1 bunch. For something new, and addictive, try these crispy kale chips.
Lettuce, 2 heads
Leeks, 1 bunch
Onions, 2 pounds
Beets, 3 pounds
Carrots, 6 pounds
Celeriac, 2 pounds. New to celeriac? The Seasonal Chef offers five easy recipes, all of which look delicious.
Parsnips, 2 pounds
Popcorn, 1 bouquet. How to pop corn! Meghan and Rob at Riverland Farm grew the popcorn you'll find in the share.
Potatoes, 5 pounds
Winter radish, 1-2 pieces. The variety in the share is Misato Rose.
Sweet potatoes, 4 pounds
Turnips, 2 pounds
Winter squash, about 7 pounds of butternut
Red Kidney Beans, 2 pounds. My two all time favorite ways to use kidney beans are Red Beans & Rice and Moosewood's Vegetarian Chili.

In addition to the regular share, shareholders who pre-ordered them will be picking up bulk roots (carrots, celeriac, garlic, onions, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes), dried turtle and navy beans, organic maple syrup and raw honey.

Putting up apples

Eighty bushels of apples from Cider Hill Farm went home with Shared Harvest CSA members on Saturday. Three bushels have been living on my porch, waiting to be eaten or preserved. They are storage variety apples, so if I had a cold place to store them I could eat them 'fresh' all winter. Since I've limited fridge space my apple storage plan involves canning most of them.

I spent yesterday morning making apple butter. My house still smells of apples, cinnamon and cloves. Today I turned another bushel of apples into applesauce. I've a whole shelf in the pantry filled with jars of apple butter and applesauce. These will be a real treat this winter.

If you're wanting to preserve some of your winter veggies, the National Center for Home Food Preservation has a lot of good information about food storage including how to can, freeze and ferment various veggies

Three Month Winter CSA: Second Veggie Installment

Three month CSA shareholders, are you ready for the next installment of veggies? This month some of the veggies have been left dirty. Potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots all store better with dirt on them. If you have questions about how to store your vegetables, take a look at these storage tips.

Interested in a few new recipes? You might enjoy some of the recipes from the November 7 share posting. A couple of shareholders told me they've posted recipes on the Newton Farm's Shared Harvest Recipe Wiki. I encourage you to check out this cool resource if you haven't already. It might also be fun to see how other shareholders are managing their share and what they are cooking up. Check the sidebar for the links.

From Picadilly Farm:
Leeks, a bunch. Leeks can be easily frozen - just wash, dice and put in sealed bag in the freezer.

Potatoes, 5 pounds of white "Salems", unwashed for better storage. Store them in a cool and dark place, out of the plastic bag, and they should store for months.

Red radishes, a bunch.

Lacinato kale, a bunch. This dark green kale can be used like any other kale.

Rutabagas, 2 pounds unwashed. Compared to the turnip, rutabagas have a yellowier hue in their flesh, and a taste that's more earthy and warm, without the radishy zing. Store them as other roots, very cold but not freezing.

Salad turnips, a bunch. These "Hakurai" turnips are like a sweet radish, and are delicious raw in salads, grated or chopped. Saute them with greens. Unlike the more traditional fall turnip, these Hakurai are too watery for roasts or stews.

Parsnips, 2 pounds, unwashed for better storage.

Carrots, 5 pounds, unwashed for longer storage. These fall "boleros" are as big as they are sweet. Store in the fridge, or in a very cold (but not freezing) place in your house.

Winter squash, 7 pounds of butternuts, 2-4 pieces. They are best stored at about 50-55 degrees, not much colder - a cool place in your kitchen can work well.

Parsley, a bunch. It's not the prettiest bunch ever picked. But since we picked the "hearts" out of these plants - the last harvest of the season - the flavor is strong and sweet.

Sweet potatoes, 4 pounds. More of this very nice crop. Keep them in a cool place in your kitchen - they'll last for months if you have a 50-55 degree spot, with good ventilation.

Spinach, a pound. Actually from Appleton Farms in Ipswich - we needed spinach for the share, after a crop failure in our field; and they needed winter squash for their holiday shares. So, we made a swap. Enjoy!

From Riverland Farm: I made a few corrections to this list after I posted it: more lettuce, fewer onions and broccoli (no bok choy) are in the share.
Lettuce, three small heads. Heads of Boston and Batavian varieties.
Escarole, one head.
Brussels sprouts, two stalks.
Onions, two pounds.
Broccoli, about 1/2 pound.
Napa Cabbage, one head.
Garlic, half a pound.

From Baer's Best Beans, two pounds of dark red kidney beans.