This week in your box (week 19)

Hi there,

With the crisp, cool weather back, we're cooking more warm, cozy foods. In your box this week, we hope you'll enjoy the ingredients to make comfy autumn meals with a few recipes from below. Please share any other great uses you find for your produce in the comments section!

Romaine Lettuce

Salad Mix

Green Curly Kale - Rumor has it, this recipe comes from a certain Italian chain restaurant. Not sure if that is true, but it sinful & delicious. I strayed from the recipe a bit -- substituting chicken stock for bouillon and water. Also, I added a whole bunch of kale (because we love it) and went easy on the heavy cream. Still kid approved!

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic
  
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.
   

Celery - Our celery tends to be very flavorful, and is better when used for cooking. Throw it into your favorite soup or your mirepoix (mixture of onion, celery, carrots) as a base for any dish. The celery stalks with leaves are especially good for making vegetable stock. I tend to throw them into mixture of whatever is left in the fridge for a great base for minestrone.

Rutabaga - In case you still have some butternut squash, here's a recipe where you can use it, too!

Butternut Squash and Rutabaga Purée Bon Appétit | December 1998

Yield: Serves 10 4 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 cup (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth 3 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange butternut squash in single layer in 13 x9 x2-inch glass baking dish. Add 1 cup broth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until squash is very tender, about 45 minutes. Drain squash. Transfer squash to processor. Meanwhile, cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Add to squash in processor. Process until mixture is smooth, adding more broth if necessary. Transfer squash and rutabaga pureée to heavy large saucepan. Add butter. Stir over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer purée to bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat.)

Parsnips - We've (literally) been waiting all season for one of our favorite crops, the parsnip. It's so unassuming, yet sweet and delicious. This season's crop seemed to fair well with the warm summer and consistent irrigation.

Parsnip and Pear Latkes

Bon Appétit | December 2006

Serve with chopped celery leaves and horseradish mixed into sour cream. Look for panko at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of supermarkets. Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings 1 6- to 7-ounce underripe Bosc pear, quartered, cored 1 7- to 8-ounce parsnip, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 large egg, beaten to blend 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped celery leaves 1 1/2 teaspoons drained white horseradish 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) Vegetable oil (for frying) Using coarse grating blade, shred pear in processor. Transfer to paper towels; squeeze very dry. Transfer to large bowl. Shred parsnip in processor; add to pear. Mix in next 4 ingredients, then panko and a sprinkle of black pepper. Coat bottom of large skillet with oil; heat over medium heat. Drop batter by packed 1/4 cupfuls into skillet; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Sauté until brown and cooked, about 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

epicurious.com

Leeks

Bok Choi - See last week's newsletter for a description & ideas for these two Asian greens.

Tokyo Bekana - Last night, we mixed in our Tokyo Bekana (in place of spinich) with our butternut squash curry - it was a nice sweetness added to the curry (recipe in our Week 14 post).

Onion

Shallots

Thyme