JUDI’S RECIPES- WEEK 19 – SWEET POTATOES WITH BACON BRITTLE

OCTOBER 10, 2017

Hello Everyone,

We’re on the home stretch. Our last regular pick-up date at the site is November 14. If you have not yet volunteered at the site, please sign up now. It is your obligation to perform one 2-hour shift. The core group are all volunteers and we need help. We work very hard to make your CSA experience a good one, and everyone must help us at least once.

 

Today’s recipe is delicious, for every day or at Thanksgiving. It’s a recipe for lovely twice baked sweet potatoes with a bacon brittle laced with sesame seeds.

SWEET POTATOES WITH BACON BRITTLE

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″-wide pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1 TBS sesame seeds

6 medium sweet potatoes (6-8 ounces each)

2 large eggs

3 TBS unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 TBS white miso (fermented soybean paste)

1- 2 to 3 inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated (about 2 teaspoons)

2 1″ pieces scallion (dark-green parts only), thinly sliced lengthwise

 

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

2. Cook bacon in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat until most of the fat is rendered and the bacon is starting to crisp. Transfer the bacon to a strainer set over a small bowl. Reserve the drippings.

3. Return the bacon, 1 tablespoon of the drippings, the sugar, and the sesame seeds to same skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar turns the color of milk chocolate, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly with a spatula. Allow it to cool and then break the brittle into shards.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast them until tender, 45-55 minutes. Let them sit until they are cool enough to handle.

5. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise. Working over a large bowl, scoop out the flesh from the 8 halves, leaving a 1/2″-thick layer inside the skins. Place the potato halves on the same foil-lined baking sheet.

6. Scoop the flesh from the remaining 4 halves and discard the skins. Mash the flesh with a whisk or masher, add the eggs, butter, miso, and ginger and stir until the mixture is smooth. Spoon or pipe the filling into the reserved skins.

7. Bake the potatoes until the tops are lightly puffed and golden brown, about 30-35 minutes This will take longer if the potatoes have been chilled.

8. Top the potatoes with bacon-sesame brittle and scallions.

HELPFUL HINT: The brittle can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container on your kitchen counter.

ANOTHER HELPFUL HINT: You can prepare the potatoes up to 6 hours ahead. Just cover and chill.

ONE MORE HELPFUL HINT: White miso, also called shiro miso, can be found on Amazon.com or at Asian groceries.

 

Try this recipe – you won’t be disappointed!

That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoy the sweet potatoes. Have a delicious week!

Best,

Judi

Week# 19 — Note from Farmer, Mizuna, Mustard Green, Arugula Salad Recipe, Celeriac Recipes, Kale Recipes, Seed Oils

Dear CSA Member,

The weather has been unpredictable these past few weeks. It has gone from 80 degrees one week to frost the next. We are now heading back into another warm trend! The fall leaves are at a standstill and are still mostly green. This week was the first harvest of Sweet Potatoes! They look beautiful but haven’t been washed to help keep for members. (read below) We also harvested Pop Corn this week! The PopCorn is harvested and is put in the greenhouse to dry. It takes a few weeks before the popcorn is ready to POP! It will be ready for your share in a few weeks!

Sweet Potatoes: The sweet potatoes WILL need to be washed. They were harvested right from the fields and packed for your share. The sweet potatoes will keep a little longer if they do not get wet.
The Sweet Potatoes have a very thin skin that you are able to eat when cooked (you do not have to peel them). Whipped Sweet Potatoes taste great with a drizzle of Butternut Squash or Roasted Pumpkin seed oil on top.

Celeriac: Celeriac will be in your shares this week. A CSA member from the New Rochelle CSA shared on Instagram Celeriac Mash. (Looked Delicious! Thank you for posting!) Check out this link for TEN (YES, 10) THINGS TO DO WITH CELERY ROOT Click Here

Curly Kale and Beets: Curly Kale aka. Winter Bor / Starbor Kale will be in your share this week as well. Our favorite kale recipe here on the farm is Roasted Beet and Kale Salad With Maple Candied Walnuts This is a beautiful and tasty salad. This salad calls for Maple Syrup and Honey that are available through the online marketplace.
For more Kale recipes Click Here

Greens: Arugula, Mizuna and Mustard
SALAD OF FIELD GREENS, GORGONZOLA, PEAR & TOASTED WALNUT

5 ounces pre-washed salad greens
1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
4 ounces gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled or shaved

Vinaigrette (makes 1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp pumpkin seed oil
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp + 2 Teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Make the vinaigrette: with fork or small whisk combine oils and mustard in small bowl. Gradually add lemon juice until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine greens, walnuts, sliced pear. Immediately before serving, toss greens with vinaigrette until lightly coated. Toss in crumbled blue cheese.
https://www.wholeheartedfoods.com/squash-oil-recipes.htm

Check out our Online Marketplace! The Stoneledge Farm online Marketplace offers honey, maple syrup, coffee, seed oils, mushrooms, fruit, and vegetables in bulk. Click Here to login to your account to place your order.

Enjoy!
-Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Week #18 — Note from the Farmer

Week #18

Dear CSA members,

The seasons are continuing to change; there was a cool bite to the air this morning. As the summer crops begin to fade, the fresh fall greens take their place, bringing new life to the fields. The dry weather has continued through the growing season, bringing with it challenges as well as some benefits – such as not working in the rain and mud. The fungal diseases that can often reduce crop yields during the summer months were not a major concern due to the lack of precipitation.

The majority of our plants are started by hand in the greenhouses and then transplanted into the fields to give them a much-needed head start. During this period, the transplants need constant moisture to help establish the plants. This was a major struggle from early spring until last week, when we finished the last transplants for the season. Fortunately, we have a great staff of excellent farmers who efficiently irrigated our tender crops while conserving water throughout the summer months.

The past several days have been very rewarding with high yields of winter squash, popcorn, carrots and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are a crop that we are just learning how to produce in high quantities. The process starts in the winter by ordering organic sweet potato “slips” from a farm in Georgia. The timing must be perfect to ship the slips from Georgia to New York. These tender shoots can survive for only a day or two and need to be planted and watered immediately upon arrival in June. This season we prepared a section of the field with hills of soil prior to the slips arrival. Keeping the rows hilled, weeded and fertilized throughout the season paid off with the best quality sweet potato harvest we have ever had. These slips are expensive but with high yields, they are worth it. Now that we have figured out the needs of this crop, we will double our order for next season and hopefully get the same results.

We have acres of fall greens coming on strong. Lettuce, radishes, mizuna, mustard, arugula and more will soon return, bringing fresh salads to the fridge! We also have an abundance of hardy brassica greens that will continue through the remainder of the year. Potatoes, carrots, beets, winter squash and many more root crops will add some bulk to the weekly harvest. Things are looking good for the fall!

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the season so far and is feeling the healthy benefits of eating our fresh organic produce. Thank you for all your support and loyalty to our farm.

Pete for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

A reminder that this week is a coffee share week!

Winter squash – 1
Lacinato kale – 1 bunch
Sweet potatoes – 2
Ancho peppers – 2
Sweet peppers – 2
Curly parsley – 1 bunch
Shallots – 2
Radish bunch – 1
Serrano peppers – take what you like

Fruit Share:
1 bag- Empire Apples Grown by Fix Brothers Orchard
1 bag – Anjou Pears Grown by Klein’s Kill Orchard

Mushroom Share: Crimini