Tag: beets

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JUDI’S RECIPES, WEEK 7 – CHILLED BEET SOUP WITH CUCUMBERS AND BUTTERMILK (CHLODNIK)

July 18, 2017

Hi Everybody!

We’re in the hot, humid dog days of summer. That’s why this week’s recipe is something cool and refreshing. It’s a traditional Polish cold soup, with cucumbers, buttermilk and fresh dill. Try it – you’ll like it.

CHLODNIK

Ingredients

1 lb beets with greens (that’s about 2 medium beets)

Kosher salt

2 cucumbers, peeled, coarsely grated (about 1 cup)

1 kosher dill pickle, coarsely grated (about 1/2 cup), plus 1/2 cup pickle brine

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or kefir (preferably low- or full-fat)

3/4 cup sour cream

2 TBS chopped scallions

Freshly ground black pepper

4 hard boiled eggs, halved

4 tsp finely chopped dill

Preparation

  1. Using a large knife, separate the greens and stems from the beets. Thoroughly wash the greens and stems; set aside. Scrub the beets, transfer to a medium pot, and cover with 1 inch of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, uncover, and cook until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain the beets; discard the cooking liquid. Let cool.
  2. Meanwhile, chop the beet greens and stems. Transfer them to a large pot and add 1/2 tsp. salt and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, without boiling, until the greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Let them cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
  3. Peel and coarsely grate the beets, preferably wearing gloves. Add to the pot with the cooled greens. Gently stir in the cucumbers, pickle, pickle brine, buttermilk, sour cream, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Cover the pot and chill the soup at least 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings, if desired. Divide the soup among bowls; top with the eggs and dill.

HELPFUL HINT: This soup can be made two days ahead, covered and chilled.

This will cool down the whole family. It’s lovely to eat this when it’s hot out. I hope you enjoy it. Have a delicious week!

Best,

Judi

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JUDI’S RECIPES WEEK #4 – BEET BISCUITS

June 27, 2017

I hope you have all been enjoying the vegetables we’ve been getting. They certainly have been beautiful and delicious.

Today’s recipe features the beets we’re getting. These biscuits, which come out looking pink and a little flatter than plain biscuits, are really tasty and easy to make.

 

BEET BISCUITS

Ingredients:

3 small beets, trimmed and scrubbed

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for flouring the board

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

8 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

 

  1. In a saucepan, cover the beets with water 2 inches higher than the beets. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame and simmer until a knife easily pierces the beets (30 – 45 minutes).
  2. Drain and cool for 10 minutes, then rub off the skins and cut the beets in quarters.
  3. Puree the beets. You should have about 1 cup of puree. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the buttermilk.
  4. Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
  5. Sift the dry ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
  6. Chill until the butter is hard, about 10 minutes.
  7. Scrape the beet puree into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture just comes together around the spoon. This will be a wet sticky dough, with chunks of butter visible.
  8.  Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead about 10 times, incorporating enough flour so the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Be sure to keep the board well floured.
  9.  Pat the dough out until it is 1/8 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or a glass to cut the dough into 2 inch rounds.
  10.  Place the biscuits on an ungreased heavy baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Let them sit for a few minutes and then serve. They are great with cream cheese.

 

HELPFUL HINT: After you cut the first round of biscuits, pat the flour out again and cut some more. This second round will not be as tender as the first ones, but they will still be delicious.

I hope you enjoy the biscuits and all the veggies.

Have a delicious week!

Best,

Judi

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Week #3 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

This is a very busy time on the farm. The harvest is now well underway but there are greenhouses full of seedlings needing to be transplanted for fall. Weeds are trying to make a hold and there is constant cultivation to keep them under control. It is hard to keep up with all that needs to be done day to day. It is also a wonderful time of year when months of work which was started in February is ready for harvest.

This is salad season. It comes and goes quickly so enjoy the greens of spring. The Romaine can be grilled, Lettuce Soup recipe is on the farm website and if you are invited to dinner or a party, volunteer to bring the salad! This week the lettuces are beautiful. The lettuce is mature but still sweet and tender. There are three different varieties: Romaine, Red Tide, and Buttercrunch. An addition to the salad is also Frisee Endive. Small very serrated leaves that are wonderful cut finely and added to a fresh salad. Red lettuces are always more tender so handle carefully.

Cylindra Beets with greens are a new addition to our varieties this year. They are a longer, thin beet a cylinder of beet. We started them early in the greenhouse to get an earlier harvest. The greens are as good as the beets. Remove the greens and cook separately as the cooking time is much shorter than the root. The roots will also keep longer in your refrigerator. If the roots on the bunch you take home are small the entire beet green and roots can be cooked at once. Most of the beets have a bit of size to them though.

Summer Spinach is a staple on the farm and the first delivery will come in your share this week. You could cook with the Beet Greens if you like. It seems a bit early but you may like to make a note on your calendar that the Fall Farm Festival will be help September 12 this year. It is a great day to share with family and other CSA members on the farm.

Marketplace items Honey, Maple, Coffee, Organic Dark Chocolate can be ordered any time up to the day before your CSA delivery and will be delivered with your CSA shares. We just received the Organic Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder from Grenada which is delicious.

Enjoy the Harvest
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Judi’s Weekly Recipe — Week #15

Greetings everyone, and welcome to Week 15!

As many of us have discussed, the shares are getting heavier now that the root vegetables are coming in. This week we have potatoes, beets, broccoli and cabbage. If you have a carrier with wheels, now is the time to start using it.

Here’s an easy, no-cook recipe that utilizes two of this week’s vegetables.

Creamy Kale Salad with Apples and Raw Beets

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1 ripe avocado, halved and seeded
2 TBS white wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 oz. kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 small red beet, peeled and thinly sliced
1 crisp apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1. Combine avocado, vinegar, mustard, and oil in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. It will be thick. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine kale, beets, apple, and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss with avocado dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Helpful hint: Add some cooked grain for added texture and nutrition.

So easy and great for one of the warm nights we still have left. Enjoy, and have a delicious week!
Best,Judi

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Week #9 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

August and the tomatoes are ripe. You will have a very nice share of tomatoes this week. The wet and cold weather are not the favorite growing conditions of tomatoes but so far the tomatoes are looking good. We have tied the plants up in a “basket weave” of twine to keep the tomatoes off the ground. Stakes are pounded into the row every other plant and then twine is wound down the row around one stake and then to the back of the next. Twine is then reversed on the row so that the tomato plant is held between the strands. The tomatoes have better air circulation and the leaves and fruit are off of the ground.

If you are interested in canning or freezing tomatoes there are a limited number of 25# boxes of tomatoes available for order from the online CSA Marketplace. Just log into your member account, select Marketplace and place the order. The tomatoes will be delivered in a box with your name on the outside.

New this week is also Gold Beets with their Greens. Like two vegetables in one. Take the greens from the beets and use separately. They cook quickly and should be used like any other cooking green. The Gold Beets are beautiful.

Not to be out done by Sweet Corn. This was a trial year for Sweet Corn. We have not grown Sweet Corn in many, many years. It is a bit tricky and there may be a worm at the end of the ear. Just snap the end of the ear off and enjoy. Organic Sweet Corn is a challenge but I think you will really enjoy the flavor of freshly picked corn.

This is a Coffee Share week.

Enjoy the Vegetables.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm