October is here, and with it comes Cooking Season! Farm work has a way of filling all available daylight hours, and mid-summer that means that dinner is a late and hasty affair. But as the days shorten and we are chased inside by dusk earlier and earlier, with time to assemble the week’s harvest and peruse related recipes, I find both comfort and inspiration in the kitchen. Both are welcome after a summer of hard work!
On the comfort side of things are the recipes that have been handed down through the family. I hardly have to glance at my mom’s loopy handwriting outlining the steps for potato leek soup, and sitting down with a steaming bowl of it brings me back to her kitchen in an instant. The little booklet of recipes that she diligently copied down at the elbow of her grandmother tells me she valued the same sense of comfort through cooking. When I am feeling bold and creative I head for the overloaded shelf of cookbooks that I’ve acquired over the years. From old standbys like the Moosewood to the glossy pages of Vegetable Literacy I gather new tips, tricks and ingredient ideas to add to my repertoire.
Cooking a new recipe scratches the itch of adventure and life-long-learning for me. And who can complain about an adventure that ends in a gathering of friends and family around a laden kitchen table?!?
So, here’s what we’ll be cooking with this week from the Sweetland fields.
Cheers, Norah and the Sweetland Crew
Week 20 Harvest, Brimming Basket
- Lettuce, 1 head
- Leafy greens, 2 bunches
- Leeks, 3
- Potatoes, 2.5 pounds
- Celeriac, 1 large bulb
- Apples, 2 pounds
- Peppers, 2
- Tomatoes, 3
Week 20 Harvest, Half Pint
- Lettuce, 1 head
- Leafy greens, 1 bunch
- Leeks, 2
- Potatoes, 1.25 pounds
- Celeriac, 1 small bulb
- Apples, 1 pound
- Peppers, 1
- Tomatoes, 2
Recipes of the Week
- Leafy Greens: This mix of baby mizuna, kale and red cabbage can be eaten fresh or cooked. Try using them in Baby Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas or Suateed Baby Kale
- Celeriac: A lesser-known vegetable that is one of my favorites! Trim/peel off the rough outer skin and dice the creamy white flesh of the root into soups, stir-fries and casseroles for a hearty celery/parsley flavor. You can also use the stems diced in to soups and the leaves as a flavorful garnish! I plan to warm up with a bowl of Celeriac Potato Leek Soup.
- On my list of new recipes to try this week is Fresh Apple Salsa. Frost is coming and the hot peppers in PYO aren’t long for this world!