Week #4 is here! Today’s box is getting heavier than previous weeks.
The contents of the weekly boxes have been impacted by the cooler weather and a series of CSA decisions made back in April. First, we capped CSA subscriptions to ensure that there was enough harvest to make subscribers happy. Later in the month we opted to move the start date up a week so that we could begin delivering earlier and catch the strawberry wave. And then the weather turned cooler and put the brakes on growth in the field. The silver lining? Strawberries harvests rolled on for three weeks. Farming. You take what you get when it comes to the weather.
Diversification builds resilience in the system. Riverview hedges bets by working with nearby sustainable growers and augmenting as needed with items like cornmeal and eggs. The goal is to deliver a great box to each subscriber, every week. I hope you are happy with your haul!
This week is a great example of the farm’s weekly scramble. Some of you found cauliflower in your box, some broccoli. And, if you didn’t receive a Napa cabbage, you should have received eggs in its place. Every subscriber got more tomatoes, spinach, radishes, Riverview’s green garlic, and another lovely bunch of green onions! Shout out to one of my favorite Conne recipes – I adore this recipe for spring onion jam. This week’s boxes also contained the first summer squash of the season. I’ll be cutting mine into slabs, dressing lightly with olive oil, salt, and fresh garlic and grilling it. Can’t wait.
On to this week’s recipes ….
I cannot get enough of this cauliflower steak recipe from Jessica Gavin’s blog at jessicagavin.com. So easy. So good.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Cauliflower
1 teaspoon (5 g) kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Adjust oven rack to the lower third position. Preheat to 500ºF.
Remove the outer green leaves from the head of cauliflower and trim the stem. Using a large knife cut the cauliflower in half lengthwise through the center. Cut a 1 ½-inch thick steak from each half. If the head is large, carefully cut one more steak from each of the cut sides.
Place cauliflower steaks on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of each cauliflower steak.
In a small bowl mix together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Evenly sprinkle the seasoning mixture on both sides of the cauliflower steaks, about ¼ teaspoon per side.
Tightly cover the baking sheet with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the foil from the cauliflower and roast for 10 minutes. Gently flip the cauliflower steak and roast until a golden brown crust forms on both sides, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with parsley.
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My other cauliflower go-to recipe is from Chef Archna Malhotra Becker of Bhojanic. Have you checked out their touchless takeout heat & serve meals? We loved the Memorial Day picnic meal we ordered last week. Great value, too. Having a tandoori chicken around seems like a good idea these days.
Do you have a bullet-style coffee grinder dedicated to spices? Chef Archna advocates grinding whole spices for the best flavor. I’ve made this without the chili pepper and still love it. Can’t make do without the cilantro, though.
Alu Gobhi
1 head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
4 med potatoes cut to match florets
2 med sliced onions
½ tbsp green chilies finger hut
1 cup chopped cilantro
4 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
2 – 4 tsp salt, to taste
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
½ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. Once they pop, add the ginger, peppers, and onions. Brown. Once the mixture is soft, add the potatoes. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Then add the florets and top off with all the dry spices. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep the tenderness you like.
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Did you get broccoli this week? Conne’s recipe for Broccoli, Peanut and Fruit Salad uses it raw, to celebrate the sweetness.
Finally, in the interest of balancing out those cauliflower recipes, here’s a roasted broccoli recipe from meal kit service PeachDish. It’s so good that it made my son proclaim his *love* for broccoli. PeachDish featured it as a side with balsamic tomato steak.
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
1 pound broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut broccoli into spears or bite sized pieces and place into a medium sized bowl with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, toss ingredients together to coat broccoli.
Transfer seasoned broccoli to an oven safe baking sheet or pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until broccoli is tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese while still warm.
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Looking forward to Conne’s return next week!
~Suzanne