2022 Produce CSA Week 16

Another sign of fall, cornmeal in our box today. We have dozens of cornmeal recipes at grassfedcow.com but I’m adding one more, a popover recipe. I love popovers but they can be difficult to get right. Hoping this recipe from Southern Living is well tested enough to work perfectly.

Another spaghetti squash this week may have you pondering a new approach. I loved what I heard from Suzanne Welander who hosts the Mellow Bellies pickup on her Grant Park Porch. She sent me a note that she enjoyed the Cold Peanut Noodle Salad with Cucumbers last week, but with spaghetti squash instead of the udon. “Wow. I finally enjoyed spaghetti squash. Delicious.”

I found the spaghetti squash slaw recipe down below at seriouseats.com. That’s what I’m doing with ours this week – but using chopped pecans instead of hazelnuts because the hazelnuts I had in the freezer went into baklava for a recipe we’re publishing in the AJC next week. I’ll probably skip the pomegranate seeds as it’s not really pomegranate season and I am never pleased with those packaged pomegranate seeds in the produce section.

For our two big slicer cucumbers in this week’s box, I am making cucumber juice. I enjoyed making cucumber jelly last week and it reminded me that I like cucumber juice, too, so I am juicing them with a little bit of ginger and adding some fresh lime juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. If I have enough juice, I’ll make a variation on this cucumber lemonade recipe. The Kirby cucumbers we’re just slicing into salads and sandwiches. I  love a sandwich spread with cream cheese mixed with a little chopped carrot and green onion, then topped with slices of cucumber. With no tomatoes in today’s box, we’re switching over to cucumber sandwiches here.

And as always, check these links for ideas for the potatoes, okra, peppers and eggplant in this week’s box. And enjoy that cantaloupe! I’m worried it’s the last one we’ll see this season.

Spaghetti Squash Slaw with Mint, Hazelnuts, and Pomegranate

One 3 1/2-pound spaghetti squash
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on squash
Kosher salt
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped (or pecans)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, plus more for garnish
15 fresh mint leaves, roughly torn, plus more for garnish

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. Using a large knife, trim off stem end of spaghetti squash. Cut squash in half lengthwise, then scrape out and discard seeds. Arrange, cut side up, on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and rub all over until evenly coated. Season with salt.

Roast squash until its flesh can be pierced with a fork without much resistance but the squash retains an al dente texture, about 35 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup olive oil and hazelnuts in a medium skillet. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in cayenne and remove from heat.

When squash has cooled, use a fork to shred flesh into spaghetti-like strands, transferring them to a serving bowl as you go. Discard skins.

Stir in toasted hazelnuts and the oil along with the apple cider vinegar and pomegranate seeds. Season with salt, then stir in mint. Garnish with additional pomegranate seeds and mint leaves and serve right away.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The squash can be roasted up to 3 days in advance; once cooled, wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate until ready to shred and assemble the salad. The hazelnuts can be toasted in the olive oil up to 3 days in advance; let cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use. The salad should be assembled just before serving, otherwise the pomegranate seeds and mint will darken and lose their freshness.

Cornmeal Popovers

From Southern Living: “These light and fluffy cornmeal popovers are so good that we are wondering why we didn’t think to add cornmeal to our classic popover recipes sooner. Classic airy bread bites get a comforting and unique Southern makeover with the addition of readily available fine white cornmeal. Perfectly textured with a rich, flavorful consistency from the cornmeal, these dinner-roll alternatives will make you rethink those plain dinner rolls you’ve been serving for years and years.

“Test Kitchen Tip: The secret to perfect popovers lies in the temperature: You’ll need to spoon the batter into a hot muffin pan and immediately pop them into a hot oven. By preheating the oven with the muffin pan inside, you’ll achieve the perfect popover temperature. The rest is simple—with basic ingredients you already have in your pantry, like flour, milk, eggs, and butter, you can make these golden brown appetizer bites in less than thirty minutes.”

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
4 eggs
1/4 cup salted butter, melted

Place a 12-cup muffin pan in oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees. (Do not remove pan.)

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together milk and eggs in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk milk mixture into flour mixture until well blended.

Remove muffin pan from oven. Spoon 1 teaspoon melted butter into each cup of hot muffin pan; return muffin pan to oven for 2 minutes.

Remove muffin pan. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. (Centers will be moist.) Serve immediately.