This week’s box included: Napa cabbage, turnip greens, sweet potatoes, potatoes, poblano peppers (the dark green ones), Italian peppers (the longer yellow & red ones), popcorn, apples, tomato, butter lettuce head. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
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We got a huge head of Napa cabbage in our box. I’ve pulled off about a third of the outer leaves to reproduce an idea I got from the meal kid company Garnish & Gather. They call it their Glazed Egg Roll Bowl and it’s sauteed ground chicken, chopped sweet peppers and bamboo shoots, flavored with oyster sauce. They serve it over roasted shredded cabbage and drizzle everything with duck sauce. I’m serving mine with raw slivered Napa cabbage and topping it with a little hoisin sauce mixed with some toasted sesame oil.
The rest of the cabbage is in the refrigerator and later I will chop it all and turn it into cooked eggroll filling, one of our favorite ways to enjoy Napa cabbage. I’ll make eggrolls on a day when I can open all the windows to dissipate some of the smell of frying and have time to deal with repetitive nature of eggroll production – make filling, cool, fill eggroll wrapper, fry. Repeat. There are Napa cabbage recipes on the website including this one for Hoisin Pork with Napa Cabbage which long ago was the basis for the recipe-less eggroll filling I make today.
Seeing all the pretty peppers, including the dark green poblanos, reminded me about the Cajun-style Potato Salad recipe down below. The original called for the addition of crisped bacon, but the salad is so flavorful, I didn’t think it needed bacon. Feel free to add back in!
I’m a big fan of shakshuka so when I saw the Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka recipe below I clipped it to try. Maybe it will appeal to you as well.
And if you need another idea for the kale and potatoes, how about the recipe for Garlic-Braised Greens and Potatoes down below? I have two heads of garlic left from earlier in the year, and again, maybe you do, too.
Pretty lettuce, a few tomatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, sweet potatoes and apples rounded out our box … along with a bag of popcorn. That’s one of the things I look forward to all year. We have popcorn recipes on the website for those who want to do more than just pop and eat a bowl full at a time. And I saw the recipe below for Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Bark (I don’t remember where it came from!) and thought that would be a fun thing to make for Halloween. Not for the miscellaneous trick-or-treaters, but for people who know us and will appreciate a homemade treat.
Cajun-style Potato Salad
Adapted from a recipe in Southern Living
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons juice from a jar of dill pickles
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
3 cups chopped sweet peppers
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dill pickles
1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally sliced celery
5 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into eighths (quartered lengthwise, then halved crosswise)
1/4 cup sliced scallions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high. Add potatoes, and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain and spread on a large rimmed baking sheet to cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
Stir together mayonnaise, pickle juice, Creole mustard, and Cajun seasoning in a large bowl. Add sweet peppers, pickles, celery, hard-cooked eggs, scallions and cooled potatoes, stir gently until evenly coated (trying not to break eggs). Store, covered, in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka
Adapted from “Family: New Vegetarian Comfort Food to Nourish Every Day” by Hetty McKinnon
Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 poblano pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth or stock
2 cups roughly chopped kale, stems removed
1 cup crumbled feta
4 to 6 large eggs
1 tablespoon za’atar
Handful of mint leaves, chopped
Toasted pita wedges, to serve (optional)
Dollops of plain Greek yogurt, to serve (optional)
In a Dutch oven, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and, once hot, add the onion, garlic, spices, and poblano and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the tomatoes, stock, and chickpeas plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and several grinds of black pepper and stir to combine, bringing the mixture to a simmer, lowering the heat if necessary to keep it from bubbling too hard. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add kale and cover again, cooking until the greens have wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed. Make wells for eggs and break an egg into each. Sprinkle eggs with additional salt and pepper, and the whole dish with feta. Cover and simmer for 6 to 10 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are runny.
To serve, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with za’atar and mint, and serve with pita wedges and plain yogurt, if you wish.
Garlic-Braised Greens and Potatoes
Adapted from The New York Times
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large oregano sprig
Collards, kale, Swiss chard (or any combination), leaves coarsely torn
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound potatoes, cut in bite size pieces
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped parsley, divided
Pinch of red-pepper flakes (optional)
Crusty bread, for serving
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large Dutch oven, combine 4 tablespoons oil with garlic and oregano; heat over medium until garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add a batch of the greens and stems and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper, and stir until wilted. Add the remaining greens in batches, seasoning with salt and pepper and stirring until wilted before adding the next batch.
Once all the greens have been added, stir in the potatoes. Add 1/2 cup water and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and bring to a boil. Cover with the lid and move Dutch oven to oven and then bake until greens and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and discard oregano sprig.
Add shallot, lemon juice and half of the parsley to the pot, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer greens and potatoes to a serving platter and spoon over any sauce remaining in the pot. Garnish with red-pepper flakes (if using) and the remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature, with crusty bread.
Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Bark
3 cups popped popcorn
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup Cheerios
1/2 cup salted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
12 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine popcorn, marshmallows, pecans, cereal, pepitas, dried cranberries and pumpkin spice mix.
Place chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave 1 minute. Stir to melt; microwave an additional minute. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour melted chocolate over popcorn mixture. Mix until well coated and spread in an even layer into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature until firm (or refrigerate). Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container.