2023 Produce CSA Week 27

This week’s box included:  Napa cabbage, turnip greens, head of lettuce, radishes (eat the greens!), carrots, potatoes, apples, eggplant, peppers (bell & sweet Italians), butternut squash. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.

Need storage instructions? Visit our fruit & veggie home pages. Click on the pic and a new page opens with storage instructions and a list of recipes curated by Conne over the years.

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What a nice surprise to see two small eggplant in the box this week. I thought maybe they were gone for the season, especially with the cold that has suddenly descended on us. Guess these are hoophouse babies? I’m making chili and vegetable soup tonight and the eggplant is going into the chili recipe we posted earlier – Eggplant and Bean Chili. But we have lots of other ideas on the eggplant page.

What to do with mustard greens? Or potatoes? We’ve been accumulating recipe ideas at grasssfedcow.com for a long, long time.

I love the Napa and radish salad recipe from Beautiful Briny Sea that’s appended below. Absolutely perfect for the contents of this box AND what a nice change of pace from the way many of us have been preparing all the Napa cabbage we’ve been receiving recently.

And the combination of sweet and hot (we got one poblano) peppers in the box made me think about this tuna salad from The New York Times. I’m making a pot of vegetable soup today along with that chili and will accompany it with toasted sourdough bread and this salad.

Napa and Radish Salad

This is adapted from one created by Grant Park-based Beautiful Briny Sea, maker of the Campfire Sea Salt used in the recipe. If you don’t happen to have Campfire Sea Salt in your pantry, it’s a mix of smoked sea salt, cumin and ancho chili. You could substitute a bit of smoked paprika, salt and cumin, and ground ancho chili if you have it, and make a fine substitute.

3 cups chopped Napa cabbage

1 bunch radishes, sliced thin

1 tangerine or navel orange, peeled and sectioned

1/4 cup toasted nuts

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon Campfire Sea Salt

 

In a salad bowl, combine cabbage, radishes, tangerine or orange, and nuts.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard and Campfire Sea Salt. Pour over vegetables and toss salad.

 

Tuna Salad With Hot and Sweet Peppers

From The New York Times

Letting thin slices of hot and sweet peppers sit with vinegar and salt for a few minutes gives them a pickled taste without taking away their crispness.

Sweet peppers, thinly sliced

Poblano, seeded if desired, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar

Salt and black pepper

2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 (5-ounce) cans or 1 (7- to 8-ounce) jar tuna packed in olive oil

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

Toss the peppers with the vinegar and a big pinch of salt in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the celery, tuna with all of its oil and chopped parsley to the peppers. Toss until the tuna flakes into bite-size pieces and everything is well mixed, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.