This week’s box included: cabbage, mustard greens, green peppers, Italian peppers, carrots, green tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, apples. 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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The first green cabbage of the fall was in our box today along with what I think is a bundle of curly mustard greens. And … green tomatoes! That’s such fun. I’m likely to just keep them on the counter to ripen, but I may decide to slice one, dredge it in cornmeal, and make fried green tomatoes. We shall see.
Love the mix of sweet potatoes, both white and orange, and another bounty of potatoes destined for the traditional dish of mashed potatoes for our Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, we’re one of those families that serves both white and sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving.
A mix of peppers, some apples, a small bunch of carrots rounded out our box.
I’ve been wanting to make the Greens Grilled Cheese from Steven Satterfield’s new cookbook so that, along with a pot of vegetable soup (white potatoes, peppers, greens, carrots) is what’s for dinner tomorrow. Sarah Dodge’s Colette Bakery opened just two blocks from our house and I will get down there for a loaf of her sourdough levain for those sandwiches.
And although I love just snacking on our apples, there are some days when I want a warm apple cake. I just saw the recipe for sharlotka, below, a Ukrainian apple cake and I look forward to baking it this week.
Greens Grilled Cheese
Atlanta chef Steven Satterfield describes this sandwich as a “healthy-meets-decadent mash-up,” and it’s true. Use a mix of greens if possible. These sandwiches are large, half of one is plenty. Because the bread slices are so thick, the oven helps melt the cheese.
Adapted from “Vegetable Revelations” by Steven Satterfield (Harper Wave, 2023).
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
Water, as needed
1 large bunch (12 ounces) hardy greens (kale, spinach, chard, mustard greens or a mix), washed, stemmed and chopped
Four (1-inch-thick) large slices levain or country-style sourdough bread
6 ounces smoked Gouda, thinly sliced
6 ounces aged white cheddar, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions turn translucent, 4 to 6 minutes.
Add a splash of water and then, working in batches, enough greens to fill the pan. Cook, stirring often, until the greens are wilted down enough to add more. Keep adding the greens and cooking them down until they are all wilted, adding another splash of water to help steam the greens as they cook down. Cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and the greens are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Taste, and season with more salt as needed.
Lay the bread slices on a rimmed baking sheet and divide the sliced cheeses evenly among them. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese is just melty.
Remove from the oven and divide the greens among two of the bread slices, covering the cheese. Cover with the other two bread slices, cheese side down, and press the sandwiches together. Spread the mayo on the outside of both the top and bottom of each sandwich (to help form a crust when they’re pan-fried).
Wipe the skillet out to remove any greens residue and return it to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, swirling it to melt and coat the pan, and place the sandwiches in the skillet. Set another skillet (or similar flat, heavy object) on top of them to weigh them down for even cooking. Cook until they are nicely browned on the bottom, then flip and repeat, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and weighing them down again. Cook until the second side is nicely browned. Cut each sandwich in half and serve hot.
Mom’s Sharlotka BY Olya Loza
From Nicola Lamb of Kitchen Projects on Substack
A simple Ukrainian apple cake.
4 apples
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Peel some or all of the apples and core them, then slice. Loza says it’s fine if some are thicker and some are thinner.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and salt. You want to whisk enough for the sugar to dissolve. Should take about a minute. Then add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and fold until no lumps of flour remain. Fold in the apples. It should look like lots of apples and just a little bit of batter.
Bake for 30 minutes and check to see if apples are tender and cake is cooked through. It may take 45 minutes total. Cool at least a little before serving.