This week’s box includes: Okra, butternut pumpkin, potatoes, apples, cucumbers, bell peppers, turnip greens, and eggplant! 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 Ward Cameron over the years.
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The contents of this box could make you healthy just by looking at them.
The greens, first of all, are our favorite turnip greens. They’re a mild variety lacking the metallic tang typical of most turnip greens. Use them in any recipe that includes cooking greens. They’re tender and mild enough that they could be used in raw greens recipes, too.
The turnip greens took a beating in Saturday’s rain and hailstorm at the farm. To rejuvenate them, soak in cold water; dry on paper towels or with a light spin before storing in an open bag lined with damp-not-wet paper towels. Sounds fussy, I know, but your greens will last a lot longer in that desert we call a refrigerator with this treatment.
This week’s winter squash is butternut pumpkin which substitutes into any butternut squash recipe. These orange-fleshed lovelies are high in beta carotene that converts to vitamin A, along with vitamin C, antioxidants, minerals. Their fiber and low glycemic index regulate blood sugar, too. So go ahead, peel and cut that vegetable into chunks, roast it, and sprinkle a little homemade pumpkin pie spice mix on top. Make your own Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix by sifting together 3 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon ground allspice.
I’m eyeing my favorite Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard Stew recipe, from The Make Ahead Cook from America’s Test Kitchen. Turnip greens are a great substitution for Swiss Chard as they have a similar texture when cooked.
We haven’t talked about potatoes in a while. I’m interested in this New York Times recipe for Garlicky Mashed Potato Cake. It looks delicious. Truly, the photos show a cake with a golden brown crust. Top with caramelized onions, peppers and sausage link slices to round it out for dinner.
Garlicky Mashed Potato Cake
3 pounds russet potatoes (about 6 medium-large), scrubbed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
Arrange an oven rack in the center position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the potatoes directly on the oven rack until the flesh is soft and tender and the skins are crispy, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them sit at room temperature just until they’re cool enough to handle (they should still be hot). Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, heat a 10-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium. Add the butter and swirl the skillet until the butter is melted and foamy, then add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until both the garlic and butter are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
Cut the still-hot potatoes in half and scoop the flesh out onto a cutting board (save the skins for snacking or discard). Use a knife or bench scraper to chop up the flesh so you have pieces of various sizes but none larger than a walnut half.
Add the potato flesh to the skillet, season generously with salt and pepper and add a pinch of nutmeg. Add the crème fraîche or sour cream, and fold the mixture gently until the potatoes are evenly coated, then flatten it gently into a single layer. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook undisturbed until all of the moisture has evaporated and the potatoes are starting to turn golden on the bottom, 5 to 8 minutes.
Gently shake the skillet to loosen the potato cake, then transfer it to the oven and bake until the potatoes are lightly browned across the surface, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the skillet and let sit for 10 minutes, then carefully invert the potato cake onto a serving platter (if making ahead, see note below). Top with chives and serve.
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Looking at you next, eggplant. I’m guessing my mother didn’t like you because she never put eggplant on the family dinner table once, yet she persisted in serving those Brussels sprouts that came in frozen blocks. This seems in retrospect a recipe for training your kiddos to hate a vegetable that you love.
Just saying, my eggplant inspiration runs shallow.
A lovely eggplant sandwich sounds satisfying this week, and Conne’s contributed only winners over the years: Pressed Eggplant and Pepper Sandwich, Sabich Sandwiches, or an easy Grilled Eggplant Sandwich. Pre-roast 1 or 2 of your eggplants to cut down on your last-minute prep time. To roast eggplant: remove stem end and peel, slice into rounds, lightly toss with oil, salt & pepper, and roast on a baking sheet at 400 F for about 30 minutes until soft.
Eggplant with Sweet Miso Sauce has my imagination going. With plenty of fresh eggplant in the box this week, you can have it all.
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Next up? Charlotte teased of some other “fun” vegetables arriving in the boxes soon. What could that possibly be – the sexiest vegetable ever, Brussels sprouts on a stalk?
~Suzanne