This week’s box includes: collard greens, turnip greens, sweet Italian peppers, lettuce (or Napa cabbage), butternut squash, sweet potato, summer squash, apples, cucumbers, and red potatoes! 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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Lovely to see so many greens returning in the fall boxes. Inspiration awaits on our greens page, along with storage instructions. We’ve accumulated dozens of recipes there, courtesy of Conne Ward Cameron’s curation. Last count was pushing 100!
In case anyone needs guidance to distinguish the collards from turnip greens, the collard greens are studier, flatter, and a more silvery green color.
After soaking/rinsing/drying this week’s greens, my preference is to chop & freeze the turnip greens to save them for winter soups, stews, quiche, whatever. I love how they turn into crisp chips when frozen – so easy to grab a handful as needed.
Collards, with their mild flavor profile, are perfect in this recipe for Creamed Greens in the Slow Cooker. I made this last week with turnip greens; the result was a bit bitter. If that bitterness is something that you’re craving, switch use turnip greens. A dollop of honey would tame that tang.
Boxes this week included a head of lettuce OR a head of a Napa cabbage. Fall salad season has arrived! Any bed of greens anchors beautiful fall salads. Add roasted vegetables, sliced or cubed apples, nuts and crumbled cheese and you’ve got your own Salad of the Week.
To make basic roasted vegetables: Peel and dice veggies. Mound prepped veggies onto a baking sheet covered with a sheet of aluminum foil. Toss with a scant amount of olive oil, spread into a single layer on the pan. Lightly salt & pepper, roast at 400 for 20-50 minutes depending on the vegetable and how large the pieces are. Toss them halfway through roasting to ensure even cooking and that they don’t stick to the foil. The more tender the veg and the smaller the pieces the sooner they’ll be done. Look for the vegetables to get browned on the edges, and to be tender but not mushy.
The below recipe is a bit more fancy, adapted from Half Baked Harvest. The beauty of salads are that you can adjust as needed based on what you have on hand. The original recipe called for arugula mixed with kale. I’d substitute lettuce with a few shredded collard leaves to match this week’s box. Roasted sweet potato or butternut squash would be a terrific addition or substition for pomegranate arils and avocado. Don’t skip the feta, nuts and apples!
Autumn Harvest Honeycrisp Apple and Feta Salad
1/4 cup raw pecans
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
flaky sea salt
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
6 cups lettuce with shredded collards
2 honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
arils from 1 pomegranate
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple butter, (optional)
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
kosher salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On the prepared baking sheet, toss together the pecans, pumpkin seeds, maple, cayenne, and cinnamon. Arrange in a single layer. Lay the prosciutto flat around the nuts. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the prosciutto is crisp. Watch both closely. Sprinkle the nuts with sea salt.
Meanwhile, in a large salad bowl, combine the arugula (or lettuce + greens), apples, avocado, and pomegranate arils.
To make the vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake. Taste and adjust as needed.
Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, tossing to combine. Top the salad with toasted nuts, prosciutto, and feta. Eat and enjoy!
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Finally, the Napa. I’ve been waiting for this all year so that we could talk pickling! I’m pushing that to later delivery, hoping that we get another head of Napa before the CSA ends this year. I’m out of town this week, true confession, so I’m not pickling anything.
Usually the Napa cabbages are very large. This week, I’d use half the head to make homemade kimchi. This kimchi recipe calls for a massive amount of cabbage; adjust as needed with awareness that the pickling process substantially reduces bulk. Kimchi is so delicious. Once kimchi is on hand, you can make fun recipes like this easy breakfast treatment from Eric Kim of the NYTimes: satuee leftover rice in a tad of butter, toss in kimchi, and melt shredded cheddar on top. Top with an over-easy egg.
The other Napa half I’d use in this recipe for Bob’s Chicken and Cabbage Salad from Bonappetit. Substitute Napa for the purple cabbage and the bok choy. I’d probably sub pecans for the water chestnuts, and skip the mung beans unless I had them or some other sprout hanging around.
Bob’s Chicken and Cabbage Salad
Dressing Ingredients:
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 2″ piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped (about 1 Tbsp.)
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
Salad Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lb.)
1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
¾ cup raw almonds
½ small head of purple cabbage (about 10 oz.), cored, thinly sliced
4 baby bok choy, thinly sliced crosswise
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 8-oz. cans water chestnuts, drained, quartered
1 7-oz. bag mung bean sprouts (about 2½ cups)
Make the dressing: Whisk 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped, one 2″ piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped (about 1 Tbsp.), ½ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup Dijon mustard, ¼ cup toasted sesame oil, ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper in a small bowl to combine.
Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Whisk before using.
Assemble the salad: Pour ½ cup dressing into a medium bowl. Add 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lb.), sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast ¾ cup raw almonds on a large rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop; set aside.
Line baking sheet with a piece of foil about twice its length. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bowl, and arrange in a single layer on baking sheet; discard marinade. Fold foil up and over chicken and bring edges together to make a packet; crimp tightly to seal.
Bake chicken until cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted through foil and into the thickest part of a breast should register 150°), 30–40 minutes. Let cool in foil, then tear open packet and shred chicken into large pieces.
Place chicken in a large bowl. Add ½ small head of purple cabbage (about 10 oz.), cored, thinly sliced, 4 baby bok choy, thinly sliced crosswise, 6 scallions, thinly sliced, two 8-oz. cans water chestnuts, drained, quartered, one 7-oz. bag mung bean sprouts (about 2½ cups), and remaining dressing; toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Pile salad on a platter; top with reserved almonds.
Do Ahead: Chicken can be marinated 12 hours ahead; cover and chill. Chicken can be baked 2 days ahead; cover and chill. Vegetables can be sliced 1 day ahead; cover and chill.
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Did I mention I’m out of town? I miss cooking and sorely miss Riverview’s produce. My brother-in-law makes a stunning posole that doesn’t have a recipe that I can wrangle to share. Sigh.
Until next week, I hope you enjoy your Riverview veggies!
Suzanne