The Tropea Onion

One of my favorite vegetables is the onion. I think it is the aroma of a freshly harvested onion that I especially like. It is this reason, more than its sometimes strong taste, that makes onions one of the aromatic vegetables.

Some onion varieties are very unique, matched perfectly to the areas they are grown in. In the US it’s the Walla Walla and Vidalia (among others). In the rest of the world one standout is the Cipolle di Tropea. Grown all over the countryside in Calabria, Italy, they are as old as its history.

Brought to the Italian mainland by the Phoenicians over 2,000 years ago, their unique torpedo shape and sharp sweet flavor remains with us today. The Fair Share Farm version of the Tropea onion includes the lunga (torpedo-shaped one) and the tonda (round), the latter perhaps being the sweeter of the two.

One of its traditional uses is as a marmalade. We saved a jar of marmalade we bought in Tropea in December to use as a benchmark for making our own. The recipe below is our first attempt, based on several sources on the web. We will try it next time with more sugar (to make it thicker) and some herbs (thyme, summer savory and rosemary). Serve it as a garnish over meat or grilled vegetables.

Tropea Onion Marmalade

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 heaping cups chopped Tropea onions

2 tbsp turbanado or brown sugar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Chop the onion and cook with the olive oil and butter over medium high heat for 3 minutes, stirring often. Turn heat to low and let cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens up.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Bulk List Items for the Week of July 7, 2008

One Sweet Onion

One nice thing about onions is that they come in differing shades of sweetness and hotness. The sweet ones are a treat—an onion that is great raw. This week’s Walla Walla onions more than exemplify that trait. Cut yourself a little piece and see how tear-free this variety is. There’s more on the Walla Walla at http://www.sweetonions.org/.

We’ve included our own recipe below, a savory dish that makes the most of your onions and fennel. We also want to thank the May 18^th farm work crew for weeding the Walla Wallas, greatly improving their size.

Caramelized Sweet Onion and Fennel

2 tbsp olive oil
2 Walla Walla onions
2 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 2 tbsp chopped garlic scapes
2 fennel bulbs
1 tbsp chopped summer savory
2 tbsp red butter
¼ tsp salt

Cut the tops off the fennel, just above the top of the bulbs. (the tops can be chopped up and used in salads or dips). Cut the root end off and clean of any soil. Slice thinly across the bulb to form oval slices. Likewise, cut the onions into thin rounds or half rounds.

Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, summer savory and salt. Stir and turn heat to medium low for 5 minutes. Add butter and continue cooking until vegetables begin to caramelize (lightly brown).

This is good as a vegetable side dish. It is also good as a garnish for grilled meats.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Bulk List Items for the Week of June 30, 2008

Having the sensation of skiing down an Alpine mountain is the theme of this week’s City Distribution Tasting, aka Mint recipes.

What’s for Dinner?

As the season gets going we hope that you are finding more and more local food on your plate. It’s one of the niceties of this time of year. Our dinner tonight included fennel, summer squash, onion, basil and chard from the farm, some homemade tomato sauce, meatballs made from Parker Farms pork sausage, and Bread of Life bread (with garlic). Making an entire meal from mainly local food is satisfying in many ways. We hope you are experiencing the same thing.

Fennel

Though not a vegetable that is clamored for by the membership, we feel that fennel deserves a place at the table at least a couple times a year. Last December we were able to have the opportunity to visit Calabria, Italy, where a lot of Europe’s fennel is grown. We now know what fennel is supposed to taste like and are working to duplicate it here. Ours are smaller and not as mild, but otherwise quite tasty. This week’s recipe is great as a side dish, or can be used as a bed for fish or lamb. Week 8 of 2006 has two nice recipes; Fennel, Tomato and Feta Salad, and Fennel Mashed Potatoes.

Fennel, Summer Squash and Onion Salad

• 2 fennel bulbs
• 1 medium summer squash, grated
• 1 spring onion, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp chopped basil or parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt

Cut the tops off the fennel, just above the top of the bulbs. (the tops can be chopped up and used in salads or dips). Cut the root end off and clean of any soil. Slice thinly across the bulb to form oval slices.

To the fennel add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Let set for 30 minutes.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Komatsuna

New and old members alike have probably been a little stumped with the komatsuna. If you’re still not sure what I’m talking about it’s the vegetable member Lisa Markley is holding in the photo. A type of mustard green, it is what we use as a celery substitute here on the farm. Good in a stir fry, it also goes well in any salad, especially egg and potato salads.

Summer Savory

If the summer savory in your share is still around you’re in luck. As the summer crops come in, you’ll have lots of uses for it. The recipe below is a perfect example. Add some garlic bread and this dish is as good as pizza. Some dried oregano and red pepper flakes are good additions.

Summer Squash with Shells

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium spring onions, sliced thin
• 3 garlic scapes, chopped fine
• 2 medium or 4 small summer squash, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 tbsp fresh summer savory, chopped
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• shell macaroni

Sauté the onions and garlic scapes in the olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the squash and summer savory and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add tomato sauce, bring to boil, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve this over the shells and top with a generous portion of cheese. You can also simply mix the sauce, shells and cheese together in a pan.

Sun Tea

When the sun is strong is a great time to make a regular batch of sun tea. We make it different ways, depending on what we have on hand. Lots of late spring and summer herbs are available from the farm or our garden, including mint, bergamot and hyssop. We also get to put the tea in a very hot greenhouse to steep, a real luxury. The tea recipe below we tried for the first time today, and found it made a very refreshing drink. We hope to have a little bit of dried chamomile flowers in the herb box in the coming weeks.

To a large clear glass jar add 6 cups of water, 2 large sprigs of mint, (lightly crushed in your hand), 2 tbsp dried chamomile flowers (or 2 tea bags), 2 tbsp coarsely grated ginger and 1 tsp honey. Place the jar in direct sunlight for 6 to 12 hours. Strain, chill and serve.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Red to Green

It’s nice to see the snap and snow peas finally coming on, and being in such good shape too. They appear to be coming on late and strong. Other crops are later than normal, like kohlrabi. We watched it grow so slowly this year we weren’t sure they were going to make it. But they did, and they meet the crisp and juicy test. Great raw, the kohlrabi is also an uncanny potato substitute.

Aloo Matar with Kohlrabi

This dish is a traditional Indian dish that calls for potatoes and peas. This version takes advantage of what’s in the share and is excellent. The garam marsala is a mix of roasted spices that is about all you need for flavoring. If you are well versed in Indian cooking you can simply use your favorite blend of spices.

• 2 tbsp oil
• 3 garlic scapes (see photo), chopped fine
• 2 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick and 1 bay leaf
• 2 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 cups snap or snow peas, stringed and chopped
• 1 tbsp garam marsala
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• chopped cilantro or dill for garnish

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and saute garlic scapes and ginger for 2 minutes over medium high heat. Add the garam marsala, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and saute for 1 minute more. Add potatoes, peas and tomato sauce and bring to boil. Turn down heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender.

Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and chopped herbs.

Kohlrabi Radish Salsa

Kohlrabi can fit into the concept of Mexican cooking just as easy as Indian. Salsa after all is just something tasty to dip your chips into. This salsa would also be good on fish.

• 1 kohlrabi, peeled
• 2 radishes and/ or 2 Hakurei turnips
• 2 garlic scapes or 1 green garlic
• 2 scallions
• 2 stalks komatsuna
• 1 jalapeno or 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 4 tbsp tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• juice of ½ lime
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• salt to taste
• cilantro or dill for garnish

Clean and chop all the ingredients coarsely. Add the tomato sauce, oil, lime juice, hot sauce and salt. Mix well. Top with herbs.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

A video and photo from last Wednesday’s CSA work day. Thanks to all.

This week’s blog is one that we had always hoped to be able to write; a full share that includes not just fresh Spring vegetables, but also fruit. Enough to make a whole dish.

For the past week we have tried strawberries several ways.

• By themselves, soaking up the Vitamin C and anti-oxidants;
• with homemade yogurt and local honey, the perfect 100 Mile Diet dessert;
• as strawberry jam, so they can be enjoyed for many a breakfast; and
• frozen, for future uses to be determined.

For the adventurous among you, making strawberry jam is a must. There are many ways to do it. The simplest is to buy some Sure-Jell and follow the instructions on the package. Another is the old fashioned way that involves only strawberries, sugar and a little water. That is the method we used (see below), straight from the classic book Larousse Gastronomique. I have added some hints to help “translate” this old recipe.

You can also check out the MU Extension publication on jellies and jams.

Strawberry Jam (Confiture de Fraises)

The strawberries must be selected for perfect unblemished ripeness. It is advisable not to wash them unless absolutely necessary. In this case they should be well drained and dried before cooking.

2 lb strawberries (net weight), 1-1/2 lb sugar, 6 tbsp water.

Dissolve the sugar in a pan with the water and cook to ball stage (240º F), skimming well.

Put the strawberries, stalks removed, in the dissolved sugar. Keep the pan on the side of the stove for a few minutes (I cooked them together for 5 minutes). When the juice from the strawberries has thinned the sugar to a syrupy consistency, drain the fruit through a silk strainer (a colander is fine). Cook the syrup again in the pan until it reaches 240 ºF once more (I used 230º F to make sure things didn’t turn to hard candy. This step takes several hours). Put the strawberries back in the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, to the point at which the jam reaches the jelling stage (It actually took another 45 minutes or so to reach this stage. It is the tricky part). Finish in the usual way (ie, 15 minute hot water bath to seal jars).

The Rest of the Share

Lots of good greens and roots fill out your share this week. For those new to the shares, you can cook the greens from both the Hakurei turnips and baby beets. If you are making greens, a mix of the two, along with what ever other greens you have, can be quite tasty. Check out the greens recipe section of the website. Don’t try cooking the radish greens though, they are a little fuzzy and tough.

Bulk List

This is the time of the year where things are growing fast, both plants and animals. One place you notice it is in the yolk of eggs from pasture-raised chickens. The green grass and bugs that enter their diet give the yolks a deep, dark yellow color, a sign of their increased nutrition. When I serve the egg salad recipe below to people they often ask if I added mustard or tumeric because of the wonderful color of the Parker Farm eggs we use.

While we don’t have a bug share, the chicken does show how eating the things growing fresh around you can make for healthy living. If you are still learning to cook all of those greens, we suggest trying the kale chip recipe from last year. While a choice this week, we will have more kale over the next couple weeks. You can also go to the Greens section of our Recipe page for everything from Steamed Tat Soi with Peanut Sauce to Radish with Arugula Salad.

While the wet cool weather wasn’t liked by all the vegetables this Spring, some have really flourished. In particular the lettuce has met all of our wishes so far. This week we will be handing out one of our more interesting looking lettuces—Forellenschluss. Meaning “like the back of a trout” in German, it is a wonderful romaine style lettuce. Each head is spotted differently, the variety being quite a pretty sight in the field.

Egg Salad
At the end of last year we made a big batch of green tomato and pepper relish at Bad Seed. We use it all the time in egg and potato salads. You can find the recipe here. For us it’s our secret ingredient.

6 hard-boiled eggs (Parker Farms or other pasture-raised chicken eggs)
2 to 3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 to 3 tbsp pickle or pepper relish
2 tbsp finely chopped Lovage, dill, parsley or cilantro
1/2 cup chopped Asian green
1/4 cup chopped green garlic or scallion
¼ tsp salt

Chop eggs with a knife or an egg slicer. Add remaining ingredient and mix.