Posts Tagged ‘Jerusalem Artichokes’

CSA2 Week #18

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 by virginia

It was another relatively light week for us, which was good for me since Josh was away again and I had to carry the veggies home in the rain. We didn’t receive any new items but I was pretty happy with what was on the list. This week our share contents included:

Bok Choy – 1 each
Greens – 0.5 lbs
Butternut Squash – 1 each
Carrots – 1 lb
Radishes – 6 each
Celery – 1 each
Sunchokes – 0.5 lbs
Wax Beans – 0.5 lbs

Celery, chard, sunchoke, butternut squash, beans, radishes, carrots, bok choy

We still haven’t done anything with the celery yet but fortunately they keep fairly well. The carrots also keep for a long time, and now I’ve got quite a collection in the fridge. In contrast, the bok choy and the chard need to be eaten relatively quickly, since they start to wilt a bit in the fridge.

We got another sunchoke this week, also known as a jerusalem artichoke. They look like pieces of ginger but are a root vegetable that taste great when roasted. They’re a bit hard to clean but they don’t need to be peeled, so I just chop them up and toss them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. Flavor-wise, they’re slightly sweeter than potatoes.

The butternut squash we got is a decent size, but I find them hard to prepare because the outer skin is so tough. I might just try cutting it in half and roasting it like that, then scooping out the flesh.

I’m thrilled that we’re still getting radishes, as Josh and I are both loving them this year. I always root around in the bin looking for the largest ones, and they’re always crunchy and slightly sweet, with just a tiny bit of a bite on the finish. Delish!

CSA2 Week #14

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 by virginia

Josh was out of town for work this week so it was up to me to get our CSA share. It was a fairly light week so the pickup was pretty easy, and I was happy to see a few new items on the list. This week our share contents included:

Pole beans – 0.5 lbs
Squash – 1.4 lbs
Jerusalem Artichokes – 1 lb
Shishito Peppers – 0.2 lbs
Bok Choy – 1 each.
Spaghetti Squash – 1 each
Tomatoes – 1 lb
Radish – 5 each

Bok choy, Jerusalem artichokes, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, pole beans, shishito peppers, radishes, squash

In the original email we got from the CSA with our contents for the week, the list merely said “artichokes.” Josh and I were excited, as we had never received artichokes before, and I was hoping to make stuffed artichokes. When I showed up at the pickup site, however, the board said Jerusalem artichokes. I was slightly disappointed but still excited, since we only got a few Jerusalem artichokes last year but they shriveled before I had a chance to cook them. They kind of look like pieces of ginger, all gnarly with a brown skin. I was wondering how to prepare them, and more importantly, how to peel them without losing all the flesh, but a woman who was picking up her vegetables at the same time told me that roasting them like potatoes was best. Plus she said they didn’t need to be peeled, which was a relief!

Another “new” item that we got last year was bok choy, which I was really happy about. Roasted bok choy is one of my favorite CSA recipes, and I’m looking forward to eating it again.

A completely new item for us is the spaghetti squash. I’ve never prepared spaghetti squash before so I’ll need to look up some recipes. I’ve always read that it’s actually really a great noodle substitute, but as a pasta fiend, I have my doubts. Still, I’m eager to try it out.

The shishito peppers we received a few weeks ago were green, but these are bright red. The green peppers didn’t seem too spicy, but I wonder if they get spicier when they turn red. The email said they would be mild to hot, so we’ll see.

We also got more tomatoes, squash, radishes, and pole beans. I’m hoping we’ll be moving more into winter squashes soon, since I’m still overwhelmed with summer squash right now. Now that the weather is cooling down, I’m more amenable to making squash soup. It’s really easy – just roast the squash with some olive oil until soft and slightly carmelized, boil with stock or water (enough to cover the squash), puree, season, and serve. It’s a thick creamy soup with no cream in it, so definitely one of the more healthful dishes that we make. Try it out!

CSA Week #15

Thursday, September 16th, 2010 by virginia

It’s been a crazy hectic week for us as Josh and I are both trying to get everything wrapped up at work in anticipation of our trip to Peru. To be honest, we haven’t even begun packing yet, and we’re leaving on Saturday! Today Josh and I were both running around taking care of some last minute errands, and he drew the short straw so he had to run home to pick up our share before we met up again for a goodbye dinner in honor of our Aussie mate Kate.

This week we’ve really been working on clearing out our fridge because I don’t know what will last until we get back from our trip. I made a wonderful plum cake with some of our Italian plums, and Josh and I made a really delicious peach pie from a recipe sent to us by James. The season is starting to change so this week we saw some new items in both our veggie and fruit shares. This week our vegetable share contents included:

Celery – 1 each
Jerusalem Artichoke – 3/4 lbs
Tomatoes – 2 lbs
Greens – 1 lb
Squash – 2 lbs
Pac choi (bok choy) – 1 each
Corn – 2 each

Kale, Jerusalem artichokes, corn, bok choy, squash, celery, tomatoes

The list we got with the contents said radishes, but I was happy to see corn instead. For the greens, we got some more kale. We’ll have to use those up before we leave because they probably won’t keep. I’m not sure what to do with the Jerusalem artichokes though, which look like knobs of ginger. Anyone know any good recipes?

For the fruit share, our contents this week included:

Grapes – 1 quart
Pears – 1 quart
Apples – 8 each

Pears, grapes, apples

I’m super excited to try the pears, and Josh has already snacked on the grapes, which he says are super sweet but have a weird texture and lots of seeds. We’ll try to eat those quickly, but I think the apples will be ok to keep. Felipe and Silva will be taking our shares next week, and we hope that they enjoy the produce as much as we do!