Vegetarian Borscht

Borscht is popular soup of Eastern and Central Europe. Served both hot and cold, the term "borscht" is used for several varieties of beet-based soups; most traditional recipes include ingredients such as cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and/or beef, in addition to beets. The recipe below is a vegetarian* take on this classic soup. We recommend serving it with a dark bread such as rye or pumpernickel and a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt.

*Make this dish vegan by replacing the butter with olive oil and omitting the sour cream/yogurt garnish.

The Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp butter
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed & minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
  
• 2 tbsp dried fenugreek, chopped
  
• 2-3 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 large carrots, one diced, one sliced into rounds
• 2-3 cups beets, small or medium sized, peeled & sliced
• 1 cup potato, sliced or diced
• 1 cup turnips, peeled & sliced
  
• 1 small cabbage, sliced into ribbons
• 6 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
  
• 4 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
  
• Salt, according to taste (at least 1 tsp)

How to Make it:

Prepare all produce and ingredients as instructed. In a large pot over medium heat, melt your butter and add your onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, fenugreek, celery, diced carrots, and a sprinkle of salt; saute this mixture for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Next, add your beets, potato, carrot slices, turnips, and another sprinkle of salt; saute this mixture for 20-25 minutes or until the root vegetables are slightly soft. Add your vegetable stock and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and add your vinegar, dill, cabbage, and salt to taste and simmer for 20-25 minutes. You can enjoy this soup immediately but the flavor really develops a day or so after its original preparation! Consume within a week.


Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.

Autumn Harvest Salad

As the farmers market season draws to a close in New England, there's still time to take advantage of the local produce available during the mid-autumn season, including greens, beets, and apples. For the fall-inspired salad below, try out a combination of local greens, such as arugula, green and red baby lettuces, spinach, pea tendrils, and beet greens. This salad is gluten-free and vegetarian.

The Ingredients:

• various greens
  
• beets, small to medium size, with greens
  
• apples or pears
  
• walnuts or pecans, chopped
  
• goat cheese
• dressing (recipe suggestion below)

How to Make it:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off beet greens, leaving 1-2 inches of stem attached to the beets; put the greens aside for the salad. Under cold running water, scrub the beets to remove as much dirt as possible. Pat them dry and wrap each beet in aluminum foil, leaving the stems exposed. Spread the beets apart on a baking sheet or pan and roast until you can easily stick a fork through them; for small beets, this is about 30-40 minutes, while medium beets will need about 45-60 minutes. Avoid using large beets as they are typically more fibrous and lack flavor compared to smaller sizes.

While roasting the beets, wash your greens and allow to air dry in a colander. If your greens are looking a bit "tired," an easy way to perk them up is short soak in ice-cold water. Wash your apple(s), pat dry, and slice according to your preference (thin or thick slices). If you are working with whole nuts, coarsely chop them. Using clean fingers or a knife, break apart or chop the goat cheese into crumbles; using a knife is suggested as the goat cheese may stick to your warm fingers more than it will break apart!

When the beets are done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the foil; with your fingers, rub the skins and stems so that they easily peel off the vegetables. Slice or chop the beets to your preferred thickness. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl, toss with dressing, and serve. For a more delicate appearance (as shown), individually place each ingredient on your greens and drizzle with dressing.

To make a simple Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Whisk 1 part balsamic vinegar to 3 parts olive oil (i.e. if you are making 1 cup of dressing, use 1/4 cup of vinegar to 3/4 cup of oil). Add a small dollop of dijon mustard and sweetener (agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup work well) and some salt according to your taste. Whisk again, then use immediately or store. For extra zest and flavor, add some minced garlic or onion to the dressing.

It tastes good, but is it healthy?

In terms of health, this salad is packed full of nutritional goodness: the greens provide fiber, vitamins A and K; the walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, protein, some B vitamins, and several minerals; apples provide both soluble and insoluble fiber and vitamin C; beets provide folate (a B vitamin) and fiber; the goat cheese contains protein and calcium; and the dressing is a good source of health-promoting monounsaturated fat as well as vitamins E and K.

You can see the soluble (the flesh) and insoluble (the skin) fibers of this apple. Soluble fiber dissolves in water while insoluble fiber does not. Both types of fiber are essential to a healthy diet. Insoluble fiber aids colonic digestion (click to see post) while soluble fiber improves blood glucose regulation and removes cholesterol from the body.

Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter (2010)

Smoky Baba Ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is a traditional middle eastern dish of mashed eggplant, tahini (sesame paste), and spices. Much like its counterpart hummus (made of chickpeas), baba ghanoush is an healthy and exotic substitute for high-fat spreads such as butter or cream cheese. This baba ghanoush is vegan and gluten-free, though we do recommend spreading it on whole-wheat pita bread, toast, bagels, english muffins, or using it as a vegetable dip!

The Ingredients:

• 2 medium or 3 small Italian eggplants
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp tahini
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cumin

How to Make it:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and pat dry the eggplants; with a fork, poke several sets of holes over the entire surface of each fruit. To smoke them, all you have to do is place each fruit directly on a stovetop burner for about 15-20 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes; PLEASE be sure to remain in the kitchen and within view of the stovetop as you complete this step to ensure the safety of your family and home! Remove the eggplants from the flame and place them in a baking pan or dish; bake the fruits for 20-30 minutes, or until extremely tender. Once removed from the oven, allow to cool at least 10 minutes prior to handling as they will be extremely hot inside. Carefully slice each eggplant lengthwise and scoop out the tender flesh into a mixing bowl; discard the outer skin and stem in your compost bin. Add all of the other ingredients and stir. Use a bermixer (also called an immersion blender; shown below) or food processor to puree the ingredients. If you do not have these tools, you can use a handmasher, but the baba ghanoush will be chunkier. Chill the finished dip, serve, and enjoy!

Steps in making baba ghanoush: scoop, puree, and enjoy

Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter (2010)

Winter Squash

Clockwise from top left: butternut, delcata, acorn,
and sweet dumpling varieties of winter squash

Winter squash is a summertime annual (meaning it needs to be planted each year) of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae. Unlike summer squashes such as zucchini, winter squashes are picked and eaten in their mature fruit stage, or when they have fully developed seeds and a hard rind. Here in New England, the fruits are harvested in September and October, before heavy frost, to be stored for use throughout the long and cold winter season.

In addition to their extended shelf life, perhaps the best part about these plants is that they are nutrient powerhouses! No matter what the variety, you can count on these complex carbohydrates to be a good source of several important vitamins, minerals, and other dietary essentials: vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, multiple B vitamins including folate, fiber, and even some omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E (certain varieties). That's a whole lot of nutrition for one little plant!

The following are two simple winter squash recipes to try at home: baked squash and roasted seeds. If you'd like to share your favorite winter squash dish, email us at wfcfblog@gmail.com to be featured in our soon-to-come "Potluck Posts."

Baked Winter Squash

The Ingredients:

• Winter squash of your liking
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Additional seasoning of your preference (optional)

How to Make it:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Rinse the squash, pat dry, and then cut it in half. With a spoon, scrape out all the guts (seeds and stringy fibers) and put aside for Roasted Squash Seeds (below) or toss in your compost bin. Put each half into a baking pan or dish with the flesh facing upwards; with a clean finger, spoon, or basting brush, put some olive oil on the flesh and season with salt and pepper. Fill the pan with water, reaching about half way up the sides of the squash. Bake the squash for about 45 minutes or until you can easily stick a fork all the way into the flesh. Enjoy as is or scrape out the flesh and make some mashed winter squash; it's delicious with some butter and additional seasoning like cinnamon and maple syrup!

Steps in baking winter squash

Roasted Squash Seeds

Using the squash guts from above: remove any big pieces of squash stuck to the seeds. There will still be some little bits of slimy, stringy squash stuck to the seeds, so put the seeds in a metal mesh strainer. Under cold running water, gently swirl and rub the seeds against the mesh in order to remove these slimy bits of flesh. When you've removed as much as you can, transfer the cleaned seeds to a bowl of salt water for at least 8 hours; this step is not necessary, but makes the nutrients of the seeds more available for your body to absorb, as well as making them tastier! Next, strain the seeds again and pat them dry. Place the seeds in a clean bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and gently toss the seeds so that they are lightly coated with oil. Evenly distribute the seeds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until browned. Be sure to stir the seeds about every 10 minutes to prevent burning.

Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter (2010)

Caring for Transplanted Herbs at Home

Last week in the Learning Garden, our 3rd-5th graders learned how to transplant herbs into pots so that they can have an indoor herb garden at home!

What's Growing Here?

Here are some tips for caring for your transplanted herbs at home:

Light

For the first week after transplanting, put them in indirect light. Then move them to a place where they will get at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. In general, the more sunlight the better. If you really get into indoor gardening, you can look into buying some grow lights.

Water

Be careful not to overwater. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Usually watering once or twice a week is enough.

Feeding

No need to feed your herbs for a couple of months after transplanting. Then feed them with a good quality plant fertilizer such as fish emulsion. Follow the directions on the package.

Weeding

Since we’re transplanting these herbs directly from the garden, you may have to do a little weeding!

Harvesting

Don’t be discouraged if your herbs grow slowly at first. All plants grow more slowly in the winter. Let the plants grow a little before you clip some of the herbs. Be sure to leave some healthy growth on the plant!

Cooking in the CLG: Fried Green Tomatoes

The crisp, cool weather so typical of October has finally arrived, bringing with it wonderful things such as colorful leaves, crunchy apples, and pumpkin carving, but also signifying the end of tomato season. Luckily, we can use the green tomatoes that never had a chance to ripen to make tasty snacks like Fried Green Tomatoes!

Dipping sliced tomatoes in cornmeal

Cookin' up the fried greens in the outdoor kitchen!

Mmmmmm... delicious!

Dede's Fried Green Tomatoes

The Ingredients:

• Green tomatoes
• Cornmeal
• Garlic Powder
• Olive oil (to coat the pan for frying)
  
• Salt
• Any other spices you wish to try out!

How to Make Them:

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Lightly coat your pan with oil and place over med/med-high heat. Mix together cornmeal, garlic powder, salt, and any additional spices; dip each tomato slice into this dry mixture until completely coated. Place each coated slice onto the HOT frying pan; let them cook until browned (check the bottom with a fork or spatula). Flip and cook the second side until browned. Enjoy!

Other activities in the garden this past week:

In addition to cooking up our tomatoes, we also took a trip out to the compost pile to get some fresh NITROGEN for the garden beds where we will plant garlic soon!

Cooking in the CLG: Roasted Potatoes

One of the highlights of this week's Learning Garden program were the delicious potatoes (harvested right here at WFCF) that we roasted to perfection! We tried Russets and Purple Vikings from the container garden and All Blue potatoes from the CLG. Here is a simple recipe for roasted potatoes you can try at home.

Dede's Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Any other spices or herbs you'd like to try

How to Make Them:

Wash the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch slices. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the slices), then sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Place the slices on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan (slices can overlap); cook them for about 45 min at 350 degrees F. Enjoy!

Why hello there!

While our potatoes were roasting, we got to spend some time with the chickens and also harvest more tomatoes. With these chilly fall days and nights, we are definitely nearing the end of our tomato crop, but we still managed to find a few ripe ones out there!

Next week, we'll be ready to finish prepping a garden bed so that we can get our garlic planted before the snow flies!

Asian Cole Slaw

The chill in the air signals the return of autumn and cold-weather crops, such as those in the Brassicaceae family. Here's a fabulous and healthy recipe that puts the spotlight on Brassica oleracea, otherwise known as cabbage.

As always, feel free to switch things up with different ingredients! This dish is low-fat, vegan, gluten-free*, and delicious.

Fresh Produce:

• 1 head of cabbage, shredded (red cabbage shown; also good with Napa variety)
• onion OR scallions, sliced very thin
• hot peppers, sliced (optional)
  

Essential Extras:

• sesame seeds, toasted
• slivered almonds, toasted
• crispy/chow mein noodles (optional; not shown)
  

The Dressing:

• 1/4 cup vinegar (red wine, rice wine, or apple cider work well)
• 3/4 cup oil (olive or vegetable work well)
• 1/2 cup sugar or sweetener of your preference
• 2 tbsp soy sauce*

*For those on a gluten-free diet, make sure to purchase gluten-free soy sauce as some brands contain wheat.

How to Make it:

Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage head. Shred or thinly slice the cabbage (if you have a mandolin, use it to shred the cabbage; if you do not own such equipment, a large knife will do the job just as well) and place it in a large bowl. Slice the onion or scallions and pepper and add to the cabbage. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator while making the dressing and toasting the nuts and seeds.

The dressing is so simple! Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil for a minute; let cool.

Toast the almonds and sesame seeds separately as the seeds toast faster than the almonds. Even so, the technique is the same: place nuts/seeds in a small pan over medium heat, stirring constantly (don't leave your stove top as the nuts and seeds will burn quickly when left unattended). Toast until the nuts/seeds begin to brown.

Take your bowl of cabbage out of the refrigerator; drizzle on the dressing and toss. Sprinkle on the nuts, seeds, and noodles (not shown) and enjoy.



Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Here's a quick and easy recipe to try out while New England's beautiful heirloom tomatoes are still available. This dish is best served immediately, so only prepare as much as you (and your family or guests) will consume. This dish is low fat, low sodium, vegan, and gluten-free.

Fresh Produce:

• various heirloom tomatoes
• basil, chopped chiffonade style
• sweet onion, minced (optional)

Essential Extras:

• extra virgin oil olive
• balsamic vinegar
• sugar or sweetener (optional)
• fresh mozzarella, sliced (optional, not shown)
  
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make it:

Start with the reduction since you can prepare the fresh produce while it simmers. Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the vinegar is reduced by 1/2 to 2/3 the original amount. Although it will naturally sweeten as it reduces, you can make your reduction even sweeter with the additional of sugar; about 1 teaspoon to 2 cups of vinegar (which will reduce to 1 cup or less) is a good ratio to keep in mind while making your salad. Once reduced to your desired consistency, let it cool.

Wash the tomatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks; transfer tomato pieces over to their individual serving plates. If using mozzarella, also add the cheese while plating the tomatoes. Chop the basil and onion and sprinkle generously over tomatoes. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

WHAT'S YOUR SPIN? Don't feel limited to using only heirlooms; the choice is yours! Try it with beefsteaks, plum or cherry tomatoes, or just about any other vine-ripened variety.

Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.