Three Week Cole Slaw

A friend gave me this recipe a few years ago.  She and her family had been vacationing in Maine and stopped by to visit on their way home to Virginia.  It's always a treat to see them.  One thing they shared was a delicious cole slaw they made while on vacation.  I've never kept it for 3 weeks, although the recipe uses a fair amount of sugar and vinegar so I believe it would keep well.  It's become one of my easy, go-to recipes for potlucks, and I go to potlucks often because I go to all day shape note singings as often as possible.  People like it and it is easy to make.

Today I plan on making some for a singing I am going to in New Hampshire on Saturday at the Song Garden Flower Farm and Tea House.  This time I'll be using our Brussels sprout leaves instead of cabbage.  For the last two weeks we have been trimming our sprout plants, eating the leaves, and putting them into the farm shares.  (Our farm members are great.  They are willing to try new foods and they understand that what is available each week varies with the season.  Now is the season for sprout leaves!)

We have a lot of these leaves but this week is their last hurrah.  Robin finished trimming the plants today and is making some silage out of the rest.  The finished silage will be for the ducks this winter.

So here is the cole slaw recipe.

Three Week Cole Slaw

3 pounds chopped cabbage
1 chopped green pepper
2 chopped medium onions
2 C. sugar
1 C. oil
1 C. cider vinegar
1 T. celery seed
1 T. salt

Combine cabbage, pepper, onion and sugar.
Mix oil, vinegar, celery seed, and salt in a sauce pan.
Bring to a boil and pour over the cabbage mixture.
Stir.
Refrigerate.
Let stand 2-3 days before serving.

Notes:
For big potlucks I sometimes skip the pepper because some people are allergic to them and they may not be apparent in the finished slaw.

I don't usually wait 2 - 3 days to eat this but it does improve with age.

I often consider reducing the sugar.  It's kind of sweet.

Enjoy!

SALAD, with no lettuce

We are approaching a time period when our lettuce and mesclun supply may be a bit short.  I just didn't plant enough often enough!  Never fear, there is more lettuce growing in the garden; we just have to wait for it.  And in the meantime, there are plenty of lovely salads that focus on other greens.  Here's a few of our favorites.

Lacinato or Toscano Kale

Fantastic salad made by my friend Kendahl:
Lacinato Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad

Yield: Makes 6 servings

3/4 to 1 pound lacinato kale or regular kale, stems and center ribs discarded
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces coarsely grated ricotta salata (1 cup)

Cut kale crosswise into very thin slices.
Whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.
Toss kale and ricotta salata in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat well, then season with salt and pepper.

OR MY SIMPLIFIED VERSION:

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale, finely sliced.  (Toscano is esp. good)
feta cheese
chopped red onion, scallions, shallots, etc.
lemon juice
olive oil
ground pepper

Mix.
Easy to increase as well.


A family favorite from our friends Tom and Connie:
California Salad Bowl


Ritchie's Antipasto:

A delicious and highly loaded antipasto we made in 2013.

Another one!  Also yum.

Ritchie's Antipasto:

Finely chop chicory (escarole, endive frisee, cutting chicory, etc.) or a blend of chicory and romaine lettuce.
Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and wine vinegar.  Add chopped garlic or onion, if you like.
Let the greens sit for several hours to blend flavors and wilt.
Spread greens on a big platter and decorate with your favorite antipasto ingredients, such as: tuna, pickled peppers, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, provolone, olives, tomatoes, prosciutto, ham, artichoke hearts, salami, marinated mushrooms, red or sweet onions, ETC.
If you are artistically inclined, think of the greens as a background color and make a beautiful arrangement, like Ritchie does!

Ritchie's Antipasto

Later in the season you might like:
Three Week Cole Slaw
Carrot-Cabbage Salad
Daikon and Carrot Salad
I'll post these recipes at a later date.

Do you have favorite salads that don't use lettuce?  Please share in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Kohlrabi Slaw AKA Kohl-slawbi

A yummy salad idea from one of our farm members.

Kohlrabi Slaw

Julienne a peeled kohlrabi with thinly sliced red cabbage and one apple.
Toss with:
2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp sour cream, splash of rice vinegar, salt/pepper, 1 diced jalapeno, handful of chopped cilantro and crushed peanuts.

Kohl-slawbi!

2016 Updated Version:

Kohl-slawbi

Cut thicker outside skin off kohlrabi and then use vegie peeler to remove remaining green or purple skin down to lighter inside

Cut in thin julienne strips (a mandoline is great for this chore)

Peel and julienne radishes, turnips, carrots, beets, any other hard vegie you'd like...

Add in 1/4-1/2 cup each of mayonnaise and plain yogurt (more or less depending on desired coverage)

Throw in 1/2 cup golden raisins (or nuts or other dried fruit?)

Season with salt/pepper

A dash of rice vinegar 

A squeeze of lemon juice

Stir well, refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, then serve.

Escarole Soup

We love the chicory family of vegetables here at Sweet Morning Farm.  Endive frisee and radicchio in salad and cooked escarole are some of our favorites.  Mostly with greens, I just saute them with olive oil and garlic with a cover on the pot, sort of steaming them in their own juice.  Yum.  Lately we've had a lot of escarole ready in the garden, more that the farm shares can easily use, so yesterday I made this delicious soup:

Note - I don't measure everything when I cook, I just go by feel, experience, what I have on hand, and my mood.  I encourage to trust your own taste and instincts when you cook.  Pay attention and decide what you like and what your body is telling you would be good to eat.  I wanted lots of garlic, so I used about 10 bulbs in this soup, in a base of about 8 - 10 cups of chicken broth.

Escarole Soup
Soak and then cook some chick peas.
Add to chicken broth.  (I used some homemade, first cooking and de-boning a chicken for sandwiches.)
Add:
lots of whole garlic cloves
lots of chopped escarole
some chopped onion
the cooked chick peas
a few hot peppers (I used 7 of our "Venice" peppers)
a bit of ginger
some black peppercorns

Cook gently until the escarole is nice and soft.  (Ours simmered all day long while we cleared out the garden.)

Another note: We like spicy food and the Venice peppers are pretty hot.  The broth ended up having a nice heat to it that tasted good and felt sort of healthful, along with the garlic.  Adjust everything to suit your own preference.

Two recipes for Vegetable Tian

(1)

Recipe: Provençal Vegetable Tian

from Martha Stewart, with variations from farm friend Michael

(click on the recipe name for the original post from M.S.)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and pale-green parts only, rinsed well (1 large leek)

1 Yukon Gold potato (8 ounces), sliced 1/4 inch thick

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small eggplant (12 ounces), trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 large zucchini (8 ounces), sliced 1/4 inch thick

3 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided, plus more for garnish

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Layer half the leeks in dish, and then cover with half the potato; season with some salt and a pinch of pepper. Top with a layer each of half the eggplant, half the zucchini and half the tomatoes; season with some salt and a pinch of pepper. Scatter with half the olives and half the thyme. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Repeat layering and seasoning with remaining vegetables. Drizzle with remaining oil, and cover loosely with foil.

2. Bake 20 minutes, and then remove foil. Press vegetables down with a spatula, and bake until potato is tender and edges are well caramelized, about 45 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Note:  I usually replace the leeks with two medium to large onions, sliced 1/4 in thick, and the olives with a couple of large bell peppers, cut lengthwise into thin strips. M

Serving Size

Serves 6 to 8

(2)

Torpedo Onion and Sweet Pepper Tian

11/2 lb. small torpedo onions

2 red bell peppers

1 yellow bell pepper

2 medium ripe tomatoes

olive oil as needed

5-6 thyme sprigs

6 cloves garlic peeled and halved

salt and freshly ground pepper

aged sherry, red wine, or balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon or more as needed.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Quarter the onions. Halve the peppers crosswise and lengthwise; remove seeds and veins and cut into pieces about a half-inch wide. Cut tomatoes in sixths.

Oil an 8x10 gratin dish.  Scatter thyme, add vegetables in an attractive easy way.  It may look a bit like a lot, but they will cook down.  Drizzle well with olive oil. (Do not forget salt and pepper.)

Cover and bake for 90 minutes.  The vegetables should be soft.  Carefully pour out collected liquid into a small pan.  Add a teaspoon of vinegar.  Bring to a boil and reduce until syrupy.  Pour over vegetables.  Serve warm or at room temperature over polenta, pasta, or grilled bread.

“IMMUNE BOOSTER” MISO SOUP

“IMMUNE BOOSTER” MISO SOUP - from farm member Merry A delicious soup using some fall crops: leeks, daikons, onions, carrots, and kale! Saute a coarsely chopped med-large onion in a soup pot. Soak about 1/4-1/2 C wakame seaweed in water. Chop 2-3 carrots and slice a daikon radish. When the onion is softened, add 8 C water. Bring to a boil and add carrots and daikon. Coarsely chop 8 C kale, 2-3 C shiitakes.  Clean and slice 2-3 C leeks.   Mix in 3-4 T miso in ½ C hot broth When the carrots and daikons are soft, add the kale, drained seaweed, leeks, and mushrooms. Boil gently for 5 minutes.   Turn off heat and add the miso.   Let rest for 15 minutes before eating. "And then I enjoy this concoction for breakfast over the next week!" - Merry

California Salad Bowl

A friend shared this recipe with me.  He described as, "The best salad in the world."  He and his family have been making it for over 20 years and still think it is "the best!"

It comes from a recipe collection from their college days, but I don't know the name of the collection.

California Salad Bowl

1 1/2 quarts torn escarole or chicory
1 quart torn iceberg lettuce
1/2 C. sliced scallions
1 pound bacon
1 1/2 avocados
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 C. chopped cooked chicken
1/2 C. crumbled blue cheese
3/4 - 1 C. curry dressing to taste

Combine greens and chill until ready to serve.
Cook and drain bacon, then crumble.
Peel avocados and cut in half, sprinkle with lemon juice.
When ready to serve, place greens in a bowl, dice avocado, and arrange rows of avocado, bacon, chicken and blue cheese over the greens.  Pour on curry dressing and toss well.

Curry Dressing

Combine in a jar:
1/4 C. vinegar
1 T. water
2/3 C. oil
1/2 t. curry powder

Shake well.