Titus Farms » Recipes

Culinary Tragedy

Rebecca — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:33 +0000

Each year I try to save at least 15 heads of garlic for the winter. I know that will supply us for a reasonable time before the garlic goes bad. For some reason, at the market and at CSA, we didn’t have enough of the aromatic staple to go around. At the farmers market the endless requests for garlic resonated with us, so we decided to plant more last fall.

Planting more, however, means taking the biggest and best garlic and sacrificing it to the cause. Since our need was so great, we also sacrificed some of the smaller bulbs which no one wanted. Those smaller bulbs are usually sequestered for our own use throughout the winter. I didn’t have a good count of how many bulbs I stole away, but I knew the number was far below what I was going to need. I actually ended up with a lot of what Amy and myself have deemed “runions” or “ronions?”. I don’t exactly remember the etymology, but I’m pretty sure it’s because the garlic takes on the look of a very runty onion. They basically don’t form cloves, or when they do the cloves are fused in such a way that the bulb resembles an onion.

Oh Runty Onion Garlic

So this past week I made my last pasta sauce (out of our heirloom tomatoes) loaded with the last of our runion garlic. It was delicious and sad. Now I’m searching for organic garlic- or at least local garlic.

The next month is always a dark time at the farm. We’re not quite ready to plant, we’ve almost run out of vegetables saved from the year and it’s usually cold and drab. Ah well, it makes us appreciate spring and during the height of summer when we look back at how quiet it is around here, we usually wish we could have that quiet again.

Berry Storage

Rebecca — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:50:54 +0000

I was speaking to someone at the farmers market and she alerted me to an interesting article in the New York Times concerning the best way to store various types of berries. Berries never last long in our household, but if you find yourself throwing away those precious gems of summer, check this out:

Harold McGee of the NYT bought various types of berries and tested a theory about a warm water bath before refrigeration.

Basically, by dipping raspberries or blackberries in approximately 125 degree water for 30 seconds and then laying them out to dry on paper towel, he created a much lower chance of moldy berries.

Here’s the full article if you’re interested:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/dining/26curi.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=raspberries&st=cse

Scape Article

Rebecca — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:02:20 +0000

I always forget that the scape looks like some alien vegetable to people… That and the kohlrabi of course… but Erica, a CSA member sent me this awesome link to an article in the Washington post. It gives a short anatomy lesson and some ideas/recipes. I’ve made garlic pesto before (not with the walnuts as called for here) but I highly recommend it. Enjoy them why you can!
Link to article

Cranberry Beans or Fagioli

Rebecca — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:18:59 +0000

The “dry beans” the CSA received this week was a variety known as cranberry beans. These pink speckled beans are delicious for just about anything, like soups and pastas; but our good friend and CSA member, Chip, has shared his best recipe for them, which he learned when in Italy through his many conversations about the food. Enjoy!

“Fagioli alla romana”

In Rome one would typically buy a kilo of borlotti (cranberry beans) in their shells or half a kilo of shelled beans.
To prepare:
Place the shelled fresh beans in a heavy-bottomed pot and cover generously with water. Add half a medium onion, chopped, salt (perhaps a tablespoon), and a substantial stalk of celery, including leaves if it has them, or the equivalent. (The celery is very important.) Simmer slowly until the beans are cooked, about 45-60 min. Take off the heat. Let the beans cool in the cooking water, leaving the celery in the pot until the beans are cool. The celery can then be taken out and the beans drained. After cooking they will be good for nearly a week.

Drizzle them with a little olive oil to serve as an antipasto or vegetable at room temperature.

For a summery main course, mix together the cooked beans and a can of good quality tuna packed in olive oil. Drain the tuna before mixing with the beans.

This is about 2lbs (about 2 quarts shelled)

Husk Cherries!

Rebecca — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:15:16 +0000

I forgot to post the link in the CSA emails- but here’s the heads up on Husk Cherries:

From what I know, they’re also called ground cherries and are grown in rural areas in many areas of the united states. They actually grow wild in many places too.

The look of the fruit is reminiscent of a tomatillo- but the taste is nothing like it. It is actually a relative of the tomato, so the texture is almost exactly like a small cherry tomato. The plant is like a tomato plant but it vines out a little farther, spreading across the earth. When the plump little husks are ready they drop to the ground- hence the name “ground cherry”.

They’re great eaten raw, when the husk is dark and the berry is dark yellow, and some people taste a hint of pineapple or something tropical. They can also be made into a pie (which is a country favorite). Or the berry can be husked and made into a syrup that’s nice on ice cream. Use about one part sugar to two parts water and a little lemon juice (everything to taste) and just simmer until they’re tender. Enjoy!

Forum

Rebecca — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:55:51 +0000

Well the blog wasn’t interactive enough for me, so we decided to include a forum this year. If you go to titusfarms dot com slash forum (and after you’ve registered) you can post your favorite recipes and interact with other CSA members who might have the same questions as you.

I’m new to the forum idea so we’ll see how it goes for awhile… but I hope to see some recipes up!

What the Heck is Tatsoi?

Rebecca — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:39:01 +0000

So in the CSA you’ll probably encounter a lot of vegetables that you’re not familiar with, unless you’re an experienced gardener or like to experiment with vegetables.

Tatsoi or Pak Choi is one of those not-so-often-used vegetables that falls into the category of Asian green. It can be used like Bok Choy and is excellent in Stir-fries but it is also lovely when used raw. I’ve provided a nice recipe which is served cold…

SERVES 3-4
Ingredients
3 cups Tatsoi, roughly chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin or rice wine vinegar
1 pinch sugar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Directions
1. Steam or boil pak choi to desired doneness- a bit firm is always nice.
2. Drain choi in a colander and use a wooden spoon to push the choi against the sides of the colander and squeeze out as much water as possible.
3. Once choi is as dry as possible, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and green onions in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add choi and toss to coat.
4. Allow to chill in the fridge for one hour.
5. Just before serving, add the sesame oil and sesame seeds and toss to coat. Enjoy!

Recipes

Rebecca — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:36:24 +0000

The first year of the CSA I provided recipes just cut out on pieces of paper. This unfortunately created a lot of waste, and took a bit of time to do. So in the interest of being more green I will either be posting the recipes on the blog- or emailing them- I haven’t decided yet.

But to start things off, here is a very basic recipe for the greens you’ll be receiving… I find that preparing the vegetables in a simple way helps to bring out the flavor more, rather than disguise it.

Smothered Greens

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
8 cups chopped and washed greens, such as collards, kale, mustards, chards, or a blend
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat oil or butter in a wide braising pan or casserole. Add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring and being careful not to get too much color on the onions. Add the greens (be sure to wash carefully as they have a tendency to be gritty) and stir. Cover for about 5 minutes to wilt, then cook over medium low heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes, or until greens are tender and not bitter. Sprinkle with the vinegar, season with salt and pepper, stir, and remove from heat. Serve warm.