In
this week’s box:
Beets: Blankoma & Chioggia
Leeks: King Richard
Hot
Peppers: Black Hungarian, Tiburon & Wenk’s Yellow
Hots
Sweet
Potatoes: Ivis White Cream (white skin/white flesh) &
Beauregard (orange skin/orange flesh)
Tapestry
Salad Mix
Tomatoes:
End of the season mix
For
those with the Herb Share, this week includes: Sage,
Orange Thyme, Dill, Oregano
Featured Recipe (on back):
Sweet Potato and Crystallized Ginger Salad
Rain this week: 0.5”
As the main gardens slowly dissolve into unpalatable blackness, the high tunnel beds are beginning to glow with color. The beets and swiss chard are all starting to show their adult colors and the radishes are putting on leaves like crazy. The salad beds in the tunnel were sown this week and should be making their first appearances in the next week or so. It’s such a treat on a cold, blustery day to go into the still, warm riot of color.
As promised, sweet potatoes make their first appearance in your boxes this week. They are truly sweet potatoes and not the mistakenly termed “yams” that are a type of starchy root originating in West Africa. To store your sweet potatoes, place in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place for several weeks. Do not store in plastic or refrigerate as temps below 50 degrees will result in off-flavors and excess moisture will encourage rot or sprouting. Do not scrub clean or wash sweet potatoes until just before using, excess dirt may be removed without water prior to storing. We tried to give you a mix of white and orange fleshed varieties so you can compare them.
Our favorite preparation for sweet potatoes is the simplest. Scrub skin and cut away any damaged areas and place whole in a pan or on foil to catch drips. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. To bring out maximum natural sweetness, place sweet potatoes into a cold oven and then turn on heat. This maximizes the time for the starches to be transformed to sugars before the high temperature denatures the enzymes responsible for this process. Serve with butter, honey and ground cinnamon. To steam sweet potatoes, place scrubbed and quartered chunks in a steamer over boiling water and cook until tender (about 20 minutes.) Allow to cool enough to remove peels. To serve round discs, cook whole, then peel and slice into rounds. Serve plain or drizzled with a topping: sweet (butter with a tad of maple syrup), tangy (lime) or spicy (a red pepper or ginger sauce).
Sweet potatoes also make a wonder and healthy replacement for irish potatoes in many recipes. We especially like them in potato salad (see today’s featured recipe), soups and curries.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
SWEET POTATO
AND CRYSTALLIZED GINGER SALAD
THE DRESSING:
1/2 c. seasoned
rice vinegar
2 tbsp. soy or other light flavored oil
1 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
Pinch of ground red pepper
THE SALAD:
1 lb. sweet
potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 inches
1 large apple
(Jonathan, Honeycrisp or other crisp fresh-eating
apple) peeled and chopped
1/2 c. scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. crystallized ginger, finely julienned (can reduce or eliminate for more
sensitive palates)
1. To prepare the
dressing, combine the ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and let it stand
for at least 1 hour.
2. For the salad, steam the sweet potatoes over boiling water just until tender when pierced with a knife, about 6 to 8 minutes. Plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking, then blot dry.
3. In a medium size bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, apple, scallions and crystallized ginger, add the dressing, toss and chill for at least one hour before serving. Yield: 4 servings.
Adapted from
cooks.com